Chapter 6

Chapter

Six

"He's gone."

"What?" Triton stared at Cerran, not understanding what he was trying to impart.

"Elowyn. He's gone. You succeeded, mate. You got rid of him."

"I did not wish to get rid of him."

"What did you wish, then? You broke his door down. You terrified Leilani. Goddess knows what his brother is telling the seer."

"I wanted my baby! I should not have to wonder where she is!" Triton roared it, feeling ill-used. He'd been frightened half to death when their girl had not been in her nursery. Maybe he was being unreasonable, but not long ago, his mate and his daughter had been consigned to starving to death in a prison so her heartstone could be recaptured.

Leilani began to scream again, her cries wild and panicked, and Cerran ran to get her.

Triton looked stricken, and he came to help, his growl going to a soothing noise, one that had Leilani hiccupping and reaching for the big jerk. Gods, what a mess.

"You have to stop being in crisis mode, Triton. Please. For all our sakes."

Triton took Leilani in his big hands. "I'm trying, mate. I do not know how."

Leilani sobbed like her baby heart was breaking, and Triton cradled her close, rocking her.

"Shhh. Shh, little one. Soffaren is sorry. I did not mean to scare you."

It hurt him to see Triton so uncertain, to see Leilani crying like that. He knew that this was the right place for them, but healing took time.

"Come to bed, mate. We'll just snuggle together." Elowyn was gone, the rooms empty and silent. Cerran had cleaned up the detritus from earlier and eased the broken door closed.

"Yes." Triton followed him to their room, and he could feel the weight of his mate's stare on his back.

He closed the bedroom door, then stripped down to his soft pants. "She's already eaten, so she should go down."

Triton just stood there, holding Leilani, who was mostly making sucking noises now, comforting herself. "I should go, shouldn't I?" Triton asked.

His veins ran with ice at Triton's words, and he hissed, "Go where? You will not desert me here. You are my mate, and I will not be left behind!"

"But I am making it impossible for you. I'm not sure I am domesticable, Cerran. And Leilani is frightened of me." Those big shoulders slumped, something only he ever saw.

"You do not need to be domesticated. You need to breathe." Cerran blew out a long line of steam. "This is a safe place. You know it, or we would have gone already." He waved toward the baby. "And she's not scared. You see?"

Leilani was watching them, her eyelids going heavier and heavier.

Triton stared down at her downy head, her little red scales glowing. "I don't want to frighten anyone, Cerran. I just—I need to apologize to the omega, don't I?"

"You do. He's a good one. He has taken care of her, of us. He wouldn't hurt this baby for anything."

"No. I know. But the people who should have been caring for her did not. I know I can trust you and me. Niko. Ven. Zayden. I do not—" Triton took a deep breath, then blew it out when Leilani peeped. "It is hard for me." Triton moved to settle on the bed.

"I know." But Cerran needed Triton to try. "But Elowyn has proven himself. What else do you need?"

"I don't know." Triton shrugged. "Perhaps I am jealous."

"Of what?" Cerran couldn't imagine of who?

"Elowyn. I have seen how you look at him." Triton didn't sound accusatory. Just…resigned.

"And I've seen how you fantasize about him during sex." That was normal, was it not? Elowyn was a lovely omega.

"I—" Triton's eyes went wide, then narrowed. "He is attractive."

"Yes, he is. And he's an omega. It's natural that we are drawn to him."

"And you're not angry?"

Cerran shook his head. "I am not. I'm not suggesting we seduce him, but I do feel that we could be kind to him. He is thoughtful with us."

Nodding slowly, Triton chewed his lower lip. "Do you think he would come back to work here? Or have I scared him off."

"Mmm. I do not know if he spooks easily." Cerran had to grin as he moved to sit next to Triton. "He stood up to you, did he not?"

Triton chuckled softly. "You know, he did. He was filled with fury. I will have his door fixed first thing in the morning."

"I imagine he will want assurances."

"Yes." Triton stretched out, Leilani on his chest. "I will give them. But I will also need him to know I am not easy."

Cerran laughed, a perverse happiness flooding him. "Oh my mate, no one—no one in the history of dragonhood—has ever once suggested that you were easy."

In fact, Cerran would dare to say that his Triton was singularly difficult. Sexual? Yes. Determined? Of course. Stubborn and beautiful? Absolutely. Loyal beyond all things? Without doubt.

Not easy.

Triton frowned at him, but the expression was more fond than unhappy. "Are you suggesting that I might be less than kind, then?"

That was a more delicate road to walk. "I'm suggesting that you are a warrior, and that is built into your very scales." Cerran exhaled, searching for the right words. Somehow in his heart, he believed that his mate could fix this for them. He knew it, but it would have to be Triton who discovered that. "I am suggesting that Elowyn has not been raised with warriors. I know that he is a healer and that he is a gentle dragon, and perhaps we might have to handle him with kid gloves."

Cerran had a feeling somewhere deep inside him—deeper perhaps than anything he'd ever felt before—something was coming. This wasn't a fear. This wasn't a Klaxon of danger, but it was a signal of a beginning. All beginnings had their challenges. Unfortunately, Cerran could see that it was not going to be his position to fix this.

Either Elowyn and Triton could figure themselves out, or not. Regardless, he was not going to have anyone in his home unhappy or scared—neither him nor Triton nor the omega.

Especially not their beloved Leilani.

"I understand," Triton admitted. "I have been amiss. I am attracted to the healer, and that has made me unkind. Will you forgive me?"

"My love, there is nothing I cannot forgive you."

And that was the truth.

"Now our challenge is getting Elowyn to forgive you, grak'gra. You have dealt him a blow, and we must make amends."

"I will try my best, Cerran."

"Then you will succeed. You do well at everything you put your mind to." And Cerran knew it. He smiled at Leilani, who was utterly melted in her soffaren's arms. "She loves you so much."

"Not as much as you do." Triton shook his head and sighed. "I saw that empty crib and panicked. My dragon was terrified that our kaiinaa was lost to us."

"Oh, love." He reached out to touch Leilani's little head. "She's safe here. So are we."

"It was just… A lot."

Triton rarely spoke much about how it had been for him while they had been locked away, but he knew it had been devastating.

"I almost lost you both. They ordered me to kill you!" Triton tensed, and little Leilani whimpered, nuzzling his chest. Triton bounced her, and Cerran shook his head.

"But you did not. You would not. So now it does not matter." He matched his breathing to Triton's, trying to calm his mate. "You rescued us. All of us."

"I did. You are my heart." Triton stroked Leilani's spine. "Both of you. I will apologize to the omega?—"

"Elowyn," he interrupted.

"Yes, Elowyn. Elowyn." Triton did not actually roll his eyes, but he was clearly feeling better. His lips curved, and he relaxed, which meant Leilani started to snore.

"I'll put her back to bed, hmmm?" Cerran held out his hands.

"No. No, she's good for a minute. I just want to relax with my family." Triton leaned back against the pillows.

Cerran nodded, then crawled into bed again. "I'm glad we can as well." He was. He'd dreamed of this on those long, cold, terrifying days and nights on the prison isle.

"Yes. This doesn't seem right, does it? It feels…like a fantasy." And that was part of the trouble, this fear they both had that this good place would be ripped from them.

"It does. I worry every day that we will prove to be too much trouble, or that someone will negotiate to take us back. Even if that makes no sense."

"Cain would never do that to us."

"I know it. He and I have discussed it at length. But in my heart, I fear it. What if they had managed to destroy your stone? Or taken hers back?"

"Triton." He said it sharply, needing his mate to listen. "None of that happened. A warrior does not dwell on what might have happened in battle."

Amusement flashed in Triton's eyes again. "Are you saying I have lost my nerve?"

"No. I am saying that you are continuing to fight a battle that is won. You are a legendary warrior. You know you must allow it to flow out like the tide." He leaned his head against Triton's shoulder. "This is our chance to form our family."

"It is. I will not waste it." That broad chest heaved. "And I will find Elowyn first thing in the morning. Tonight, I will let him rest and not be so angry at me."

He nodded, leaned over, and kissed Triton's shoulder. He'd have the door fixed as well.