“Someone feeding you isn’t enough to stay with them,” Claudia tells me, a worried look on her face. “Is he…gentle with you?”

Amy makes an embarrassed noise.

“Oh come on, we’re all adults,” Claudia says. “Let’s not pretend that we’re saints. Sasha’s had some terrible shit in her past. I just want to make sure she’s truly happy, because she deserves it.”

I’m touched. “I’m happy, Claudia. Truly. Dakh and I, we’re really good together. I’m happier with him than I ever thought I would be with anyone. And if you must know, the sex is…orgasmic. Nothing like with Tate.” I hear Dakh growl in my mind at the mention of Tate’s name. “He, um, tried to kill Tate, you know.”

Claudia’s eyes widen. “He did?”

I tell them how Dakh picked through my thoughts to find Tate and hunted him down and brought him to me to kill. Amy’s relieved that we let him go, but Claudia isn’t as pleased.

“You should have killed that dickface when you had the chance,” she tells me. “He broke your arm. He hurt you deliberately.”

I like this one, Dakh tells me. She says smart things.

Hush, you. “Just because he’s an animal doesn’t mean we have to be. I don’t want to live with his blood on my hands.”

“Mm. I’d be all right with it. I’ve wanted to kill him a few times myself.” Claudia sips her coffee again. “At any rate, I’m glad you and Dakh are doing well. I was worried you’d gone from one bad situation to another, and when I met Dakh…he wasn’t the sanest of dragons.”

“He gets better every day,” I say with a smile. “Remember the journal I mentioned to you? I’ve got a fair amount of stuff but I haven’t had a chance to piece it together.”

Claudia’s expression grows envious. “Kael can’t remember much at all.”

I glance at Amy, who’s quiet through our conversation. I don’t want her to feel excluded, but she looks lost in her own thoughts. I shrug at Claudia. “I’ve learned a bunch of random bits and pieces, but I don’t know that I have any answers yet.”

“Anything would be more than I have,” Claudia tells me, and the frustration is apparent on her face.

“Because of…the baby?” When she looks shocked, I add, “Dakh says he can smell it on you. That’s one thing I’ve figured out. They can smell everything.”

“Boy, no kidding,” Claudia mutters. She looks over at Amy and gives her a wan smile. “Surprise.”

Oh no. I look over at Amy, horrified that I’ve spilled the beans. Amy’s mouth is open, but she recovers quickly. “I figured something was up. You’ve been a little stressed over the last few days. I thought either you were about to have your period…or it wasn’t coming at all for another reason.” She wraps her fingers around her mug. “Guess I wasn’t far off the mark.”

“I’m a little stressed, yeah.” Claudia straightens and puts down her mug, grimacing. “I don’t know anything about babies. I don’t even know if I should be drinking coffee. Hell, I don’t even know if I’m having an egg or a baby.” She looks ready to burst into tears, which is surprising given how strong Claudia normally is.

“Dakh told me it’s a baby,” I tell her. “If that helps things.”

Claudia’s eyes go wide. “Seriously? He remembers that much?”

“Well…yeah. Kael doesn’t?” I’m genuinely surprised at that. She’s made mention of how “crazy” Dakh was before, so I thought for sure Kael’s mind would be “stronger” than Dakh’s. It made me a little defensive on behalf of my poor dragon. But I can’t help but feel a little bit of pride for him that he’s got more under the hood than Kael does.

It’s a small, silly thing to be proud of, I guess. And I feel petty for even making things a contest. But it’s still nice to know we’re not totally behind the curve.

“I’ve asked Kael and he never has answers. His memories are pretty faint.” She puts a hand to her abdomen. “Does…does Dakh remember anything else? Can you ask him?”

“He told me earlier that it’s a baby. Not an egg. And he’s told me in the past that there’s no fire-breathing until they pass a rite of passage into adulthood, so you don’t have to worry about that, either. And, let’s see…” I think for a moment. “Something about the fire in the blood being passed along to the baby? But it was vague.”

She slumps, visibly relieved. “That’s all right. As long as I know I’m not having a flaming egg, that takes a lot of the worry off of me.” Her hands tremble as she presses them against her stomach, and then she exhales deeply, as if releasing all of her tension and stress. “You have no idea the nightmares I’ve been having.”

“I can imagine.” I don’t know how I’d feel being the first one to have a half-human, half-drakoni baby.”

No? You do not wish to carry my young? Dakh’s thoughts press into mine.

You would pick up on that, wouldn’t you?

Of course. I hear all your thoughts. I enjoy them.

I didn’t say I don’t want a baby. I just don’t want to be the first one to figure things out.

What is there to figure out? You are my mate. His thoughts are full of affection and lust. It is all very natural and right.

I’m sure it is. But until you remember a bit more about being drakoni, I would rather let someone else play guinea pig first.

Our child would never harm you. I would not let anything harm you.

I know. And it stands to reason that if you can make me pregnant, it can’t be a bad thing for me. It’s just…a little scary to think about.

Do not fear. I am strong and can keep both you and our young safe.

I’ve no doubt about that, babe. I promise. I send him warm thoughts to appease his feelings, just in case.

“Well, I’m really glad you came by,” Claudia tells me, and the worry seems to have smoothed away from her brows. “I’ve been wondering about you for weeks now. I felt guilty that I couldn’t save you both.”

“It’s all right,” I tell her as I take another sip of coffee. “I feel silly because it never occurred to me that Dakh could reach out and say hello. He mentioned it yesterday and it was a real forehead-slapping moment.” I grin at them. “The moment I realized we could get in touch I came by. Having a dragon as transportation and communication is still pretty new to me. I didn’t think about it, and I feel like we’ve lost out on weeks.”