Chapter 124

The days that followed blurred into a haze of warmth and wonder. Soryn was on cloud nine, his entire being radiating a joy I had never seen from him before. He refused to leave my side, staying nestled in the elaborate nest he had built, his coils wrapped loosely around me and the seven precious eggs we had created together. He arranged heated stones with obsessive care, adjusted the furs until they were perfect, and watched over our clutch like the fierce devotion of a dragon guarding treasure.

I lay against his chest, the eggs tucked safely between us, feeling their subtle warmth seep into my skin. I found myself wondering what they would look like when they finally emerged. Would they be beautiful like their father, with scales that caught the light in shifting patterns of emerald and jade? Would they be born as babies or as tiny snakes? I did not know how serpent children came into the world, and the uncertainty should have frightened me.

Once, back in my old life, I had been terrified of snakes. The sight of them had made my skin crawl, my heart hammer with irrational fear. But that was before Soryn. Before I learned that scales could be softer than silk, that forked tongues could speak words of love, that his eyes could hold more emotion than any human gaze I had known. I had fallen in love with him slowly, then all at once, and now I could not imagine fearing anything that bore his likeness.

I would love these children too. That much I knew with absolute certainty. Whatever form they took when they finally broke free of their shells, they were mine, and I would love them with the same ferocity I felt for all my children.

Soryn was so over the moon he barely slept. He was attentive to a fault, constantly adjusting my position, bringing me cool water, smoothing the furs beneath me. He made rich broth from the meat Leon hunted, simmering it with herbs until the scent filled the room, insisting I drink every drop so I would have strength to feed the older cubs who still needed me. He treated me like something precious and fragile, his eyes never leaving me for long, his hands always reaching to touch my hair or my cheek or the eggs.

My other mates were equally attentive, though they gave us space in the nest. Ravin took charge of the household with efficient authority, directing the care of the children and the running of our new home with the same precision he used in battle. Leon and Caelion kept the cubs occupied from dawn until dusk, exhausting them with games and training so they would sleep soundly and not disturb my rest. Aureon visited his siblings but returned frequently with gifts of fruit and soft furs, his eyes soft with understanding when he saw us curled together. Veylan watched from the doorway sometimes, his expression unreadable, but I saw the relief in his shoulders when he saw that I was well.

They only brought the cubs to me when they were hungry, shielding me from the chaos of their daily needs so my body could recover. I was grateful for their care, for the way they moved around us with quiet respect, giving Soryn this time to bond with his clutch.

The older cubs were fascinated by the eggs. They crept into the nest chamber on quiet feet, their eyes enormous as they stared at the leathery shells nestled against my skin.

"Why are the new babies in eggs?" Atlas asked one morning, his voice hushed with awe.

"Because they are serpent children," I explained, stroking his golden fur. "They need time to grow strong before they come out."

Jasper tilted his head, his nose twitching with curiosity. Then he asked the question that made Soryn’s scales flare with alarm. "Are they food?"

Soryn moved faster than I had ever seen him move, scooping Jasper up in his arms, lifting the cub to eye level. He held him there for a moment, his green eyes wide with mock horror, before pressing a firm kiss to Jasper’s forehead. "No, little one," he said, his voice gentle but firm. "These are your brothers and sisters. They are sleeping inside their eggs because they need to stay warm for a few months before they can come out."

Jasper’s ears flattened with confusion. "But why eggs?"

Soryn settled onto the furs, cradling Jasper against his chest, his tail wrapping around them both protectively. "Think of the eggs like mommy’s stomach," he explained, his voice taking on the soft cadence he used for stories. "They are still growing, still becoming strong enough to live in the big world. The eggs are helping mommy out, so mommy is not always tired from being pregnant for so long. They keep the babies safe and warm until they are ready."

Jasper processed this, his small face scrunched in concentration. Then his expression cleared, and he nodded with the solemn wisdom of the very young. "Oh."

Soryn kissed his head again, his scales rippling with affection. "Go play with your brothers. The new ones will come out when they are ready, and then you can teach them everything."

Jasper scampered off, apparently satisfied, his earlier question about edibility completely forgotten.

I watched him go, then looked at Soryn, at the seven eggs between us, at the love shining in my serpent’s eyes. Through the open doorway, I could hear the sounds of my family. Leon’s booming laugh as he wrestled with the cubs in the field. Caelion’s gentle voice explaining something about water currents. Ravin’s steady footsteps as he checked the perimeter. Aureon’s cheerful chatter as he returned from visiting his mother. Veylan’s softer presence, watchful and protective.

My family was perfect. Not because we had no problems. Not because danger did not still lurk somewhere in the shadows of this beautiful village. But because we were together. Because love had made us more than the sum of our parts. Because seven new lives were growing safely in their shells, and their father was beside me, and their siblings were playing in the sun, and their other fathers were keeping watch.

I rested my hand on the nearest egg, feeling the subtle pulse of life within, and smiled. Perfect. Absolutely perfect.

Then the door burst open.

"Mommy!" Jasper skidded back into the room, his golden fur standing on end with excitement. "I have a sword!"

He held up a stick, waving it with dangerous enthusiasm.

"That is very nice, Jasper," I said carefully. "Please do not wave it near the eggs."

"I am protecting them!" he announced, his chest puffing out. "I am the guard!"

"From what?"

"From..." He paused, thinking hard. "From bad things!"

"And what bad things are you expecting?"

He looked around the room, his eyes landing on Soryn. "From him!"

Soryn blinked. "Me?"

"You look suspicious," Jasper declared, pointing his stick sword directly at my mate’s nose.

"Jasper, that is your father," I said, trying not to laugh. "He lives here."

Jasper considered this, his nose twitching. "Oh." He lowered the stick. "Can I guard from outside?"

"If you promise not to poke anyone."

He scampered out, shouting about monsters, his stick sword held high.

Soryn looked at me, his scales rippling with amusement. "Our children are strange."

"They are ours," I said simply.

Aureon appeared in the doorway then, his arms full of flowers he had clearly picked without any regard for aesthetics. "I brought these for the eggs," he announced, his face serious. "So they know they are loved."

"Soryn already marked them," I said gently.

"These are different," Aureon insisted, arranging the wildflowers in a circle around the nest. "These are welcome flowers. From me. And from my mother, who says she will visit tomorrow with more."

"More flowers?"

"More everything," he said, his grin infectious. "She says seven serpent babies need seven times the blessings."

Soryn’s eyes widened with panic. "She does not need to bring anything. We have everything. Tell her we have everything."

"I tried," Aureon said, shrugging. "She did not listen. She is already planning a feast."

Soryn groaned, burying his face in his hands. "A feast. For eggs."

"For you," Aureon corrected. "For being a father. And for Krys. For giving my mother more grandbabies. ."

I laughed then, the sound filling the room, drawing the attention of the others. Leon appeared in the doorway, covered in mud, followed by Caelion who was soaked from head to toe. Ravin came last, his eyebrows raised in question.

"Feast?" Leon asked, his ears perking up.

"For the eggs," Caelion said, his blue eyes twinkling.

"For us," I corrected, still laughing. "For all of us."

They gathered then, my six mates and however many children had managed to follow them inside, all of them crowding around the nest, all of them touching the eggs with gentle fingers, all of them talking over each other in a chaos of love and noise and joy.

And in the middle of it all, I sat with Soryn’s tail wrapped around my ankle, with seven marked eggs warming against my skin, with flowers scattered everywhere and a stick sword abandoned on the floor and the sound of my family’s laughter ringing in my ears.

Perfect. Absolutely perfect.