Page 22 of Sapphire Seas

When he’d shyly admitted that the reason he’d behaved so harshly toward Odem was because he’d felt like he’d been abandoned, his fury had made far more sense, especially to the other omega mates. He hadn’t known about our enemies, who’d been relentlessly pursing dragons around the world, seeking to either enslave or wipe them out. All he’d known was that he’d fallen for someone only to learn that they had a reputation for getting bored and moving on to the next willing omega. Lashing out had been the only way Ronan felt he had of getting back at Odem for making him feel that way.

As soon as Ronan had set aside his pride and started being honest with Odem, they’d been able to see how good they were together. Charmingly exuberant, the both of them, but fierce and loving too. Odem was every dragonet’s favorite uncle, while Ronan had learned to make the girls tutus so Princess Luna was never without one, even when an ill-timed snort produced an errant fireball from her twin brothers. He held tea parties for them and had taught himself to bake tiny cakes without setting half of their kitchen on fire.

We weren’t to speak of the charred, twisted remains of the still-smoking cupcake pan I’d found on a sand dune one afternoon, a smoldering hunk of lava still trying to melt through it. I’d quietly disposed of it for him, and containers of treats randomly turned up on my doorsteps whenever he baked, now that he’d gotten the hang of it.

I went inside to speak to Kes and heard laughter coming from the living room. My mates were seated on the couch, Caspian’s arm around Kes, as they watched some kind of cartoon.

Was that a dish sponge?

In pants?

…and a squid playing a clarinet?

I wasn’t certain if I was intrigued or appalled, it was so damned ridiculous I forgot what I came in here to speak to Kes about. Cocking my head, I stood there, mouth agape, staring at the television as arms started popping out of the sponge, each with a hand holding a spatula. Burgers flew across the kitchen, landing on buns lined up on a counter. Okay, a sponge working at a fast-food joint, got it. Now who the hell was wandering around dreaming up this shit?

Caspian snorted. Kes giggled. Rocking, they fell over one another as they hugged. Damnit, now I remembered why I’d come in here. I was going to have to be a killjoy in a moment. My stomach twisted at the thought of interrupting them and the unfettered way they laughed and cuddled.

But I had to.

Ionus was right. We needed to get through the war, and survive the damn thing, so we could enjoy moments like this without worrying about rogue dragons attacking our city.

“I’m sorry, but we need to talk,” I said as I picked up the remote and turned the television off.

They went from laughing to being apprehensive in seconds, making my heart ache at the sudden transformation and sadness that now radiated from them.

I sat across from them in the chair and leaned forward, elbow on my knees, whispering a prayer to the Goddess that Kes would take my request with the concern I intended, instead of fighting me on it.

“Kes, I’d like you to be examined by Raven,” I said, cutting right to the heart of the matter. “If anyone has a chance of detecting and perhaps removing whatever block is keeping you from fully connecting with your dragon, it’s her.” Well, so much for the we all need to be checked out approach. Way to go, Mattias!

He squirmed, nose scrunching as he bit his lower lip. I watched him physically recoil, drawing away from Caspian, who scooted closer and placed his hand on Kes’ leg.

“He’s right,” Caspian declared. “Don’t you want to know if it can be repaired or not?”

“What if it can’t be?” Kes asked.

“What if it can?” Caspian insisted. “It’s fifty-fifty. Wouldn’t it be better to have a definitive answer than to wonder?”

Kes huffed, eyes narrowed. For a moment I braced myself for a fight, then his shoulders slumped.

“You’re right,” he said. “It would be better to know and if there is something that the high priestess can do to improve my connection with my dragon, then perhaps that will help me lock in on Torin easier. The longer we’re away, the more vulnerable the compound is. Please go ahead and summon her before I change my mind.”

“Thank you,” I said as I pulled my phone out.

After a short conversation with Raven that ended when she told me she’d be here shortly, I hung up to see Caspian holding Kes’ hands between his. Looking at them now, I’d have never known they were so happy just a short time ago. I hated that for them. For all the dragons who’d tried to live their lives in peace only to be hunted by the Gorynych. None of us deserved the chaos they’d brought into our lives.

“What were you watching when I came in?” I asked, hoping to steer things back to a more pleasant topic. “That clarinet playing squid seemed particularly grumpy about something.”

“That’s Squidward,” Kes explained, “he’s always grouchy, especially if SpongeBob and Patrick have been harassing him and asking him to play with them.”

“SpongeBob seems easy enough to figure out,” I said, “he’s the yellow guy in the pants, right?”

“I think so,” Caspian replied, “but this was my first time watching it. I made a joke about some of the caverns my people have turned into villages and Kes said it sounded like a real-life version of SpongeBob. I didn’t know what he was talking about, so he showed me.”

“Sometimes, Canyon, Upalo and I would hole up in a hotel and pretend to be human while we took a break from chasing dead ends. We’d sulk about how badly a mission was going while cartoons played in the background. SpongeBob was a favorite of ours,” Kes explained. “We were all drawn to the undersea theme.”

“So am I,” I explained. “I’d love to watch it with you sometime, it looked quite entertaining.”

“It is,” Kes said, a hint of a smile peeking out.