Page 78 of Dryad’s Treasure

I wasn’t sure it really mattered if we were or not and wondered what Thalia would have said if Keir had protested.

I’m not sure what I expected Thalia to do. Speak some magical phrase? Hold out her hands so she could feel the vibes the eggs sent her way? Chant some ancient, wyvern language the rest of us wouldn’t understand? Thalia did none of those things. Her eyes slipping closed, if I had to guess, Thalia reached some type of meditative state. Shoulders relaxed and hands now loose on her cane, Thalia’s head tilted back ever so slightly.

At first, her expression was blank. I could see her eyes shifting back and forth below her closed lids, as if she were deeply asleep and dreaming. Thalia’s mouth pulled into a deep frown before her lips pulled back, exposing serrated teeth.

“We’re screwed,” Henry stated, his voice loud in my ear. I had no idea when he’d switched from Tabitha’s shoulder to mine. I’d been too distracted to feel him climbing my clothing.

I swallowed hard and felt Martin’s hand land on my shoulder, squeezing tight. “I hate to agree with Henry, but in this case, I find he is probably correct,” Martin said.

When I glanced Keir’s direction, his fingers were tightly fisted, legs spread wide in a protective manner.

“I really hope you’re right about this barrier,” Henry said, this time even louder. “I’ve got a feelin’ we’re gonna be testin’ it out real soon.”

I don’t think any of us had a rebuttal. I’d really hoped this would go well. Now that it wasn’t, I realized how much I’d counted on the eggs giving us a favorable review. I was on the verge of resigning myself to a life lived in and around the Magical Usage Compound when Martin’s hushed “wait” and near painful squeeze on my shoulder halted my spiraling thoughts.

“Look.” Martin nudged his head in Thalia’s direction. Was that…was that a smile? Holy shit, it was.

“She’s smiling.” My voice carried as much awe as my brain felt. And she wasn’t just smiling. She was grinning, nearly ear to ear.

I wasn’t certain when Tabitha and Jima had moved closer. Most likely it was the same moment Henry clambered up my body unnoticed. “She appears pleased,” Tabitha hummed. “Very pleased.”

“Fuck me, she just giggled.” Henry sounded just as flabbergasted as I felt.

“That has to be good, right?” Jima asked.

“I’d think so” was all I could think to answer. When I took another look at Keir, it was easy to see he thought so also. His posture was so relaxed it looked like the slightest wind might knock him over. Lazarus managed to crawl closer, his heavy snout nudging Keir in the side and taking a large portion of the gryphon’s weight.

Seconds ticked to minutes, all of us holding our collective breaths. Finally, Thalia’s eyes opened, a soft, pleased grin still tilting her lips. “Well, it would seem our tiny wyvern have certainly been through a lot. Some of it terribly unpleasant.” Frigid cold infused those last few words. “I am uncertain if I am pleased Tenzen Huxley has already been dealt with or disappointed that I do not have the opportunity to do so personally.”

Martin grunted. “I believe you are not alone in that belief.” Not alone was a bit of an understatement. In fact, if Huxley was still around, I figured Thalia would have to get in line to dole out punishment.

Thalia gave a noncommittal hum before turning her attention to Keir and Lazarus. The grin slipped from her face as she walked forward, slipping through the barrier with ease. I don’t think I was the only one that nearly choked on their spit.

Stopping beside the eggs, Thalia took a moment to look down on them, a briefly fond smile easing her features before she schooled her expression. “It would seem our young wyvern are quite fond of you, Mr. Keir.”

Keir’s cheeks flushed. “Since their discovery, I’ve done my best to keep them warm and safe.”

Thalia nodded once. “And your efforts have been appreciated. So much so that I fear taking the infantile wyvern away would do more harm than good.”

I think Lazarus’s support was the only thing holding Keir up. “Wh-what? I mean…they should be with other wyvern. I’m not⁠—”

“And they will be,” Thalia answered, her gaze shifting down and to Keir’s right. “Their uncle shall be staying as well.”

“Uncle?” Several voices shouted at once; every pair of eyes focused on Lazarus. Lazarus’s crimson gaze slanted away from us. I wasn’t certain what that indicated beyond unease.

Keir wasn’t having it. Pulling away from Lazarus, he crouched until he was eye level. “The eggs’ mother, the wyvern Verona killed, was your sister?” Lazarus gave the slightest nod. “Why didn’t you tell us?” Keir glanced back at Thalia. “Lazarus told us that the eggs most likely belonged to a wyvern female Verona murdered, and that the eggs were lost and presumed destroyed. He said Verona was exiled from Europe to South America and that he was sent to monitor her activities. He never said the one who was murdered was a relative, let alone his sister.”

“Vidia’s loss was very difficult on Lazarus. He wasn’t so much chosen to follow Verona, but volunteered,” Thalia answered with a well of empathy. Keeping one hand on her cane, Thalia raised the other and waved it in the air around her. “I can see no safer place for her offspring. They will be well protected here and well nurtured. Wyvern do not have much of a hold within the Western Hemisphere. Perhaps it is time to change that. Vidia’s offspring seem the perfect choice. And if later, when they are older, they wish to return to Europe, then they shall be welcomed with open arms.”

“Hot damn. I did not expect that,” Henry stated.

“Me either,” I agreed.

Keir didn’t look so certain. “It’s not right to make Lazarus stay, not when he no longer has to keep a watchful eye on Verona. He should be able to move back to his home and⁠—”

Lazarus huffed out a dark black cloud of smoke, his crimson gaze narrowed.

“I believe Lazarus has spoken,” Thalia confidently said.