Draconia Offline vol. 2

100.1. Reconciliation - Part 1

I want to quickly get up and assure Erik and Gotrid that it's silly to feel jealous of my cousins, but I trip over my robe and fall right onto Advin's lap. Advin is so surprised that it takes him a while to react and we resist a telepathic connection only by both of us mustering all our willpower. I feel my partners getting angrier with each passing second.

Before I manage to collect myself, they jump to me and pull me up. I gasp for breath when their emotions intensify upon direct touch. The last time I experienced Erik this jealous was when Gotrid appeared at the New York conference and was openly flirting with me. Frankly, I don't understand how that is comparable to socialising with my biological family.

"T-too much," I push them away because their emotions make me nauseous. "Erik, Gotrid, calm down! There's no reason to feel this way."

"Isn't there?" Gotrid clicks his tongue. "Nobody should be allowed to touch your wings in such a way except for us. It's our privilege and ours only!"

I'm staring at them, dumbfounded. If they got jealous that another man petted my wings with ulterior motives, I would understand their jealousy. However, Advin and Nala are my cousins—my blood relatives.

"Gotrid, Erik," I take their hands, trying to withstand their intense emotions. "What is this really about? I haven't done anything wrong."

Their anger slowly transforms into guilt. They finally realised that they snapped at me without a valid reason except for their own insecurity. Now they feel embarrassed about it.

"Sorry," Erik is too ashamed to meet my eyes. "It's just... you looked so content in the company of your cousins."

"We got jelly," Gotrid admits, chewing his lip.

I can't be angry at them. They overreacted because they felt threatened by my cousins. They are afraid that I might start preferring the Divementis, but that's just impossible. I'm probably slowly and inevitably falling in love with the Divementis, but I'll never start preferring them. I'm just as Celestial as I am Divementis.

"Let's sit together," I pull my husbands down on the cushions. I spread my wings and hug them.

Nala and Advin are giving my husbands unsure looks, but they stay seated. Erik and Gotrid are my bonded partners which means that my cousins should feel drawn to them whether they like it or not. Advin is frowning, but I can tell he's open to accepting my partners in the end.

"I'll say it once and for all—I won't allow any jealousy or rivalry between you four," I state clearly.

"B-but, love, we're your...," Gotrid wants to protest so I clutch his hand.

"Naturally, you're my partners so you'll always be my absolute priority," I assure him. "However, that doesn't mean I won't want to spend time with my cousins as well. Erik, Gotrid, don't you understand? I finally found my biological family. With my grandma dead, I thought that I didn't have any left."

"We do understand," Erik answers slowly. "It's just... we have so little time for each other as it is and your attention is going to be even more divided from now on."

"It's only temporary," I claim vehemently. "Hopefully, if we win the war, we will have centuries to spend together. Erik, your goal right now is to transform as quickly as possible so that we have those centuries ahead of us."

"I know," he sighs resignedly and looks at Nala. "I'll be in your care then."

I smile at him encouragingly and lean for a kiss. As expected, Advin is embarrassed seeing us kissing right in front of him, but I don't feel anything coming from Nala. She must be used to public displays of intimacy from those Korean TV shows she likes so much. I kiss Gotrid as well because I can sense that our private morning is coming to an end.