Dragon

Chapter 20

Click.

Jaimin peered down the tunnel, seeing nothing in the darkness beyond the dim circle of light. He'd woken what seemed like hours ago to the dull tap echoing from somewhere far away. It sounded closer now, each pause punctuated by a dragging hiss.

Maay slept on, curled against him and oblivious to the strange noise. Careful not to disturb her, he stretched out his neck and breathed new life into the lantern's dull heart. Against the darkness, the light seemed to solidify as it brightened more of the tunnel.

Something sat on the edge of the light. Too large to be anything but a dragon. Not pale enough to be Teero or anyone of pure mountain stock. Karoan? The longer he stared, the more certain he became of the blue-grey hide.

"What have you done?" Jaimin couldn't mistake that voice, overpowering in its sternness and carrying a strong whiff of disapproval.

Ah, old friend, I should've known you would find me. He chuckled. "After all those hatchlings you sired, I would have thought you'd already know."

"You –" He growled. "And in the middle of a tunnel." Karoan took a step forward, the light just strong enough to reveal a muzzle wrinkled in disgust. "What, you couldn't wait a few more seconds until she was in one of the chambers?" He shook his head with a snort. "Does she at least live?"

Jaimin dipped his head to nuzzle Maay's sleeping form, grinning at the elder when his gentle touch caused her tail to wriggle. The feathery fan on the tip snapped open to lie across her face. "She's fine."

Karoan snorted again. "This time."

He frowned, recalling the previous night in full. The image of her pressed under him. The fear in her eyes. Had he not all but crushed her? "The odds will only improve as I get better at it." After all, it'd been his first time. He hadn't been able to control the molten bliss that had seared through his veins. He'd waited forty-five years to feel it, to spill his seed into a female who was not only willing, but who cared for him. Given a few seasons, providing Maay was still agreeable, he'd be of no threat to her.

"What?" Karoan jerked back. "Surely you cannot be thinking of taking her as a life mate."

Jaimin got to his feet, circling Maay's sleeping form to stand before the elder. "Why not?"

"And settle for siring one egg a year? If you're lucky."

"I don't care," he said, hoping Karoan believed it more than he did. One egg from each mating. And not necessarily a hatchling from each egg. It hadn't occurred to him last night. "I love her." It didn't matter how many children they had if it meant they could be together. He would not let it matter.

"You'll be wasting your entire bloodline if you do this."

His gaze wandered to the tunnel walls. Bar the recent soot on the ceiling, this place bore none of the scars marring Mountain Hall. A single lair, minor though it was, abandoned due to their decline. "We have plenty of males." Even with the return of their females, the Great Tree faced a similar fate. Will Mountain Hall follow? Dozens of clanlines had already fallen, whether due to death or dilution of the bloodline itself. The world certainly wouldn't notice if his clan teetered on the edge of obscurity.

"Jaimin –"

"Is it not against custom to approach a freshly mated pair?" He'd vague memories of being taught something along those lines by one of his many elder brothers after barging in on them with their mate. "How did you know, anyhow?" Even he hadn't been aware of Maay's intentions until last night.