185: Sweet Reunion

185: Sweet Reunion

\[Carnelia\]

The halls of Thalan's home in Elfholm are gilded with glowing blue writing, creating knotted vines and blooming jasmine in delicately applied ink. Between the knotwork are stylistically rendered scenes that do not look much different from the pages of the book about Carnelia the Great.

I reach out a hand but stop short of touching. They are so beautiful and intricate, the paint so vibrant that it looks freshly applied. "How often do you repaint these," I wonder aloud, curious to know how long it might take to create something so fine.

"Maybe once a century," he smiles, "The starstone we crush into the paint keeps it from fading. It also helps that these walls never see sunlight." His words confirm what I already suspected. One of the reasons nobody can find Elfholm is that it doesn't exist on the surface.

"We do have a few waystations above ground, but we prefer to be as close as we can to our sacred crystal. For all other creatures, starstone is exceptionally toxic and will kill you with too much exposure, especially if you walk around unprotected," he points at my robes of glimmer cloth and press my hands on them, pressing their folds against my flesh in gratitude. "We Moon Dragons, like the other creatures you see here, evolved closely with the crystal itself. We help nurture its growing spaces, and in turn, it gives us energy and insight into the void itself."

"My father was part Moon Dragon, did he also have this immunity?" I wonder aloud, curious to know if I might have inherited that trait from him.

"He was also a shadow drake," Thalan reminds me. "So while he did have some tolerance, he couldn't stay here for very long without some protection. It made him stand out from the others--which is why he was so eager to ally with the surface. When he met your mother and they connected as mates, it was the perfect solution."

Thalan leads me into a room with impossibly tall ceilings from which long tendrils of glimmer cloth shield those below from the brightly glowing crystals, dampening their glare to a gentle hum, casting everything in a pale blue light.

In the center of the room is a bed, and on that bed is Ona.

I was expecting to see her corpse. It was the sight of her dying that cast the nightmare from my mind into the world. It was thinking about a world without her that made me want to burn everything down.

I wasn't expecting to find her breathing. If Thalan hadn't been there to contain my disaster, what damage could I have caused?

Thalan catches my eye and nods when he sees that I've come to the same realization that he did long ago. I can't be allowed to walk around freely with so much power at my fingertips, ready to break free whenever I am grieving or feeling lost. It looks like I brought more home with me when returning from the dream realm than just a new outlook on life--I now hold a power that no other dragon should possess.

Tapping his lips twice with his fingertip I receive his message. We will talk later. For now, tell no one.

When we enter the room, Ona is deep in conversation with Daax using a glass tablet. I try not to overhear their conversation, but I soon hear more than I want when Daax says "Kora's palace was destroyed along with the eastern edge of Undersea."

Shocked at the news, I gasp unknowingly. Ona snaps her head around and smiles when she sees me. "Little Sister! You're finally awake! I was afraid you'd sleep forever."

Racing to her side, we embrace as if we've been separated for years instead of days. "I thought you were dead." I weep into her shoulder. "Ona, I thought you were gone."

"You foolish, foolish child," she teases me as she pats my back. "Do you really think that I'd die so easily? I'm a bit insulted. You know, I was once gutted like a fish by a..."

As Ona regales me with a story of her times at sea, I thank all the gods that I am here with her right now, knowing that she is alive and healing. If she's strong enough to share pirate stories and make dirty jokes, she's going to be just fine.

"She won't be well enough to move, not for a while yet," Thalan reminds me as we leave Ona to rest. "But it won't be safe for her to stay longer than a month or two. Exposure to the stones in short bursts accelerates healing, but for extended periods can lead to long-term damage."

"Where are the babies?" My mind flashes to my children. I had been in the dream world for so long, and then thrust right back as soon as my mind was lost to nightmares, that I don't think I've had a chance to see my younglings in weeks.

"They are here and they are safe," he smiles. "I've been visiting them every day. The starstone has remarkable benefits for their health. I can't be certain, but I think because you are a universal dragon, your children have developed an ability to adapt to their surroundings as well. It's as if they are all moon dragons in addition to whatever other natural gifts they've received."

My babies had been sick for so long that I hadn't had a chance to discover their true gifts. Unlike Oestre who knew her children's lineage upon hatching, with my children, their abilities are a bit more ambiguous.

The Elf King guides me to the nursery where I'm greeted with another surprise.

"Primus."

He is sitting on the floor surrounded by our children, who are cuddled up next to him as he reads them a book. A few of them swish little tails back and forth in pleasure as they sit on their father in mostly human form, their little horns protruding from their bright blonde curls. In the time I've been away, they've all grown impressively plump and rosy-cheeked their eyes bright with intelligence.

"Look, younglings, your mother is awake," Primus grins and they all turn their heads towards me. As recognition dawns in their swirling eyes, they hop up from the ground and race to my side. "Mama!" I hear them say for the first time and my heart melts into a puddle at my feet. Falling to the ground, I open my arms wide and plant as many kisses as I can on their tiny brows.

"I hope you've all been good for your father," I coo as I lift them into my lap as best as I can. Eight babies is alot to manage when you only have two arms, two wings, two legs, and a single tail.

Primus chuckles silently, his eyes dancing in the dim blue light as he watches me try to embrace them all. Eventually, he takes pity on me and begins hefting the younglings one at a time, placing one on his shoulders and one on each hip, leaving five of our little terrors to pull on my limbs and clothing.

One of the little ones, with pale skin and eyes as dark as coal, swings from my tail. Thalan picks him up and asks, "Do any of them have names yet? Primus didn't know."

"I didn't want to name them without my mate," I answer truthfully. I knew. Looking up at him, seeing him with our children, I'm glad I waited.

"Do you two think you'll get to it soon?" he puts my son on his shoulders so he can play with the flowers growing along his brow. "I've begun making a list of the powers I've observed during my time with them, and it would be easier to make a report to you if I had a name to use."

I snort. "Well, I did give them all nicknames," I concede. "That little one there is one of the twins. His egg mate is that little drakaina bouncing on her daddy's hip. I had laid them in separate eggs, but somehow, when it came time to hatch them, they were curled up together in one egg. The other egg was hollow. At first, we thought maybe I had laid a blank, but then we could see evidence that she had been in that egg before."

I can see the wheels turning in his head. "It's very rare even amongst full-blooded moon dragons to have babies able to phase that early."

Those words hit me like a stone of ice, chilling my blood. My children might be even more powerful than I am.

Placing a hand on my back, Thalan turns to leave but before he goes he requests that I meet him for dinner to discuss "very important issues."

"Enjoy your family time, niece," he advises as he closes the door gently. "The world will wait."