The Dragon King’s Baby

“What about Poppy and Jeanne?” She looked at her friends, who were as wide-eyed as she was.

“I will escort them to the castle,” Conall replied proudly.

“You mean they’ll ride on you?”

“If they like. Or we can ride in a vehicle,” Conall explained. “But I hope they want to fly!”

Addie laughed a little as she reached her husband’s side. He bent his massive neck and nuzzled her gently with his snout. She reached up and ran one hand along his snout, and he let out a sigh of contentment. She smiled at him but gave him a warning. “We’re going to talk about this little surprise when you are human again.”

Seathan made the dragon equivalent of a snicker. He nudged her again, a little harder, and the crowd laughed happily.

She looked back at Conall. “How do I climb on?” Seathan’s dragon hands wrapped around her waist and lifted her to his shoulder, where he plopped her down like a parrot on a pirate. She held fast to one of the spikes on his head. Seathan laid down so that his back was flat.

“Crawl to his back and find the area just above where his wings grow on his back. That’s the most comfortable spot for a human rider,” Conall called to her.

Wide-eyed, Addie crawled across his back as gracefully as she could, gripping his scales so tightly she feared she might hurt him. When she’d found the spot, Seathan lifted to a standing position and waited for her to settle. She made a thumbs up gesture at Conall, who signaled Seathan.

The wind from his wings battered the tarmac, blowing everyone’s hair in all directions. Addie felt the muscles under her butt bunch and release as they lifted into the air smoothly. The wings caused loud flapping sounds as Seathan continued his ascent, but once they reached the height he desired, they began to soar.

Addie clung to his back for dear life, and a few times, when he would dip unexpectedly, she would let out a little screech. He bellowed his dragon roar, a freight train five feet from her ears, and she heard answering bellows from behind. She turned only her head, never releasing her grip on the spikes. Dozens of dragons, in a myriad of colors, followed their king in a formation much like geese on the way south for the winter. They dipped and dove and danced in the air, unlike Seathan, who flew steadily straight out of respect for his passenger.

A dragon, gray and green, flew next to them with two passengers clinging to his back. Addie guessed Conall had talked Poppy and Jeanne into riding. She cautiously lifted a hand to briefly wave, then put it right back where it had been. Jeanne didn’t move her hands at all, but Poppy waved enthusiastically from the back of the dragon. She is positively fearless! Addie thought with a smile.

A sudden dip in the flight pattern jerked Addie’s attention to the front again. Nothing. She looked down and watched as the land moved quickly underneath them. She was too high to see many details, but the land was so much more country than her kingdom, where the streets were all paved and everyone lived, worked, and played in skyscrapers. Here, the land was dotted with farm land and small cottages. She’d read that Wyvern was a much more rural land, in fact, the most rural land in the world, but she’d never been there to see it for herself.

Wyvern was so different from Lomena already, and she felt the stirring of homesickness in the pit of her belly along with the nerves that had yet to dissipate. The castle had been in view since they’d taken flight, although Seathan had not followed a direct path to it; he’d flown in wide arcs, and she would have to ask him why later. As the castle loomed closer, obviously the biggest building in the kingdom, Addie tensed up. She would be meeting her in-laws in just a few minutes. I hope my hair isn’t a total disaster after this flight of dragons, she grumbled to herself.

Seathan began his descent, adjusting slowly so that Addie had time to adjust her seat. He roared on their approach; several other dragons roared but began to separate from the formation they’d created. Only one remained to follow them into the courtyard of the castle, Conall with Poppy and Jeanne on his back. Seathan’s feet touched the ground gently, barely jolting Addie. Poppy and Jeanne were not so lucky; a cloud of dust kicked up under Conall’s feet and both women screeched.

The courtyard was massively huge, stretching for more than a hundred yards in each direction. The castle also looked a lot bigger now that they were so close to it. People had been wandering about when they’d begun their descent, but just like at the airport, they gathered to welcome back their king. At one end of the courtyard, Addie had seen as they descended, was a lovely garden filled with flowers, bushes, and trees. She couldn’t wait for a walk there.

The door to the castle was massive and wooden, open to let fresh air in on the lovely day. Standing in the doorway were three people, dressed just a little nicer than the people in the courtyard as if this were a special day for them. Addie realized these people must be Seathan’s family. Her stress level jumped. She looked around, hoping someone would come over to help her get off Seathan’s back. Seathan again knelt close to the ground to help Addie get off more easily, and a man stepped forward to help her. He raised his hand to her and she slid off without making a fool of herself, as she’d been fearing.

Jeanne and Poppy had also been assisted in getting off Conall and were walking towards her. She moved to them, patting her hair and adjusting her clothes.

“Do I look ok? My hair must be a disaster,” she said as they reached her. Jeanne’s hair was a mess, so she assumed hers must be too. Poppy looked as beautiful as ever.

“Don’t worry, I can fix your hair in a jiffy,” Poppy said. She flew up around Addie’s head and ran her hands over her hair. A little puff of air escaped her palms, and Addie’s hair was stylishly coiffed once again. “Jeanne, your turn.”

While she fixed Jeanne’s, Addie said, “Thanks, Poppy. I don’t want to look bad when I meet Seathan’s parents.”

“You’ll be enchanting, as always,” Seathan said from behind her. Addie and her friends turned simultaneously and gasped when they saw Seathan and Conall, who was standing next to him.

“Why are you naked?” Addie gasped, her hand over her mouth. Jeanne was looking in any direction but the two men, while Poppy stared blatantly at them.

Seathan and Conall laughed together. “I’m sorry, Addie,” Seathan apologized with a smirk. “I should have warned you about that. You didn’t see my clothes shred and fly off?”

Addie thought about the scene at the airport; she had noticed his clothes flying off but hadn’t really thought about what it would mean. She’d been awed by the sight of her husband as a dragon and nervous about the fact that she would have to ride him, and not in the s*xual way. The fact that his clothes had disappeared had been the last thing on her mind.

She cleared her throat and looked away nervously. “I guess I didn’t think about it. And now you’re standing here naked for everyone to see.”

Seathan chuckle again as he shrugged into a robe held aloft by a servant. Conall was also helped into a robe. Seathan wrapped his arm around his wife’s waist and smiled a sexy smile at her. “What’s wrong, babe? Jealous?”

Addie smiled back warily. “Um, yeah, I guess. I mean, I bragged about your girth to my friends, but that doesn’t mean I want them to see it firsthand.”