Dragons Don't Cry (10 page)

A loud groan from Acasia, who was burrowed
beneath me, had me opening my eyes to bright light pouring into the
room.

“Oh, this is not good. Can the sun go
away?”

“You are hung over, female.” I moved over a
little so she could breathe better.

“Please do not remind me. I was fine while
the other women were here.”

It took me a moment to answer because I had
to bite my lip. “I think you continued after the others left. Their
beastkind metabolism also helps them handle alcohol better than a
human.”

Another loud groan. “I’m never drinking
again.”

“From what I’ve seen, it’s probably
wise.”

“Can I stay in bed all day?” she
whispered.

I gave her a gentle squeeze. “No. We must
return home and we need to pick up a package first.”

“If I wasn’t so sick, I would beg to know if
it’s a surprise for me.”

“We should talk about it first, but no it’s
not for you.” I had no way of knowing how she would react, but I
was betting it wouldn’t be good.

“I need to get in the bath so I can die
first please.”

A chuckle escaped me. “I’ll have food
waiting.”

She slapped my chest. “No, no food. If I
make it out of the bath alive, I know food will most definitely
kill me.”

She wobbled to the bathroom, her naked body
giving me ideas that I could do nothing about. I ordered enough
food for two dragons. She would eat. The food arrived and she
walked out wrapped in a fluffy bathing robe, her wet hair combed
and pushed behind her ears. I squirmed in my chair, thankful the
table covered my hard cock.

“Sit down and drink this. You’ll feel
better.” Our realm didn’t have coffee, so I doctored her cup with
sugar.

She willingly sat and took a small sip. A
series of emotions played across her face; finally she asked, “What
is it?”

“Coffee. I have tea here for you too, but
coffee seems to help with a hangover for some strange reason.”

“I think I like it.”

I put a few pills in front of her along with
a glass of water. “Take these with the water and they’ll help
too.”

“Is this realm made for hangovers?”

She always made me laugh. “It does have its
advantages.”

“Do you ever drink too much?”

The question startled me and sadness broke
into my thoughts. “Not often.” I’d spent years drunk after the
death of my last bride.

Acasia took the pills then opened the dome
over her plate. She took another drink of coffee and a few bites of
food. I needed to broach the subject of why we were in this
realm.

“The package we need to pick up is an infant
child.” It probably wasn’t best to just spit it out, but I wasn’t
known for my tact.

She swallowed, looking at me with her large
eyes. “As in crying, wet diapers, drinks milk infant?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“It’s unhealthy and will live in my
realm.”

It only took a few seconds before she
exploded. “As a slave!”

I tried to take her hand, but she moved hers
away and placed them in her lap. “If we do nothing, the child will
die.”

“So the parents want their child to live
even at the cost of its freedom?” Her breathing had increased. She
turned away.

“You have no understanding of the humans who
live in my realm. They gladly serve me. They raise these children
and are happy to have them. This baby’s new parents will love and
cherish him.”

“And he will never know his true parents… oh
wait. He will see them once every ten years. As a child and then an
adult, but he won’t ever really know them. Just a few visits until
they die. You are heartless.”

I ignored her last jibe. “If he stays in
this realm for very long, his illness will return. It is the way of
the magic from my realm. His parents grant him life at a great
sacrifice. They love him enough to give him away.”

She faced me, her eyes piercing. “You take
advantage and sit on your throne commanding people to take care of
your every whim. People who cannot even speak due to their
sacrifice. You have no idea of the mental anguish these parents
must feel. You’ve never had a child.”

Her words hurt and I knew it was what she
aimed for. I placed my napkin on the table. “We will leave in one
hour. Be ready.” I stood and walked from the suite. I didn’t make
the rules. I couldn’t imagine giving up my child the way humans
did, but it hurt more because I would never have one. I needed a
true dragon mate to produce a child. Acasia would die as my other
brides had. I would drink myself into oblivion and wander the skies
like Laryn until it was time to choose my next bride. I would pick
up children, break their parents’ hearts, and rule from my throne.
The fact I didn’t have a throne made no difference. I ruled my
territory and protected what was mine. The humans served me and
enjoyed doing it.

***

Acasia

The nerve. I tossed clothes and other items
into my bag. I loved the damn dragon, but he made me so angry. How
dare he bring me here to help him abduct a child? It didn’t matter
that the child’s parents freely gave him away. They didn’t have a
choice. My anger pulsed to the tune in my throbbing head, the
leftover remnants of drinking too much.

I heard the door to the suite open. I picked
up the bag and walked from the room without a backwards glance. I
didn’t ever plan to return to earth’s realm.

Bastian took the bag from me. “The car
waits. We need to go.”

I followed, but with each step, my
trepidation grew. The drive seemed to take no time at all. We
stopped in front of a small home. Bastian took my hand and helped
me from the vehicle then dropped it as soon as I stood
straight.

“You can make this easier or harder for
them.” His eyes pierced me.

I glared back. He turned without another
word and walked up to the front door. A woman answered, her face
tearstained. She held the door for us. A large crib with a clear
film covering it, along with beeping machines, took up a large part
of the front room. A man stood by the crib, his hand under the film
resting on the baby within.

I looked back to the woman.

Her lips trembled and her hands shook. “We
brought him home from the hospital to die. No one stopped us.”

“He will live a long, healthy life with no
pain. His childhood will be full of love,” Bastian said softly.

“Thank you.” The woman looked at me. “Will
you care for him?”

I didn’t know what to say. I took a quick
breath because I couldn’t lie. “I will care for him until his new
guardians take over.”

The woman walked across the room and picked
up a small brown teddy bear. “This belonged to me as a child and it
comforts him. I know he’s young, but he stops crying if I sing and
cuddle him with it.”

What could I say? No one will ever sing to
your child because earth humans in the dragon’s realm have no
voice? Now I was going to cry, and Bastian was right, I could help
or make this harder.

“I will be sure he has it.”

The man walked closer and placed an arm
around his wife’s shoulders. “Say goodbye.”

The woman turned in his arms and cried,
holding on tightly. She finally released him and walked over to her
child. “What do you need to keep him comfortable?” She looked at
Bastian with such strength.

“A small tank of oxygen and a small bag with
diapers and wipes will suffice,” he replied gently.

After adjusting a clear tube around the
infant’s head, she lifted him from the crib. He was incredibly
small and barely moved. He was dying, and I wondered if I could do
as this woman under the same circumstances. I didn’t think I was
this strong. She reverently kissed his head and gave him a very
slight squeeze before handing him to me.

“His name is Jonathan.” It was all she could
say. She threw herself back into her husband’s arms and sobbed.

Bastian lay his hand on my shoulder, adding
pressure to get me walking. He picked up a small metal cylinder
that attached to the clear hose connected to the baby’s head. “We
must hurry, there is not much time.”

I walked out, tears streaming down my face.
I wanted my mother, her arms around me singing a lullaby, holding
me tightly. The baby’s body shuddered and I looked at Bastian.

“We must hurry.”

I believed him.

Chapter Sixteen

Acasia

I walked faster and climbed into the back of
the car refusing to hand the child to Bastian. Twenty minutes
later, we boarded a plane and about two hours later, entered
another vehicle. Brunya was again our driver and took us to the
realm divide. My eyes had rarely left the child’s face. His
breathing was shallow with fewer breaths than only an hour before.
There was now a blue tinge around his small lips.

Brunya opened my door before Bastian walked
around. I watched him approach.

“Could crossing the realms kill him?” These
were the first words I’d spoken to Bastian since leaving the baby’s
home.

“It’s never happened, but I fear a delay.
Turn around and hold him tightly.” Bastian removed the tubing and
handed the cylinder to Brunya. His arms wrapped around mine and
like when we entered this realm, his feet walked me forward. I knew
what to expect this time, and it wasn’t as bad. The child jerked in
my arms before its body stiffened. Dread filled me and then we were
through. Jonathan’s cries surrounded us. He drew air into his lungs
and belted out another round of baby screams.

His trembling lower lip reminded me of his
mother. I didn’t even know their names. Sadness swamped me again.
Then, a heaviness in the air pushed against my skin. As quickly as
the crying started, it stopped. Jonathan looked up at me with large
brown eyes and didn’t make another sound. I looked at Bastian.

“The magic. He will not make another
noise.”

Noise! The child’s cry was not noise. I
looked back down. The child gazed around, and despite his small
body, I think he was older than I first suspected. I would love to
know his age, but that would mean speaking to Bastian, and I
decided I would remain quiet.

Bastian pulled a small square box-like
object from his pocket and pointed it at the child. He then touched
Jonathan’s nose and quickly pulled his finger back. Jonathan’s lips
tilted up in a smile that grew until his gums and two small bottom
teeth showed. Bastian pressed a button on the box.

“I will be back in a few minutes. Time works
differently here than it does in the earth realm, so don’t worry. I
just need to give this to Brunya.”

I was dying to ask what it was, but refused
to speak. The child continued to look around after Bastian
disappeared. I did the nose thing with my finger and got the same
smiling response. Even without a voice, Jonathan could communicate
that he felt good and was happy. He was no longer dying.

It was at least an hour later when Bastian
walked back through the realm divide. He nodded to me before
picking up the saddle we’d left behind. He pulled the leather
straps over his shoulders, moved away, and shifted. Watching it
happen didn’t give me the usual thrill. I was still upset and
confused. After I tightened the straps awkwardly with one hand, I
carefully climbed onto Bastian’s back holding a now wiggling
Jonathan in my arms.

“Hold on. He’s hungry, and I shall fly fast
so we can give him to his new parents so that they may care
properly for him.”

Bastian’s statement made me angrier. He
didn’t think I could care for a child, and the ache in my heart
intensified. I’d never asked Bastian why he didn’t have children
and suddenly, more than anything, I wanted a baby.

I held Jonathan in one arm and the pommel
tightly with my other hand. The strain to my arm and shoulder
turned to a burn by the time we reached the lair, but I was too
afraid to change Jonathan to my other arm with us so high in the
air.

We landed on the platform outside Bastian’s
room. I dismounted, and a few seconds later Bastian shifted and put
his hands out for the child. I turned and entered the double doors,
walking quickly away. An older human waited in the library.

“It is time, Acasia. Maxwell will take the
child to his new parents.”

My eyes watered, and I fought to hold the
tears back. Maxwell nodded at me, and put out his arms as he came
closer. Slowly, I released Jonathan. The baby blinked and reached
his small hand up to Maxwell’s face. His cranky old face softened
and he smiled at the child. I could take no more and turned to my
room, walking swiftly and closing the door behind me.

The tears fell.

I don’t know how much time passed before
Bastian entered my room through the closet.

“We are going for a ride. Please dress
comfortably.”

I didn’t say anything, remaining in my tight
ball, my knees pulled to my chest. The bed dipped and Bastian
grabbed my shoulders and rolled me his direction.

“I will carry you out of here. This is not a
request.”

If my eyes could spit fire, in this moment I
would incinerate Bastian. “No.”

He moved quicker than I expected; I was in
his naked arms with him striding to his room before I could take
another breath. He carried me out the double doors to the edge of
the perch and tossed me over. My arms and legs flailed as I
screamed.

He scooped me into his large talons within
seconds. It was an uncomfortable way to travel, and killing him the
next time he slept was a real possibility. I relaxed my body and
stopped fighting. Bastian wasn’t speaking and neither was I.

He swooped down until I could see the blue
water of a large lake. He’d brought me here before. His talons
released me when we were about five feet above the water, leaving
me no time to even take a breath. I came up sputtering, moving my
plastered wet hair from my face. Bastian turned around and headed
back. He made a nosedive and at the last possible moment shifted to
human form before entering the water. If I wasn’t so angry, I would
appreciate the show. I dove under and propelled myself away from
where he entered.