The Dragon's Kingdom

Dream a Dream of Me

It didn't take long for my brothers to find me. I hadn't expected them to come as quickly as they did, but my chest warmed when they stormed into the bathing chamber. Fia and Aslin trailed behind them, their faces scrunched up with concern. Thankfully I hadn't changed yet, too busy scrubbing my blood off my hands.

"What happened?" Azrael snarled, his eyes flicking around the room as if a threat was lurking in the shadows.

"I went to visit mom," I held up a slowly healing foot, "Without shoes."

"You went alone?" Killian crossed his arms, glaring down at me.

"No," I rolled my eyes, the warmth at their concern quickly souring with my annoyance, "I asked Casi to come with me."

Killian's scowl grew deeper at that, while Aslin and Az relaxed. My brother leaned toward Killian, whispering in something in his ear that had him relaxing as well.

"Wear shoes next time," He scolded before turning on his heel and stomping out of the room.

A sleepy Aslin placed her hand on Az's back, "Goodnight, Maeve."

"Night," I called to their retreating backs. That left only Fia. My little sister. "I told Knox."

"And?" She closed the door to the bathing room, grabbing a damp cloth and gently dabbing at the bottom of my foot.

"He grunted," I paused for dramatic effect, "And then just walked out."

Her eyes widened, and I quickly gave her the run down over what had happened. How he had seemed annoyed to see me, and then playful then back to annoyed. She winced when I got to the part where I told him I didn't want to have more than one male.

"Maeve," She groaned, closing her eyes before looking back at me, "You didn't actually say that."

"He was being so quiet!" I protested, wincing when my voice echoed around the room. "I didn't want him to think that I...wanted him when he clearly doesn't feel the same."

Fia shook her head again, pushing my foot off of her lap, "I'm going to bed. Good luck with this one."

"I don't need luck," I grumbled, watching her slip out of the room.

I shrugged out of my shirt, tossing it to the side. My pants were going to be trickier. I twisted, rolling to my stomach and rising to my knees. Tugging off the wet fabric, cold air met hot skin, goosebumps spreading like a wildfire across me. I fell back onto my ass, finally freeing my legs.

I took a moment to just lie there, my body already beginning to ache after so much movement. The shifting hadn't helped either. I should really have been trying to shift more often. Exhaustion slowly sank in. The warmth of my siblings concern fading and leaving me cold and empty.

I let my eyes drift shut, still splayed out on the floor. The minutes slipped by as I lacked the energy to move. I should get up, get cleaned and go to bed, but I was so tired...

"What are you doing?" Knox grumbled, tilting back his head so he was gazing at the ceiling instead of me.

"I got tired," I mumbled, shifting against the cool stone.

My eyes closed again, but the sound of footsteps kept me from sinking back into sleep. Knox was grumbling something to himself in another language. His voice came closer before fading again. A soothing lull that would have had me fully asleep if it weren't for the heat that had started pooling low in my belly.

"Maeve," He grumbled, large arms scooping me up and pressing me against his chest.

He let out a hiss when my frozen fingers pressed against the bare skin of his chest. Those flaming eyes glared down at me, but I paid them no mind. Nuzzling into soft skin, his warmth wrapping around me pleasantly. A pleased rumble rattled out of his chest, but it was quickly cut off.