“Good grief, Matera! I’m almost thirty years old. I’m the last of my friends who hasn’t had a lover yet. And if that’s what concerns you, then you need to talk to your son about where he’s been planting that shorter front tail lately.”
Growling, Hadyn had rushed at his sister, but Sera had caught him. “Stop! Both of you! And just who have you been courting, young man?”
Before he could answer, Edena spoke for him. “Wouldn’t call it courting.”
He’d gaped at her.
“Hadyn? Look at me and answer my question. Why didn’t you tell me?”
He’d lifted his chin defiantly. “It’s not a discussion a man wants to have with his mother.”
“And it’s not his fault. They crawl all over him whenever you leave us.”
“Is this true?”
He’d nodded bashfully. “They say that my father had incredible stamina because he was a dragon and they want to know if I take after him.”
Horrified, she’d stared at her son. “And you allow them to test you?”
Unabashed, he’d grinned at her. “Every chance I get.”
“You are so grounded. Go on and stand over there, and bleed.”
“What?”
“I mean it, Hadyn. Go over there before I do you more harm.”
Pouting, he obeyed.
She turned back to her daughter. “All right, Deenie. Your turn.”
Edena moved back and shook her arms out to her sides. With a deep breath for courage, she changed forms and immediately smacked her head into the ceiling. “Ow!”
“Hah!” Hadyn had teased in his deep, raspy voice. “Told you!”
“Hush, Hadyn. Or I’ll step on you.”
“Like to see you try.”
Seraphina growled at them. Why did they always have to fight, all the time? It made no sense to her and she wanted to choke them both. “Kids, stop!”
Satisfied they were quelled for a minute, she walked to Edena. “How do you feel?”
“Hadyn was right. It’s strange. Did you feel like this the first time you changed?”
Sera had smiled at the question. “Want to know a secret?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ve never shifted.”
Both of them had gaped at her.
“Never?” Hadyn gasped.
“Never. My parents didn’t believe in it for Arcadians. And since I’ve never been shocked… I’ve always been human.”
Edena had returned to being human. “Then why did you make us do this?”
She’d brushed the hair back from her baby’s beautiful eyes that reminded her so much of Maxis’s. “Because your father was a beautiful, proud dragon. And I wanted you to share this part of him. No one should take that from you. Don’t ever let them.”
Frowning, Hadyn had moved closer to them. “You loved our father?”
“I did and I’m sorry I took him from you. But never be afraid of using the gift he left you with. You are drakomai. Hold your heads up in pride of that and never let anyone make you feel inferior.”
Max pulled back out of her memory to stare at her. “You really told them that?”
She nodded. “I meant what I said, Maxis.”
“Then prove it.”
“How?”
“Turn into a dragon.”
The color faded from her face. “Pardon?”
Max took a deep breath before he explained his ultimatum. “You say that you want a fresh start? Then open your heart and show me that you’re willing to bend. I want you to face the beast inside you. As you made our children shift, I want you to shift. Just once. If you can embrace the dragon inside your own heart, then we might stand a chance.”
“And if I can’t?”
“Then I know you’re lying. If you can’t stomach the dragon that lives in your body, how could you ever accept and love the one that is inside me?”
Seraphina knew he was right. But as she stared at him, she doubted she could do this. For too long she’d denied that beast. Had hidden it away. To bring it out now…
What if she couldn’t go back?
“I mean this, Sera. You gave me an impossible choice once. Now I give you one. Shift for me or lose me forever.”
11
“You want me to shift here?” Seraphina asked, looking around the loft that suddenly seemed way too tiny for two full-sized dragons.
A teasing light shone in his eyes. “You’ll do it?”
“I don’t know… I’m scared.”
The playful light extinguished immediately. “And that’s why I’m insisting. You need to understand the beast inside you. Make peace with that part of yourself. I want you to understand the gift you unknowingly gave our dragonets.”
Still, it terrified her. But he was right. She’d made her children do this. In all fairness, she should do it too.
Maxis pulled back from her and rose to his feet. He held his hand out for her. “Come with me, my precious swan. Let me show you what it means to be a ferocious dragon. Trust me.”
Against all reason and sanity, she did.
Her hand trembling, she took his and allowed him to pull her to her feet. One moment they were in his New Orleans loft and in the next…
“Where are we?”