Randall cocked his head, staring between Tiggy and the dragons, eyes narrowed.
Tiggy looked nervous. He glanced to me like he was unsure of what to say. I stepped out of the Line of Badasses, ignoring the way Ryan protested. I felt the feather dragons’ eyes on me as I moved toward my friend. Gary leaned forward and nuzzled my neck briefly as I passed him. I stopped in front of Tiggy. He looked down at me, a small smile on his face. I held my good arm up, and he bent over, picked me up gently, and cradled me against his chest. I was reminded of that day long ago in the Dark Woods when I found a half-giant and a unicorn on the run from a man named Koklanaris, the marks of a whip upon their bodies. We’d all been younger then and a bit smaller, but he’d held me just the same.
And he must have been thinking the same thing, because his smile widened a little as he said, “I keep you. You’re mine. I call you Steve.”
“Your face,” I said, leaning forward and rubbing my nose against his. He hummed happily before I pulled away. “You okay?”
“Now,” he said, and I knew what he meant. We were all together again. “You’re hurt.”
“Eh. I’ve had worse.”
Tiggy glared at the dragons over me. “You hurt Sam.”
“I thought he was Steve,” the smaller dragon whispered to her mate.
“Maybe he’s both,” she whispered back. Then, louder, “It was a test.” She didn’t sound apologetic about it.
“A test where you tried to eat me,” I pointed out.
“Randall,” she said, “tell him.”
And that… well. I was not expecting that. I turned my head slowly to look at Randall. “Yes, Randall. Please. Tell me.”
For his part, Randall didn’t even look remotely perturbed. In fact, he ignored me pretty much completely. “That was your idea of a test?” he asked coolly. “To what end?”
“To see his mettle,” the bigger dragon said. “The scope of his heart. The minds of men are a terrible thing. Just because the gods have put their faith in him doesn’t mean he isn’t capable of corruption. We have seen what men can do.” She glanced at Tiggy again, a shrewd look on her face. “What they can destroy. You, giant. Where did you come from?”
“He doesn’t remember,” I said when Tiggy looked unsure of himself. “Not really.” What had he said inside Zero’s forest?
Smells like home. Like before. Before you. Before Gary.
We didn’t know much about it. His before. What we did know was mostly assumptions. Tiggy was vague about it, and I thought it was more because he couldn’t remember rather than repression of some trauma. He didn’t act afraid, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t. The closest understanding I’d gotten to his before was that he’d been cast out by the giants, along with his parents, for being a half-breed. Tiggy had the language to tell us, but either he didn’t want to or he didn’t know. He got frustrated when we pushed, and I couldn’t do that to him. Tiggy never seemed as if he were longing for something more. In fact, his speech in Zero’s forest was the most he’d talked about it in a very long time.
“Is it because he’s half?” the smaller dragon asked, sounding aggrieved.
“We don’t know.”
“No, Sam,” Tiggy said. “You hurt. Fix you first.”
That was something I wasn’t looking forward to. I’d seen how dislocated shoulders were fixed. It looked like the worst thing in the world. “Maybe we could just—”
“Set him down,” the larger dragon said. “I wish to speak to the boy wizard.”
“Apprentice,” Gary coughed, because he obviously was a dick.
“Uh,” I said. “No offense, but lady-dude, you were just all fang and rawr not five minutes ago. Forgive me for being a bit skeptical at your intentions. I’d rather keep my arm, thanks.”
She just stared intently at Randall. It took a moment, but then Randall sighed. “Sam, she’s not going to hurt you.”
“You know what? I’d really rather not take the chance.”
“You know what we discussed?”
“We discussed many things, Randall. Maybe be a bit more specific.”
“You told me what Zero was capable of. His forest. The trees and the flowers. How he grew them.”
“Yeah. So?”
“It is specific to him.”
“I figured.”
“Haven’t you wondered what the other dragons can do?”
“My power is being a sex machine,” Kevin said proudly.
“I don’t think that’s quite it,” I told him.
“Probably is.”
“I really don’t think—”
“It sounds about right to me,” Gary said.
“You know what?” I said, shaking my head. “I’m not even going to get involved in this right now. Also, we will be discussing how you two are apparently back together again.”
“Trial reconciliation,” Gary said. “We are not back together.”
“That’s not what you were saying a few nights ago when you were all up on my junk,” Kevin muttered.
“And how did you even do that?” I asked. “Kevin couldn’t even talk.”
“You don’t need words when you have the language of the body,” Kevin said, leering at me.
“Oh, gross,” I said as I gagged.
“It really was,” Justin muttered. “Did you know Gary makes rainbows when he—”
“And it’s not as if I needed words,” Gary said. “I’d know his growls and facial expressions anywhere.”
“You are my everything,” Kevin said reverently.
“As I should be.”
“Are you going to eat me?” I asked the larger feathered dragon, trying to get us back on track.
She snorted. “No.”
“You sure acted like you were.”
“That’s because I’m ferocious.”
“She’s actually a softy once you get to know her,” her mate said. “It’s really rather sweet.”
“Holy lesbians,” Gary breathed. “Sam! Be an adorable twink! They will love you!”
“Thanks, buddy,” I said. “Tried that already. Arm feels like it’s going to fall off.”
“If you try and eat him,” Ryan said, taking a step forward, brandishing his sword, “I will spill your blood upon the earth and the snow will run red with my wrath.”
“I have never been turned-on by alliteration before,” I whispered to no one in particular. “Until now. It has to be the beard. What sorcery is this?”
“I told him not to shave,” Gary said quietly as he leaned over. “Thought you’d like it. You’re welcome.”
“You give me the best presents,” I said.
“Imagine how it’d feel on your thighs.”
I drooled a little on accident.
“I will not harm him,” the dragon said to Ryan. “You have my word.”
“I would know your name,” Ryan said. “Names carry weight. Your honor as a dragon means much, but your name would mean more.”
“Oh my gods,” I said excitedly. “This is going to be amazing. Finally I get to hear a real dragon name!”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kevin asked, frowning down at me. “You already know my name. And Zero’s. You know dragon names.”
“Uh,” I said, eyes shifting side to side. “Riiiiight. Because… you two… have real… dragon names.”
“Exactly,” Kevin said. “Do you know how long it took me to decide on my name?”
“As long as it took to come up with the perfection that is Kevin?”
He looked pleased at that. “Precisely.”