Touchdown Daddy (130 page)

Karina leaned heavily against the destroyed castle wall as she stared, awestruck, at her Carmichael’s dragon form for the first time. She had heard many a tale of Carmichael’s grace and beauty, but the stories did little justice. He was indescribable. Simple as that. And yet she found herself trying to comprehend him with her human brain.

His head was ringed with six horns, longer than her legs and thicker than her entire body, while great whiskers hung from his snout and beneath his chin. His jaws held rows of teeth, some of which were larger than her hand. Of course, most importantly, his eyes were still gigantic pools of gold fixed below the most prominent pair of horns. They were the same piercing, intelligent eyes she had fallen for. Perhaps, the most impressive though, were the wings that displayed grandly on his scaled back.

“Caichmiorral...” she wheezed, a smile on her blood caked face. “You... have been freed.”

A rumbling thunder-like laughter rolled deep in Carmichael’s chest as he lowered his head to the ground until he could fix his golden eyes on her.

“That I am. You have freed me, and for that I will owe you, always.”

Karina laughed softly and shook her head as she approached him, pressing a kiss to his massive, scaled snout. “My love, you have given me more than enough,” she assured him gently. As she spoke, a soft glow took hold of Carmichael’s form as he slowly shrank in size, changing shape until, he resembled a human again.

Laughing, he threw his arms around Karina and pressed a fierce kiss to her lips. His hands were everywhere, pressing against her cheeks and her hips as he pulled her close before they rested lightly against one of the eggs that slightly disfigured her perfect build.

“I love you, my dear. This is all over... Danasi is dead,” he whispered softly against her lips.

At this, Karina pulled away enough to meet his familiar golden eyes. “This two-century-long conflict between you two was all over the fact you didn’t love her in such a way as you love me?” she asked, sounding both appalled and slightly amused. Had it been a legend or epic, it would have almost been a romance story ended in tragedy.

Carmichael nodded as he hugged her close, the sun almost completely disappeared from the sky. “In simple terms, that is what had happened,” he agreed lightly.

They fell silent for a moment, but the night air was soon split by Karina as peals of laughter fell past her lips. It was hardly funny considering that thousands of people had died because of Danasi, yet she still laughed as she pressed against Carmichael’s familiar warm chest.

“What does my sweet Karina find so humorous?” he asked her, curious to know why she was suddenly so amused.

“Just... how petty this whole war was!” Karina said, laughing softly. “When I have heard of wars in the past, it has been over murdered monarchs and stolen lands. Yet the biggest war in our history was over a scorned heart.”

It was only when put in such terms that Carmichael himself laughed. “I suppose you’re correct.”

But Karina suddenly jerked from his arms as a look of wonder crossed her gaze. If the curse for Carmichael had broken and Danasi was dead, what did that mean for Grizlenzadi?

“What will happen now?” she asked, aware that now Carmichael would likely return to his rightful place as King.

“What do you mean?” Carmichael asked in confusion. “The dragons will return. They’ve been freed by you as well. Perhaps, the elves will return if they still exist. Grizlenzadi will return to its former glory as a place of peace for all three races.”

“No... I mean...” Karina trailed off as she nibbled her lip with her teeth. “What is to become of us? Where will we go? Am I to return to Rostlecastor? Or will I live in the Hall of the Dragons with you?”

Carmichael just stared at her blankly as he processed her question, but soon was pulling her back into his arms once again. “I return to my place as the Dragon King. You, having mated with a dragon, share my immortality. You will rule beside me as my Queen and my mate. We will be happy together,” he promised, enveloping her in his arms. “If you wish to return to your home, I won’t stop you, but I had hoped you would join me in the Hall of Dragons."

To his surprise, Karina shuddered in his hold and sobbed softly against his shoulder. It wasn’t until after he caught a watery smile on her lips he realized it was in relief that she cried and not sorrow.

“I was afraid you’d not love me now that I am not useful to you,” she admitted. Her words rewarded her with a slow, sweet kiss that was nothing but loving and adoring. “You had promised it before, but the relief I feel after hearing those words with the Queen’s death is reassuring.”

“My dear Karina, you will be mine forever. That is a promise.”

A contented smile crossed her face as the first stars of the night shone overhead. Carmichael transformed once more into a golden dragon. “Come, my dear. The Hall of the Dragons has been empty for too long.”

Slowly, Karina climbed up onto him and settled between the spikes at the base of his neck. As they took off, a warm golden magic surrounded her exhausted form and she found herself slowly drifting off to sleep in the midst of thousands of stars.

It took mere days for Karina to lay Carmichael’s eggs and the process was quite laborious. Thankfully, with the curse now lifted, dozens of dragons had returned to the land. 

“A den mother lies in her dragon from around the eggs in order to keep them warm,” Carmichael explained. The young dragon, Yzmalan, a water dragon that had been buried at the very bottom of the sea, circled around their eggs and breathed a small jet of flame on the stone ground around them.

Karina watched warily, but when the eggs didn’t appear harmed, a smile spread across her lips and she looked towards Yzmalan with gratitude. “Thank you, Yzmalan, for taking care of them,” she said, heart genuinely happy that someone more capable could care for her and Carmichael’s children until they hatched.

“Human Karina, it is little trouble. I have a brood of my own that’s been waiting to be laid since before the war,” Yzmalan insisted as she lifted her slender, pale blue head from the eggs just long enough to meet her new Queen’s gaze.

“You need rest and you won’t get that here worrying over these little ones. Go relax and get your sleep,” she commanded, just before returning to bathing the newly laid dragon eggs in her care with jets of blue toned fire.

Carmichael, as his magnificent golden dragon form and Karina, sitting on top of his scaled head, walked out of the egg den and up into the castle. It was still unfamiliar, and needed great care to once more return to its former glory. The Hall of Dragons was the real castle of the land, not Danasi’s human sized castle. It was almost as magnificent as the dragons themselves were. But then, anything large enough a full sized dragon could walk through would be impressive.

“How many broods and den mothers stay in the egg den at one time?” Karina asked as they walked, hand moving as if to run along an egg bump, but instead, it ran against her stomach. In some ways, she missed carrying the eggs herself.

Carmichael looked thoughtful for a brief moment and shrugged smiling. “We nested in an offseason, either spring or fall,” he explained, looking a little sheepish. “It would protect each brood from too much heat from the summers or too cold of winds from the winters.”

“I see. Is it bad we nested early?” Karina asked, anxiety fluttering in her heart. She didn’t want any hardship to befall her unhatched babies.

Carmichael laughed softly, the sound enormous and thunderous as it echoed through the massive stone hallway they walked through. “No. This was long ago, before human or even elf lived in the land, before the Hall of the Dragons and my reign as King. Give it a few months and allow more of the dragons to shake free from Danasi’s curse. There will be a dozen or so den mothers, all with broods of one to four. I wish you could have seen this place in the spring and summer before it had sat abandoned for over two hundred years,” he sighed. For a moment, his gaze was far away as he imagined what his home had been.

“The elves sang to the flowers and trees, until they bloomed so brightly and fully that the scent of flower permeated the air. Hatchlings would be around every corner, getting under feet and causing trouble. They were always cute and innocent though, unable to do any wrong.”

Karina smiled and closed her eyes, almost able to picture what Carmichael said.

“Someday, it will be that spectacular again,” she assured.

“Of course it will, some day,” Carmichael agreed. “One day, I’d like to go out and see if the elves are truly all gone. They were such a smart, gentle race... I wouldn’t be surprised if they managed to hide in the forests of the mountains all this time, just biding their time until it was safe to return.”

“Mmm...” Karina was unsure of how to respond. Like most humans, she knew little about the mysterious elves. Even less had been known of them than had been known about dragons.

Inevitably, though, her thoughts were drawn back towards her eggs. Her thoughts always seemed to be with her eggs. She sighed wistfully.

“How long will it take them to hatch?” she asked, to which another low bout of laughter rumbled up through Carmichael’s chest. “I miss them...”

“Patience, my dear,” he hummed, as he slowly unfurled his wings just beneath the opening to their quarters and leaped up into the air with Karina on his back.

Though the flight was over within seconds, Karina’s heart still pounded with blissful exhilaration. If she had things her way, she’d never be on the ground, but as King of a broken kingdom, Carmichael was busy enough that they’d only take a single flight per day.

“They’ll hatch soon and you’ll be able to meet them,” he promised, lowering his head so she could climb down from him and onto the bed.

“I know, I know. I was not gifted with patience,” Karina admitted, just as their room filled with a light golden glow as Carmichael’s massive dragon form shrank smaller and smaller, changing shape until he was fully human once again.

Slowly, he joined her on the bed, smiling as he pulled her up into his lap. “My dear, soon they will hatch and all will be well.”

“Of course it will,” Karina agreed with a sigh.

The pair relaxed on the bed. Humming, Karina crawled over to Carmichael so he could wind his arms around her and pull her close to his chest. Their breath mingled together as she stretched out against him, a contented smile on her lips.

“You know... I love you so much,” she whispered softly, pressing her lips against his neck.

Carmichael laughed a low, rumbling laugh and kissed the top of her head. “I love you too, my dear Karina, more than my life.”

Karina had never been happier and as they embraced together in bed, curled up in each other’s arms, she couldn’t help but smile at his affectionate words. How far away her jousting life seemed now. She was going to be a mother of two, was the Queen of all the land of Grizlenzadi and was mated to the long-lost Dragon King. A happiness flooded her long indifferent heart and for once, she looked forward to the future.

After all, she had a family now and she’d do anything to keep it.

Karina and Carmichael’s eggs hatched just two short months later, much to Karina’s surprise.

“Dragon eggs are very different than any other creature’s. Once an egg is laid, the baby is ready to hatch when it feels the time is right.” Carmichael had explained. Carmichael, Yzmalan and Karina all crowded around the pair of eggs as both began showing great, spider web-like cracks along the smooth surface of the shell.

It had taken many a scolding on Carmichael’s part to keep Karina from helping their children hatch. What would they look like? Would they be born in their human forms or their dragon ones?

She remembered her enthusiasm and anxiety well enough. When they found out she’d lay a second brood of eggs with the rest of the females later that year, Karina didn’t feel anything more than excitement. Of course, Calla and Auldinor both disagreed.

“Mama, why do you have to have more babies?” Calla demanded, her curly hair, much like her mothers, stuck up at random angles all over her head. That had been another surprise. There was no stage of infancy. Hatchlings were intelligent enough for speech within moments of being born. A fact Carmichael had conveniently forgotten to mention that until after Auldinor started up a full conversation about how difficult hatching was.

Speaking of her son, Karina turned slightly with Calla still in her arms, to find him jumping up and down on his bed, cackling excitedly as he did so.

Karina sighed and rolled her eyes as she got slowly to her feet and led Calla to the bed as well. “Auldinor. Please. Stop jumping around. You’re not a rabbit, you’re a little dragon boy.”

“But Mama!”

“No. Lie down. You’re both supposed to be trying to sleep!” Karina scolded lightly as she tucked the pair into their bed with a sigh. Already, even just walking to the bed she felt exhausted, the egg bulges in her belly were almost full grown. It’d be time to lay them soon. And then, like with Calla and Auldinor, she’d have to give them to another dragon to properly care for them.

The thought made her sad and she found herself sighing wistfully. Not for the first time, she wished to be a dragon herself. Her kids seemed to notice her distress and she quickly roused herself from her thoughts, pressing adoring kisses to first Calla’s brow and then Auldinor’s.

“My sweets, sleep well and dream of elves and fairies and far off lands,” she hummed softly as she turned to blow out the candle providing light in the room

Auldinor and Calla exchanged looks as their mother got ready to turn out the light. “Mama... Can we have a story first?”

Karina paused, glancing over at her son daughter, before sighing and returning to the chair she’d sat in moments prior. “One story then,” she agreed.

Calla squealed softly in excitement while Auldinor bounced happily in place. As their mother began to speak, they quieted down with wide eyes to listen as she spun them a tale.

“Once, there was a mighty kingdom, where elves, dragons and humans all lived under one King and one Queen...”

*****

THE END