Embers (Scales 'N' Spells 4)

Another corner had been filled with two large, comfortable couches and three matching chairs for the visitors and the mages on duty.

While all of that didn’t exactly demand a lot of space, the red dragon currently curled around one of the incubators did.

From the moment his and Cameron’s child had been conceived, Alric’s dragon had become demanding and outright stubborn. Nearly half of every day, Alric spent it in dragon form with his large body almost completely wrapped around the incubator. As it was, a mage had to step over his tail to approach the bassinet.

But even from across the room, Alric looked like he was at peace. A dragony smile was on his lips, his eyes closed, and his mate sat on the floor with him, leaning against his side. It had been so long since a fire dragon had been born, and even longer since an incubator had been used, he wasn’t quite sure if this was normal behavior. Ravi didn’t feel the same need to spend his days in dragon form wrapped around his children’s bassinet.

“Alric give you any trouble today?” Gunter asked. He smirked as one eyelid rose to reveal a large, slitted blue eye glaring at him.

Yuki made a dismissive noise. “He’s a pussy cat. My son is the handful.”

“All I said was I wasn’t sure if you were keeping it warm enough for them,” Sora said huffily. “They’re wind dragons. They won’t have the same internal body temperature as a fire dragon.”

It was becoming harder and harder not to laugh. However, his own mate had noticed his presence, so he stepped away from Yuki and walked over to join Nikki with Sora and Ravi.

“Are you done causing mischief?” Nikki asked with a lift of one arched and delicate blond brow.

“I was only trying to tease Alric. Ruffling Sora’s feathers was just a bonus.”

Nikki huffed but quieted the moment Gunter stepped up behind them and wrapped his arms around their waist. He looked down at the twins sleeping within the bassinet. They were pointed in opposite directions like a little yin and yang, but it looked as if they were holdings hands. They were both still bald, but Gunter was expecting both children to be born with thick black hair like their parents.

They were hitting right about the five-month mark. Despite Cameron’s demands to have babies right after defeating the Jaeggi, it had taken them roughly a month to make all the necessary preparations. At least half of the dragons had left over the past few months, but many lingered. Gunter suspected they were waiting to welcome the new baby dragons into the world.

Gunter couldn’t deny he tingled with excitement to hear them take their first breaths out of the incubator, their first giggles, even their first cries. Sasha had been the last dragon born to the Burkhard Clan, and that had been more than four hundred years ago. The castle needed to ring with the cries and laughter of children again.

“They’re beautiful,” Gunter murmured.

“Of course they are,” Ravi replied with a wide grin. “They look like him.” He pointed at the mage at his side, the mate who made the wind dragon shine even brighter.

“Oh, no. They’ve definitely got your nose,” Sora whispered, pointing to the baby on the left.

Ravi leaned in a little closer, squinting. “You think?”

“I’ve got it! I’ve got it!” called a happy voice. They all turned to see Sora’s father, Ryu, practically dance into the ballroom while waving one arm in the air. “I’ve got the names. Augustus and Julia!”

“As in Caesar?” Sora choked out.

“You want to name your grandkids after salad?” Ravi demanded.

“No,” Sora said flatly, still watching his father’s approach.

Ravi shook his head. “Next thing you know, he’s gonna want to call them Ranch and Thousand Island.”

Gunter nearly choked on his laughter and had to step away from the bassinet. Nikki followed him, snickering softly. Since the children had been conceived, Ryu and Yuki had been helping to come up with names for their grandchildren. From Gunter’s understanding, nothing had made the short list yet.

With his arm around Nikki’s shoulder, he helped his mate step over Alric’s tail so they could approach the bassinet of the Burkhard heir. At the same time, Cameron pushed to his feet and joined them by the incubator to smile at his child. Alric stirred slowly, yawning wide enough to reveal teeth and fangs.

“They’ve been a bit fussy and restless today,” Cameron murmured. He smiled over his shoulder at his mate. “Alric thinks our baby can sense the snow falling outside and wants to play in it like all good little fire dragons.”

“Soon, little one,” Nikki cooed. “Soon we’ll make all the snow people and have snowball fights.”

Gunter’s heart swelled to see the look of pure joy and love on Nikki’s face. Soon, they would have their own little one to love and spoil. There had been some initial talk of having children immediately, but that talk quieted when Alric and Cameron conceived. Gunter had a feeling it was the fear of caring for something so small and fragile, but Gunter didn’t doubt Nikki would want one for their family. They were still talking about the number. Nikki had budged so far as to come down one. Gunter didn’t know if he had the energy for nine children, but his mate was enthusiastic and apparently determined.