Light Dragons 03 - Sparks Fly

on a long breath.
    “He must pay for the deaths of the innocent,” the First Dragon said in that enigmatic way he had.
    “You’re really irritating, do you know that?” I squared off as if about to fight him. “You couldn’t just say that-you had to make me jump through five million hoops? I’ve wanted him to rejoin the weyr all along.”
    “But you have not accomplished that task.”
    “What more do you want from me?” I yelled, slapping my hands on my legs. “I’ve tried and tried and tried, and I swear that I’ll continue to move heaven and earth to make you happy. I swear I’ll redeem Baltic’s soul. I swear I’ll do anything, anything at all. Just bring him back!”
    “Mate, do not grovel.”
    The First Dragon’s lips tightened, as if he’d heard it all before.
    “I can’t offer to do anything more than that!” I grabbed the First Dragon’s arm and shook it. “I love him. Do you understand that? Our love goes beyond death. It’s ... It’s ... It’s everything to me.”
    “Always you must make dramatic scenes. He enjoys them; you do know that, yes?”
    “Baltic is the beginning, and the end, and ... and ... ” I stopped, my heart beating wildly as a warm, familiar presence made the skin of my back tingle.
    My heart, my soul, the very essence of who I was, came to life once again. I staggered a step to the side with the overwhelming surge of emotion. “When?” I asked the First Dragon.
    He knew exactly what I was asking. “When I felt his loss.”
    “You bastard!” I swore, slapping my hand on his chest. “You let me go through all that when he was already alive? You heartless bastard! You cruel, manipulative-”
    “ Chérie , do not finish that sentence,” Baltic rumbled behind me, his arms sliding around me. I turned, tears of happiness spilling over my lashes. “I have already had to endure one lecture from the First Dragon this day-I do not wish to hear another, and if you continue, that is exactly what will happen.”
    “You’re alive,” I said, taking his face in my hands and gently kissing him.
    “I am.” He brushed away a long trail of tears. “You wept for me?”
    “I offered my soul for you.”
    “This is the most romantic thing I’ve ever seen,” Aisling said, sniffing and dabbing at her eyes with a tissue. “I wish Drake were here to see it.”
    “Serious chick flick stuff,” Jim agreed, nodding.
    May wrapped her arms around Gabriel and held him as he stroked her hair.
    “It is not good for you to be so upset,” Baltic said, frowning down at me. I could have cheered for joy at the sight of that lovely frown. “You must remember your condition.”
    “My-you know?”
    “Of course I know. I am not stupid. I can use a calendar as well as you.”
    “Congratulations, by the way,” Aisling said, still sniffling.
    “Oh boy, another pregnant mate in the weyr. Sárkánies are sure going to be fun.”
    “We are not in the weyr,” Baltic said, allowing me to kiss the breath right out of his mouth.
    “Oh yes, we are.” I took a step back from him, my foot tripping over something hard. I bent to pick up Baltic’s talisman, leveling him with a look that didn’t just read volumes; it could have filled an entire library with my ire. “We are joining the weyr.”
    He crossed his arms.
    “Don’t you dare cross your arms at me.” I stormed forward, gesturing toward the First Dragon. “After what I went through with him, we are joining the weyr, and that’s that.”
    “Mate-”
    “We’re joining the weyr! And you’re going to start caring about other dragons!”
    “That madwoman/psycho/scary face is good on you, Soldy,” Jim said, tipping its head to the side. “Kind of a ‘three bread crumbs short of a meat loaf’ look, but effective.”
    Baltic sighed, glanced at his father, and made an annoyed gesture. “Very well. I will give in to your demands this time, but only because I do not wish for you to be further upset. I will allow the weyr to accept the light dragons as members.”
    “Thank you,” I said, kissing him again before turning to face the First Dragon, Baltic’s arms around me. “And thank you, too. For everything, but mostly for giving me Baltic.”
    He was silent for a moment, then smiled, his body shimmering into that of a dragon, one whose scales held all the colors of the spectrum. The colors seemed to dance along his scales; then he was gone, leaving behind nothing but the faintest sparkle of color in the air.

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