Monster Girl Islands 13 Chapter 3

“Tembori’s tusks, Marella,” Rikuri gasped as she approached my position and glanced over at my daughter. “How did you do that?”

“I-I still don’t know,” Marella admitted through a sigh. “Jonas has tried to explain it to me before… He says it’s a meditation technique that allows me to temporarily exist on the same plane of existence as Typhos, the god of time. That’s apparently how I can see into the future. Or something like that. By that point in the lesson, I’m usually so burnt out I’m thinking of anything but my soothsaying abilities.”

“This could be huge, Marella.” Talise smiled as she opened up the door of the coop, dashed inside, and threw her arms around our daughter. “If Jonas has truly taught you to see into the future, we could avoid entire conflicts before they even begin.”

“Avoid them?” Sela scoffed. “Who said anything about avoiding them? I want to use her powers to wipe our enemies off the face of the known world!”

“I’m not so powerful yet.” The teenaged dragonkin girl hung her head. “I’m honestly surprised I was able to do it right then and there, but I guess seeing my life in danger was just the motivation I needed.”

“And I appreciate that, Marella.” I smiled at my eldest child. “Don’t feel bad you’re not very strong in your abilities yet. Now that you know you can flashforward, all it’s gonna take is a bit more training from Jonas, and soon you’ll be the most powerful soothsayer to ever have lived.”

“She already is,” Talise retorted with a smirk. “Grandfather has told me of this ability, Ben. There is not a single dragonkin soothsayer who has ever been able to harness it before, even for a fleeting moment like Marella.”

“What?” our daughter gasped as she pulled away from her mother and stared at her, wide-eyed. “Jonas told me it was an ability all soothsayers could harness!”

“Typical grandfather,” Sela chuckled. “That must have been his way of making you feel less intimidated.”

“Or perhaps more intimidated,” Talise admitted. “I’m sure you were getting frustrated that you hadn’t figured it out yet, especially if you’d been told everyone of your kind could do it.”

“It doesn’t matter why Jonas said what he did,” Mira proclaimed. “It worked! Thanks to our elder’s efforts and the powerful mixture of Ben and Talises’ seeds, the dragonkin now bear witness to the most powerful soothsayer in our history!”

“That sounds like a celebration is in order,” I chuckled as I slowly stood from my knees and wiped a bit of blood off my dagger. “This is a historic event, and we can’t just let it pass by without the proper coronation.”

“Dad…” Marella hung her head and blushed. “I-I don’t need a feast or a play or anything for me.”

“It’s not just for you.” I winked at my daughter. “It is mainly to celebrate the rebuilding of the wall. I’m only throwing your name onto the ‘guests of honor’ list.”

“Arrick’s not going to try and do a play about me, is he?” Marella shuddered. “He’s already a terrible actor, and I don’t even want to think about how he’d try to imitate me.”

“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “Now that Bungal’s around, I bet Arrick’s acting skills have been getting better and better by the day. Besides, this is a last-minute addition. If anything, I’d be more worried about Kehlaan standing up and giving some rambling, off-the-cuff speech about how much you mean to the people of this island, who of course would be a thinly-veiled allegory for himself.”

“I think I would die of embarrassment.” Marella facepalmed. “Please tell me somebody would stop him if he tried that.”

“Don’t worry, young lady,” Rikuri declared. “Ashanti and I will hold him down and gag his mouth with a piece of fabric if he tries to pull something like that.”

“I’m not sure that would be wise,” Sela admitted. “I am not the most adept at social graces, but I don’t think it would be a good idea for morale to physically attack our newest ally’s child.”

“What?” Ashanti snickered. “He’s obviously not taking the hints she’s giving him, so somebody’s gotta break the bad news to the kid.”

“And then what?” Rikuri teased. “Does he move on to falling for one of us?”

“Noooooooo,” Ashanti retorted with a glare that could melt paint. “Don’t even think about something like that.”

“Why not?” the hornless Cero continued with a sly grin. “You’re certainly his type.”

Ashanti clasped onto her horn with her left hand, extended her pinky and middle fingers, and then made an upwards “tugging” motion in the direction of Rikuri.

The gesture must have meant something obscene in Cero culture, because Rikuri simply laughed, shook her head, and then repeated the motion back at Ashanti.

Meanwhile, I looked around at the chaos that had unfolded. The area was completely littered with the bodies of dead worm-lizards and their blood, along with the feathers of now-eaten chickens and burrow holes that had to have been several feet deep.

In short, it was a fucking mess.

“We’re gonna need to clean this up,” I sighed as I observed the coops. “The last thing we need is more predators smelling the carcasses and then coming to investigate. I guess we’ll need to find a better way to secure the coops from the bottom, too… Maybe some stone or concrete?”

“Could we not just move the clucker birds into the castle with us?” Ahwara suggested. “They would certainly be safe inside of its walls.”

“You’ve never had chickens before, have you?” I mused. “Sure, they’d be protected inside of the palace, but the entire building would smell like chicken shit, and that’s not something I could tolerate. Even for the sake of the birds’ safety.”

“Then we shall get to work on the paving,” Sela confirmed. “We’ll send a crew out here with the proper tools first thing in the morning, and they can use the same technique we used to make the pathway through the jungle.”

“After they clean it all up,” I grumbled. “It’s a freaking mess out here.”

“Unless the dragons want to eat the corpses?” Batari suggested as she pointed at Swaer.

The little wind dragon, however, wasn’t having any of it.

Eat the dead bodies? Swaer gagged. I don’t know what these things actually taste like, but I promise they’re already turning rancid. Dragons only eat fresh kills.

“You’ve eaten the wild boar and the Blaclaw Hali has made before, right?” I questioned the wind dragon.

Wild boar yes, he admitted. Blaclaw, no.

“Well, I hate to be the one to break it to you, Swaer…” I trailed off with a click of my tongue. “But those aren’t fresh kills. They’ve been dead for hours, sometimes days.”

The wind dragon tilted his head to the side as his noodly whiskers flicked up and down on his face. His eyes then narrowed as he thought about my comment, and he shook his head.

That’s impossible, Swaer argued. George and Bungal have both told me you have to eat it fresh, or else it will get rotten and full of gas.

“You’ve still got a lot to learn about our way of life, Swaer,” I explained as I looked over at Batari. “We’ve got to teach this little guy about how to clean and preserve an animal.”

“I intend to.” Batari nodded. “Should we ever come to a point where we are not out at sea.”

The Queen Mother made a good point. Ever since Swaer hatched, he and Batari had been going on adventure after adventure with me and the rest of my crew. In fact, this two-month period here on the dragonkin island was probably the longest either of them had stayed put for quite some time.

Hopefully, there would come a time when that wouldn’t be the case. Hopefully, once we’d explored the islands, eliminated the orcs, and found ourselves a permanent, safe home, the dragons could simply sit back and enjoy their lives.

However, that day was still far off, and for now we needed to focus on the here and the now.

Which meant focusing on the wonderful feast that lay ahead of us.

“Let’s get out of here,” I ordered my friends and family. “I’m sure Baratu is already hard at work on the feast, and Hali needs to get back there as soon as possible.”

“Indeed,” the green-scaled Hali chucked. “I’ve already left her alone in the kitchen for too long. I’m afraid to see what I’ll come back to find!”

“Baratu is a wonderful chef,” Batari protested. “I’m sure whatever you find will be to your liking.”

Rikuri and Ashanti both gave their leader an unconvinced look.

“Are you hearing yourself, Queen Mother?” Ashanti snorted. “Or have you forgotten the time Baratu tried to feed us half-cooked spotted hound that had been soaked in palmwine?”

“That was… Not her finest moment,” the Queen Mother admitted. “She experiments with her dishes quite often. Often times, she is successful.”

“And when she’s not, we’re sick for days,” Rikuri grumbled. “Please get back there and monitor her, Hali.”

The red-headed dragonkin chef nodded, and then she turned and began back down the jungle pathway.

The rest of us followed close behind, with Swaer wrapped around Batari’s left arm and Ahwara hovering over the ground like a spectre.

Meanwhile, I placed one arm around Talise’s tiny, slender waist and pulled her in close. She let out one of her happy, windchime-like laughs when her body pressed against mine, and I kissed her softly.

“Ew,” Marella gagged from my right.

“Oh, you’re not getting out of the family love-fest,” I teased and then tossed my arm around Marella’s shoulder.

“Dad!” my daughter huffed as I pulled her toward us.

“Family group hug!” I declared, and the look on Marella’s face was enough to make the goofy Dad inside of me happy for years to come.

The teenage girl quickly pulled away from my embrace, crossed her arms, and then grumbled to herself as she stomped down the path.

“That didn’t go as planned,” Talise noted as she watched our daughter saunter away.

“What are you talking about?” I chuckled. “She was totally embarrassed. My mission in life as a father is now accomplished.”

I held my beautiful, dark-haired lover at my side as we began our journey back to the palace, and the walk was brisk, brief, and much less intense than it had been on the way to the coops. As we walked, we soaked in the environment around us, and we listened to the strange, warbled caws of the birds off in the jungle, which were mixed in with the trilling of insects and the rustling of oversized leaves. The air was humid, yet comfortable, and we made the entirety of the journey without so much as a misstep on the pavement.

When we arrived back in the courtyard of the palace, we saw the Coonag women and Queen Nerissa were still there, as were my ornery half-Coonag, half-dragonkin children.

However, now the courtyard featured two very, very important guests.

Ainsley must have meandered up to the palace, and she stood next to Nerissa with my two infant children in her arms.

Meanwhile, Bungal the Mighty, the fat brown dragon whose girth was enough to squash a boulder, stood before all of the Coonag children like a schoolteacher. My three Coonag kids paid no attention to Nadri’s bondmate, though, and they instead darted around like dodo birds as they snarled, chittered, and snapped at each other.

Children, please! Bungal huffed as he timidly reached out to stop them. Your mothers wanted me to try and lull you to bed with a story, but you’re not going to get to the proper temperament without calming down first. Nadir, tell them.

“They’re just playing, Bungal,” Nadir explained. “Eventually, they’ll wear themselves out.”

How long is “eventually?” the fat dragon gulped.

“Maybe a few minutes.” Lezan shrugged. “Maybe a few hours. It depends on how much energy they have in their system, and how engrossed they are in what they’re doing.”

They need to be engrossed, you say? Bungal smiled a toothy grin as he held his head high. I was named “best performer” at the council of dragon’s last reenactment! I shall now put on a show that could engage a stone! Ahem… May I have your attention please, children?

The large dragon clapped his mighty paws together, but the Coonag children didn’t even pause. Jarin tackled Terra to the ground, and the two racoon babies tumbled across the dirt like a pair of fighting hawks as they snarled and hissed.

“You’re going to have to try harder than that,” Nadir mused.

Very well, Bungal sighed. Perhaps once I begin the tale they will become enthralled. Nadir, if you would be so kind as to relay my words.

“Words have never soothed a Coonag child.” Nadir smirked. “But, as your bondmate, I will humor you.”

Thank you. Bungal nodded and cleared his throat theatrically. Now, children… Prepare to hear the story of Gartron the Small. A tale that will hopefully teach you it doesn’t matter your stature, you can be as powerful as you so desire in your own way! Long ago there lived a poison dragon named Gartron…

Bungal told the cautionary tale of the small poison dragon, and Nadir repeated his words aloud, but none of the Coonag children paid him a lick of attention. The fat brown dragon even began to make large, sweeping gestures with his arms and legs as he reenacted key moments, and he did a different voice for each character in the story, though much of the theatrics were lost in Nadir’s translation.

However, nothing he did seemed to work.

At the climax of the tale, Bungal explained how the poison dragon fought a fire-breather and actually defeated the superior beast. When he finally spoke of their epic battle, Bungal held his head up high and unleashed a blast of roaring red and orange flames.

As he did so, the Coonag children stopped in their tracks.

“Whooooaaaaaa,” Jarin’s squeaky voice gasped.

“Fire!” Terra declared as she clapped her hands together giddily.

“Again!” Hokir demanded with a furrowed brow.

“Ben!” Nadir gasped as she put her hands against her mouth. “Their first words!”

Wait just a moment, Bungal huffed as he looked down at the children. The fire is what they enjoyed most of this entire epic tale or loss, betrayal, love, and redemption?

“Again!” Hokir repeated. “Fire!”

What about my performance as the villain? The fat brown dragon frowned, but Nadir was too busy grinning to translate. Or my impeccable impression of the story’s hero?

“Fire!” Terra hissed as she bared her teeth.

My word! Bungal gasped as he leaned away from the children. These children are more feral than I thought. I must do my best to take them under my wings, or else they may just end up stuck in a loop of constant violence, just like Tamrak the Desecrator.

“Tamrak the Desecrator?” Nadir perked up at the dragon’s words. “That sounds like a story they might want to hear!”

I wouldn’t think so, Nadir. Bungal shook his head and chuckled. It is a tale full of gore, death, and other unspeakable things that make me shudder to even dwell upon.

“Children.” Nadir grinned as she looked down at the feral rugrats. “Do you want to hear a tale of blood, gore, death?”

“Blood!” Terra clapped her hands.

“Gore,” Jarin hissed.

“Death!” Hokir cackled and bared his sharp teeth.

“I am so proud,” Lezan practically sniffled.

“You heard them, Bungal,” Nadir said as she turned and smiled at her bondmate. “So, will you tell the story now?

The eyes of Jarin, Hokir, and Terra all lit up as they looked to their Uncle Bungal, and they even sat down cross-legged in front of the dragon. The children then leaned in close to listen as their tails flicked back and forth with glee.

“Come on, Bungal,” Nadir encouraged. “This is the calmest I’ve seen them in weeks! Tell the story. I’ll even do your ridiculous voices.”

I-I suppose… the fat dragon trailed off. Alright. Gather around, children. I shall tell you the tale of Tamrak the Desecrator, the most violent, brutish beast to ever grace the council of dragons.

Bungal then jumped into an epic, gore-filled tale about a fire-breathing dragon who started off innocently enough, but eventually decided that he wanted to rule the entire world. He talked about how this Tamrak dragon would level entire islands with his mighty fire breath, and how it took the combined efforts of every single dragon on the council to finally defeat him. Of course, this came after he’d crushed several skulls, eviscerated multiple dragons, and had turned several more into ash and bone.

True to her word, Nadir repeated every line and voice Bungal used, and even the feral raccoon-woman seemed enthralled by the tale. My children also hung onto every single word that Bungal spoke, with wide eyes and mouths twisted up into mischievous smiles.

The Coonag children may have been enjoying this story, but it was making me feel a bit uncomfortable.

Bungal had warned us the council of dragons was not too keen on outsiders, but this was something else. These guys sounded like they were populated by the most brutal, deadly creatures to ever walk this world, and we thought it was our best course of action to just walk right up to them and try and negotiate.

The story continued for nearly an hour more, until the Coonag children’s eyes became heavy, and they curled up into three furry balls in the dirt. As soon as they were out, Nadir and Lezan sprang up, dashed over, and scooped their children up into their arms.

“Thank you, Bungal.” Nadir smiled at her bondmate. “I knew I could count on you.”

You’re quite welcome, madame. Bungal bowed to the raven-haired racoon woman. May I say your rendition was superb as well. It was my pleasure to share my cultured talents with the little scamps, and if you so desire, I am going to put on a more adult-oriented performance at the feast here shortly.

“We’ll be sure to hurry back,” Lezan promised.

“Don’t take too long,” Nerissa chuckled. “Hali and Baratu will have the food done at any moment now!”

My crewmates and I sat down next to Nerissa, Ainsley, and the remaining Coonag women and then began to chat as the sun in the sky began to set. As we chatted, several dragonkin women came out into the space and began to set up tables, chairs, and a tiny wooden stage for the upcoming feast.

You cannot be serious, Bungal declared when he saw the stage. I think my left foot is larger than the entire performance space! How is an actor like myself supposed to work with such awful facilities?

Of course, the other dragonkin women couldn’t understand the dragon, so all they heard were a few annoyed huffs and grunts. They simply looked at each other, shrugged, and then headed on their way.

“You don’t need the stage,” I reassured the dragon. “A true actor can make his material work anywhere, especially when he lives it twenty-four seven. That’s why I fucking love Daniel Day Lewis.”

I suppose you are right… Bungal trailed off, and then he turned away from us. Come now, Bungal old chap! You once brought the audience to tears inside of a volcano. You can do this.

Eventually, Nadir and Lezan returned to the courtyard, and soon afterward several more of our friends of different races came to take their spot at the celebration.

“This feast better be as fun as the last one!” the short, spiky-haired Spindrel Shala called out as she entered with her people.

“It will be, my friend,” the brunette Cero woman, Zikiu, promised. “I know for a fact Zamwae had a hand in its design, and the entertainment will be provided by Bungal the Mighty!”

The beautiful rhino-woman brushed a bit of her hair out of her face before she rested her hand against her pregnant belly. Barati and Zikiu had both gotten pregnant around the same time, but these were the first naturally-born Cero children to come into the world. They were both nearly three months along in their pregnancies, and we had no freaking clue how much longer it would be before they popped out a child. Both of the women now sported a slight baby bump, but it was miniscule compared to what Malak had at this point.

Soon, my friends were all in place, scattered across various tables in different groupings of six. It was a beautiful sight to see, as Cero women sat amongst Niralope and Morpho sat amongst Spindrel and dragonkin. Here in my palace, there was no such thing as a stranger, no matter what race or personality type you were.

“I suppose we should take our spots at the head table?” Nerissa suggested as she motioned to the set of tables that had been raised above the rest and placed at the very front of the courtyard.

There were five chairs at the head table, one for the Draco Rex, one for his Queen, and two for his children. The fifth seat was reserved for Mira, as she was a princess, and next in the line of succession should anything happen to us four.

“You know the drill, Nerissa,” I chuckled to my beloved Queen. “I’m not that sort of king. I like to mingle amongst the people.”

“I should have guessed.” The Dragon Queen rolled her eyes as she stood from her current seat. “Just be prepared to make any announcements you need to.”

“Of course,” I confirmed with a nod and a wink.

Nerissa and Mira both sauntered toward the head table, and my eyes were glued firmly to their beautiful, curvy asses as they sashayed back and forth. My pants seemed to tighten at the sight of their plump bottoms, but I quickly tried to shake off my erection.

The last thing I needed was to greet all my loyal subjects with a hard-on.

Once I had myself under control, I sprang to my feet and then ventured over to a nearby table populated with several of my friends.

The auburn-haired Niralope Jemma was the first at the table, and her chartreuse green eyes watched me intensely as I approached. Anora, the dragonkin healer with sunflower-yellow scales and equally as intense hair, sat next to Jemma. Beside her was the pink-haired dragonkin Careen, who bounced our daughter Oshuna up and down on her knee as she tried to keep the child entertained.

The sweet, innocent butterfly-woman, Elzara, also sat at the table. Her face turned red as she leaned forward and tried to hide her excitement underneath her blue hair, but her wings gave her away. The Morpho woman’s blue and black wings fluttered with glee as she watched me, and her mouth twisted into a smirk. Her pregnant belly was as large as a cantaloupe now, and her tiny breasts were swollen with milk.

“H-Hi Ben,” Elzara giggled.

“Hello, ladies,” I announced as I pulled out one of the chairs. “Do you mind if I pop a squat here with you?”

“Maybe,” Careen teased. “That depends on whether or not you want to hold Oshuna.”

“Of course I’ll take the little girl!” I smiled and held out my hands.

Careen carefully handed our daughter over to me, and I held Oshuna up above my head as I blew a playful raspberry at her. The little girl’s bright orange eyes lit up with glee as she let out a coo, and my heart instantly melted in my chest.

“Dada!” Oshuna proclaimed through a giggle. “Higher, dada!”

“You want to go higher?” I smiled at my beautiful daughter. “Watch this.”

I tossed Oshuna up into the air, and she squealed happily as her red hair fluttered in the wind. When I caught the girl, I buried my face into her belly and blew a raspberry, which made her laugh even harder.

I hugged my little girl close to my chest and rocked her a few more times before I turned her around, sat her down on my knee, and began to bounce her softly.

“She’s so adorable,” Zikiu, the final member of our table, interjected.

“Our kid will probably be just as adorable,” I promised the rhino-woman. “Especially if they inherit their mother’s good looks.”

“Stop it,” the pregnant brunette scoffed with a wave of her hand. “The looks obviously are going to come all from you.”

“We don’t know that.” I shrugged. “Just look at the children I have with Nadir and Lezan. They’re both a healthy mixture of their parents.”

“I hope not,” Zikiu chuckled. “If anything, I want this little boy or girl to have your looks, and my brains.”

“Woooooow,” I teased the Cero woman. “So, you’re saying I don’t have any brains?”

“You said it.” Zikiu winked. “Not me.”

“My loyal subjects!” Nerissa’s voice boomed across the courtyard, and everyone went silent in an instant. “It is my duty as Queen of the dragonkin people to remark on this wonderful occasion! For today we have not only rebuilt our number one mode of defense against those who would wish us harm… But we have also gathered here today to celebrate a new chapter in our story. The future looks bright, my friends, for Marella has shown us her true potential as a soothsayer!”

The crowd went wild with hoops, hollers, and claps for my daughter, but Marella didn’t seem too enthralled. She simply stood up, gave everybody a slight wave, and then plopped back down into her chair.

“That’s my student!” Jonas called out with a whistle. “For what reason do we celebrate Marella today, Queen Nerissa?”

“She has unlocked a new power, Jonas,” Nerissa explained. “A power that, if harnessed properly, could help the Draco Rex to victory on many occasions.”

“You didn’t…” Jonas’ mouth fell agape as he looked at Marella. “Foresight?”

“She did,” the Dragon Queen confirmed.

“I-I’m so proud of you, my girl,” Jonas admitted as tears filled his eyes. “I’ve watched you go from just a toddler with a bit of potential to-- to… One of the greatest soothsayers I have ever met.”

“Thank you, everyone,” Marella announced with the gusto of an embarrassed teenage girl. “But it’s really nothing. I only looked a few seconds into the future, and that was only because my life was in danger.”

“Today it was only a few seconds,” Nerissa noted. “Tomorrow it could be days. Or weeks. Or even entire season cycles.”

“I knew you could do it, Marella!” Kehlaan’s voice chimed in as the Spindrel boy stood from his chair. “Ever since the day I met you, I thought you were--”

Before Kehlaan could finish, Shala and Erel both sprang to their feet, slapped their hands over his mouth, and pulled him back down.

“Sorry, guys,” Shala chuckled. “Just a case of unrequited love going on. Continue.”

“As I was saying…” Nerissa huffed. “We are here to celebrate two glorious occasions today. And what is a celebration without its main course? Ladies? Bring out the dishes!”

The pearl-scaled queen clapped her hands together twice, and then several dragonkin and Niralope servers emerged from the bowels of the palace. Each of them held a large metal platter in their hands, and they darted over to the tables in unison. There was a dragonkin server for each individual guest, and they carefully placed the dish down before us before they grabbed onto the lid, took a deep breath, and then yanked it away.

Instantly, my nostrils were filled with a warm scent that smelled like a mixture of butter, grease, and smoked meat. When I saw what was on the plate in front of us, my mouth began to water, and my jaw practically hit the table.

Before us sat a large hunk of what appeared to be a cut of pork tenderloin, with a perfectly blackened crust on the outside and juicy white meat on the inside. The tenderloin laid in a puddle of its own juices, and I could tell by the smell that it had some sort of barbeque-like rub all along the perimeter.

Most surprising of all, however, was the center of the loin.

There, stuffed into the meat itself, was some sort of white, almost translucent food that glistened bright with butter.

“Is that… Blaclaw meat?” I gasped as I sucked in a bit of my own drool.

“It is,” the dragonkin server confirmed. “Something Baratu thought up.”

“Of course it is,” Zikiu chuckled.

Next to the strange combination surf-n-turf was a pile of diced carrots that were slathered in butter to the point of sogginess and covered with specks of savory green herbs.

“I don’t care how strange it is,” I admitted. “It looks fucking delicious.”

The second my server stepped away, I picked up the pork loin with my hands, cradled the Blaclaw meat so it wouldn’t fall out, and then took a hearty bite. Juices from both meats squirted out into my mouth with an explosion of buttery-yet-succulent flavor, but somehow, some way, the combination worked.

I got the perfect bit of gamey, hot, spicy flavor from the boar and just the right amount of smooth, buttery goodness from the Blaclaw.

I think Baratu and Hali had a winner here.

I took a few more bites of the meat before I lifted it up to Oshuna’s mouth. My daughter took a small nibble of the morsel, chewed it thoroughly, and then swallowed.

“Yum, dada!” Oshuna declared as she licked her lips and rubbed her belly.

I let my daughter finish off the rest of the meat before I moved in for the carrots. Even though I was never a big vegetable guy, I knew anything that came from the kitchen of Hali and Baratu was an instant orgasm in my mouth.

I picked up a few chunks of the diced, seasoned carrots, popped them in my mouth like a handful of popcorn, and began to chew, and my eyes rolled back in my head as I savored the warm, piney taste of rosemary and sage. The individual pieces practically melted on my tongue, and I savored them for a good long while before I swallowed them down my gullet.

Fuck, if everybody in the world made carrots like this, kids would never have a problem eating their vegetables.

“Here you go, baby girl,” I said to Oshuna as I held a carrot to her mouth. “You gotta eat your veggies, too.”

My daughter gobbled up the orange circle without a moment of hesitation, and she then let out a satisfied grunt as she reached for the plate. This time, I handed her a few more pieces, and she ate them all in rapid succession.

“Gods, this is delicious,” Anora admitted with a mouth half-full of pork loin. “The cooks have outdone themselves this time.”

“That’s what happens when Baratu is successful,” Zikiu added with a slight belch. “It’s like Tembori himself stepped down from the heavens and blessed the food.”

“I don’t care who blessed it,” Elzara groaned as she leaned back and patted her pregnant belly. “My baby can’t get enough of it.”

“Then I’ll get you another,” I promised the mother of my child as I raised a finger to the server.

I got another round brought out for everyone at the table, and we all devoured the food in a messy flurry. Eventually, once everybody appeared to be done with their dinner, Nerissa stood to her feet once more.

“It appears everyone has enjoyed their feast,” the dragon queen observed. “And now, to conclude the evening, the prince and his siblings would like to give you a--”

Ahem! Bungal cleared his throat loudly, both physically and telepathically, and cut the queen off.

“Excuse me,” Nerissa chuckled. “The prince, his siblings, and Bungal would like to present to you with a dramatic reenactment of the Draco Rex’s latest victory.”

Alright, friends! Bungal announced telepathically. Take your marks.

We sat there and watched a wonderfully corny reenactment of our battle against the invading goblins. Arrick played me, of course, while Bungal portrayed all the dragons that were involved in the battle. Meanwhile, my twin daughters Lizzie and Amaria played the goblins, and Malkey portrayed the thunder dragons.

We watched as, one-by-one, Arrick “defeated” his younger sisters and brought down Malkey after an epic clash. All the while Bungal stood in the back and pretended to blow flames at his “enemies, and he occasionally took a blow from Malkey’s tail. Whenever Bungal got hit, he fell over with the conviction and authenticity of a WWE wrestler.

The show might have been hokey, but it had a certain charm to it all.

Once it was over, the five actors stood by the stage, gave a little bow, and the crowd cheered them on.

“Bravo!” I called out my friends and children.

Suddenly, I felt a tap on my shoulder, and I whipped my head around to see one of the dragonkin servers standing there with a curt frown draped across her face.

“Sorry to bother you, Draco Rex,” the woman sighed. “But I was told to deliver you a message. From the cooks.”

“From Baratu and Hali?” I questioned. “The meal was delicious, if that’s what they are worried about.”

“That’s not it at all.” The woman shook her head. “They simply wanted me to send you back to the kitchen. Something about ‘giving you some dessert’ or something of that nature.”

As the server walked away, my head raced with the possibilities of what the two cooks could have meant.

Maybe it was as simple as it sounded, and they wanted me to try out a special cake or pudding they had made.

Or, if I was thinking with my second head, it was something much, much sweeter they had in mind.

“I’m needed in the kitchen,” I told Careen as I handed Oshun back to her. “I’ll be back shortly.”

“Not too shortly, I suppose.” The pink-haired dragonkin winked.

I sprang up from my seat, turned around, and practically ran toward the door.

I didn’t know what the two women had in store for me, but I was dying to find out.