The Generosity of Dragon Love

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Damon

I was stunned into silence as a feminine face poked out of the pond. A woman emerged from the water like the nymph she was.

She swam to the bank, and you could tell how much she enjoyed showing off her scantily-clad body, even though Alexis was the only one here who was attracted to women. My father didn’t even bother to mask his lust at the sight of the naiad.

Agnes, with her blond hair draping around her shoulders, approached us with a smile and gazed down at her son. Adonis shrunk back. Agnes asked, “My child, stop asking what other people want. What do you want? Do you hope to stay with me, or would you like to live with your handsome brother?” Her sugary sweet smile widened. “Mommy won’t be mad either way, I promise.”

Adonis began to tremble. The toddler glanced at me, Emmanuel, Philo, and then at his parents. He uttered, “I don’t know.” He lowered his eyes and looked like he just wanted to disappear.

Agnes moved closer, and I realized she could be even more dangerous than Alexis. I ventured to ask, “Would there be a problem? Would the faeries mind if you let me raise your son? Even though I’m his brother?”

The mirthful expression on her face unsettled me more than any angry expression would have. Her voice was like warm honey, but with a poisonous undertone. “Oh, don’t worry your pretty little head about that, Damon. Faeries are more open-minded than you dragons think. We’re not so rigid about rules. I care most about my baby’s happiness and well-being. So I want him to decide where he wants to live. We adults intrude too much into our children’s lives.”

I grimaced. Her words made sense on the surface. But Adonis was too intimidated by both Alexis and Agnes for him to make a decision. Maybe she was gambling on his fear to manipulate him to come back to her. She was just pretending to be a caring mother.

Just then, Emmanuel said, “Adonis, come here.” The toddler looked uncertain, but he ambled over to my husband, who promptly scooped him up in his arms. Emmanuel murmured, “Come. Let’s get away for a bit and discuss what you want to do. Then we can come back and tell your brother and parents your final decision.”

When I realized what Emmanuel was suggesting, I cried out, with some panic, “Wait! Shouldn’t I come with you?”

Emmanuel shook his head with a smile. “I love you, babe, but you are apt to be biased. Aside from Jace, I would be the only neutral party here, and frankly, I don’t trust Jace to take care of a child. No offense, dolphin shifter. We won’t be long.”

***

It felt like an eternity until Emmanuel and Adonis returned from where they had hidden.

There was a notable change in the young dragon-faerie shifter. Adonis seemed more cheerful and confident. He gazed directly at Agnes, and then at Alexis. “I want to stay with my brother.”

Agnes looked surprisingly sad, but she nodded without protest. Alexis glowered at us, as though he had lost a battle he had fully expected to win. But at least they didn’t fight us. Soon enough, both Alexis and Agnes departed. Alexis had shifted into a dragon and carried Agnes away with him.

Jace heaved a sigh of relief, too.

I asked, “Emmanuel, what did you say to Adonis to help him decide?”

My mate looked cheeky and a little proud of himself. “I just told him to be honest about what he wanted. I explained that with us, he won’t have to be lonely. At least one of us will always be around, and Philo will be here, too. But back with Agnes, he typically only gets to see the maid. I gather she’s not mean, but she’s not charming, either. His mother is often not around, let alone his father.”

I was amazed because though all of this was true, I couldn’t believe that this reasoning was enough to instill confidence into my younger brother.

And I was glad that Agnes and Alexis didn’t object to Emmanuel’s clear influence on Adonis. I balked when Emmanuel called himself the neutral party. But maybe Agnes and Alexis had more self-awareness than I thought. Perhaps they both wanted an excuse to give their child to someone who could take much better care of him.

Jace laughed. “I’m glad for you two. I really am. It’s almost worth setting that trap for Lloyd.”

“What?” Emmanuel and I cried out together.

The dolphin shifter appeared sheepish but also smug. “Well, though I don’t like your father — or Agnes, I knew they would at least be sympathetic towards Philo, since he is Alexis’s grandson, after all. Agnes felt sympathetic as she herself has a child now.” At my astonished look, Jace chuckled. “Truly. Agnes isn’t as awful as she seems, though she’s still far from my favorite person. She’s not that terrible towards kids, though she’s not the most attentive mother, either. Still better than Alexis, though.” He gave me an apologetic glance.

Jace went on, “So I contacted them both to help me get Lloyd away from Philo. We had to think of something that would make Lloyd willingly and permanently abandon his crazy scheme of taking your child for his own.” The dolphin tittered. “So we arranged for Lloyd to ‘lure’ you out, while I risked my neck to free your son. Alexis, and later Agnes, would arrive on the scene. Alexis took care to promise a certain reward for Lloyd first.”

I furrowed my brow. “And what sort of reward is this?”

“Oh,” Jace seemed shy and glanced away. “I don’t think you’ll want to know.”

“Believe me, I do,” I insisted.

The dolphin shifter winced. “Okay, don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He took a deep breath. “Lloyd requested a clone of you, Damon. To be precise, he wanted a robot designed to look just like you, so that he can control it at will.”

I stared at him with horror and disbelief.

Jace shrugged. “Don’t shoot the messenger. Lloyd isn’t that interested in political power, since he already has plenty of that. Even if he’s still a little lower-ranking than your parents. But Lloyd is obsessed with you, Damon, not just because you’re nice eye candy, but also because you’re the only guy he wanted who didn’t succumb to him. So he tried to steal your son for his heir, and even got a clone robot of you. Lloyd is determined to have you in whatever way he can. He just doesn’t like to lose. And his desire for you is sincere, even if it’s disturbing.”

When Emmanuel, Philo, Adonis, and I parted ways from Jace, we were silent for a while. I was still reeling from the discovery of what my father had given Lloyd.

Emmanuel sighed. “I’m sorry.”

“What for? You didn’t do anything wrong. Your cousin is just sick and perverted,” I said.

My spouse chuckled a little awkwardly. “I know I’m not to blame. But it’s possible that my cousin’s obsession with you is to do with me. Lloyd was always jealous of me in some way or another. He technically had a higher social status, but our families liked me better. I was the baby of the family, even when I became an adult. Now that I’m gone, transitioned into a boy, thankfully, and no longer a dragon, Lloyd ought to have peace. Except he doesn’t. Because I swooped in and took away the one man he couldn’t get.”

I snorted. “You and I were together before I ever met Lloyd face-to-face. You came first.”

“Yes,” Emmanuel said. “But right before you met Lloyd, we weren’t technically together. We were just…sexually involved. So you weren’t committed to anyone at the time. But you still chose me instead of him. So at the end of the day, I won and he’s the sore loser.”

It was sobering to hear these thoughts. While I was disgusted at what Lloyd did, I also felt some pity towards him. He was a dragon lord with power, wealth, and influence beyond most people’s imagination. He was handsome and rich enough that he could get almost any guy he wanted, provided they weren’t straight. But he just had to fixate on something unattainable, and make himself so miserable and wretched. I shook my head.

But that was Lloyd’s problem. I gazed down at Philo, Adonis, and Emmanuel. No matter what, I would take care of my new family till the end.

I took a deep breath and summoned the change. Silver scales flashed down my body, wings erupted out of my back, my tail sprouted into being, and my claws stretched out from my toes and fingers. A moment later, I glanced down with love at my mate, through a dragon’s eyes.

Emmanuel smiled and hopped onto my back. The two dragon children clambered on as well. With two flaps of my wings, I took them into the sky.

We were finally free.

If you enjoyed this story, you might also love Anastasia the Nonbinary Dragon series.

Originally published in The Kraken Lore on Nov 30, 2022