A small knock on the bedchamber door sent Felicity across the room to whisk it open. Stefana stood on the other side. She must have changed because her attire appeared dry. Unless she had mastered increasing her body temperature to dry her clothing.
“Come in.” Felicity stepped back to allow the other queen to enter Raene’s bed chamber.
Stefana stepped through the doorway and she made her way across the room to where Raene and she had seated themselves to discuss how best to train Raene now. “Have you made any progress?”
“We have.” Felicity eyed Stefana. “Do you train expecting human women?” Why this thought had not already occurred to her thus far she did not know, but it had not.
Raene and Stefana both gasped. “We do. My brother Lukas has designed a program specifically for them, with the help of several healers.” Stefana’s eyes met Raene’s.
“But those are human females. Will such training work for me?” Raene asked this with muted emotions. At least Felicity did not detect any.
“I believe those practices will offer us a guideline on how to structure your training.” Felicity thought about the changes in Raene’s body. “Essentially what we are concerned about is your center of balance.”
“And you will not fight on the offensive.” Stefana bit her lip. “If you find yourself in battle your focus will be on fighting defensively.”
“Vidar will annihilate any threat to you before you can even unsheath your sword. We are keeping up your training so that you do not lose ground once your babes arrive. This is merely to maintain your skills.”
“It is better for my body and my babes for me to keep active. I feel this to my very core.” Raene readjusted her position in the chair.
“You are uncomfortable.”
“I am. But that is common. There is much less room than there used to be.” Raene said this in a matter of fact manner.
Stefana still grimaced. “We have worked wonders in Swiftland, but I am not yet ready to provide an heir.”
“There is no need. You are both Aasguards. However, when the time is right, it makes itself known. Vidar and I both wished to increase our family at the same time. We both felt it was right. However, we had not taken into account that I am Aasguard now and will likely live far longer.” Raene’s face scrunched.
“You and Vidar are treading unknown ground. There will be many things you will realize you have never considered.” Felicity did not envy them.
“If you think on it, we can decide what happens. No one else has ever done this, as far as we are aware. Therefore we make the rules.” Stefana’s nose wrinkled. “I use the term rules lightly.”
“Understood.” Raene’s tone edged into very dry. “Those haven’t been kind to women in our time.”
“They have never been kind to women.” Felicity had lived a long time. She had personally witnessed this. As had Ari and the few other female Aasguard warriors they knew.
“Did I hear that there is another female Aasguard here? Who came because she knew Ari?” Raene moved her hips in a manner that communicated discomfort.
“Yes. Emma the Petite arrived this morning or late last evening.” Felicity had forgotten that she and Ari were here.
“Perhaps it would be a good idea to invite them to participate in figuring out the best training for Raene.” Stefana gazed at her friend. “Ari has trained me and has assisted with Raene.”
“That is a sound notion.” Felicity dug her crystal out of her pocket and made the request to Ari, who she hoped was with Emma.
“Do you know Emma?” Raene inquired.
“I have heard of her, but I have never had the pleasure of meeting her. However, every single female Aasguard is amazing.” Felicity shot them both ironic glances. “You have never encountered the ugliness of human men’s minds as an Aasguard, but understand that female Aasguard warriors have not had an easy time.”
Both of her companions grimaced. A knock sounded at the door and Ari opened the barrier. She took in the situation quickly, Emma right behind her.
“I received your message.” She lifted an eyebrow to Felicity. Who immediately explained about Raene’s condition and the need for modified training exercises.
“This is Emma the Petite. Emma, these are our newest female Aasguard warriors, Queen Raene of Montequirst and Queen Stefana of Swiftland.”
“It is wonderful to meet you.” Emma, in a similar manner to Raene, could not boast to the greatest of heights. She probably stood at average height for a woman—short for an Aasguard. Her body was the same muscular, toned figure of all Aasguards, but she was smaller than typical. She exuded the same air of confidence and competency. And something else that Felicity could not put her finger on.
Emma sported blonde curls, freckles, and blue eyes. Her sweet smile and calm likely lured many an enemy into underestimating her. She did not look like an Aasguard warrior, but she moved like one, and her sword was every bit as well used as any.
Suggestions filtered through the room as all of them offered ideas to Raene. Who eventually rose and moved through the exercises as Ari and Felicity helped her modify the motions. Felicity managed to train for the day by doing all the original moves and subsequent modifications for Raene.
Emma’s long years—they were all shocked to learn she had trained between Lajos and Vidar, so had been a warrior longer than any others in the room—aided them as she explained about the changes in Raene’s body and how to accommodate the growth she could expect.
It took some time, but by the time all of them were happy with their progress, Raene had trained for the day and felt far more comfortable with the new practice sessions she would need to conduct.
Ari tilted her head to the side. “I think we should call in Vidar. He needs to know these as well so he can assist you, Raene.”
Raene bit her lip but she agreed and Ari called Vidar to come. He arrived promptly and they showed him the exercises they had modified for Raene and her condition. He did not look askance at so many female Aasguards in his suite.
Felicity took a moment to appreciate the experience. She glanced at Ari who nodded and Emma covered her hand with her own while Raene and Vidar finished. “I needed this.”
“So did I.” She might not know what the future held, but she suspected Rykert the Bold would play a large role. To have this time with other females, who understood without explanation, was not something she would forget any time soon.
‡‡
Rykert finished on the training field with the others, had breakfast, and wondered off in the direction of where the dragons rested. This school did have a treasury. A requirement to keep the facility operational. Thus far, Ari and Kellen’s funds were sufficient to maintain the building. Stefana’s father helped them to invest wisely and they shouldn’t need additional funds for eons to come.
He turned the corner and nearly plowed into Felicity. Rykert grabbed her biceps to keep her on her feet. This woman had been Aasguard for so long she was never at risk of taking a tumble. But he enjoyed holding onto her.
They stared at each other for long moments and he could not read her intentions due to his own presenting as murky and a little chaotic. Her eyes glowed in the dim sunlight slanting from a nearby window and his hands tightened.
No force could have prevented him from drawing her into his arms to press her delectable self against him. Or from him bending to take her lips in a kiss she seconded. Her arms circled his neck and tugged him closer.
Rykert knew a good thing when he had her within his grasp. Knew he needed to kiss Felicity with everything inside him. She rose onto her toes and that placed them at nearly identical height.
One of them groaned and this snapped them apart. His chest heaved as he gazed at this woman with the power to make all thoughts, all training, all inhibitions flee. Surely they should know better at their advanced ages.
Her hand fluttered for a brief moment before she wrapped it around the hilt of her sword. An anchoring attempt that they all did. Whenever life spun out of control or felt as though it might, they touched their sword. It served as a reminder of their purpose.
“Our purpose in life has changed.” His voice sounded thick.
She released her sword hilt. “Yes.” Her voice echoed the thickness of his. “And that is an aspect of the issues at hand.”
He could not read anything in her eyes or by the way she stood. His ability to read intentions remained faulty. “Is it a problem?” He had yet to make a determination on the subject.
Her head tipped to the side. “Probably not in the long term. Right now, yes. Until we Aasguards establish ourselves as a community.”
“I like being a part of a community.” That had not existed a year ago.
“As do I. It is definitely a new age. Where we can expand and explore in a way never opened to us before.”
Felicity’s violet eyes swirled with mysteries he wanted to explore for the rest of their lives. “What are you thinking?”
“I have been pondering the money left by our mentors.” She nibbled her bottom lip. His gaze locked there. “But my mind has also been dwelling on dragons.”
Felicity had paired with Maeze who was blue scaled with yellow eyes. Felix, Rykert’s dragon, was yellow with blue eyes and typically such dragons were mates and love matches. Take Aern and Fricassa, for instance. Aern was Vidar’s massive black dragon with green eyes while Fricassa was Lajos’s former petite green dragon with black eyes. Their complimentary coloring indicated they were mates and they had been attracted to each other over the centuries but it was not until Raene decided to follow her heart rather than logic that everything changed.
With her marriage to Vidar, Aern and Fricassa had then felt free to mate and both unions had proved immensely successful. Vidar became a king, something unheard of for Aasguards and he excelled in that position. Raene continued to run the nation of Montequirst but Vidar aided her and oversaw the security aspects of the queendom.
Aern and Fricassa had then been free to travel to Swiftland where they could assist Lajos and Stefana. They had also enjoyed a freedom not known to them previously. They had access to Lajos and Stefana’s collective treasures and also assisted with protection for a neglected nation.
Rykert wondered if they would produce dragon babies. His familiarity with dragon anatomy and physiology did not extend to reproduction. He glanced at Felicity. “Can dragons like Aern and Fricassa reproduce?”
“They can. But only if they have steady access to treasure.”
He abruptly straightened. “Really?”
“Yes. Maeze’s parents knew that answer. That is why they were able to reproduce. They were not colored the same, but their’s was also a love match, I would venture. They produced Maeze rather quickly. I believe they were both disappointed at only one egg, but Maeze delighted them.”
His brain processed Felicity’s statement and her earlier one about their mentor’s wealth. “Of course. You are thinking to create a massive treasury of all the Aasguard wealth that has been left behind.” His mind opened to the possibilities.
“I am. It would be perfect for any dragons who seek to reassess things, and it might provide a wonderful opportunity for them to meet.” She wiggled her brows at him and he laughed.
“I did not expect that from you.”
“I am oft far too serious. You have changed this solemn trait within me.” Her hand reached out to cup his cheek. “Thank you for such a gift.”
“You are welcome.” A rush of solemnity encased him. “I am happy to bring levity into your life.”
“I am thankful. I am also thrilled that we have so many options now. This shared treasury will not only aid dragons but also any Aasguard who wishes to start a business or occupational endeavor.”
He stilled. “Of course. Those monies could be used for additional schools, or businesses, or anything our people require at the moment.”
“It could be used for research.” She raised those violet eyes. “It would be extremely helpful to know whether it is safe for us to marry and reproduce. To know what to expect and how to train during pregnancy. We do not become ill, but it might be helpful for some of our kind who are gifted healers to aid others.”
“The possibilities are stretching wider and wider.” He marveled at the way she thought. “Perhaps we should present these notions to the other Aasguards.”
“I was on my way to see Maeze.”
“I was on mine to see Felix.” He grinned. “There is no telling what trouble my dragon has caused.” But they placed those plans on hold in lieu of speaking to their colleagues.
Felicity’s light laugh made him certain he could conquer the entire realm of desampus single-handedly.