Almost as soon as the words left my High Priestess’s mouth, I cast a portal to take us to the cave that housed the eggs and the hoard that once belonged to Tiamat. I really needed to build a treasury at some point to house all that loot, I couldn’t just leave it lying around. At the moment though, I had other matters to attend to.

“Great Mother, are these baby dragons going to be dangerous?” I asked as I directed my thoughts toward Danu. I knew that she was watching the possible futures and now that some were starting to hatch, I figured that she wouldn’t have any problem revealing what she knew.

~They are not dragons, my child,~ she replied gently. ~They are Drakans, the legacy that your High Priestess suspected. They are an ancient race that traveled and explored many worlds through the world-gates, including ours. These eggs are from many clutches; five will hatch today and the rest over the next week. You might want to get a closer look at that big one though.~

That was more information than I was expecting, and I cautiously approached the largest of the eggs that Kleo was currently watching to ask, “What can you tell me, Kleo?”

“There are forty-one eggs in total, my Goddess, and five have been moving,” she replied, confirming what Danu had just told me about how many were close to hatching. “That big one already has a few hairline cracks forming on it. It seems that whatever is inside is eager to get out.”

“Good work, Kleo, thank you for your diligence,” I told her with a smile as I looked at the egg, pale lavender in color, and found that Kleo was right about those cracks. The egg was also bigger than Pete was, and that was saying something. As I watched, it wobbled violently, and another large crack appeared. Nishalle, Pete, and both of my Guardians hovered nearby, ready to move at a moment’s notice in case anything dangerous hatched, so I assured them, “These eggs are safe. Danu says that they’re Drakans, not dragons. We can expect five to hatch today and the rest over the next week.”

“Well, that’s a relief,” Lissany said from behind the faceplate of her helm. “I don’t want to kill any babies.

“Yeah, me neither,” Harley agreed emphatically.

“They’re going to need people to care for them when they hatch,” I murmured thoughtfully.

“My brood will care for them and raise them well for you, my Goddess. Kleo, would you like to…” Lilith stopped midsentence, letting out a gasp when the egg in front of us shook violently and practically exploded, revealing its occupant.

I could see why Tiamat was so interested in them since they greatly resembled dragons. They had a scaled, reptilian look to them, with draconic wings and long sinuous tails and necks. The forelegs were quite a bit shorter than the powerful-looking hind legs though, and more like arms, with opposable thumbs, making me think that it would walk and stand on its hind legs while not in the air. I had to wonder if all of them would be like the impressive specimen that hatched first though.

Even covered in egg gunk and a mere baby, the Drakan was almost majestic; a little over seven feet long from snout to tail with silver scales, iridescent wing membranes, and a crown of bone ridges atop its head. Those silvery scales reflected the light from my hair, glimmering like moonlight. Then there were those silvery-blue eyes, and the first place that they looked was at me.

~Mother?~ a voice asked in my mind, causing my eyes to go wide. The voice was feminine, silky, and sweet.”

“N-no, I’m not anyone’s mother!” I quickly stammered in response, drawing the gazes of everyone around me.

~Not biologically, obviously,~ the silky voice replied, undeterred. ~You are certainly not a Drakan. We have formed the mind-bond though.~ That was not the only voice in my head though as I could hear giggling as well.

“Great Mother…” I began, my thoughts toward Danu, as I tried to find the words. Did she seriously just pull a Loki and troll me into being in the right spot for this Drakan to imprint on me? At least it sounded like some kind of imprinting.

~Congratulations, my daughter, it’s a girl,~ the Goddess replied as the sound of her giggling continued to tinkle in my mind for a moment. ~I could not help myself, dear. This one is so regal, and those scales, she was meant for you.~

“I don’t have time to raise a baby anything,” I countered.

~Your priestesses can help, and her siblings will need people to bond with who can care for them properly as well. They are quite intelligent, as you can tell, and possess a racial memory, though it will be some time before their bodies catch up to their minds. If it were not for that, they could take care of themselves from birth. Think of this as a personal mental bond, much like that which the Succubae now share with you,~ the Goddess suggested.

“I guess I can get one of the Succubae or the Sül’shael to act as a nanny for her when I’m not in Varüus’kiel,” I mentally conceded. This wasn’t like Willow; the Wisp could follow me around since we’d bonded, and she could fit in my purse. Speaking of the Wisp, she had hidden in my hair when the egg-splosion happened and was now peeking out at the hatchling curiously.

This Drakan, on the other hand, was a sentient being and much larger. She would need a lot more care, and I would have to spend time with her, but I couldn’t dare bring her with me outside my territory since people might just think she was a monster. Even people in Varüus’kiel might be reluctant at first.

I also couldn’t just ignore her, not only was that not the kind of person I wanted to be with those who were loyal to me, but she was in my head. Ah well, what was one more mind in there after a Goddess and thousands of Succubae? This time I directed my thoughts toward the Drakan hatchling. “I probably can’t be with you as much as we’d both like, at least until you’re older and can get around easier, but I’ll have someone see to your needs while I’m not here.”

~Oh, whatever will I do without you?~ the cheeky little shit replied before adding in a more serious tone, ~I understand, Mother. It is not as if we will ever truly be apart now that we are mind-bonded. I can sense your emotions, and your thoughts to some degree. You bear much responsibility, but you will do your best to see that my siblings and I are treated well.~

“Please don’t call me the M-word,” I thought back with a groan. “Just call me Taelya. You will need a name as well; do you have any preferences? Maybe Luna? From the way your scales reflect light, like the moon.”

The Drakan puffed up her chest as she stood shakily on her hind legs. ~I like it, it sounds regal and suitable for one of my magnificence.~ I had a feeling I was going to have my hands full with the Drakan girl when she was older.

I tried not to think about that as I turned to Kleo and Lillith. “Luna here is going to need someone to care for her needs when I’m not in Varüus’kiel. They seem to bond mentally with the first person they see, so maybe it would be best to have one designated caregiver for each hatchling. So maybe we should bring some girls here who want the job before they hatch. Unless…” I turned to look at my four protectors. “Anyone interested in being bonded to a Drakan?”

“That’s probably not going to work well, Sis,” Nishalle said with a shake of her head. “We need to stick with you, we don’t really have time to care for infants and it would be a distraction.”

Pete let out a hefty side but nodded in agreement with his girlfriend. “She’s right. As awesome as it would be to fly into battle on a Drakan, our duty is to you, and we wouldn’t have time to properly raise or train them to work with us.

Lissany and Harley seemed to be on the same page as them, and I guess that wasn’t surprising with their dedication to being the best Guardians possible. With that in mind, Lillith called five of her Succubae to come take the hatchings in hand, though one would be helping me to care for Luna and another would be taking over Kleo’s vigil on the eggs while she bonded with one of the new Drakans. We were in for a few surprises with the hatchlings though.

The biggest surprise was that they weren’t all like Luna. The second to hatch had gold scales instead of silver and two large horns atop his head rather than a crown of ridges. He was also quite a bit smaller than Luna at only just over five and a half feet in length.

The third Drakan had jade green scales and no wings at all, which kind of threw us all for a loop at first until Luna imperiously explained that she was an Earth Drakan, so, of course, she wouldn’t have wings. She was slightly longer and bulkier than the gold-colored hatchling but not as big as Luna. Kleo named her Jade, due to her color. With her not having wings, I was a little worried about putting her on a flying island so the Succubae could care for them in their village.

The last two hatchlings were comparable in size and shape to the gold one but lacked horns and were different colors. One had deep blue scales while the other had crimson. Luna told me that they were a Water Drakan and a Flame Drakan respectively, while the gold one was a Storm Drakan and Luna herself was a Radiant Drakan.

Apparently, there were eight varieties of Drakans, six types with wings and two without wings, and each was bound to a different element. Radiant Drakans, like Luna, were the largest of them and could manipulate light while Shadow Drakans were nearly as large and had similar abilities as Nishalle, being able to disappear into the shadows or darkness and not be seen. They could also move between shadows or dark places with something akin to teleportation.

The four smaller varieties of winged Drakans were Storm, Frost, Flame, and Water. Not only did their scales make them very resistant to damage from their respective elements, but they could weaponize it like dragons. Frost Drakans breathed air so cold it could freeze whatever it touched, Water Drakans fired high-pressure water blasts, Flame Drakans breathed blisteringly hot fire, and Storm Drakans had those two large horns atop their heads that could produce electricity and fire it like lightning bolts.

The wingless Drakans were Earth Drakans and Stone Drakans. The first good diggers, who had earth magic that could help plants grow and stay healthy, and their saliva could heal wounds and even some poisons. The latter were incredibly good tunnelers, could manipulate stone, and were great at finding valuable ores and gemstones.

The differences among the hatchlings also prompted Luna to explain a few other things, like the fact that Drakans could only speak telepathically with the person they were bonded to. They would be able to learn to speak as people like us could, but it would take a lot of practice to become adept enough with their growing bodies to do so. They would also need to become familiar with our modern spoken language since they had been on ice for several millennia.

It was going to take time to learn to use their elemental abilities as well. They might have a racial memory, but their bodies would be growing and changing and needed to catch up. Also just knowing how to do something did little good if you didn’t practice enough to turn knowledge into skill.

In the end, I decided to bring the five Drakans and the Succubae who would be caring for them to the still-under-construction capital. People needed to get used to seeing both species around and to know that they too were citizens of Varüus’kiel, who had the same rights as any other. Besides, the Drakans were cool, and the kids were going to love them. I could already picture Lucy and Tíana trying to befriend them.

The infant Drakans did need to eat first though, so Lillith had some of her girls hunt some meat for them. They were apparently omnivores, but Luna said that they needed to eat a lot of meat, especially during the first few months of their lives. We could probably expect them to be fully grown in about a year or so.

Once the Draklings (As I was told Drakan hatchings are properly called, in Luna’s most imperious mental tone) were finished devouring a large wild ox between them, I cast a portal to take us to the shore of Lake Danu near the Moon Palace. Feeding them had taken longer than I would have liked since we had to cut the meat from the beast into bite-sized portions for them and make sure that there were no small bones that they could choke on. I fed Luna alongside Guiyen, the Succubus who would be caring for Luna when I couldn’t. It was a messy job, and I had to use a spell afterward to clean myself, the Succubae involved, and the Draklings.

We stepped through the portal, right where I had left my three lovers watching over the two children. Thankfully, Tien had found Becky and brought her to talk to them. They were all staring at us, or rather the Drakans that were with us. Ugh, I was going to have to explain this whole thing to them and then the Queens of the courts, wasn’t I?

The good thing about being Empress though was that I could delegate, and I totally planned on doing that. “So, Becky, how’s it going? Are you able to talk to them? Or the older one, at least?”

Becky shrugged her shoulders. “My Cantonese is rusty, but I know enough to speak with him. We’re lucky they’re actually speaking Cantonese and not Mandarin. Unlike what some people have heard,” she said with a glance toward Rei and Tien, “Cantonese and Mandarin are nothing alike. Sure, some of the written characters are similar or even appear visually the same in some cases, but that does not mean they have the same meanings or even sound the same. As a spoken language, they are completely different dialects and sound nothing alike.”

Tien and Rei didn’t even notice her dirty look in their direction. Like everyone else, they were focused on the Drakans as Rei hesitantly began to ask, “Are those…?”

“Drakans, not dragons,” I clarified. “There were just over forty eggs, but only five hatched today.”

“They don’t feel all chaotic and against the natural order like Tiamat’s children,” Salem said thoughtfully as she looked them over. “Are they as intelligent as we are?”

“Yeah, and they have this racial memory thing too. Even though they’re physically infants, Luna here was able to tell me quite a bit about their species. It’ll be a while before they can learn our language or for their bodies to be mature enough to care for themselves, but they’re very clever and mentally mature.”

“Luna?” Tien asked. “And how could you know all that if they need to learn our language? Is this more Goddess stuff?”

I groaned as I idly scratched the Drakan in question behind the ridges of her crown, causing her to make the cutest cooing noise. It was almost enough to distract me as I replied, “I guess it could count as ‘Goddess stuff’ since Danu told me to get a close look at the egg right before it hatched. Luna was looking right at me when she burst out of that egg and imprinted on me. We’ve got this mental bond now, but Guiyen is going to help care for her when I can’t be here in Varüus’kiel.”

“She’s so pretty and shiny,” Daenyss cooed ponderously murmuring, “I wonder if this is worthy of a new title?”

“Let’s… uhh… hold off on any more titles for the moment, Sweetie. I think I have enough right now,” I told her softly, leaning forward to kiss her.

“Well, she certainly does get attention,” Salem said, noting the growing crowd of onlookers observing not only the Drakans but their Succubae handlers as well.

Quite a few of the observers were children, including Lucy, who looked absolutely awed. The older of the two Huli Jing children was gaping, his little jaw dropped. His younger sister was staring at Luna, probably captivated by the light of the Moon Palace reflecting off her scales, but from what I had seen so far, she wasn’t quite walking yet. She was crawling through the grass toward Luna as fast as she could though before Becky picked her up and started speaking to the infant in Cantonese.

I liked the little one’s enthusiasm though, and I needed to get the ball rolling on properly integrating both the Drakans and the Succubae into the vast tapestry of living beings that was Varüus’kiel. “Luna, do you think you and your siblings could play with the children? Try to be mindful of your teeth and claws though,” I thought to the Radiant Drakling. They could move around on their own, even if it was just clumsy waddling, but I thought this might help them to become more adept at it and build up a positive image with them.

~Of course, we can play. We are infants, not stupid. Draklings play a lot, just like any other species, to learn to control our bodies properly,~ she replied haughtily before adding cheekily, ~The question is, will we play with them?~

“I’m beginning to wonder what I did to Danu for her to set me up with you,” I mentally grouched at her before adding, “Fine, will you play with them?”

Her mental tone was teasing and playful as she shot back, ~I am wondering that myself. You must have done some truly great deeds to deserve to be bonded with someone of my magnificence. You did say you rule these lands, right? Perhaps your Goddess, rightly, believed that only someone as impressive as me was a suitable companion for you. Yes, of course, we will play with the children, Your Majesty.~

Luna added the last as I gave her the equivalent of a mental glare and began waddling over to Lucy and some of the other kids. I quickly instructed the Succubae caring for the other Drakans to pass on the message to play, gently, with the children before announcing in a loud and clear voice, “These are baby Drakans. The women caring for them are Succubae, just like Lillith who has recently joined my entourage, and they are my Priestesses. Both are citizens of Varüus’kiel, just like the rest of you, so please treat them as such.”

With my speech given, I leaned over toward Lissany and whispered in her ear as the Draklings began to waddle toward the other children. Lissany raised her faceplate to grin and give me a thumbs-up before calling out, “Lucy! You still want to be a knight like me and Harley when you grow up, right?”

She had Lucy’s immediate attention. The girl dashed past the approaching Draklings and practically saluted as she stood in front of me and my Guardians. “Can I, Lissy?”

Lissany gave her little hero worshipper a big grin. “Of course you can. If you work hard and truly want something, you can be whatever you want to be. I’ve even got some Knight training for you. Those baby Drakans are going to play with you other kids, so I want you to make sure that everyone plays nice, and to tell an adult if anyone gets hurt. Just like you and me, those Draklings have claws and they can’t control their bodies very well yet. Can you do that for me and Her Majesty?”

“I will!” she enthusiastically replied before she suddenly thought about it and turned to my Liyun’shael lover to ask, “Is that okay, Grammy Salem?”

Salem nodded and ruffled the girl’s hair. “Of course, it is, Lucy. Just make sure nobody plays too rough and if anyone gets hurt, get your mother or one of the healers.”

“Kleo will be here to watch over Jade, and she’s a healer, so you can just talk to her if anyone gets hurt,” I instructed as I pointed to the Succubus in question.

Lucy’s head bobbed up and down rapidly in a nod and then she was off to join the other children, who the Draklings had approached while we were talking. I noticed that Sapphire, the Water Drakan, had waddled into the water and was already splashing around with some of the Merfolk and Atlantean kids. An Undine girl was playing with them as well. Becky said something to the Huli Jing boy in Cantonese, and he ran off to join the other kids as well, while she cared for his sister.

“I hope these Chans that Daenyss and Rei mentioned will be able to take these kids,” Becky said once the boy had left her side. “I am not parent material, and my Cantonese is so rusty.”

“Well, that’s our next stop, now that everything else is dealt with,” I assured her before turning to Tien. “I’m going to need you to spread the word about the Drakans and the Succubae, and tell people that they aren’t monsters, but citizens of Varüus’kiel and won’t hurt anyone. I don’t need people panicking over them because nobody has seen a Drakan before. People have seen Lilith with me, but the Succubae haven’t been a common sight around here. They’re my Priestesses, so I want them treated with the respect that I have no doubt they will show to others.”

“I’m on it, Your Majesty,” the Druid said before taking off to see it done.

I turned to my three lovers, giving each a kiss and a hug before saying, “Sorry about leaving you all to deal with the children and such while I took care of other things.”

Each of my lovers kissed me back eagerly and exchanged a look between themselves before Rei told me sternly, “You were busy and we’re the people closest to you. You honestly need to delegate more than you do, so we’re happy to help when we can. We’ll forgive you if you take us out for a nice dinner. I’m thinking Chinese.”

That got a laugh out of me, and I replied, “I know just the place. Hopefully, the Chans will accept my offer, I have a simulation being set up for people who will need to go into F.I.Ts now, including the Chans and those kids.” Then I turned to my new official chauffeur, who was hanging back. “Speaking of which, I need to apologize to you as well, Megan. I kind of left you here with the others, I hope you weren’t too bored. There is a spot in that simulation for you as well if you’ve decided who you’d like to be.”

My driver rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. “Actually, Your Majesty, I have. I think I want to be completely Tokh’dhraí. Oh, and don’t worry about leaving me here, I figure that being your driver is probably going to mean a lot of waiting around and this place is amazing. I can’t wait to see the city when it’s finished, or the inside of that glowing fantasy palace.”

After sending messages with a Wind Whisper spell to my Mahair, Pájar, and the Queens of the two other Courts to inform them of the situation with the Drakans and Succubae in our midst, I cast a portal to take my protectors and entourage to the Golden Sun restaurant. I was surprised and a little concerned to find the place closed with one of the windows broken and covered in police tape. There was graffiti all over the front of the building too, phrases like ‘freak lovers’ sprayed all over the place.

I couldn’t help but worry and think that this might be our fault, for allowing the paparazzi to find us eating here. Lillith was worried too; she summoned twenty of her girls to cover us and perch on the roof of the building to watch the neighborhood around us for trouble. I sent a quick text and a photo to both Robyn and Rob. - We’re @ the Golden Sun? Did u see this? -

Robyn was the first to reply as I nervously waited and petted Willow, who had emerged from her nap in my purse to take her favorite perch on my right shoulder. - WTF?! OMW with Rob, please check on Mr. and Mrs. Chan. They live in the apartment above the Sun. -

I teleported us all inside, but we didn’t have to go upstairs to find the Chans. They were inside the restaurant, cleaning up the wreckage of broken vases, tables, and chairs. The damage and graffiti inside the building were prevalent as well, targeting anything of value. Our appearance startled them, but we were able to quickly calm them down and, thankfully, neither of them was hurt since the break-in and vandalism happened after they were closed last night.

Whoever had broken into the place hadn’t gotten as far as the kitchen and had run off when the police sirens approached. We helped to clean up the mess in the restaurant as best we could, and Rob must have broken a few traffic laws because he and Robyn were there in just over ten minutes to help with Venika still watching over them. The Chans were kind enough to make a big meal for us all to share while we talked about serious matters when we had cleaned up the worst of it.

Lilith and I opened a hole for Mr. Chan in our auras, and once they told us as much as they could about the break-in, I started to explain why we were there. Robyn went off on quite the tirade about the incident, saying that she was definitely going to bring it during the press conference she was setting up in a few days, one she wanted me to speak at as well. With the following that I was starting to get online, she felt this was a good time to make a public statement to explain to the world what was happening since the Veil fell.

I told them about the pair of orphaned kids who only spoke Cantonese, and I explained everything about the F.I.Ts and how they could start their lives over again in Varüus’kiel if they wanted to, regardless if they were willing to give those kids a home. They had done right by me, and I wanted to do the same for them. It turned out that they did indeed speak Cantonese, and once I had explained everything, they were eager for a chance to provide those kids with a loving family.

When I told them we could probably make it so they could have future children together as well, they were completely sold. It was decided that they would come with us to enter the simulation with the children, giving them the chance to bond and get used to their new, younger, bodies. Mrs. Chan’s F.I.T would contain DNA from both her and the infant Huli Jing, while Mr. Chan’s would use Kitsune DNA in addition to his own to ensure they were compatible for having future children while having a large degree of genetic separation.

As for their restaurant, I assured them that the Golden Sun would have a place in Varüus’kiel. I would have some Magi come to move everything usable in the restaurant, and anything from their home upstairs to one of the new hobbit holes meant for both business and residency by the time they were out of the simulation with their new family. After our talk, we cleaned up from our meal and I teleported us to Varüus’kiel while Robyn, Venika, and Rob left to take care of other things.

When we returned, the Drakan infants were all fast asleep after playing with the children, some of whom were also napping alongside them. Kleo and the other Succubae were busy preparing some meat for when the Draklings awoke, expecting them to be hungry. The Chans took over for Becky watching over their new charges, and Mrs. Chan looked like she never wanted to let go of that little girl, going by the smile on her face.

They didn’t have long though, before the simulation was ready and the F.I.Ts were being prepared. They even had a variety of small animals waiting in some, for anyone like Amanda, who might want to become a Witch. She seemed certain of her choice for her future, as did Megan, who really wanted to lean into the Tokh’dhraí femme fatale thing, like my sister, and learn some deadly new skills.

As for Amanda’s brother and the other former DCA agents, they all decided to stay human, but change their appearance for their future safety, save for Mike Jacobs who was going to be a Witch like his sister, after he learned that there were indeed male Witches. Jennifer already had her contract with Pryswik and would spend her time in the F.I.T learning elemental magic, and the others had taken to heart the fact that I needed humans (or apparent humans) for my diplomatic teams. They were all just happy to learn some cool new skills, to be able to have new jobs more in line with their beliefs about the Changed, and to have the chance to make a difference.

Once everyone who needed to be in a F.I.T was, I checked on Luna before taking us all, except Megan, back to our hotel room in Toronto. The Succubae watching the rooms assured me that nobody had been inside except for them, not even housekeeping, while we were gone. Lillith had another pair relieve them so they could get some rest, and then we all went downstairs for a light meal in the hotel restaurant. Not all of us were very hungry, but I wanted us to be seen. I didn’t want people to think that we had fled the city for some reason, and I still had business in the area until we heard from McPherson Medical about our order.

The next two days were busy for me. Besides visiting various places in Toronto to be seen, I made a brief trip to the Temple of the Heavens to allow my Priestesses to feed on my aura, made several trips moving things from the warehouse to Varüus’kiel, spent time with my friends and lovers, and whenever I was able to spend some time in Varüus’kiel, I tried to bond with a certain cheeky Drakling. It was as I was about to make one of those trips home to check on things and spend a little time with Luna that I got a call telling me that my order was ready.