Malan greeted him cheerfully and provided him with the budget report he’d requested. She also gave him a packet of correspondence from the build site that had accumulated since the last package had been delivered to their house in New York. He shuffled through the letters. Nothing looked urgent, so after meeting with Malan for a few moments, he took his leave.

When he rejoined Eva and Pia, he saw they were in luck—the baby had not yet awakened. After shapeshifting back into his dragon form, the women climbed astride, and they embarked on the last leg of their journey.

The air quality was impeccable. In Rhyacia, it was late morning, and the sun had yet to banish the last of the morning’s coolness. The dragon breathed deeply, feeling himself expand, as the beating of his giant wings echoed the rhythm of his heart. There were no power lines, no aircraft, no cities, no frantic vehicles roaring down paved highways.

There was just the land scrolling underneath the wide, immaculate sky. While they weren’t within eyesight, mountains to the north remained snowcapped through the seasons. He flew down the coastline of the immense lake to the south, where palm trees and brilliantly colored birds of paradise proliferated, and the bromeliad that some humans called Spanish moss dripped from ancient oaks and cypress trees.

A sprawling settlement of tents, Quonset huts and other prefab houses hugged the coastline, crisscrossed with dirt paths. The settlement neighbored the construction site of the new city, which was located at the foot of a massive granite bluff, the top of which would be the location of his and Pia’s new home. Dragos had missed the penthouse in Cuelebre Tower. He wanted height and the ability to gaze out over miles of blue water and land.

As they approached their new home, the women exclaimed in excitement. Pia asked him to fly lower, and he obliged. On the ground, he could see tiny figures of people pointing up at him. More ran out of tents and buildings, and their combined voices rose in jubilant welcome.

After long weeks of anticipation, the Lord of the Wyr and his mate had arrived home.

Chapter Five

First of all, when Niall woke up, he didn’t notice or care where he was. He just wanted to run and run and run and run and run, blithely oblivious to the locale, common sense, or any reason.

Pia managed to keep hold of him until she could get him down the path from their temporary house to the private stretch of beach Dragos had cordoned off for their personal use. When she set the baby down, he exploded into his Wyr form.

As he careened with haphazard joy down the beach, Pia and Eva chased after him for a good hour to make sure he didn’t hurt himself before he finally slowed down and agreed to change back into the baby to be fed.