“No, but it gives him a focus for his wrath.”

She looked slightly puzzled. “You said that you consider Sally your friend.”

“We do.”

“And yet you would set Magoth on her?”

“Not really, no. We told him she was in LA. She’s not. She said something earlier about going to Germany.”

“But won’t he simply realize she’s not there and turn elsewhere to find her?”

“I highly doubt if he’ll even think about her once he hits LA. He really is the biggest ham at heart. He’ll get out there, be smitten all over again with all the Holly-wood glitz and glamour, and will fling himself back into the world of acting. He really did love his years there, you know. I have every expectation that in a few years we’ll see him back on the silver screen.”

It took her a moment, but at last she smiled. “That was very smart of you. Congratulations on both your freedom and your upcoming nuptials. If you have no further need for me, I believe I will go see if Aisling needs anything. She’s a bit lonely now that Jim is in Paris with Cecile for a few days, and I must reassure her that it was quite happy when I delivered it there.”

“Life,” I told Gabriel after she left, kissing his nose to emphasize my point, “could not be better.”

Chapter Twenty-one

“Did you see the little ones?” René asked several hours later when I entered the now-tidy sitting room. “I aided Aisling to birth them, and I can tell you that, with the exception of my own, they are the two most perfect bébés in the world.”

“I haven’t seen them yet. My appointment is for”—I glanced at the card that István had given me—“half an hour from now. Don’t you think it’s a little odd that Drake made up an appointment schedule to see the babies? Is that normal?”

“Eh.” René shrugged. “He is a new papa and very protective. To him, it makes sense.”

“But to go so far as to don surgical garb when visiting them? My card says I have to be outside Aisling’s room five minutes early so I can pick up sterile clothing.”

“He is a little overprotective.”

“And then there’s the baby-holding training class he made us take after lunch. I thought that instructor was rather rude implying that just because Cyrene and Kostya and Gabriel and Nora and I didn’t have children, we wouldn’t know how to hold a newborn.”

René couldn’t really argue with that, especially since Drake had made him, the father of seven, attend the class, as well. “He is very overprotective,” René finally said.

“And the blood tests and retinal scans to verify our identities?”

“He is doing blood tests?” René asked, interested. “I did not have a blood test.”

“You will. Pál is wandering around the house jabbing everyone like some sort of bizarre dragon-vampire hybrid.”

“But what is the test for?”

“No idea, but honestly, retina scans? Does Drake seriously believe someone is going to go to the trouble of trying to pretend they’re any of us just to go in and see his children?”

René sighed, and gave a short little laugh. “He will learn, I think. Aisling will not allow her children to grow up coddled in the wool of cotton. You must give Drake a little time. And you, how do you fare now that you have found yourself?”

“I wasn’t aware that I had been lost,” I said carefully.

“Ah. Then I am mistaken.”

Silence fell for about a minute. René softly hummed to himself and looked out the window at the workmen who were busily rebuilding the front entryway.

“You’re talking about the dragon heart, aren’t you?” I asked, unable to keep quiet any longer.

He smiled. Just smiled.

“You fates can be very annoying sometimes,” I said, softening the insult with a smile of my own. “As it happens, yes, I found myself.”

“Did you tell your Gabriel?”

“Yes.” I thought for a moment. “But he didn’t believe me. Or, rather, didn’t understand.”

“That is the way with dragons,” René said sagely. “But you will show him, hein?”

I lifted my hand and watched as the fingers curved and elongated into scarlet claws, the skin shimmering into silver scales that swept up my arm. I smiled. “Yes, when the time’s right, I’ll show him.”

“He will be happy. But will you?”

“Yes, I think I will be. I realize now why the dragon shard chose me,” I said, letting the scales slide back into human flesh. I flexed my fingers. “It wanted me to stop being a shadow of someone else, and start being myself.”

“And that can only be a good thing.” René glanced at the clock and tsked. “But I am making you late for your baby visit. I will be quiet now, and let you go see the adorable little ones. I must pick my wife up from the train station in a short while. She has come to see the bébés, as well.”

I said nothing more as he bustled out of the room, and followed more slowly as I savored the feeling of relief. I was free from Magoth at last. Nothing would ever take me from Gabriel again, and I was happy with who I was—not strictly a doppelganger, not strictly a dragon, but something in between, something unique.

Gabriel emerged from Drake’s study, giving Maata approval on the house she found for us to rent. “Tell them we will take a lease for a year, but only upon May’s approval,” he said before catching sight of me. He gave me a rueful smile as I moved automatically to his side, his fingers immediately seeking mine. “Are you ready for the foolishness?”

“Not really, but I do want to see Aisling and the babies. Did you have the blood test?”

He sighed, our fingers entwined as we mounted the stairs. “I would say Drake had lost all his reason, but it is common for male dragons to be very protective of their spawn. Drake is most likely overreacting because of all the people in the house.”

“No doubt. We’ve been so busy with Magoth, it’s totally slipped my mind, but what will happen with Thala?”

He shot me a curious look. “I do not know, little bird. Kostya has claimed her as a prisoner of war, but whether Drake will release her to him is in question. She must answer many questions to the weyr.”