She liked how the other woman was straightforward. "I will, then. And I hope you'll answer the rest of my questions just as directly."
Holly smiled. "I'm not sure I could answer them any other way, Delaney. Too many years as a nurse, aye? And I still work as one part-time on Lochguard."
Holly bringing up she was a nurse was actually perfect. Because one question hung above her more than any other. "That means you know about the risks for humans who birth half dragon-shifter children. There's talk of a treatment to give me a better chance of survival. Is that something I can do here?"
Reaching out a hand to touch Delaney’s bicep, Holly bobbed her head. "Aye, of course you can. All you need are regular shots of dragon-shifter's blood. Preferably from the father of your child, or one of his family. I suspect Rhydian won't hesitate."
"Do you know him then?"
"Och, not really. But he told Lochguard's leader that you're his true mate—as a precaution and a warning, you ken—and while there are some bad true mates out there, I don't think Rhydian is one of them."
"No, he's not," she murmured with a smile as she remembered him attempting to make breakfast for her earlier in the morning. And in the end had served her burnt toast with a rubbery fried egg.
"Your smile tells me heaps, Delaney. You should be fine."
Delaney lowered her voice, hoping none of the dragon-shifters could hear. "I want to be, but there's still a lot of danger lurking around simply because I'm here."
Holly grimaced. "Aye, I know. And I'm not a stranger to it, either. Someone kidnapped me, after all, and caused me to lose my first bairn."
"I'm so sorry."
Holly waved a hand. "It can't be undone. And at least I have my daughters now, which helps."
The woman in front of her was strong indeed.
And while Delaney didn't want to be insensitive, she had another question burning in her belly. Hoping Holly wouldn't be offended by her directness, Delaney leaned forward a few centimeters and asked, "Was it all worth it?"
Holly glanced over at her mate, holding up one of their babies. "Aye, it was. Fraser is what I didn't know I needed. Meeting him made my dad happy, too, in the long run." Holly met her gaze again and sighed. "The only drawback is the bloody legend surrounding my bairns. I don't want them growing up with ideas of grandeur."
Finally, Delaney could offer to assist someone else. "Well, if you ever need help grounding them, let me know. I think the humans in the dragon clans are the ones who can treat them more normal than the dragon-shifters. On top of that, I can even teach them a few boxing tricks when they're older. That way, they can drive off any threats or strangely obsessed believers of the legends."
"I'll have to take you up on your offer, for both treating them like any other children and for the boxing. And maybe, once I'm a wee bit fitter from birthing the twins, you can teach me, too. We humans can always use a few tricks to keep our mates in line."
Delaney laughed. "Anytime. If your mate will allow it."
Holly shrugged. "He won't object. And if he does, then I'll appeal to his dragon half. He'll want me to be as safe as possible."
Delaney didn't miss the opportunity to ask, "So do you have any tips for me on how to handle a dragonman?"
Holly leaned even closer and whispered, "Once this event is over, we can escape for a cup of tea and I'll tell you most of what you need to know."
As she and Holly laughed over their respective dragonman's grunting habits, Delaney felt a little more weight lift off her shoulders. While she'd enjoyed talking with Gwen, Lily, and the other dragon-shifters who had tried to welcome her, she realized now how she'd needed to talk with another human in the same situation as her. Not only to help sate her curiosity, but it gave Delaney reassurance that her fate wouldn't end up like her sister's.
~~~
Rhydian half listened to the visiting guest speakers as they took questions from the students and answered them.
While the children had been hesitant at first, the more Melanie and the others talked with them, the more open they'd become.
Maybe this was what his clan had needed.
His dragon spoke up. We should have a stronger alliance after this. And not only that, Delaney has made a friend.
The two human females sat to the side, listening attentively to the speakers. However, they'd both been chatting earlier and Delaney had laughed quite a few times, too. He replied, I only wish she had another human inside Snowridge to befriend.
Soon. If things keep progressing this well, we can ask the DDA to send some humans here to possibly find a mate.
Rhydian hoped so. Although as he stared at Delaney's profile, he wanted to claim his own mate first. And not just with a ceremony, either. He wanted to go through with the frenzy.