“It’s a beautiful town.” Dean gave Gregory a respectful nod. “You and your parents have built an incredible community here. I am so grateful to your parents for doing what we couldn’t—for giving him the loving home he deserved.”
Marianne was wiping at her eyes again, but then reached out for her wine glass. “There’s no use crying over the years we lost,” she said resolutely. “Our baby’s alive and has grown into a brave young man. The first champion of the light this world has seen in thousands of years. And we still have so many years ahead of us.”
“Years to get to know each other, and to build new memories.” Chiara raised her own glass. “I hope you’re considering staying with us. We’d both love to have you close.”
Jared’s father laughed softly. “We’re not going to intrude on a newly mated pair.” He winked. “We’ve missed out on a lot of Jared’s childhood, but we’re not going to miss out on the grandparent experience.”
Chiara found herself blushing, even though she couldn’t help but smile in response.
It was true, after all—she did want a family of her own. They both wanted that.
“You’re going to be the best grandparents I can imagine. And the most youthful ones,” she pointed out.
There was one good thing about the eternity they’d spent frozen in stone. They hadn’t aged at all during those years, and looked at most ten years older than Jared.
They’d be just the right age to keep up with an entire gaggle of exhausting grandkids, to take them on fishing trips to mountain lakes, or long flights to the coast.
“Any time you two need a babysitter, we’ll be right here.” Marianne smiled as her as if she’d read her thoughts. “But my mate is right. We’ll return to our own home. You need your privacy.”
“But there’s no need for that,” Jared protested. “We’d love to have you here. And with me as the griffin of light now, there’s no need for you to hide in that cave anymore.”
“That cave was our home,” his dad said. “And there are many secrets hidden there... It will still need a pair of guardians.”
“How about we decide what we’re going to do with our lives once we’ve had time to make up for everything we’ve missed?” Marianne rested a hand on her mate’s arm. “Those are not decisions we need to make right now.”
Dean’s shoulders relaxed. “Of course. You’re completely right. So much has changed... Let’s take a few weeks to catch up with the world.”
Through the bond, Chiara could feel Jared’s relief. She was relieved as well. She’d really had enough of caves now. Obviously she’d understand if Jared’s parents wanted to go back to the home they knew and loved, but she hated to think of them all alone in that mountain when they had such a lovely little community here.
“That’s a deal, then,” Jared said firmly. “For now, you’re staying here, and I’ll introduce you to all my friends. And if the chimera calls—well, we’ll deal with that when it happens.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
He and his dad shook hands, grinning at each other. Chiara’s heart filled with warmth again as she looked at them. They both had the same jaw, the same stubborn set of mouth when they were facing a problem—and the same dimples when they smiled.
And she’d seen Jared’s devotion to his own duty. She’d heard people gently chide him for being such a workaholic. Perhaps it shouldn’t be a surprise that his dad was just as firmly devoted to what he saw as his own duty...
“And now,” Naomi declared, “we’ll show you the garden. It’s where Jared and Gregory learned to fly.”
Her hand curved around her belly again. Chiara thought that she knew what Naomi was thinking: that soon, another little dragonet would learn to fly in the same garden.
And who knew... Perhaps, in a year’s time, that dragonet would have a griffin playmate. Another generation of dragons and griffins growing up together in Mountain View.
Another generation that would learn to fly together and play in the currents of air among the mountaintops.
When she turned her head, she saw that Jared was watching her. He reached out for her hand when everyone else got up. For just a heartbeat, he pulled her against him when everyone else was filing out.
“What do you think,” he murmured. “Do you think you could deal with a winged toddler?”
“One?” she asked in return, sliding her hand to where his heart thudded reassuringly in his chest. “I want at least three.”
Chapter Twenty-Six: Jared
Jared couldn’t help but beam with pride when he and Gregory got to show off the ridiculous contraption they’d built one summer when they couldn’t have been older than twelve.
It involved a harness, a repurposed pair of skis that must have been ancient already when they’d found them in th
e attic, and a long rope.