Ash 1917
"Would you like more Ashari?" Elena asks, holding up the platter of the roast. "There's plenty."
"Yes, please," I grin, gratefully taking the offered serving.
My brother's mate hadn't known what I might like, so she'd spent all day cooking as many plates as possible from all parts of the world. Of course, I didn't need her to make that sort of sacrifice for me, but I wasn't complaining. Everything was delicious, and I couldn't get enough.
"I might gain some weight living here," I confess, making my nieces and nephews laugh at my attempt at humor.
Darius's family was so different from what I was used to, and I think it has a lot to do with Elena. They're affectionate, talk about everything freely and act as themselves without fear of reproach. I won't deny it. I was a little envious of that freedom.
"Uncle, have you thought of a human name for yourself yet?" Maia, my brother's oldest daughter, asked me. Darius had a rule that we were free to use our proper names in the house. So all eight of my nieces and nephews had both a given human name and a dragon one.
"Um, no, I haven't thought of it too much," I frown slightly. "I'm not even sure if I should."
"Trust me, you'll want to," Tonatiuh, my nephew, grins at me. "Humans become uncomfortable if your name isn't something they're used to hearing."
"He's right," Jeanne agrees with her older brother. "Daddy, is uncle Ashari using our last name?"
"That's up to him," Darius smiles at me. "You're welcome to it. But, sadly, here in the states, your last name matters as much as your first one."
"Well, what is it?" I raise an eyebrow.
"Riley," Darius shrugs. "It's not as impressive as Atreanous, but it works for what we need."
For the first time, I want to question why our last name was what it was. As far as I knew, Shakka didn't have a last name. So, where did Atreanous come from?
"Well, I suppose if none of you mind sharing with me, I'd like that."
Dinner continues for a while, and I wonder if everyone's like this because I'm here or if this is their regular routine. In Alaska, we ate together, but I couldn't compare tearing a deer to pieces and fighting over the hind leg as being the same thing as this.
Yes, we had a proper dining hall where we could be human, but we didn't use it that often. It was more for when visitors came; even then, it was formal, and there were rules and etiquette to follow.
Darius didn't have any servants. Not in the way I understood it. Instead, he explained that he had people he paid to clean but weren't bound to the family over generations like back home, and they didn't live here.
How would my father react to a place like this? Even in the human towns in Alaska, it wasn't like this, and from what I'd seen between Seattle and here, things were different from place to place.
I could spend a lifetime exploring the world. Seeing it for what it truly was but my heart still thought of battle.
"Good night, uncle Ashari," Lereiyah, Darius and Elena's youngest daughter, hugs me tightly after dinner.
"Good night, little one," I smile, unfamiliar with this sort of affection so publicly.
If I ever had hatchlings, I'd need to be more comfortable doing this. I didn't want my children to be afraid to give me a simple hug.
We wait until the younger children are off to bed before Darius leans his forearms against the table and gives me a severe look.
"Are you sure you're ready for all of this?" He asks me pointedly. "You'll have to learn a lot in a concise amount of time."
"He'll be fine," Elena smiles at me. "We'll help him get used to everything."
"I'm ready," I sigh. "Though I won't lie, things are very different here."
"And they won't stop changing," Darius tilts his head slightly. "Humans evolve quickly. They have very short lifespans. I'm sure you understand that."
I nod.
"Well, their instinct is to leave something behind. For most, it's a memory for their descendants, but some have much more curious and inventive minds. So they change the course of history for everyone."
"But I like that," I scowl at my brother. "They don't stay still. They make the world better."
"Not always," Elena sighs. "Like the world of Entit'a, there's a dark side to all of this. Yes, people make great things that they mean to bring good to the world, but there are always those who will use it for evil."
"So, does that mean you think things should work like they do for us?" I ask her curiously.
"No, not at all. Just understand that while the human world is fascinating, you should still be on your guard. It has its ugliness as well."
"And what you want to do is possibly the ugliest side of it," Darius warns. "War, in general, isn't something you should take lightly."
"You don't want me to go?" I raise an eyebrow.
"I want you to understand what you're walking into," He sighs. "Especially because human wars don't just concern humans. It impacts our world too. So what you do will affect the course of your possibilities."
"My possibilities?" I scowl in confusion. "You act like someone will be watching and judging me during battle."
Darius shares a dark look with his oldest son Omari, who clenches his jaw in agitation.
"Don't be surprised if you are," my nephew tells me. "The royals have their hands in everything."
It looked like there was a lot I needed to learn, but I'd made the right choice to join my brother and not go off on my own.
"How much has Nerva kept from me?" I demand, feeling slightly frustrated with my father's deceptions. "What's really going on?"
Darius and Elena share a look before my brother glances at his children, who all silently get up and mutter their goodnights. Even those who are adults.
"You deserve to know the truth, little brother," Darius tells me once it's just the three of us. "At least as much of it as I know myself."
"That's more than I have," I growl, feeling angry at the idea that I've lived a lie for most of my existence.
"Alright," he nods, closing his eyes to focus his thoughts. "I suppose we should start from the beginning. How Halona can be our mother."