Chapter 9

                                    

                                          
Chapter 9
                          
In the darkness of night, when no one could see, before she ever made her return known to her family, Nat went to Oceane's pond. Carrying the egg in its pelt blanket, she walked through the abnormally warm air with Ey at her side.
                          
As she approached the water, she saw a smooth mass begin rising from the surface. It wasn't until the demi goddess was standing fully that the water ran down off of her body. Oceane took the edges of her veil and threw it backwards, heaving a sigh of relief.
                          
"Nastasya." She rushed forward, touching Nat's cheek. "You're safe. I became so worried when I suddenly felt your magic again. Were you attacked?"
                          
"Something like that." Nat lifted her arms. "I have the egg though. That's all that matters."
                          
"That's hardly all. There's a new sadness in your eyes. What happened in Rhamnus, my love?"
                          
Nat shook her head. "I... don't want to talk about it. Please, just take the egg."
                          
Oceane looked as though she wanted to protest but, after letting out a small breath, she instead lifted the egg from Nat's arms, taking the pelt with her. She hummed softly as she ran her hand gently down the leathery shell.
                          
"It's alive." She smiled at her daughter. "Excellent. I will begin working on incubating it immediately. I'm proud of you, Nastasya."
                          
"How long will it take?" Nat stood awkwardly on the edge of the pond, unsure what to do with herself now. Ey gently butted her hand, getting her to pet his head. She gave him a grateful smile. Both for the comfort, and for keeping his silence about what he might have seen between her and Sam.
                          
Oceane, staring at the egg, didn't notice. She shook her head, still stroking the shell. "I have no idea. I don't know how long it normally takes for them to hatch, nor how long a hybrid like this one might be different. It's enough to know that it's alive, I suppose."
                          
"But, father doesn't have an unlimited amount of time. What if the egg hatches too late?"
                          
"It's a possibility." Oceane sighed sadly. "This is our only chance to get the dragon blood though. We can only wait until the dragon emerges. The moment it does, I will send for you to have some blood drawn. It won't take much, I should think."
                          
Nat was shaking her head, dismissing her godmother's words. "Wait! You mean to tell me that I did all of that and it could have been for nothing?! Father could die anyway?!"
                          
"I don't control when the death goddess chooses to claim a soul. It's up to your father's strength. If you've some other plan, I'd be more than willing to help you make it a reality."
                          
Oceane's sharp voice pierced Nat like a lance. She had to bite her tongue to hold back the frustration of simply hearing the truth. She had somehow felt like, so long as she was successful in retrieving the egg, her father would be immediately better.
                          
A gentle touch on her cheek turned her eyes back onto her godmother. Oceane looked just as helpless as Nat felt.
                          
"I understand, Nastasya. Believe me, I do. I no more want to surrender Linny than you do. We've done what we can. The only thing left is for the dragon to hatch."
                          
"How much time does father have? If you had to guess."
                          
"Your mother has been bringing him water as instructed; it's not really working as I had hoped though. He's still getting sicker."
                          
"Meaning, he might not have enough time after all." Nat's shoulders fell as a horrible sense of doom sank into her belly.
                          
"Don't lose hope, Nastasya. For all we know, this egg could hatch in the morning and all of this will be nothing more than a bad memory."