Arya feared Mec, she had to admit it to him, but she knew she still loved him for who he was, not what. Mec was now fully developed, and overnight his neck had tripled in length, his tail had grown a foot, and his wings had become larger. His head was completely dragon, with no trace of human blood except for his thin lips, and to all the world he looked like a young dragon standing on his hind legs. But he was still human to Arya.

Mimic had become reclusive, never speaking unless directly asked a question, and he had nightmares every time he slept. Arya did her best to help him, as did Mec, but the remains of the Tai'jaq tortured his mind, and it would never leave. Though they had stopped the venom from fulfilling its purpose, there was still the mind to deal with, and Mimic was fighting a battle. And all of this there was Arya's battle with her ethics.

"You fear what I am." Mec said. It wasn't a question. "I may have no trace of humanity physically, but my mind has nothing draconic in it. I am human to the core, despite the form I have." Arya smiled.

"What about your wisdom? That seems dragonish to me."

"That is just me trying to act like my mother." Mec said with a fanged smile. "She is very wise, even for a dragon. The magic in her makes her see what others cannot, and that is why she and my father became mates." Arya frowned and looked down at the ground, leaning against a tree. "You're thinking about our relationship, and how it will eventually lead to our being mates." It was again not a question.

"How did you know?"

"Drakes have the ability to read the minds of anyone, regardless of their mental defenses. Your mind is…like an open book. I can see every page. If you want me to seal off my mind…"

"I don't care if you read my mind. It doesn't matter to me…" Arya looked up at him. "Yes, that is what I'm thinking about. If my mother discovers our relationship, I will not only be banished from Du Weldenvarden…but from the entire society of elves. No elf will speak to me ever again…and no rider will either."'

"The riders are at an end; there will never again be a dragon and rider bond…" Mec swallowed, smoke trailing from his nostrils. "…because there will be no more dragons when my mother dies. Now there are only drakes, and even we may die out, because we have no others of our kind."

"I'm sure it won't-"

"Only Vervada has managed to reproduce, and with a draconian, a pure drake. Their child will likely be male, and then our kind will cease to exist. Though we are, like all dragons, capable of inbreeding without any ill effects…we would not stoop to that level." Mec snarled in a language Arya couldn't grasp. "Akras veral mak! This is nothing you should be troubled with."

"Mec…" Mec smiled slightly.

"Are you actually considering us being mates?" Arya smiled.

"You already know, mind-reader."

"I like to have verbal confirmation." He jerked with surprise when Arya kissed him on the lips. "I suppose physical confirmation will do. It would be far less complicated than with a full dragon and a human. At least I don't have to use any dark magic to mate." Arya shivered as a breeze went by, and Mec extended a wing to wrap around her. Surprisingly, for he was cold-blooded, the membrane burned like fire. "It is magic that my sister taught me; it makes up for my cold blood." He said, reading her mind again.

"Mec…would you?"

"Would I what? I'm not reading your mind that deeply…" Arya frowned. "Ah, I see now…yes, I would." Mec turned to face her and wrapped his other wing around her, chuckling. "Unless you want to try in the air? I am capable of lifting more than thirty times your weight…" He broke off as she kissed him again. "I see…"

Eragon

Saphira tapped him on the shoulder as he was just dozing off, Saphira and the Antargian dragon at each side. The drake was looking at him with something like excitement. What is it, Saphira?

"Father, I found out more about your transformation…" She held up a book that was so thick it would have been impossible for Eragon to lift it in human form. "As the dark magic seeps into the body, the user's blood changes as well, eventually making it possible for him or her to produce full dragon offspring." Eragon sat up with alarm.

You mean…the dragon race may not die out?!

"Exactly." Eragon smiled and chuckled.

Perhaps this dark magic isn't all that bad…

Arclis

"What is it like?" Orik asked Arclis suddenly, his boots pounding the soil.

"What is what like?"

"Being…part dragon." Orik averted his gaze and Arclis chuckled. "My apologies if I offended you."

"You have done no such thing, kind dwarf; I understand why you want to know." Arclis thought for a moment. "I am stronger than any elf, I can breathe fire, I am immortal, and my scales deflect arrows and most sword blades…what is there to know besides the fact that drakes are the perfect warriors?"

"But what is being a drake like?"

"I'm not sure I understand what you mean, but I will try…my mind is of a dragon, and my instincts are as well. I am not like you dwarves in how you fight for justice or honor; I fight only if I or one of my kin gains something, or for revenge. I killed Galbatorix for revenge, as he ordered Morzan to kill my father." Arclis looked back to where Thorn and Murtagh were following, as they had not said a word the entire time they had been traveling. Having his true name stripped from his soul was a terrible blow to him.

"So you are dragon to the core…"

"Precisely." Arclis chuckled. "I can smell your fear, dwarf." Orik looked up at him, startled.

"You what? Why would I be afraid of you?"

"Because you know that I am alien to you, that you have no chance of understanding my mind, and that I could rip you apart for no reason. You fear what I am, but not on the outside…" Arclis smirked. "…you fear the dragon part of me." Orik nodded slowly. "I cannot expect you to understand my mind…but I cannot understand the mind of a dwarf either. Fortunately for me, I do not fear the unknown like you pure-breeds."

"You say pure-breed like you would a curse." Orik pointed out. Arclis looked down at him with a slight smile.

"It is a curse. You treat me as almost an equal…why do you think I have kept the Feleans from eating you?" Orik jerked and looked back at the cat-creatures, who were always staring at him. "Yes, they would if you were not an ally." Orik swallowed and stayed closer to Arclis's side for the rest of the journey.

AHH! Too many children! I think that I may have let the lovers get a little out of hand…or maybe not. Let me count them…

Five drakes, from Eragon and Saphira

One male draconian, from Vervada and Thissa

Am I missing any? I think so, but I see more kids in the future.

EGGS ALL AROUND! Is Hirath the village of love or what?

Review the story or the children will die!