The World Dragon's Heir

Chapter 764: Daddy’s Girl

Ten minutes later, Dominic’s eye cracked open, and then shifted around the room to take in his own bulk, before wobbling his head to rock the baby.

"I see your eyes open, I know that you’re awake. Now, shift back so we can go back to bed."

Dominic huffed as Alexis scolded him, but let her take Katerina off his head, much to the small one’s protests. Only when she buried her face her her mother’s chest did she finally let out a happy burble of noise.

"She’s getting more like you every day. Now, shift back so I can yell at you properly."

Dominic rumbled with laughter as he stood, his back brushing the ceiling of the nursery. Alexis could see the calculation in his eyes, the knowledge that she couldn’t properly argue with him when he couldn’t answer, and was large enough to just pin her to the floor with his head.

But he did shift back anyhow, appearing in his sleepwear, as if nothing had ever happened.

His wings and claws were out when he shifted, and then slowly retreated into his usual appearance after a few seconds.

"Well, that was a new experience. I heard her cry in pain, and something just snapped in my mind before I realized what was happening. Then, I think that you saw the rest. You’re quite comfortable in that form, though.

We should do that again."

"Seriously? That’s what you took away from this? Not that you turned into an actual dragon, and tore apart half the floor, but that my lap is comfortable?"

"Well, I didn’t know that I broke half the floor, now did I? I was asleep for most of that. At least, I’m pretty sure I was. It feels more like a dream.

How is Katerina’s head? She had a pretty nasty bump, even though she landed on a pile of bedding."

"She’s been fully healed. I don’t see any lingering damage, and as soon as she was settled on top of your head, she stopped fussing completely. Normally, we would have kept her awake for a while, to check for concussion. But with two different types of healing magic, there shouldn’t be any risk to letting her sleep."

Dominic stepped forward and snatched Katerina, who cracked an eye open, then closed it again. Alexis sighed, as she saw that fake sleep tactic for the second time in an hour.

The more dragon they were, the more they had in common, it seemed. They both reverted to the same tactics to remain comfortable. That did not bode well for the future of the Duchy, when they had to deal with an adolescent Katerina.

If she took after her father to that degree, just trying to keep her out of trouble was going to be a full-time job for an entire team.

Alexis frowned as she listened to the happy baby noises.

"Ladies, increase the temperature in the nursery. I want to test something."

They kept the whole house at a comfortable twenty degrees. However, the moment that she was in Dominic’s arms, which were warmer than the average human, Katerina seemed to relax much more easily than ever.

Benedict, who had come to join the Wavemates Royal Guards on duty when he was informed that Dominic went full dragon, altered the spell in the nursery to increase the temperature to an almost uncomfortably warm twenty-eight degrees.

"You’re thinking that she will be happier in the heat, right?

I don’t know how it will work with the mixed blood, but this is about the ambient temperature where I’m from, if you’re not using climate control magic. It might be more pleasant for her, or easier on her instincts.

Dragon nests tend to be in volcanic mountains or tropical swamps, so they’re always quite warm."

"Try setting her down." Alexis instructed.

Dominic grabbed a blanket and folded it around Katerina, who was sound asleep in his arms. Then, he set her in her bassinet, which was made of durable magical metals, and wouldn’t succumb to tiny dragon claws the way that the changing table railing had.

"She’s not grabbing at the blankets," the wet nurse noted.

"I thought that was just a Katerina thing, since she likes to... no, there she goes. Still chewing on the blankets. Just not wrapping herself in them. I guess she really did want it to be warmer in the room."

Five minutes later, Katerina was sprawled out in her bed, legs and wings spread as she chewed on her blanket.

"She looks so happy." Dominic laughed.

Benedict brought out a small trinket from his storage ring.

"Highness, perhaps you should try this? I don’t know if they’re a thing here, but they’re quite common back home."

Alexis smiled at the soother. "Yes, the maids use them. It’s against Royal Protocol, as supposedly it makes the teeth grow in crooked. So, we never got her one."

Benedict switched that one with a bracelet made of strips of leather that had hanging tassels after it was tied.

It also had a magical stone set into it that Alexis was fairly certain was a tracking spell.

It didn’t look like much, hardly the sort of thing that a Royal would wear. But that was part of the attraction. Everyone would assume it was something that her nanny had given her.

Nothing valuable, not worth removing if they tried to snatch her.

Benedict carefully tied it around her wrist, then activated the enchantment, which woke the baby. Katerina’s eyes lit up with joy, and she immediately stuffed her hand in her mouth, trying to get at the bracelet from the wrong angle.

"It’s got Dragonberry oil on it as a dye. Safe for dragonkin babies to ingest if they chew on it," he explained.

"I swear, food is all that is in that child’s brain," the Trollish wet nurse laughed.

Katerina stared at her hand as if it had personally offended her, then stuck her fingers back in her mouth, this time accidentally getting one of the strands from the bracelet along with them.

That was what she was after.