There was a long pause, too long for my liking. With the air thick around me, I force myself to open my eyes and glance around at the group. As expected, their facial expressions were nothing but confused, probably still processing the news. I feel Nya's hand slip from my forearm and I turn my attention to her.

Her face is scrunched, eyebrows furrowed as her mind tries to connect the dots. Finally, she parts her lips, "Wait, you have a son? Did I hear you right?" She raises her gaze to my face, lips pursed.

"Since when?" Emilie was the next to speak, snapping everyone out of their stupor and turning their eyes to the girl, "I mean, I know you and Lloyd are freaky but—"

"Emilie!" Kat hisses, nudging the taller girl with her elbow, "Don't say stuff like that, now isn't the time."

"What do you mean, now isn't the time?" Jade interrupts, pointing a finger at my face as she switches her eyes between Kat and Emilie, "They literally have a child, which by the way, we had no idea about!"

"Shh!" I reach out and grab Jade's outstretched hand, lowering it to the ground as I step closer to the group, "Can you keep it down, the others could hear you!" I whisper harshly at them, panicked eyes glancing over my shoulder, expecting to see any of the guys to come out of the Monastery.

When no one does, I heave a sigh of relief and look back towards them, letting go of Jade's hand when she tugs at it. I straighten my posture, feet shuffling underneath me. "It's...He's not Lloyds." I mutter, not meeting their faces and instead keeping my focus on the stone steps leading down the mountain behind them.

I hear some of them gasp, "What?" Maddy questions, stepping closer to me, "If it's, sorry, if he's not Lloyds, then...?" I turn and see her send Jade a quick peek out of the corner of her eye.

"Whoa, whoa, no!" I knew what she was implying and was quick to shut it down. "Kai and I, we weren't even together for that long! There's no way we did any of that, that's for sure." I shift around and grab Jade's shoulder, her grey-blue eyes drifting off to the side, losing focus. "Jade, I swear—"

"I know." She reaches up and lightly pats my hand, a small smile on her lips, "I trust you, that and Kai and I have talked about that ages ago." Relief floods my system and I take my hand off her shoulder, "But you need to be honest now, if it's not Lloyds, then whose?"

Now, things were starting to get harder to explain. Rubbing the nape of my neck, I roll the options around in my head. Do I explain how I brought back supernatural beings that were once created by Lord Garmadon to kill us with an Element that's supposedly forbidden or do I take the easy route and go on a small roadtrip with them and show them personally so they don't get the wrong idea.

"How about instead of telling you, you come meet him and our son?" I suggest, tone hopeful. Sure, I haven't prepared for them to meet my other family, but what's the worst that can happen?

"I think that's a good idea." Maddy grins, stepping forth. "Not only do we get to meet this guy, but we get to see your son! We're aunties!" She gushes, grabbing onto Jade's arm and shaking her excitedly.

"And," Nya speaks up, a smile curling on her lips, "If I think this guy is a total ass, I hope you don't mind me testing a few new moves on him." She curls her fist and punches her other open palm.

Chuckling, I gently push her shoulder, barely knocking her over. "There's no need, really." A smile tugs at my lips, my anxieties being brushed to the side for a moment. "But, can it just be us for the moment? I don't want to overwhelm anyone."

"But, you are going to tell the others, right?" Emilie raises an eyebrow at me, "More importantly, tell Lloyd?"

Of course, I was never going to keep this a secret forever. I told myself years ago that I'd come clean and tell everyone, but just not yet. Not until I know the girls weren't going to overreact, not until I know they can back me up if Lloyd accuses me of anything. Which, I don't believe he would, but my insecure self-conscious tells me otherwise.

"I will, I promise. Just not yet." I watch them nod at each other, an excitement taking over their faces, replacing the confusion and hurt that was once there.

"Alright, when do we leave?" Kat pipes up, seemingly eager to meet the new edition to the large family we have going on.

I raise a finger, "Ah, just give me a moment. I gotta rush in and grab my phone, other than that, you guys should get ready to summon your dragons. It's a bit of a ride." With their quick agreement, I turn and speed walk back up to the Monastery.

The refreshing and familiar smell of incense washes over me, bring a peacefulness over my mind. Sensei Wu always had a good taste when it came to certain smells, especially when it supposedly helped clear your senses. I never heard anyone complain about the smell. My steps were light across the wooden floor, not a single creak reaching my ears. I take a few turns before reaching Lloyd's and my room, sliding the rice sheet door open swiftly.

"Oh, should I have knocked?" I tease, eyes greedily taking in the sight before me. It seemed like Lloyd had finished his training with his father and uncle, his sweat soaked shirt laying idly on the floor.

His back faced me, rippled muscle tensing as he turned around to face me, which only gave me a better view. I let my gaze wonder carelessly, noticing the small scars nicked into his skin and the larger one that ran over his chest. Despite his imperfections, they still made him perfect. If that even made sense.

"You act like you haven't seen me naked." Lloyd grins, making me tear my eyes up to meet his own green pair. He sends me a quick wink and turns back around to head towards the drawer sitting in the corner, opening one of the compartments and searching for a new clean shirt.

"Well, maybe you should be naked more often, then I wouldn't stare." I defend myself with a roll of my eyes. I make my way to the bedside table and pick my phone up from the charging spot.

"I'm about to head for a shower, you joining?" I feel his arms wrap around my stomach from behind, his chin rested against the crook of my neck, "It's another chance to see me in my birthday suit." He purrs, turning his head to rub his nose against my cheek.

I sigh, leaning back into his hold. I had the worst luck when it comes to timing. "I'd love to, but the girls and I are heading out to the city for a bit." I turn around in his hold, reaching up to wrap my arms around his neck, "You going to be able to survive for that long without me?" I tilt my head, batting my eyelashes at him.

He hums, the vibrations bouncing from his chest to my own, "I'll manage, somehow." He sighs, dropping his forehead to rest against my own, "Let me know how long you'll be, okay?" He leans in and presses a quick peck to my lips.

"I will, don't worry." I murmur against him, pulling back to give him a reassuring smile. "Love you, dork." I pull away from him and go to leave, not before giving his hair a quick ruffle with a smirk.

I hear him laugh behind me, "Love you too, moron. Stay safe!"

Lightly jogging, I meet the girls outside the Monastery's front gate, their elemental dragons waiting by their sides. "Alright, I'm ready!" I slip my phone into my pocket for safe keeping, I haven't lost it while flying yet and today wasn't going to break that record.

"Took your time." Emilie snorts, her blue and aqua dragon breathing roughly through its nose behind her, sending her already frizzy hair flying past her face, "Let me guess, you saw Lloyd?"

"Oh, come off it." I groan, summoning my own dragon. She purrs against my hand as I rub her snout, a gentle croon rumbling from deep inside her chest. The purple and black dragon lowers herself to the ground, making it easier for me to mount her. "You guys fine with following me?"

"We're use to it, oh, wise leader." Jade snickers to herself, the others following her. She mounts her own smokey grey dragon, hands already gripping the reins.

"I'm looking forward to the ride." Kat shrugs her shoulders, already on her saddle. "We haven't flown anywhere in what feels like ages, isn't that right, girl?" She coos, rubbing the palm of her hand against her dragons pink scales.

"We're ready when you are." Maddy sends me a thumbs up, her yellow and gold dragon already opening her wings, jostling the girl a little on her seat.

I nod and flick the reins, giving my dragon the all clear to take off. She opens her massive wings and takes off into the sky, leaving behind a trail of purple mist. I hear the others following closely behind, their dragons letting out roars of their own into the sky as they catch up to me.

I catch a glimpse of a blue dragon flying besides me and turn my head to see Nya, the woman already looking my way. "We told the others we were going to the city, so we don't have to worry about them being on our backs." She mentions with a proud grin.

"Good, thanks. That makes thing easier." I watch her nod before we all fly in silence, the cool wind whipping past us, leaving our hair fuzzy and wild. I purse my lips and take the two hair ties off of my wrist, reaching back and quickly tying my hair into two low ponytails. It was probably messy but I wasn't trying to impress anyone, so it didn't bother me.

It takes us fifteen minutes to reach our destination. I watch the dense forest pass underneath us and begin lowering my dragon when a small clearing starts to appear. When my dragons feet reach the green grass, I slip off and quickly give her a pat of appreciation. I hear the grass rustle and turn to watch the others land beside me, their own dragons disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

"So, this is the place?" Maddy asks when I step closer to the group, her eyes set on the large, two story cabin in front of us. The grass in front of it was neatly mowed, a flower bed lining the path to the front door. Large glass windows covered most of the cabin, the white curtains drawn to keep prying eyes out. Another stone path lead out towards the side of the cabin, and you could briefly hear a stream running somewhere nearby.

"This is the place." I smile gently, the smell of the pine forest drifting past us. This was my second home.