by KD Jones
“No Zocor!” Queen Arena held her king in her arms. “You can’t leave me!”
“You must go now, to safety.”
“I can’t leave you. Someone help him!” Arena screamed in desperation.
A mage knelt down to inspect the mortal wound. “There is nothing I can do for him. He must go through the portal to close it with his blood.”
Tears streamed down her cheeks and blurred her vision. He had not been a true mate for her and her dragon but he had been good to her.
Zocor coughed and blood came out. He took her hand. “Go now.”
She shook her head. “I’ll put some blood on a blade and toss it through the portal and stay with you.”
He motioned for her to lean closer to him, unable to lift his head. “Our people need a leader.”
She shook her head in refusal. “Blaze can lead them.”
“Arena, we don’t know if Blaze made it to a portal. Even if he did, he will need someone to help him move into that role.”
“I can’t leave you.”
“It’s all right. You have been a wonderful mate even thought our union was not a true mating. You deserve that and so much more. I believe in destiny. If the gods meant for you to have a true mate, they will ensure that you find each other again. You must survive for that to happen.”
“I have no regrets,” Arena told him.
“Neither do I. Now, drag my body through the portal and close it. Do it for me, my queen.”
Arena didn’t know where the strength came from, but she locked her arms under his and dragged her king through the portal, and closed it behind them. May the gods watch over you, Blaze, she thought as the swirling mist sucked them through.
Earth - Dragon Snow Mountain, China – 100 years post Drakonian evacuation
Arena walked down the dirt path leading to the Temple of the Jade Summit. It was a human-built temple dating to the Qing dynasty. It was one of her favorite places to go for the view of the hillside and its beautiful abundance of camellias. Her people liked to come here ever few decades. The air was chilled and would only be getting more and more so. She pulled her robes tighter.
“My queen, are you ready to head back to the campsite?”
She looked to her side at her second in command, Dax. He had been very supportive since they had arrived to this strange primitive planet through the mage portal. He wanted to mate with her but she knew they weren’t true mates. She refused to settle for anything less.
“You go ahead. I won’t be far behind you.”
“I don’t like leaving you alone. It’s not safe.”
She snorted. “I’m a dragon shifter. I have nothing to fear from the humans.”
“I will stay and protect you,” Dax insisted.
Arena had to grit her teeth at his treatment. It had been difficult taking command of her people. A Queen had never before in Drakonian history ruled a land without a King. When they first arrived to this new world through the portal, her people urged her to take a mate but she refused.
Her father had pushed her into the arranged marriage with King Zocor and, at the time, she was too young to fight against it. She had been blessed and lucky that Zocor was a kind and gentle male, but there was no real connection between them. Their inner dragons only tolerated each other. The only male her dragon stirred for was the one male she could never have — Blaze.
Blaze was Zocor’s illegitimate son, but he had not come into Zocor’s life until his teen years. She watched him grow into a strong and fierce warrior — not to mention handsome. He easily reached six foot five and had wide shoulders, muscles everywhere and the blackest hair. It was his eyes that pulled her in the most, though similar to Zocor, they sparked with intensity that seemed to see right through her.
Once he had reached adulthood, she knew she had to keep her distance from him. Her dragon recognized him as a potential mate and she feared she would dishonor her vows to Zocor. Now, both of the males who had become her whole world were gone. This time, she refused to allow anyone else to dictate to whom she would mate.
Arena stood up for herself and the other kings backed her up. That didn’t mean that she still wasn’t presented every year with “potential” suitors. She could never pick someone within her own village to mate so she made every effort to have rare intimate encounters with those outside her village, with other dragon shifters.
Tonight, she had plans with King Reichardt. He was arriving with a few of his warriors at midnight. They would stay a few days, mingling among her people to see if any matings could be found. She had been with Reichardt before over the past decade and enjoyed his company, but her dragon didn’t stir for him. Her dragon hadn’t stirred for anyone since Blaze.
She still dreamed of him every night, his broad shoulders and sparkling eyes. The deep rumble when he laughed. He never backed down from a challenge and even if he failed at his first attempt, he didn’t give up. There were times in her dreams she felt him touching her, whispering her name as his lips skimmed her skin. She would wake in need of him only to find her bed empty and her heart aching. Maybe if she took a mate and had a family, she might forget what she lost. Maybe. But she feared that because she had not been able to have dragonlets with Zocor, the gods did not intend her to have any at all. That thought ate at her heart.
Chapter 8
Blaze flew the dark skies of the strange planet, letting his wings spread wide. He searched for another portal that might lead him to where his people had gone. He traveled through two portals to two different planets. The first planet he called Lonestar did not have any bodies of water like rivers or lakes but it did have plants that contained pockets of water near their roots. Otherwise, the planet surface was dry and barren. He found his food source lacking as well with only small creatures that he could eat. After being there for a few weeks he thought surely he would die alone and wasted away.
A dragon sonar call alerted him of activity in the distance and when he tried to follow it, he found the second portal and traveled through it. He didn’t bother to question why another portal opened — he refused to die on that barren planet alone.
Going through the second portal closed after his passage through it. This time, the small planet he found himself on had a more livable environment with plants, animals, and water. He was grateful to also discover a small group of Drakonians — just not the ones he hoped to find.
This small group of twenty came from a different region of Drakonia and separated somehow through the portals. The group consisted of six adult males, eight adult females, and six dragonlets under the age of ten. They had been living on the small planet for a few weeks before Blaze arrived. None of the adult males were properly trained to a warrior. Nor did they have the skills to organize the group. Blaze was immediately elected, via a vote, to be their leader.
He had not meant to take on this heavy responsibility but he found out that the group originally started with thirty and lost ten within a few weeks. He could not turn his back on them. They needed guidance and the strong hand of a leader. It came to him easily. It felt like he had been training and preparing for this role his whole life. Everything he learned from his warrior training he applied toward ensuring the group’s safety and survival. His first priority was establishing a safe living arrangement.
*****
“We need to scout the area to find the most appropriate area to set up our camp,” he told the males.
“I don’t see why we need to settle in one place. We’ve always moved where the food was,” Cor grouched loudly.
As one of the six adult males who voted against Blaze’s leadership, Cor felt he should have had the position. Yet in the year he spent with the group, he never stepped forward. However, he made it known he felt that Blaze was an outsider, and he resented the interference.
“In the year that you’ve followed the food, you’ve lost ten people. That’s unacceptable. We’ll look for a location near water which will have fish we can eat all year long
despite the weather, but also where the soil is rich so we can grow our own food.”
“I’m not a damn farmer!” Cor stomped away. Several of the other males followed him. Blaze ignored them and turned his attention to the males remaining. These would be the ones he would trust to follow his orders.
“I’ve done some scouting.” One of the males stepped forward and spoke. “The eastern region is more fitting. I tried to tell that to Cor and his friends but they insisted we move west or south.”
“What’s your name?”
“Tatumbrog — but my friends call me Tate.”
Blaze reached out to clasp his forearm. “Tate. Why don’t you show me the region you scouted.”
*****
It had been the start to a great turn in the survival of the group. The eastern region proved to be ideal. They found caves that they converted to living dwellings. The temperatures there were more stable than the rest of the planet, so the winters were not so cold and summers not so hot. The fish were plentiful, and when they needed more meat, it was easy enough to hunt. Their dragons were free to fly the skies in peace. And so, for ten years, Blaze lived with his new village and made it home — only he felt like something was still missing in his life.
Blaze could see another dragon in the distance flying in his direction. That would be Shanna, the female he had shared an on-and-off relationship with over the past few years. The females outnumbered the males and only a few mated pairs were found in their group. True mates were fading into non-existence. His dragon tolerated Shanna but lately she had been pushing for them to mate officially. He wanted to hold off. Some part of him refused to give up on the hope of one day finding Arena.
Arena visited him in his dreams often at first. Her image slowly faded over time to where he saw her eyes and her hair but all her other features were not as clear. He knew that finding her now was a long shot, and he should give up that last bit of hope. Shanna wanted to have dragonlets and, to be honest, he too longed to hold a son or daughter in his arms. He had no other family left and liked the idea of starting one of his own.
However, there was no guarantee that he and Shanna would even have a dragonlet. Since he joined this group, only two dragonlets had been born in ten years. It worried him that their species would die out here.
Blaze flew to the shoreline and landed, then shifted into his two-legged form. He watched as the other dragon, much smaller than his, approached and landed. The pretty pale blue scales sparkled before reabsorbing into silky flesh. He knew firsthand how supple and smooth that flesh was.
“Sire, why do you fly alone?” Shanna asked, walking toward him and swaying her plump hips side to side. She certainly knew how to accentuate her curves. He couldn’t help but compare the two females. Arena was not as curvy but he remembered glimpses of her slight form from time to time and it never failed to excite him. The thought of Arena made his body harden. Shanna assumed his arousal was because of her. She reached for his member and began stroking it.
“Shanna, I came out here to be alone.”
“You are alone — with me. Isn’t that better?”
Her talented hands worked his flesh, and he closed his eyes and tilted his head back. She knew her way around a male body, but it was the images of Arena touching him that had his body respond. His breath came out in gasps as he thickened.
He heard her kneel before him on the sand and her warm lips took him inside her mouth. Images of Arena taking him like this filled his thoughts, and he leaked a little. Shanna sucked strong suctions and lapped up the spillage. The gods knew it felt so good. He could lose himself in the pleasure, only it wasn’t fair that he was picturing a different female. He opened his eyes to watch Shanna’s golden brown hair and big brown eyes. He kept her in focus as a reminder, Shanna was real and here with him. Arena was only a fantasy. If he wanted a future with dragonlets, he had to let the fantasy go.
Chapter 9
Drakonian Battlecruiser
“General, I’m getting life-form readings from the planet below. Their heat signature matches closely to our own.”
General Ranier tensed with excitement. This had been the fifth planet in the current star system that they were investigating as a potential place some of the Drakonians evacuated to. They would be leaving soon if they came up with nothing, as they had previously.
“Get a scouting team together.”
“Sir, there’s something else.”
He turned his attention to the young lieutenant. “What?”
“We’re picking up a signal from another ship on the far side of the moon. Its signature is similar to…”
“To what? Spit it out.”
“To the Croads.”
“Damn.”
The Croads were responsible for the destruction of their home world Drakonia. It was a name that he and his men had come up with since communication with the enemy had proven deadly. The Croads didn’t want peace talks, only annihilation of anything in their way.
“How much time do we have before they reach us?”
“Twenty-four, maybe thirty-six hours.”
“Let’s get moving then. We need to determine if these life forms are our people but, regardless, we’ll need to relocate them to keep them out of harm’s way.” There was no way he would leave primitive people defenseless against destroyers like the Croads. His honor as a warrior would not allow it.
*****
Blaze heard the sonar call and froze what he was doing. The fishing line hung in his hand limply and he glanced over at the other males who had also frozen. Again, they heard a loud shrieking sounded in the distance, toward the west. That wasn’t one of his people. He dropped the netting.
“You two come with me to check it out. The rest of you go back to our village and keep the women and dragonlets safe.”
Cor grumbled but followed orders, shifting into his dragon form with his friends and flying back to the caves. The rest of them remained and shifted into their dragon forms. Blaze took one, two, three steps, then he leapt into the air, the wind catching beneath his wings. The others followed suit, falling into a V formation with Blaze in the lead. He waited until they were closer before he let out a welcoming sonar call. He dared not do it sooner, not wanting to lead an enemy too close to his clan.
He spotted the dragon just ahead as he landed on a cliffside and shifted to the two-legged form. His fellow dragons stayed in their dragon forms to keep watch. The other dragon landed and shifted. He wasn’t familiar with the male, but it was clear he was Drakonian.
“Who are you?” Blaze demanded.
“I’m Lieutenant Vern from the Battlecruiser Zyon.”
Blaze waited a moment before stepping forward. “I’m Blaze, leader of the Drakonian clan here. Welcome.” They clasped forearms.
“I wish our meeting came under better circumstances,” Vern said as pulled back. “I’m under a time restraint. How many are in your clan?”
“Twenty three, including me.”
“Anyone else — any alien species here?”
“No sentient beings except for us. What is going on?” Blaze felt a chill go down his spine.
“I am under orders by General Ranier to evacuate the inhabitants here to safety. The enemy that attacked Drakonia is nearing this star system and will be here in less than twenty hours.”
“Where do you plan to take us? My clan has a few dragonlets and living on a battlecruiser is not ideal.”
“We plan to take you to another planet called Earth. Most of our people were sent there. Their clans survived for centuries.”
“Earth? Centuries? I’ve been gone from Drakonia for ten years.”
“Same as us. However, the portals didn’t all work in the same way, as originally thought. Most on Drakonia that went through the portals were sent back in time to a primitive Earth. Let’s get your people out of here and we’ll have a few months to get you all caught up to speed about Earth and our people there.”
“Is... are the kings sti
ll ruling?”
“Yes.”
“What about Zocor’s people. I know Zocor died, but did any of his people survive?”
“Yes, Queen Arena and her clan are doing quite well on Earth.”
Arena was alive, and had been for centuries. Something in his heart stirred as did his dragon. He would see her again. Would she even remember him? It had been a long time. Surely she had a new mate. He promised himself he would find her and ensure that she was safe and happy. His honor would allow him to do no less.
“When do we leave?”
Chapter 10
Dragoon, Arizona
Reichardt held his dragonlet in his arms as he walked the pathway leading to the barn. His second in command flew overhead readying to land. It had been a cloudy day so there was no worry that humans might see dragons in the air. He walked through the barn to the back door and stood watching as his second in command, Drake, easily landed and shifted to his human form. The baby gurgled with laughter.
He smiled at his dragonlet. “You love seeing the dragons, don’t you, little one?” The baby gurgled again.
“You’re getting soft my king,” Drake teased as he walked past to enter the back of the barn. They kept clothing stored in the back stalls for those shifting to use.
“I never knew what a miracle it was to have one until now, but I wouldn’t trade a moment of this.”
Drake smiled at that. “I know what you mean. Meeting my mate and adopting little Wyatt has totally changed my life. It makes all the lonely years we’ve lived through worthwhile.”
“Speaking of your mate and son, I’ve noticed you’ve been taking more security rounds while your father-in-law has been visiting. Are you two not getting along?”
Drake growled in frustration as he shrugged his pants on. “That man is infuriating. He keeps telling Emily that if she ever wants to leave this fortress of solitude, he would be more than happy to have her and Wyatt come stay with him.”
