by Celeste Raye
“Kavryiss,” he said smoothly, his full face smiling at me with purpose. “What’s the appeal, here?”
“What?” I scoffed. “Sleeping with him?”
The purple shifter shrugged almost uncomfortably and looked away from me, sticking his hands deep into his pants pockets. He wore armor, something like leather that strapped across his whole body. His wings were retracted, making him look more human than I was used to.
“Yeah,” he finally said. “Research not cutting it anymore?”
“Hey,” I defended quickly, “I’m one of the people you can thank for putting these hefty walls up.” With that, I banged my hand against the hard metal wall, slapping it a few times for emphasis.
“Somehow, I doubt that.”
“Well,” I brushed my hand against my arm bashfully, and my eyes flicked down to the massive spike that edged at the end of his tail. I’d never seen a tail like that before; such an obvious weapon. “Okay, I didn’t like… put it up or anything. But I’m the one who found the compound to make it.”
Deep blue eyes circled the walls behind me, and the warrior before me drew into a slow nod. “Alright.”
“So, what’s the consensus?” I asked, taking another daring step down the staircase while keeping eye-contact with him. “Am I being sent back to my room like a child, or what?”
“Those who behave like children get treated like such.”
My eyes went wide at the comment, and I couldn’t help but laugh. “Is that right?” I asked and watched as the side of his mouth erupted into a cocky smirk. “Pleased with yourself, are you? Well then. Take me to see my son, at least. I haven’t been able to see him since Tredorphen made his great return.”
The purple Weredragon’s eyes flickered up toward mine, and he thought on my request. Then, as though something occurred to him, he relented. “Alright.”
Leading the way down to the depths of the Graynar caves, Kavryiss stopped only once during our long trek to turn and regard me. He looked at me curiously before bowing his head in submission to me. Even though I wasn’t D’Sharr yet, Boradrith’s servants knew well enough to show me respect.
Back home, I couldn’t imagine anyone bowing before me or treating me like royalty or any sort of political figure. But, here I was, and I loved every second of it.
Sparkling gemstones peeked through the stone walls of the pit like glimmering crystal. An expansive, oval door stood guarding the entrance to the nursery. This area had become well attended to since the arrival of the humans, or so Boradrith told me. It was entirely guarded and cared for by females, mostly human, much to the dismay of Sillevia.
A female shifter guarded the door. She had large, black eyes and stark white wings and skin. She was as pale as someone could be without being dead. Her feathered wings were rare, and I'd often heard guards and warriors talking about how much they wanted to bed her.
"Nephra," Kavryiss said coolly, and the dark-haired shifter moved elegantly to the side, and the oval door mechanically slid open.
The woman did not speak to me, nor would she look my way. I didn't even get a catty once-over from her. I walked confidently between her and Kavryiss and stepped into the nursery.
The walls were done up with oils, taking on a playful rainbow effect. Like a child's finger painting. I pressed my feet into the dyed fur beneath me and got to my knees, waiting for one of the stewards to bring me my son, Plovoeus.
I was part of the Starship Vulcana, back in the day. Back when we landed. It was run by two sisters.
Head of the research team was Marina Livingstone, and head of the security detail was her sister Athena. Both had taken their own paths while on Dobromia. One ran away with my love's son and the other, Athena, stayed. She was head of the nursery.
She didn't like me much.
Which was a shame, because I used to like her just fine. We were even pregnant around the same time.
She gave birth to a girl and myself to a boy. In another life, I would wish that our children would grow up to be best friends, and then maybe more. Athena and I could then gush over how adorable they were and how we hoped they would grow up and get married. Then I could have someone to talk to.
But this wasn't another life; it was Dobromia. And on Dobromia we were enemies, of her choosing, of course.
The blonde emerged from the recesses of the nursery with my child, a beautiful golden shifter like his father. He had white-blonde hair and oversized yellow eyes. He looked like something straight out of mythology with his deep-set scales and pudgy baby cheeks. He was just a year now.
"My boy!" I exclaimed, setting my knees on the makeshift carpeting below and I watched as he waddled sheepishly into my arms.
"I saw you come in," Athena said simply, looking in my direction as if to see what I might do with my child.
Kavryiss leaned against the wall behind me, looking decidedly uncomfortable with the bustle of children around. He was lucky it was well past everybody's bedtime, or he would have gotten swarmed with offers to play.
"Thank you," I said and looked up at her pointedly.
Athena met my stare with a challenge of sorts before begrudgingly nodding her head in submission: as close as she would ever get to a bow. The purple shifter looked between us with no small amount of curiosity at whatever palpable energy he could feel.
"You clearly don't like me very much," I said to the girl, and then my eyes flicked over to Kavryiss. "You don't seem to be my biggest fan, either."
"I guess she's perceptive, after all," Athena said, her thick brows shooting up her forehead as she let out an annoyed laugh. "You're not one for leaving things alone, are you?"
"No," I snapped, now avoiding her gaze as I lay my son on the floor and ran my fingertips down the sides of his glittering arms; lulling him back to sleep. "I like things out in the open."
"Funny rules to live by coming from a girl who's sleeping with the D’Karr," Kavryiss laughed to himself, looking down at his hand as he leaned casually against the beautiful nursery walls.
"Yeah," I quipped. "And I'm open about it. I do exactly what the shifters do, but you guys want to scorch me for it."
Athena looked away from me and busied herself in the electronic device on the counter, inputting statistics about the children: logging their health and who's been fed in the hunger crisis. Or, maybe she was just hitting buttons to look busy and avoid talking to me. I could never really tell.
"Explain," Kavryiss asked curiously.
"You've stayed alive by annihilating other races, right?" I said. "You're a warrior race. That's what you do. When we showed up you took our ship, you robbed us, you killed us, and now you've kept us. Right?"
The purple shifter's tongue ran across his lips hesitantly; unwilling to answer. I pressed my glare, and he met my eyes, finally relenting, "Right."
"So, when I show up, ready to be cooked basically, I saw an opening, and I took it. Now, look where I am. I'm as good as the new D’Sharr."
Kavryiss frowned at the comparison and looked openly disgusted. I could hear Athena scoffing behind me, but I pretended not to notice.
"Well, first," Kavryiss began matter-of-factly, "you are a human, so it would be physically impossible for you to become the D’Sharr. And second, what you're saying is that you're entirely self-serving?"
"I'm pragmatic."
"I'm not berating you for it," the shifter corrected, "I'm a little impressed, actually."
"Oh," I breathed, pink rushing to my cheeks. I turned from his sight and looked back down at Plovoeus, stroking his face and using my thumbs to brush all of his eyebrow hairs in one direction.
"Thanks, then."
"So, what you're saying is... you don't love Boradrith?” the man asked suddenly, prompting my attention once more.
"No," I corrected quickly. "That's not what I meant, at all."
A silence hung in the air between the three of us. If the two of them were exchanging some kind of 'knowing look', I didn't want to see it. I had enough
people talking behind my back by now that I was used to it. My body could practically sense the heat in the air whenever my name was being ill-spoken of. And that was just fine by me.
"So," I said after some time, never looking to Athena but addressing her all the same. "Have you seen her?"
"No,” she said quickly. "And I don't want to."
"I saw Vaikrand in the crowd at the salute," Kavryiss added, absolutely toneless.
Athena blinked at the sentiment and lowered her brows in a displeased dismissal of her mate. "And I bet he just cheered and cheered."
"Apparently, they brought in some hush-hush secret project that we're not supposed to know about," I said with a laugh, my eyes never leaving my son. "Any ideas what that might be?"
The two remained silent, and I began to giggle out noises to Plovoeus. "Not much for sharing, I guess? That’s fine. I wouldn’t be either, if my sister betrayed me. Or was it you who betrayed her? I could never figure that one out."
"Athena was betrayed," Kavryiss snapped suddenly, and my attention snapped in his direction.
"Sorry," I scoffed. "Was I speaking to you? Do you two know each other?"
"I know Vaikrand," he said of Athena's former castaway mate. "And have known Aurlauc all my life: the one who guarded her."
I waved him off. "I was on the Vulcana, too, remember?”
I remember Aurlauc. He was one of the ones who lied to our crew in order to get us to come to Dobromia. I wasn't sure whether I should hate the gray shifter or thank him.
"Right," he said with a sigh. "Marina abandoned Athena to a cell."
"Right," I repeated with the same influx Kavryiss had just used. "And then Athena called her back so that her dragon mate can kill Marina's dragon mate. Isn't that exciting?"
Kavryiss' brows sunk to the bridge of his nose, creating a deep crease along his forehead. His eyes shot to Athena, who looked defiant but startled all the same. "I'm loving this assessment of my life here on Dobromia but if you'll excuse me," Athena said, scooping my son off the ground and marching him back to his private room, "I think the company is making me ill."
The blonde exited the main room and returned my son to his private quarters. As she disappeared from the room, Kavryiss looked at me with an unspoken question on his lips, and I quickly mouthed: it's true. Reading my lips, Kavryiss blinked in surprise and let out a small, amused laugh.
Within a moment, Athena returned to the metallic doorframe and kept her eyes on the floor. "What's wrong, Athena? You don't like dredging up the past?" I asked with a wicked smile.
Athena shrugged and showed her palms to me, ready to be done with my company.
"I don't understand what the problem is. You are with Vaikrand. Khrelan died in the proving to restore your ridiculous traitor back to favor. You have your child," I said pointedly. "You got what you wanted, didn't you?"
"Hm," Athena hummed, her body moving with the effort of the sudden sound. "That's pretty much your anthem, right?"
"You don't get anywhere by being angry at everybody, Athena," I seethed. "You can't just keep living your life being a total bitch and shutting out anyone who remotely displeases you. You have the cushiest job on Dobromia, and part of your family just came back to Dobromia."
As soon as the words left my mouth, my throat erupted into an intense sob, tears falling down my cheeks relentlessly as I pulled myself off the ground and stepped toward her.
"Do you know how rare that is?" I demanded, stomping my foot. "Do you know how many Vulcana teams we'd been with who never got that chance? Who died on planets and never heard from their loved ones again? And you're just squandering it!"
"Of course, I know!" Athena screamed back, her tan face turning red with anger. Her voice cracked from the call and woke the dragonlings in the other room, causing an eruption of cries to echo through the building.
"Do you know if any of the women are planning on going back with them?" Kavryiss asked suddenly, speaking as casually as if we were all sitting down to tea together.
Athena's lip trembled, and she gave an unwilling shrug.
"She knows," I scoffed, wiping my tears with my arm. "She just won't say. Hell, she's probably planning to take off with them."
"And what, Diana?" Athena said firmly, her visage of strength breaking ever so slightly. "Take my shifter son with me? If I did that, I might as well guide the rest of the Weredragons back to Earth."
Kavryiss shrugged playfully. "Might not be such a bad idea..."
"Ah, so I'm stuck with your joyous face for the rest of eternity then?" I scoffed through my tears. "Lucky me."
Athena glared at me, hatred burning through her stare like nothing I had ever seen before. "Stop it," she spat.
"I guess I just don't get it. You're with Vaikrand so..." I shook my head, utterly puzzled. "Why wouldn't you want to start an alliance with the Earth? Don't you care what is happening here?"
The blonde woman threw her curls behind her shoulder and looked uncomfortably between myself and Kavryiss. "You know why."
Interesting, I thought. How there was still such a separation to Athena between the humans and the Weredragons. So much so that, even though her mate was a shifter, she would still show allegiance to me over Kavryiss when it came to giving information. In her mind, we were the same, and they were still the enemy.
"Because of what happened on the ship?" I clarified loudly.
With that, Athena spun on her heel, and the sliding doors locked behind her. Pity, I thought, that she couldn't have slammed the doors closed for emphasis. That was the trouble with space mechanics.
Kavryiss awkwardly pushed himself off the wall, and I walked over to him with an extended sigh. I knew where we were going. Without a word, we both made our way through the nursery doors and began our long journey back to the Vorteous wing.
My gladiator-style strapped shoes clicked against the metal ground beneath us as we made our way up the expansive staircase.
When I first came to Dobromia, the case was made of stone and rock: a grand spectacle. Now it was slowly being recovered with stronger materials. I loved the transformation since it lent to a more modern... even futuristic appeal. I didn't want the Weredragons to live archaically. I wanted them to have everything we had and more.
Suddenly, Kavryiss grabbed my shoulder and spun me around to face him. He had a dark, numb reflection that hung in the depths of his round, blue eyes. His brows were shapeless lines that hung above his sockets that made no expression. He looked as though he were going to speak to me or do something, but instead, he stayed perfectly still.
"What is it?" I asked quietly; concerned.
"Nothing," he said with a startled breath. "I was wondering... if you were ready to go back to your quarters."
"Isn't that where we're going?"
"Yes," he nodded and thought about the question. "What I meant to say was... I was wondering, if you wanted to sneak off for a while longer."
My eyes slowly shifted back and forth from his, and a small smile threatened the corners of my lips. Then, with a bright nod, I said, "Always."
Chapter 5:
Kavryiss
It had been twelve cycles since the blowout at the nursery, and I had been on strict watch of the human females since then. The D’Sharr sent me out with Diana to fulfill a research mission. The D’Karr ordered Diana to take soil samples to determine which sun was burning hotter out of the two that circled Dobromia.
I flew the dark-haired girl into the T’nemtar fields, where we used to grow all of our food. The area was spotted with bodies of water and used to hold the greenest fields. Now it was where the suns shone hottest. From where we stood we could hear the greenery crisping around us.
“It’s hot,” Diana groaned, wiping at her forehead as she busied herself in the scorching dirt.
I paced around her research area and watched as she spread some sort of wand around various areas of the grass, dug up the soil sample, and then tossed both items into a bag.
“
So you keep saying,” I breathed, feeling the heat dripping against my lips as I spoke.
“How long do we have to be out here?” she asked again, shielding her hazel eyes from the unbearable light.
“I don’t know. All I was told to do was guard you.”
“So, what should we do?” she said absent-mindedly as she carefully gathered. “Get to know one another?”
I tilted my face skyward and sighed under the intense pressure of light. “I think I would rather undergo excruciating torture.”
“I’m serious!” she gave a full, throaty laugh that sent a strange pang through my stomach.
I cocked a brow and offered her a small smile. “So am I.”
“I think it’s important for a queen to know her subjects,” she teased and looked up at me. “I’m just kidding! See? That's something you'll learn about me if you actually bothered to try. I tell jokes. Something I have yet to hear from you. Except that horrible ‘blaze of glory’ one, which should never be repeated by the way.”
“Hm,” I grunted and walked steps away from her. I spread my heavy wings on either side of me, keeping them extended to shield my face from the sun’s rays. “Were you actually kidding?”
She shrugged. “Boradrith said it’s important for me to get to know the people.”
I walked to the edge of one of the great ponds. T'nemtar used to be full of sprawling lakes and ponds, full to the brim with meat and sea creatures. It had all been picked dry since the heatwave. The ponds were now evaporating slowly, taking our water supply with it.
“Why’s that?” I asked, peering down into the deep well that used to be sprouting with liquid.
“Isn’t it obvious?” she laughed again, looking over at me. “He wants his people to love me as much as he does when I take rulership with him.”
“Ah,” I said with a breath. For a moment I wondered if I should pick her up by the neck and simply toss her into the well. Let her die there.
“I'd like to prove you wrong about me,” the tall brunette said, her long face beaming with heat as she stood from her dig site and marched up to me. She ran her long fingers through her hair and perched thin brows in my direction.
