"How are things with you?" Akash asked him. “Have you found a mate yet?"
"That isn't my concern right now.”
"If you say so," Akash chuckled.
"It is critical that we contact the newly awakened houses to ask for their cooperation in dispensing the vaccine bombs across the planet. However, diplomacy is not my strong suit.”
"So where are you in the process?"
"The bombs have been manufactured. But I have not contacted the other ships’ captains.”
"Perhaps you should leave that to me."
"I would be more than happy to," Zephyr said.
"I will contact the captains and convey to them the urgency of the situation. Then I will arrange a debriefing at my home on Mercer Island. That would be a good time for you and Flora to come and explain the science end. I think it would be good if we create more incentive to participate by giving them information about Dragon Souls at the meeting.”
"They surely already have the information from our databases at their disposal."
"But nothing is as convincing as information straight from the horse’s mouth, as humans say."
"I would agree, but I am the only one who has not yet found his mate. I’m not exactly an expert on human women.”
"That will be all the more convincing. You can speak from the perspective of a dragon who is still looking.”
"Very well then," Zephyr said. “Keep me informed of your progress.”
"It shouldn't take more than a few days.”
"Very well then. I will speak to you soon."
Zephyr disengaged from the mental link with Akash and went back to staring out at the sea. The waves were roiling against the shore and the ships had all made it into harbor. As the storm blew in, he felt a chill in his heart. Something was not right. He felt it deep in his bones.
Zephyr had never considered himself a particularly sensitive or intuitive dragon, but in that moment, as he stared at the raging sea and the howling winds outside his sports car, he knew to the very depths of his being that his fated mate was in trouble. She was calling out to him from across the void, begging for his help. He was struck with the immensity of her desire. It was so deep, it nearly took his breath away. He sucked air into his lungs, trying to comprehend what was happening to him. His heart beat faster and sweat trickled down his brow. He shook his head, trying to come to his senses. But nothing seemed to work.
"What has gotten into you?" he asked his inner dragon.
The beast within roared in response and flew against the backs of his eyes in a discontented rage. It shocked Zephyr so completely that he was knocked back in his chair and hit his head against the headrest behind him. He squeezed his eyes shut, confused by his inner dragon's strange behavior. He knew that most dragons had these odd responses after they had met their fated mate for the first time. But to have his dragon act so erratically without ever having laid eyes on the woman was highly alarming.
The storm blew in and clouds dumped hailstones the size of golf balls. They smashed against the windshield and the hood of his car. He would have to get to shelter soon or risk damage to the vehicle. He turned on the engine and hurried away from the sea.
His inner dragon's tumultuous behavior did not relent. Zephyr could not drive home under such conditions. He found a turnoff on the road and parked the car. At first, he’d planned to just sit there and wait out the storm, but he found that he could not sit still.
He opened the door and climbed out. Before he knew what was happening, he was naked and standing in the forest. The hail had turned to heavy rain. His inner dragon leapt out from inside of himself and took to the air. After a moment, his greater sense of propriety came back to him, and he activated his stealth shields, cloaking his existence from human eyes.
Higher and higher he flew into the stormy sky, feeling the wind and rain on his wings. As the storm dragon, this inclement weather did not bother him. In fact, it felt invigorating. And it was a deeply needed respite from the worry of his day to day existence. He flew into the headwinds, reveling in the cold and wet and rain. He felt alive like he hadn't since his youth long ago on his home planet of Dragonia. It had been so very long since he had felt so alive. And he didn't want the amazing sensation to end. The voice of his inner beast came alive inside him.
Our mate is here. She needs us. We must not fail her.
4
"The House of Storms is asking for a diplomatic meeting of all houses," Prince Current told Maia.
"What is it about?" she asked curiously, holding her child. She had so much desire to see her children again. She knew such a meeting could potentially give her that chance.
"They want to discuss a plan to protect the humans from vampires.”
"This seems like the right thing to do," Maia said.
"The humans are not of my concern."
"What of the Dragon Souls? Your fated mate?”
"I do not wish to find my mate on Earth.”
"But don't you want your true love?" she asked, still not fully comprehending how a dragon could ever reject the chance to find his fated one.
"Not from among the half-breed humans. I have you. I need no other.”
"But surely…”
"I will go to the meeting to see what they have to say. I am not so coldhearted that I would refuse to help the humans outright. Especially for the sake of the other males. They may very well find their fated ones among these savages. I would not want to deny them that. Even if I myself have no interest in mating with them.”
"That is very diplomatic of you," Maia said. “When will the meeting take place?”
"In one day. At the home of Akash of the House of Storms. It is requested that we all attend. I would appear disloyal to my race if I did not agree to go. Everyone else will be there.”
"Would it be possible for me to join in the meeting?" she asked hopefully.
"Whatever for?" he asked, looking her up and down.
“I miss my children. I’m desperate to see them. I would do anything for the chance."
"I would be most agreeable to allowing you to see them if you agreed to mate with me.”
"But we can't."
"You can mate with any male, you are Dragoness Prime.”
"But our fated ones…”
"This discussion is over, Maia. I will not change my mind.”
"Don't you see that this is wrong?" she asked, rushing to him and taking his hand. “This is not our way. This is not who we are. We left our dying world to create a better one. We cannot create a better world if we deny ourselves the love that is possible in this one.”
"I don't intend to deny myself love. I have the love I desire with you.”
“You don't love me, Prince Current. You only wish to possess me."
Maia knew she was pressing the line. She had never been so forward with him before. But she couldn't hold back any longer. The prospect of seeing her children filled her with courage and strength. She would do anything to hold them in her arms again.
"We've been over this many times before, Maia. And I don't appreciate your attitude. If you would just accept me as your mate, I am confident you will find love for me. I would allow you to see your children any time you want. I do not understand why you have denied your children their mother for so long. You deny all of us the love you speak of. It is not me who does not believe in the new world, it's you."
“How can you say that? I have given everything I have and everything I am to preserve our race. You then convinced all the survivors that I died. Those actions are a rejection of all that we stand for.”
"If you press me, there will be consequences."
"What do you mean?" she asked, her eyes darting to her child.
"We’ve talked about this, Maia. If you insist on crossing me, on resisting me, on challenging me, then I will have no choice but to take our daughter away from you in order to protect her from your influence.”
"You wouldn't dare! I am her mother. I raised
her. I love her, and she loves me!”
“I will not allow defiance in my House. I thought I’d made that clear. As your Prince, your savior, and the father of your child, you owe me your loyalty.”
“I may owe you my loyalty as the Prince of the House of Tides, but I do not owe you my life. This is not our way, and it is not our law. Even the elders would have protested this.”
"You of all people should not speak of the elders and their protest. You defied them by giving birth to the dragonkin. They strictly forbid your mating with the Princes of each House. They had resigned to die in the cataclysm. Bringing new dragonkin into the world was in direct defiance of their orders.”
"And you agreed with them?" she asked, aghast at his suggestion.
"I agree that you are an insubordinate. If you dare to defy me again, Maia, I will lock you in a room by yourself and never allow you to see the child again. And if I have to, I will force you to bear my young.”
"I cannot believe the words that are coming from your mouth," she said, covering her mouth in shock and dismay. “You are a better man than this."
"I am a man who knows what he wants. And a man who knows what is valuable. I refuse to let you destroy what we have, and I refuse to let you take away what is mine. I wanted our mating to be a mutual agreement, Maia. But you know I do not need your agreement to get what I want from you. You would be wise to remember that.”
"This is not who you are. I refuse to believe your vile words.”
"Believe what you want, Maia. This conversation has gone on long enough. I will not engage in it any further. You have been warned. If you defy me again, you will reap the consequences of your actions. And you will only have yourself to blame. Think of the welfare of your child. If you want to be free to be her mother and to care for her as I know you do, then you will do as I bid.”
Maia shrank back, unable to believe what she was hearing. She had trusted him in the beginning. She’d thought him a good man and a confidant. He had been there for her at the end, when their sun died and imploded into a black hole. He had been the one to take her away from their dying world. She had been so grateful that he had been there for her when she was sick and weak and could not get herself to her own ship.
But as the days and months wore on, and he would not allow her to speak with the others, she came to realize the truth. It was so disturbing that she didn't want to believe it. By the time they had found Earth and seeded it with the souls of their ancestors, it had all become unavoidably clear to her. She was imprisoned, and no one even knew she was still alive.
Maia ran to Waverley and held her close, tears flowing down her cheeks without stopping. "You're insane," she said. “Losing our home world has driven you mad.”
"It matters not what you think of me, Maia. You will do as I ask, or you will lose what freedoms I now allow you.”
"You cannot keep me locked in here forever!”
"If that is what you need to believe, I will not stop you. As I said, I will have what I want from you, with your cooperation or without it. I will let you out of this room the minute you mate with me. You will be allowed to see your children, you will be allowed to roam the world and see all that it has to offer. You have twenty-four hours to decide to be mine. If your answer is still no, I will take the child from this room and you will not see her again. I would not test me in this. You will be mine, like it or not.”
He gave one last look to the child and left the room. She couldn't believe she had trusted this man. She couldn't believe that he was the one to lead the House of Tides into this new world. He had no honor and knew no respect. But she knew he would keep his word.
Maia hugged Waverley as her heart wept for both of them. She could not allow her baby to be raised by this man. She could not allow herself to be claimed by him. There were no good options, and she felt completely trapped. If only her brother knew that she had lived and was aboard the ship. He would never allow this to continue.
All the tide dragons would come to her aid. She was Dragoness Prime and next in line for the throne. She had never had the desire to rule, knowing her destiny was to hatch dragonkin from her earliest memory. What she did desire was freedom. She had the right to live as a free woman, and she would not allow a madman to take that away from her.
If she could only find a way to reach out to her brother. Prince Current had removed her mental link while they were on the shuttle between Dragonia and the ship. She’d been so sick and delirious from the strain of hatching sixteen dragonkin that she couldn’t fight him. She hadn’t even known what was going on.
She held her child close, sniffing back the tears that flowed. She would find a way for them both to be free, and she would tell all the dragons the truth of what had happened to her.
5
Zephyr sat next to Flora in the living room of Akash’s Mercer Island home. Waiting for the princes to arrive, he was glad that Akash had arranged the meeting and would perform all the necessary greetings. He and Flora would be left to do what they were good at, explain the science behind everything.
There were hors d'oeuvres spread out across every surface in the living room. Plates of mini-quiches and tiny hot dogs wrapped in pastry. Flora nervously munched on a plate of finger foods as her eyes darted around the room.
“When will they be getting here?" she asked.
“It should be any minute now,” Akash said, opening another bottle of wine.
"I hope they will all agree to help us,” Zephyr said.
“What will we do if they don't agree?” Flora asked.
"We’ll have to come up with plan B.”
“There is nothing to worry about," Akash said. “The Princes will agree to help us.”
There was a knock at the door a moment later, and Akash hurried to open it. The Prince of the House of Stone had arrived. Akash led him into the living room where Zephyr and Flora waited. They stood and offered greetings to the first guest.
“It is nice to see you all again, after so many long years," Mortar, the Prince of Stone said. “But even a million year slumber seems like only an instant in a stasis pod." He laughed heavily.
The others laughed along with him and Akash offered him food and a glass of Merlot. Akash poured everyone a glass before there was another knock at the door. Akash hurried off to welcome the next guest, and Flora and Zephyr chatted with Mortar while they sipped their wine.
"How do you find Earth now that it has changed so much?" Flora asked.
"It is amazing to me how similar human civilization is to old Dragonia. It's not nearly as ancient or as established and humans live much shorter lives, but there are so many striking similarities. It makes it obvious that we come from a shared ancestry.”
"I am curious about the culture of old Dragonia," Flora said. “I know you all want to understand Earth and its customs in preparation for finding your mates, but the history of your people must be preserved and shared.”
"I would love to share our histories with the people of Earth, but at this point in time, isn't it prohibited to share our existence with them?" Prince Mortar asked.
"We are still keeping our existence a secret, but that may change,” Zephyr said.
"Oh?" Mortar asked.
"I've been running simulations on the question. Since the humans are reacting negatively in response to the vampire attacks, we need to know if it will be more or less disruptive for them to know the truth.”
"And what did you find?" Mortar asked.
Zephyr took a sip of wine. “If we do not act, there is an 85% chance of global war.”
"And what if we tell them?"
"The prospects are slightly better. But human reactions remain largely unpredictable, even for our AI.”
"How long until the humans break down into war?"
“Not very long. Not very long at all," Zephyr said.
Akash walked into the room with the Prince of the House of Ether beside him. They all gave each other a hearty round of greetings and
Akash offered him a glass of wine and hors d'oeuvres. The Prince accepted, and they all began to engage in conversation, picking up where they had left off before the newcomer had arrived.
“Zephyr was just telling us about some simulations to predict the human reaction to the recent vampire attacks.”
"Oh?" the Prince of Ether said.
"The results are not good, I'm afraid." Zephyr said.
“It seems prudent to tell them the truth,” Mortar said.
"But any change in their perception of reality will cause a complete paradigm shift. Humanity is not known for its rationality during times of stress. Telling them may cause the very thing we are trying to avoid."
Soon the living room was full of the princes of all of the surviving houses. Akash poured everyone a glass of wine and made sure they were comfortably seated.
"My good Princes of Dragonia. I am so pleased that you have joined us today for this momentous occasion. It is the first meeting of all the Houses since entering stasis a million Earth years ago. And it is good to see all of your faces again. While it is good to connect and enjoy each other's company, we have asked you here today for more serious purposes.
“As you know, the genetic experiment we performed before going into stasis was successful. Dragon Souls live on this planet. Seven out of the eight of us who awakened before you have found our fated mates.”
Everyone looked at Zephyr knowingly. Heat rose in his face before he regained control of his emotions.
"We have made a vow to protect the humans and Dragon Souls. Our ancient enemy the vampires also inhabit this planet. In our quest to protect them, some of our greatest minds have discovered a vaccine that will inoculate any human, Dragon Soul, and baby dragon from vampires. A vampire will immediately die the second they taste a drop of the inoculated person’s blood. The reason we have asked you here today is because delivering this vaccine to humanity has posed a logistical problem. I will now ask Zephyr and the Dragon Soul scientist Flora to explain the vaccine and delivery method they have devised."
Zephyr: House of Storms: Dragon Guardians Book 8 Page 2
