by Stella Cassy
I tried to remember that first kiss again. It had been urgent and fevered, as though Ranel had been unable to stop himself. I wondered if he had struggled with the idea of being with someone like me, just as I had struggled against the thought of being with him. He had fucked me passionately, but I could tell between the tangled knots of our breaths that he had not planned this, nor had he seen it coming.
Shortly after we had been forced to dress and release the lock of the control room, so there had been no opportunity to talk about what had just happened. A part of me was worried. What if we never spoke about it? What if Ranel brushed it to the side and pretended like it had never happened? The nagging fear crept into my head and refused to allow me a moment’s peace.
The joining door between the kitchen and the scullery slid open and a hoity looking Vence stepped in with her hands full of used pots and pans. She moved quickly to the second sink and dumped the lot of them into it. She barely glanced at me as she clicked her way back into the kitchen. A moment later, the door slid shut and I was alone again in the shadows.
I sighed with frustration as I turned to the new mountain of washing I needed to get done. I tried to organize the dishes in the second sink to make room for washing and in the process of separating the smaller dishes from the larger ones, I knocked over a small pot. It dropped to the floor with a small crash and I uttered a silent prayer that no one from the kitchen could hear it. I had broken enough things and I was already skating on thin ice with Gormit.
I heard the door slide open again and I closed my eyes with weariness. I already had so much washing to get done and they were already bringing me more?
“Just a small accident,” I said quickly, bending to my knees. “I’ll get it cleaned up immediately.”
“Don’t bother. I’ll have someone else do it.”
I froze, the voice sending chills up and down my spine. I looked up and saw Ranel standing there in the threshold, his dark burgundy scales gleaming. Had there ever been a time when I had thought those scales were ugly, barbaric even? Now I could only see their Spartan beauty.
“Hi,” I said, because that was the first thing that popped to mind.
“Hi,” he replied, without emotion.
He looked slightly confused, as though he had opened the door and expected to find someone else there.
“I broke another dish,” I said, trying to fill the gaping silence.
“Another one?” Ranel asked.
“I was… distracted.”
His eyes dipped low and then landed on my face again. I took a few steps forward. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to ask you…” Ranel started, but then he trailed off without finishing the sentence.
“Yes?”
“Will you come with me to my chambers?” Ranel asked.
I felt my breath catch and I tried to squelch the burst of joy that blossomed in my chest. What was wrong with me? I shouldn’t have been so happy to have captured his attention. I should have wanted to escape him. Instead, I found myself waiting for a chance to run towards him.
“Yes,” I nodded, unable to fight it.
“Come.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Now?”
“Yes.”
“But… I have work to do,” I said, looking around at the scullery. “And I broke a dish.”
“You already told me,” Ranel nodded. “Leave it.”
“But—"
“You don’t have to do that,” Ranel insisted. “I’ll have someone else see to it.”
“Gormit won’t be happy,” I said.
“Gormit is not commander of this ship,” Ranel said authoritatively. “I am.”
Was he trying to remind me that he was in charge? I didn’t think he was. He was just telling me that I didn’t have to worry about anyone else. What he wanted was the only thing that mattered. Perhaps he was trying to tell me that I mattered too.
“Ok,” I said, as I walked over the broken shards and moved towards him.
We left the scullery and took the elevator up to the commander’s quarters. We passed a few Drakon on the way there and all of them watched me wearily. I wondered whether the knowing glint in their eyes was just a result of my imagination. I chose to believe it was. When we got to Ranel’s rooms, he pushed a button to the side and the door slid open. He gestured me inside and I heard the door slide closed a few seconds later.
I turned to him, wondering if he would address what happened between us or simply move past it. He was looking at me hungrily, an edge of desire coating his expression. I glanced down and saw the start of an erection against his trousers. My fingers twitched, aching to reach out and touch him again, but I resisted the urge. I wanted to see what he would do now. I wanted to know what he would say.
“You can sleep on my bed,” Ranel said, taking me by surprise. “I’m sure it’ll be more comfortable than the thing you usually sleep on.”
Before I could respond, he turned his back on me and started undressing. First he removed his tunic and then the crest that rested just above his chest. I stared at the hard muscle of his back and felt a tingling between my legs. His wings were perfect-ridged beauties, taut with veins of burgundy and black. His tail flicked from side to side like a caged beast. I wondered if that meant he was nervous.
“You want me to sleep here tonight?” I asked.
He glanced at me. “Yes.”
“That’s all?”
I half expected him to tell me that I was his bed slave now, but he didn’t. He just folded his clothes and put them away. Then he moved towards his windows and sat down in the large bronze chair that had been placed in front of them. I hesitated only a moment and then I walked over and stood beside him.
“I know it can be scary,” I admitted. “But it’s so beautiful.”
“It’s never been scary to me,” Ranel said, his voice was barely above a whisper. “I hatched on Thirren, but the grand infinity before us is my true home.”
I walked around him and leaned against the window he was staring out of.
“Don’t you ever miss your home planet?” I asked, feeling the ache of longing for my own home world.
“When I do, I can always go back to it,” Ranel said.
I craned my neck to the side so that I could take in the midnight blue immensity. “That must be nice…”
When I turned back, Ranel’s eyes were trained on me. He watched me with a certain awed uncertainty, like he was trying to figure out why I was there in the first place.
“Did you have a mate?” he asked abruptly. “On Earth?”
I raised my eyebrows. “I… no,” I admitted. “I spent my life in service. I didn’t have time for love.”
Ranel nodded. “I had a mate once,” he revealed. “A long time ago now.”
He was offering me a small part of his past. He was pulling back the veil and letting me in of his own free will. I was not fool enough to miss the significance of the moment.
“What was her name?” I asked.
“His name was Harron,” Ranel admitted.
“What happened to Harron?” I asked, slipping to the ground in front of Ranel.
“He died,” Ranel replied. “In a battle against the Pax.”
There was no inflection in his tone. He didn’t look angry or sad. He just looked lost. Then he blinked and snapped himself out of the memory he was embroiled in.
“Ranel?” I asked tentatively.
“Hmm…”
“Why did you ask me to your chambers tonight?” I asked.
“I’ve slept alone for many moons,” he replied. “I didn’t want to sleep alone tonight.”
I nodded, waiting for him to say something more but he looked back out into space. “Go and sleep,” he said. “You looked tired.”
He wasn’t wrong. I picked myself up off the floor and walked gingerly over to the huge bed in the center of the space. It was perfectly placed. I could see the roaring fireplace spitting out red-orange tendrils of spark an
d I could also see the Ranel sitting in his impressive leather-bound chair. He looked like a strong medieval king out of a fairy tale. I lay on the bed and watched him until my eyelids grew so heavy I lost the ability to control them. Sleep washed over me and I settled into the comforting softness of the feather bed that could have easily held five or six people.
Warmth tickled my cheeks and pulled dreams into my subconscious mind. I dreamt of dragons made of molten gold and humans with wings so big they could wrap around the moon. I dreamt of home. I saw familiar mountains, some snowcapped and others bitingly bare. I saw jungles filled with monkeys and salt streams filled with cod and salmon. I dreamt of New York City in all its glory, before the invasion turned it to rubble. I dreamt of Earth when it was young and green and hopeful.
Most of all, I dreamt of Ranel. He was flying through the air with his gorgeous burgundy wings. But he was no dragon; he was a man with wings. He was soaring through planets and sometimes… he took me with him.
Static clawed at my ears and made me shift in the comfortable bed. What was that sound? Sound was an unnecessary addition to any dream. So why was I hearing the grating whir of listless noise?
“What is it?”
Was that Ranel? Yes, that was his voice; I’d recognize it anywhere. Light pricked at my eyelids, but they were still heavy enough that opening them was not an option.
There was more noise… more static. Then I heard another voice. Again, this voice was recognizable but not altogether familiar.
“Commander Ranel?”
“Moddoc?”
“Commander, I haven’t been able to make contact with the other ships in the fleet,” Moddoc responded. His tone was hard, reserved and almost belligerent. “I believe part of the fleet is on their way to Grissa as per the commander’s plan.”
“What?” Ranel growled.
“You should know, Commander,” Moddoc continued, without a pause. “I have detected Pax destroyers on my radar.”
The growl that ripped through the air sent my eyes flashing apart. No, this wasn’t a part of any dream. This was Ranel and he was talking to the same Drakon that I had first made contact with on the Gyygnar.
“Where are they headed?” Ranel asked.
Silence.
“Moddoc!” Ranel yelled. His ferocious voice bounced off the walls and made my skin erupt in gooseflesh.
“They’re coming in hot and fast… they’re heading to Thirren.”
16
Ranel
Thirren.
I knew it.
I fucking knew it.
Why did I let those egotistical hatchlings steer me off? My gut had been telling me all along. The Pax had never been interested in Raal. The planet was too well protected. The Raalii had made sure of that. But Thirren, on the other hand, was a much smaller planet.
Drakon were strong, but the Pax had the benefit of large numbers, abundant coin and huge reserves of weapons that had destroyed entire cities. The Hielsrane had long since threatened their ambition of planetary conquest. We were the only species out there who had a chance at rivaling the alliance. We were the only ones who could turn into dragons.
“Alert Thirren!” I yelled. “Immediately.”
With the majority of the fleet in open space, Thirren was laid bare for the sacking. The planet had natural fortifications, large mountains and harsh, wild terrain, but I knew the Pax would be coming prepared. They would have been planning this for quite some time.
“I’ve tried—"
“Try harder,” I growled furiously. “How long will they take to get there?”
“A day,” Moddoc replied, his tone clipped. “Maybe two.”
“How far are we from Thirren?” I asked.
“At current speed, five solars at least,” Moddoc replied.
I gritted my teeth together with steely resolve. “Turn on the light speed engines,” I commanded. “With a little luck, we’ll get there before the Pax do.”
“The light speed engines?” Moddoc stammered. “But— but we might not have the energy reserves to support the light speed engines. The asteroid took out more than half our—"
“Do it anyway!” I snarled. “Where is Dashel?”
“Still recovering—"
“Has he gained consciousness?”
“Uh—"
“Speak, Drakon!” I snarled.
“He is conscious, yes,” Moddoc replied. His tone was a mix of hesitant weariness and it made me furious.
“You were supposed to inform me the moment he regained consciousness,” I reminded him.
“He was very weak—"
“Put Dashel on the coms system – NOW!”
I heard a muted gasp on my bed and I turned to see Yvette staring at me with wide eyes. The sleep had drained from her face and she looked gaunt and frightened.
“What’s happened?” she asked as she got out of my bed and moved towards me. I didn’t miss the fact that her fingers moved hesitantly towards her left cheek as though she were reminding herself of something.
“I just got word from Gyygnar,” I replied. “The Pax Alliance is headed for Thirren.”
“Your home planet?” Yvette asked, her body trembling slightly.
“Yes,” I groaned. “I knew it was a feint.”
Yvette looked slightly confused and I realized she hadn’t been privy to the commander’s meeting that had taken place on Dashel’s ship while we were still docked around the mountains of Minapolis.
“The coms line with Gyygnar is still active?” she asked.
“So far,” I nodded. “There’s some static but I can hear Moddoc well enough. As for the rest of the coms system—"
“I can take another look at it,” Yvette said quickly. “I can see if I can create a direct line to one of the other main ships in the fleet.”
“Tarion’s ship,” I said quickly. “And Lehar’s… I can speak to one of them to make sure they know that Thirren is threatened.”
“I’ll do my best—"
She was cut off as the line grunted with static once more and a moment later I heard dull breathing on the other end.
“Dashel?” I called.
“Ranel,” Dashel’s voice came in a little grisly, but clear enough. “Moddoc tells me that the Pax Alliance are on their way to Thirren.”
“His information was wrong,” I sneered, trying to curb my anger. “He’s supposed to be in charge of communication between Thirren and the fleet, not to mention our network of spies and yet—"
“This is not the time, my friend,” Dashel said, his tone somber and reserved. “We need to think about our next move.”
“We need to hit our light speed engines,” I said forcefully. “It’s the only way to make it to Thirren in time…”
“The light speed engines could fry what remains of our power supply,” Dashel pointed out.
“We need to take that chance,” I said recklessly. “We can’t let the Pax take Thirren.”
“Agreed,” Dashel replied. “But—”
“How are you?” I asked, unwilling to let Dashel segue into a diplomatic line of thought. He was ever the peacemaker and while that proved useful at times, the Pax were not a species that appreciated the art of diplomacy. They liked war; they liked violence and they thrived on chaos. Peaceful resolutions were not their forte.
“Ranel—"
“Will you be able to fight?” I asked bluntly. “We will need all the able bodied Drakon we can get our hands on, especially since we don’t know if Tarion and Lehar are aware of what is happening.”
“Their radars will pick up on Pax movement,” Dashel pointed out. “Just like Gyygnar did.”
“Don’t you understand?” I said, shaking my head at him. “What if their sensors are down? What if their coms system is beyond repair? What if someone is blocking our communications with them?”
I heard a resounding silence on the other line. “You think someone is blocking our communication with the rest of the fleet?”
I p
aused, wondering if Moddoc was there and if he was listening. “It’s only a suspicion at this point. This whole attack… it’s been a little too perfectly planned.”
“We cannot solve that mystery right now,” Dashel said quickly. “We have to warn the fleet and the border patrollers of Thirren.”
“Our direct line with your ship is the only one that’s currently working,” I responded. “The others were badly affected by the black asteroid. My men are still working to repair the other coms lines, but I haven’t heard from any of them just yet. We need to hit light speed, Dashel,” I said firmly. “We cannot risk travelling at our current speeds. We will arrive in Thirren only after it’s too late.”
“I know,” Dashel said, and he sounded weak. “I will give the command now.”
I wished the video channeling were working so that I could see the extent of Dashel’s injuries. I also wanted to see if Moddoc was still in the vicinity. There was something about the mysterious intelligence officer that I didn’t like.
“As will I,” I replied. “Contact me if you have any new information.”
“I will, good luck to you brother.”
“And you,” I replied.
A moment later the static faded away and the coms light blinked off. I turned slowly to Yvette whose skin was pimpled with tiny bumps that told me she was either cold or afraid.
“Is this really happening?” she asked.
“There is going to be a battle soon,” I nodded.
She shuddered visibly and turned away from me. Her body seemed to get smaller and smaller. I took a step forward and extended my hand out to touch her. I paused at the last moment, my palm suspended over her shoulder, wondering if I should act on my instincts or not.
She shifted on her feet and I dropped my hand. “What’s wrong?” I asked.
She looked up at me through her eyelashes. “I thought I’d seen my last battle back on Earth.”
“Battles are fought everyday up here,” I pointed out.
She shook her head as though she were trying to dislodge some insidious thought from taking root. “Surely this will not be a difficult battle to win?” she asked. “Your people can turn into dragons.”
“The Pax outnumber us ten to one,” I replied, without sugar coating the truth. “And they have access to first grade weaponry. Our weapons are more primitive, mainly because we rely on our shifter forms in battle.”
