“Delilah. No worries, I’m used to everyone focusing more on the plants.”
Madeleine laughed and quietly glanced down at her feet.
“I think we’re about a mile away,” Delilah said. “So that gives us one mile to change our minds.” She coughed a little, bringing her hand up for coverage.
“How long have you been coughing?”
“It’s been a few months. I was thirty when I arrived. Not young enough to avoid it, but I’m still strong enough to keep the fever away.”
“Are you worried?”
“I think I’m past that now. Every ounce of worry has been used up. Resigned would be a better word. I’m either going to cough myself into oblivion or mate with one of these beasts.”
“You met with the smugglers too?”
“What? No.”
“You said mate. I assumed you were referring to payment for a ticket to Turlox.”
“Turlox? We don’t even know if things are better there. Who knows what those slimy developers tried to hide. I’m going to mate with one of these dragons.”
“You don’t think they’re really looking for domestic help?”
“Oh honey. If you believe that, I’ve got a condo I’d like to sell you on Vizalia. When was the last time they tried to bring humans to their lair? They’ve got something planned for sure.”
Madeleine gulped as she stared straight ahead. The rocky cliffs loomed in front of her, fading in and out of view as the ship adjusted its path towards the large opening in the middle of the row. It was the only opening she could see, which meant it was probably the only way out if she felt the need to flee. For a moment, she thought about hiding on the ship and escaping later, but the barking sounds of her father’s deep cough suddenly filled her head. Forward was the only option – straight into the belly of the beasts.
Chapter 3
Javelin and Lagos watched from their viewing station high within the cliffs. “I’ll take that one … and that one,” Lagos said, pointing his finger.
Javelin shook his head. “I’m not sure this is such a good idea. We’re meant to be with dragons.”
“Zara is our elder and if she wants me to fuck some humans, who am I to disagree?”
“I thought we talked about this, Lagos. You can’t just sleep with every Earthling you see.”
“And why not? You, my dear Beast Lightning, need to start thinking more like a dragon and less like these Earthlings.”
“First, don’t call me that. You know I hate that nickname. And I am thinking like a dragon. We have one mate for life, which isn’t that different from most humans.”
“Ahhh there’s the problem. You think fucking and mating are the same thing. Luckily for me and my cock, I know the difference.”
“The women of Earth are different, gentler. I’ve told you this.”
“They are no longer women of Earth now, are they? Vizalia is their home and if I want to enjoy them, they will comply. I don’t know why you keep denying yourself.” With that, he turned on his heels and left to inspect the row of women about to disembark from the spacecraft.
Javelin disagreed wholeheartedly with his younger counterpart. Over the years, observing the Earthlings through his telescope had become a large part of his day. He watched them try to preserve their traditions under the toughest of circumstances, including a ceremonial bonding to one partner. It made him ache for a mate of his own.
He hardly ever left the cliffs anymore. His life changed after an injury and he was now gruff and jaded. It was an atmospheric storm. They were rare, but powerful and unpredictable. One decided to rear its ugly head the day a group of Earthlings arrived. A transport ship became victim to an energy strike and he used his body to protect it from a second, burning one of his wings in the process.
The humans never knew, as he’d quickly made his return to the cliffs with his wing still smoking. The scent of his own burning flesh lived forever in his memory. Also attached to him forever was the nickname bestowed from his fellow dragons – Beast Lightning. He hated it, but stopped protesting since it did little to stop them anyway. The dragons of his own age weren’t interested in mating with one who couldn’t fly and the female drought stole all his future options. All of this, coupled with the nearly 1,000 years he’d already spent on Vizalia, had him slowly giving up.
“Use it or lose it,” Zara told him during their last visit. “Your muscles have memory, but if you never let them move in their natural state … they may forget forever.” She believed this self-surrender was why his wing hadn’t healed as it naturally should have. He was still a handsome, strong dragon whose lack of flight had caused him to forget his other attributes.
Zara was the one who dropped the flyers near the settlement. She had resigned herself to the idea that evolution required interspecies breeding for the survival of her tribe and this domestic servant ruse was her plan to bring the women to the males. She had observed Javelin studying the Earthlings with sweet fascination and hoped their proximity would help pull him out of his funk and encourage him to mate. The guilt of tricking the humans paled in comparison to her desire to keep the tribe going strong.
Zara wanted the mating done properly, though. She could not approve of Lagos and his see and breed craving and was determined to keep an eye on him. These women were not the spoils of any war and deserved respect.