by Maia Starr
“You are being summoned by King Hydros. Come with me,” he said.
“But I can’t. I need to be here when Zoq wakes up,” I said.
Jitu moved over to me. “You cannot disobey the King. When he summons you, you must go. I will send for you when the commander wakes. I will make sure that I stay here with the commander and let him know where you are,” he said.
I suddenly felt very nervous. This king sounded menacing. I suddenly remembered what Zoq had said. That it was possible that the King was going to be angry at me and at him. I took a deep breath. I moved over to Zoq and placed a kiss on his lips. “I am here. I am right here waiting for you,” I whispered. Then I followed the warrior out of the hut. We walked through the landing port area and out into the village. I was stunned by the beauty of the place. I looked up into the massive trees. They were so big that the trunks were as big as houses. Everyone seemed to be so lively in the village, and no one even paid any attention to me. It felt good to be so anonymous in such a strange place, among aliens. I could see some human females going about their daily business with smiles on their faces. I wondered how many of them were the recently captured ones.
I followed the warrior to the outskirts of the village, and then I saw something absolutely stunning that I did not see before. There was a massive palace tucked into the rock cliff of the island. I stared at it so much that I had to stop.
“We should not keep the King waiting; he is very busy,” he pushed for forward.
I followed him up a very steep staircase. I realized everything was so high up because the Draqua could fly. For them, it was easy to get to these high places. The stairs were a little harder for me after being so exhausted. But I carried on. Finally, we entered the palace. It was decorated in a lush island feel. Everything was very richly done and beautiful. Finally, we came to the end of a very long hallway made of wooden timbers. I walked into a massive room that had a large terrace with a view of the entire island. It was spectacular.
“Agent Heather Maven,” a voice said.
I turned to see a very tall hybrid dragon standing in the room. His wings were spread wide, and then he folded them behind him. He had a scowl on his face, and I knew that he was angry at my presence in his kingdom. I only hoped that he would not banish me. Not now after everything we had been through.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
COMMANDER ZOQ KANE
I could vaguely hear Heather's voice as I went in and out of consciousness. I knew that we were on Kelon. I was able to just let go after knowing that. Then I was out. I knew that it was the healers putting me under while they worked on me. Hours later, I woke in a massive hut on the landing port. It was one that was used for healing warriors that were wounded in battle. My eyes opened, and I looked up at the thatched roof. I knew instantly where I was. I looked around for Heather, but I could not see her. I opened my mouth, my dry mouth, “Heather?”
“She stepped out. She is all right. You are going to be all right,” I heard a voice say. I turned to see a healer walking over to me. He put his hands on me and went to work checking me.
“Where is she?” I asked.
“Commander, you are awake. How do you feel?” another voice said. I saw Jitu walk in and realized he was the one that had helped us. I knew him, but not too well, and in the transport, I could not see him on the communication panel because of the way I was laying. I was too out of it to make his voice familiar to me.
“Jitu, I am fine. I think. I feel numb,” I said.
“That is the result of us numbing you in order to work on your wound,” the healer said.
“How bad is it?” I asked.
“It could have been worse. It is a flesh wound. It did not pierce any of your organs. You will be fine in a couple of months with rapid healing.”
“Good. I have a lot to do. I cannot be out for very long,” I said feeling good about the good news. I didn't know at the time if it was just a flesh wound, but I knew that it was bad and that it needed professional care.
“Commander, you are going to be one hundred percent like your old self in a few months,” Jitu said.
“Good.”
“I have good news. Captain Blace has been taken out,” Jitu said.
“What? When? Is he here on Kelon?” I asked feeling worried.
“No, he was shot down. He is dead.”
“When did this happen?” I asked.
“After our squadron of warriors escorted you and Heather here, they launched back into space and found his beacon. They took him out. He is no longer a threat,” Jitu said.
“That is a relief. Heather will be relieved,” I said. “Heather, where is she? I don't want her feeling alone in a strange place,” I said.
“She was summoned by the King,” Jitu said.
Shit. That could not be good. I was hoping to face the King with her at my side in order to explain why I had brought her here. Now he was going to take all of his anger out on her, and she did not deserve it. I was to blame for the mess.
“I must go there. I must be there with her when she faces him,” I said.
“No, you cannot move,” the healer said.
“Jitu, patch me in on the communication panel then. I cannot let her face him alone,” I said.
“Yes, right away,” he said as he moved to the communication station in the room. In seconds, he was trying to get the King’s private chamber to open up a communication line.
“Commander Zoq Kane, welcome home,” King Hydros said as he appeared on the communication panel.
“Thank you, my King. I wish I would have returned in better shape,” I said to him.
“I am glad that you returned. You did great work. As you know, it was a very dangerous mission that took a lot of time. I am grateful to you for it,” he said.
“Thank you. I would do it again if need be. I have just been told that Captain Blace was taken down.”
“Yes, it is true. We just got confirmation an hour ago. Now he can no longer threaten you, or the human female that you brought here, without my permission,” he said sternly.
“About that, my King, do not take it out on her. She is not to blame. The blame is on me,” I said.
“She is here now. She said the same thing about herself. Not to put the blame on you; that it should be put on her,” the King said amused.
“She said that? Do not listen to her,” I said.
“Zoq, is that you?” I heard her voice say.
“It is me, Heather. I am awake,” I said looking for her. The King stepped aside, and she entered the frame alongside him.
“Thank God. Are you alright? How do you feel? I have been so worried,” she said frantically.
“I feel good. I have been told that I will be healed in a few months,” I said to her. Then I heard the King clear his throat.
“If I may continue,” he said.
“I am sorry, my King. Continue,” I said.
“In bringing this human female here, you have made a complete mess of the mission. She is not a random human female. She was a human female that was directly involved in the mission of Captain Blace, and her disappearance is too obvious. I did not give you permission to bring her with you.”
“Yes, my King. I give my deepest apologies for taking such action. I realize and know how much it put the mission in jeopardy. But the human female Heather Maven captured my heart. I struggled with doing the right thing and leaving her behind, and following my heart and bringing her. I chose my heart,” I said.
“We cannot always follow our hearts when it puts the entire race of the Draqua at risk,” he said.
“You are right, and I only thought of myself and of Heather,” I said.
“He did the right thing; if I would have stayed, the Draqua would be in more danger than ever,” Heather interrupted. The King turned and looked at her.
“Explain yourself, human female,” he said.
“Commander Zoq Kane and I engaged in activity on Earth. A lot of activity, what you
call mating. I have just confirmed with one of your healers that I carry his offspring. It has been confirmed that I carry a Draqua hybrid.”
“It’s confirmed?” I said with joy.
“Yes!” she said excitedly. Then she turned back to the King. “You see, my King, if I would have stayed on Earth, this child of mine would have been subjected to all kinds of tests. It would not be good. It would not be good for me; it would not be good for the child. But most of all, Earth would learn things about the anatomy and deepest secrets of the Draqua. That could be damaging for you and your mission to stop the extinction of your species. So you see, Commander Zoq did the right thing in the end, even if he did not know it would be the best plan of action. If I had stayed on Earth, then another, more dangerous mission would have to be launched to get me, or a hybrid Draqua would be in danger.”
The King was silent for a while as he walked back and forth. Heather and I looked at each other through the monitors with tension. We did not know what the King would say. Would he take her defense and grant us a union? Or would he still be angry and use us to set an example to other Draquas to not take matters into their own hands.
“I see your point, human female Heather Maven,” he finally said. “But you are a person of rank on Earth. You do see how this is a mess that we will have to clean up and monitor. From now on, the humans know that you are with us on Kelon. That is something that we did not want to happen.”
“Yes, I understand it. I promise to work with you and the Draqua to manage the incident and any event that comes from it. I will proudly and gladly work with you to ensure the safety of the Draqua and my child,” Heather said.
Hearing her say those words brought extreme pride into my heart. I was not expecting to be so happy at hearing her say such things. But it made a difference to me. She was happy to be on Kelon, and that filled me with such love for her.
“Yes, you will. You will work. You will tell me and my counsel everything that is to be expected from your disappearance and how your colleagues would handle it. There is a lot of work to be done,” he said sternly.
“Yes, I understand,” she said.
“And I suppose that the two of you wish for me to grant you a union? She is pregnant with your offspring, so I see no other choice. You, Heather Maven, may take this Draqua, Commander Zoq Kane, as your forever mate. You, Commander Zoq Kane, have claim on this human female, Heather Maven, and no other may lay claim to her. You shall be married as soon as you are fit to.”
“Aah!” Heather screamed and jumped up and down. I grinned watching her ample body jiggle in joy.
“Thank you, my King,” I said.
“Yes, thank you!” Heather said.
“Now, Heather, you are to meet with me and my counsel to discuss what we spoke of and get started,” the King said.
“Now? But…” she said, looking at me in the monitor.
The King was quiet and noticed that she ached to be at my side.
“No, tomorrow is sufficient. Go to Commander Zoq and be with him. Get accustomed to the village. I will send for you tomorrow evening. Now go! Guard!” he shouted.
“Thank you! I’m coming, Zoq,” she said to me.
“Yes, my King?”
“Escort this human back to Commander Zoq and see that they are well fed and nourished. They have had a long and dangerous trip, and this human is with child,” the King said.
“Yes, my King,” the guard said. Heather gave me one last smile and then the communication was ended.
The ten to fifteen minutes it took for her to reappear in the hut was a long wait. But it was worth it. But as I waited, Jitu had more news for me.
“Congratulations, Commander; you have offspring on the way,” he said as he worked at the communication console, ending the call with the King.
“Thank you, Jitu. I could not be happier or prouder,” I said as I groaned a little as the numbing agent began to wear off.
He turned to me and saw my discomfort. “Here, I will pour you a glass of Hiwa; it will help.”
“Yes, please, greatly appreciated in this moment,” I said. He poured me a glass of the strong drink and handed it to me. I drink it down excitedly and with pleasure. It had been several months since I drank the sweet, strong drink.
“I have more news, if you wish to know, concerning Captain Teqqin Blace. It does concern Heather as well,” Jitu said. My eyes opened wide. I put the cup down.
“Yes, tell me, please. Is she in danger?” I asked.
“Not in any immediate Danger. When we captured the ship that the captain was on, the warriors that were with him were questioned.”
“Yes, I know them well. I was on the mission with them for months,” I said.
“They informed us that after Heather disappeared, the humans caught on to her disappearance and the fact that you were no longer around. They blame the captain for her disappearance. They said it was his plan all along. They said that he had come with a false message in order to distract them, and while they were distracted, he orchestrated stealing hundreds of human females from Earth. This included Heather, a top intelligence agent,” he said, arching an eyebrow at me. I took it all in, what he had said. I smiled.
“So that humans blame the captain for everything?” I asked.
“They do. They chased him out of Earth,” Jitu said with a restrained smile.
“I am sorry to hear that,” I said with a laugh. “Though the humans are not wrong. Captain Teqqin Blace’s mission was a distraction to steal hundreds of females; only he was not aware of it.”
Jitu laughed. “No, he was not. I’m sure that pissed him off to no end when he found out.”
“Yes, yes it did.”
“The King is receiving the full report today on this. I am sure that he will call you in for the full review when you have mended some from this operation,” he said.
“Yes, he will,” I said picking up my Hiwa. “How about a toast to our good fortunes with the humans of Earth?”
“Does that mean you need a refill?” he asked.
“Yes, it does,” I laughed. He grabbed my cup and poured more and then poured one for himself. We clinked our cups together and drank the strong drink in celebration.
Finally, Heather burst in and ran to my side. I was happy to see her as she ran toward me. She was a vision.
“Oh, Zoq! Oh! I am so happy to see you. I missed you so much! I am so happy you are awake. The healers say you will be just fine!” she said as she placed tiny, frantic kisses all over my face. I laughed. It felt good to be showered in her kisses.
Jitu cleared his throat. “I will leave you two alone. Commander, it is good to have you back. Heather, welcome to Kelon.”
“Thank you, Jitu.”
“Yes, please leave us,” I said with lust in my voice. Jitu walked out, and we were finally alone.
“Oh, Zoq. I am so happy that the King has granted us to be together. I was so worried,” she said.
“I was worried that you would not want to be with me,” I said to her.
“What? Why?” she asked.
“Because you were very angry with me on the ship before. I know that I created an environment for you to not trust me, but I promise that I will never keep the truth from you ever again. I do not want to lose you ever,” I said to her.
“I understand why you kept being a spy from me. It was a necessity of the mission. I do not feel the same way I did after you first told me. I do trust you. I know that you would give your life for me. When I thought that you were going to die, I wanted nothing more than for you to live and for us to be together. I could never be angry at you now. I want to be with you more than anything. I want us to be together. It is important that you know that,” she said to me.
“Come here,” I said, grabbing her shirt and pulling her face to mine. Her pink lips trembled. She placed a kiss on my mouth, and I groaned. I was very happy now that I knew how things had turned out for the better and that we were just starting our lives together o
n my beloved home planet. It was going to be a wild ride.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
HEATHER MAVEN
I did not know that I could be so happy with an alien, on an alien planet. But I was. I was happier and more fulfilled than I had ever felt on Earth. On Earth, I was barely living; I was living for work. Here, I was living for love. I truly fit in.
After we arrived and Zoq went through the healing process, I took the time to learn a lot about Kelon living, as well as being pregnant. Because Zoq was mostly bedridden as his wound healed, I spent a lot of time with the other human females on Kelon. I did not meet one that was unhappy or did not want to be there. I understood why. Being with the dragon shifters was an adventure full of lust, passion, and everything refreshingly new. I counted myself lucky to be among the few human females invited into their world.