by Lili Zander
Then it all goes horribly wrong.
Two dragons approach from the sky. “They’ll take your mates from you,” Belfox shouts. “Unless you defend them.”
I should know that Herrix and Belfox sow discord wherever they go, but I listen to them. Every cell in my body is already filled with fear for Mar’vi, and now, fresh terror takes hold of me. They’re coming for Felicity. My mate. My love.
My head is pounding. I’m not thinking clearly; none of us are. Confronted with a threat to our mates, we have reduced to our most primal, most primitive selves. Anger surges within me, hot and bright. Felicity is the only bright spot in my life. How dare these dragons invade us? How dare they try to take her?
We launch into the sky. Rezzix and Magnux, Yasix and Thesix, Xanthox and I, with only one thought in our heads. Protect our mates.
Wild pandemonium reigns. From below, I hear Liorax and Zunix shout something, but I can’t hear them over the blood roaring in my head. I open my mouth and shoot a stream of flame at one of the invaders, a black dragon, and my aim is true. He screams in pain, and his wing catches fire, and he starts tumbling. I watch him fall, his body hurtling toward Lake Ang, the red dragon streaking after him, trying to shield him from the fall, and then… nothing.
Disaster presses in from every direction. Belfox and Herrix have led us astray, as anyone with half a mind should have guessed. I’ve been a fool. A hot-headed, impulsive, impetuous fool.
I have attacked the Firstborn of the High Empire, and the punishment for my crime is death. Arax will demand my execution, as well as the execution of every single member of my family.
I have not only condemned myself as a result of my actions but also my mate and my pair-bond.
All I ever wanted to do was protect the people I cared about. Growing up, I didn’t have a family of my own. I swore to myself that if I was ever fortunate enough to find a bondmate and have youngling, that I would show them every day how much I cared about them.
Instead, I have, once again, failed the people I love most. My daughter is dying on a distant world. As a result of my stupidity, Felicity and Xanthox face almost-certain death.
Herrix slides up to Xanthox and me, and I look at him bitterly. “What do you want?” I snap. “Haven’t you done enough?”
“Don’t be a fool,” he hisses, just as harshly. “There’s only one way out now. The ship is almost assembled. We can leave anytime. If you want to live, you need to escape the prison planet and take your chances in the hidden reaches of the universe.”
He’s right. There’s only one way out of here.
“Come to the cave as soon as you can,” he says. “Belfox needs help. If we work all day and all night, we’ll be ready to leave tomorrow morning. Before,” he adds pointedly, “The Firstborn wakes up and demands retribution.”
Felicity is talking to Paige Watkins. She looks unhappy, and another pang cuts through me. We’ve barely been around for the last ten days. A sense of urgency has been driving me. Every single day this last week, Xanthox and I have woken up and headed to the cave where Belfox is building the Cloakship. She must be wondering what we’re doing. I’ve evaded her questions, but it’s time for the truth.
Matters are finally coming to a head.
“I’ll tell Felicity,” I murmur. “We’ll be ready to go.”
Herrix stares at me. “The ship only holds four people,” he says. “Your human mate cannot come with us.”
My head snaps up, and shock courses through me. “She’s my mate. Of course she’s coming with us. I won’t leave her behind.”
“You’ll have to,” Herrix replies.
I cannot make this choice. I cannot be asked to choose between my dying daughter and my mate. Felicity means everything to me. There is no way I can leave without her.
I’m about to open my mouth and tell him the deal is off when Xanthox lays a warning hand on my shoulder. “Fine,” he says. “We’ll do it. Give it a few hours for things to calm down here. We’ll slip away as quickly as we can.”
As soon as Herrix departs, I whirl to Xanthox. “What in the name of Caeron do you mean? I’m not going without Felicity.”
“Neither am I,” my pair-bond says. “But we’re all in danger. You know Herrix. He’s volatile. Unstable. Pushing him isn’t a good idea. You need to save your daughter, and you need to leave the prison planet. Now more than ever.”
He sounds like he has a plan. “What are you saying?”
“Right now, we just nod along and agree with everything Herrix and Belfox say,” he replies grimly. “But tomorrow morning, we show up with Felicity. They won’t have a choice at that point.”
It’s risky, but it could work. “We have to warn her.”
“Tonight,” he replies. “Tonight, we tell her everything.”
I take a deep breath. For sixty-five years, one day has been very much like the next. Now, time is hurtling forward, and I feel like I’m a leaf floating in the current, swept along by forces outside my control. “Okay.”
I wait for Felicity to finish her conversation with the human woman, and then I go to her, tugging her away from the crowd. “I have to go away now,” I murmur, my voice low so I can’t be overheard by anyone else. “But I need to talk to you tonight. It’s important.”
Her eyes are wide and fearful. “What’s going on, Lud? You’re freaking me out.”
“Not now, little one.” I brush a kiss across her lips. Please don’t judge me too harshly about Mar’vi. “Tonight. I promise. I will tell you everything.”
She swallows hard and lost as I am in my worries, I don’t see the flash of insecurity in her eyes. I don’t notice the way she clings to me.
Not until it’s too late.
20
Felicity
PAST…
I need to talk to you tonight. It’s important.
Too much is happening. Lud attacked the other dragon, and now, everyone’s talking in hushed voices. It was an accident, I want to scream. Can’t you see that Belfox and Herrix egged them into it?
My mates weren’t the only ones to charge into battle. May and Paige’s guys jumped into the sky as well. Somehow, everyone’s giving them a free pass, while inching away from Lud and Xan.
Of course. They’re going to let him shoulder the blame for this.
Fuck this shit. I’m not going to let it happen. I will fucking go postal if they try to make Lud their fall guy.
Something’s wrong. Lud and Xan have been pulling away from me. They’ve barely been around in the last couple of weeks. Last night, I’d been so lonely that I’d even gone to talk to Bryce, who is by far the nicest of all the women here. Of course, Olivia had come in right in the middle and had immediately launched into a litany of questions.
I tried talking to them yesterday, but they’d left before I could ask them what’s going on. They hadn’t been back home by the time I went to sleep either. It had been the first night I’d slept alone in my treehouse.
But none of that matters now. When push comes to shove, I will stand by my mates.
Olivia’s saying something to her mates, who are giving Lud an unhappy look. I turn to Paige. “Don’t you guys dump this on my mates,” I snap. “I’m telling you, if Olivia tries to make this out to be Lud’s fault, I will Towanda her ass.”
She smiles faintly, though her eyes are concerned. “Really, Felicity? A Fried Green Tomatoes reference at a time like this?” She takes a deep breath. “I was here. I saw everything go down. Don’t worry. Every single one of us shares the blame for this.”
Lud comes up to me, and I hug him tight. He pulls me away from the crowd, and I follow. Before I can ask him how he’s doing, he starts to speak. “I have to go away now,” he says softly. “But I need to talk to you tonight. It’s important.”
What the hell is going on? He’s not going to do something stupid and chivalrous like shoulder the blame for this all by himself, is he? Because I’m not going to let him.
“What’s going on, Lu
d?” I ask him, a definite quiver in my voice. “You’re freaking me out.”
“Not now, little one.” He kisses me, soft and gentle, and at his familiar touch, I melt into him, breathing in the smoky male scent of my mate, taking comfort in the strength of his embrace. “Tonight. I promise. I will tell you everything.”
Through the trees, I can see Xan’s expression. He looks wary and tense. That’s not like him. Xan is cocky and easy-going, confident and secure. I’ve never seen him look so stressed.
I tighten my grip around Lud. I have a very bad feeling about this.
By mid-afternoon, most of the commotion dies down. Dariux returns from his expedition—he says he’s helping Bryce find grain for beer, but somehow, I get the sense that this is a cover for whatever he’s really doing—and he snaps into action. Using his med-kit, he heals the injured Draekon.
For the moment, everything’s okay, but it feels like the calm before the storm.
Lud and Xan are nowhere to be seen. Sighing, I make my way home and move to the kitchen. My mates had made this room just for me, spending endless hours asking me what kitchens looked like on Earth, and constructing everything here to my specifications. It’s a small room—it is a treehouse, after all—but I love it.
I pull out a small piece of dried meat from the pantry and cook it over the stove. It’s almost done when there’s a knock at the door.
My heart leaps. Lud and Xan, finally?
It’s not them. It’s Herrix. Of all the Draekons in the camp, he’s the one who creeps me out the most. He’s sly and devious, and he’s clearly contemptuous of the women, seeing us as inferior to him. Not to mention his role in this morning’s debacle.
“Luddux and Xanthox aren’t here,” I say, a definite edge in my voice. “I thought they were with you.”
“I’m not looking for them,” he replies. “I wanted to talk to you.”
“To me?” I blink in confusion. “What about?”
“About your mates.”
I trust Herrix about as far as I can throw him. I give him a wary look. “What about them?”
“Have you ever wondered what Luddux and Xanthox have been doing for the last two weeks? They leave at dawn and return at dusk. Surely, you must be curious about what they’re up to.”
Of course I am, but I’m not going to bitch about Lud and Xan to Herrix. Lud promised to tell me tonight. Yes, I’m hurt that they’re keeping secrets from me, but the last thing I want to do is give Herrix ammunition. “If they want to tell me, they will.”
“Or maybe there’s a reason they’re not telling you.” He gives me a sympathetic look. “You humans place a value on directness, I believe, so I’ll get right to the point. What if I told you that Luddux and Xanthox have been helping Herrix and I assemble a spaceship, one that will allow us to finally escape the prison planet?”
I inhale sharply.
“What if I told you,” he continues, “that the reason they haven’t mentioned this to you is because they don’t want you to go with them?”
“They would never do that.” Would they? What if Lud is going to tell me tonight that they’re leaving me? What if they’re just trying to put off saying goodbye?
“Are you sure, Felicity Rollins?” he asks, tilting his head to one side. “Xanthox has vast estates in Alvi. Far away enough from the homeworld that questions won’t be asked about his long absence. But,” he says pointedly, “If he shows up with a human mate and a pair-bond, the authorities won’t be able to look the other way.”
My stomach roils. Whatever I might have imagined they were going to tell me, it was never this. “You’re lying,” I say, trying to ignore the sick feeling that’s spreading through me. “I know my mates.”
“Do you?” Herrix raises an eyebrow. “Only a fully-transformed Draekon can pilot the ship. Luddux and Xanthox knew that. They did what was necessary.” His lips twist into a sneer. “You were useful,” he says. “But you’ve outlived your purpose.”
“We leave in the morning,” he continues. “Xanthox is a Highborn noble, Felicity Rollins. He is a citizen of the High Empire. You are human. Your destinies are divergent. Set him free. Set them both free.”
“I don’t believe you,” I repeat stubbornly.
“You don’t have to take my word for it,” he says. “Dariux is back. Borrow his skimmer today. Head west of Lake Ang. It’s rocky terrain, and the hills are dotted with caves. And in one of those caves is the ship. See for yourself.”
I should resist. I know I should Herrix likes to stir up trouble. This morning’s events have shown, pretty damn clearly, that he can’t be trusted.
But in a sick, twisted way, his words check out. In recent weeks, Lud and Xan have been acting strangely. They haven’t been around. They avoid answering me when I ask them what they’re busy doing. Last night, I’d been so upset that I’d cried myself to sleep.
In a haze, I turn off the stove. I search for Dariux. I like the Draekon. In a weird way, I feel a sense of kinship with him. Everyone’s decided they know exactly who Dariux is based on something that happened sixty-five years ago, and everyone’s decided they know exactly who I am based on my catty comments to Olivia.
He’s outside the large treehouse, the central gathering space where most of the camp has taken to hanging out, saying something to Bolox and Narix. He breaks off the conversation when he sees me. “What’s the matter, Felicity Rollins?” he asks with a frown. “Is this about Luddux? Don’t worry about it. I won’t let anything happen to him.”
“It’s something else.” The note of concern in Dariux’s voice almost makes me burst into tears. “Can I borrow your skimmer for a couple of hours? I’ll be back before dusk.”
“What’s wrong?” he asks again.
“Please, Dariux. No questions. You don’t see me asking you what you’re searching for, do you?”
He grimaces. “Fine. Of course you can take the skimmer. Are you armed?”
Three months on this planet and I walk around with a knife strapped to my hip, and I barely register it anymore. How quickly we acclimatize to things. If you told me back on Earth that I would have two dragon-shifter mates, I’d have told you to cut back on the drugs.
Except, if what Herrix was saying is right, I might not have mates very much longer.
Following the directions that Herrix had given me, I head west of Lake Ang. I’ve never been to this part. There are supposedly great dinosaur-like beasts in the desert to the north of Lake Ang, and ever since I heard that, I’ve stayed close to the clearing, not venturing more than an hour away by foot.
The hills are much further away. It takes me almost an hour by skimmer to get there. Herrix had said that the cave opening is on the western face, so I park the skimmer at the eastern base, and start to climb.
One of the advantages of mating with Draekons—I’m a lot stronger than I was back on Earth. My muscles are fitter, and I have a lot more energy. It’s some kind of side-effect of the mutation. I make my way up the steep hill without too much difficulty, and when I reach the top, I look around for the opening.
“Don’t worry.”
That voice—Belfox, if I’m not mistaken—had seemed to come from my feet. I freeze in place, and then put it together. The cave must have a skylight or some other kind of opening, carrying the sound of their voices to me. Red bushes are growing in thick clumps on the ground, and I can’t see anything, but I can hear just fine.
“Do you see me fretting about Olivia?” Belfox continues. He snorts. “As if I’m going to sully myself with a human mate. When we leave here, you’ll realize that it’s all for the best. There will be plenty of women to be had, women much worthier of you. Felicity will only hold you down.”
My blood runs cold. I wait for either of my mates to say something. Anything. Anything at all to prove that what Herrix said to me isn’t true.
“I don’t want to talk about Felicity,” Lud says flatly. “Let’s just get this check done.”
It feels like there�
��s a fist around my heart, squeezing it until it shatters. I thought my heart broke when Calder Reese picked Chloe over me, but this is so much worse. Xan and Lud are my mates. I thought they were in love with me. I thought we’d be together forever.
I can’t listen anymore. Tears spilling down my cheeks, I half-run, half-slide down the hill and make my way home.
Truth be told, I don’t know where home is anymore.
Lud told me he’d explain everything tonight, but I can’t face them. I can’t bear to hear them tell me it’s over.
I reach the outskirts of the camp and wipe the tears from my eyes. I need a plan. All I have to do is survive tonight. Tomorrow, they’ll be gone. Everyone will look at me with pity, and it will sting badly, but I can face the others. They don’t have the power to break me. They can’t shatter my heart, not the way Xan and Lud have.
A Draekon walks by—the always-silent Runnax—and I flag him down. “Could you find Dariux for me?” I beg him.
Runnax never has any questions. He nods silently and heads off in the direction of the clearing. A few minutes later, Dariux makes his way toward me. “What happened?” he demands when he sees my red-rimmed eyes.
“Please, Dariux,” I beg him. “I can’t go back home tonight. I need to hide. Can I stay with you? Not sexually,” I add hastily.
He rolls his eyes. “I’m well aware of that, Felicity,” he says dryly. “I’m not about to make an advance at a sobbing woman who’s obviously in love with her mates.” He gives me a long look. “If there’s a problem, you should talk to your mates. Whatever it is, it can be fixed.”
Not this time.
I don’t reply. His lips tighten. “Fine,” he says. “I’m staying at Bolox’s house. They won’t look for you there.”
I cry all night. In the morning, Dariux leaves to do whatever he’s doing, but I don’t care. I don’t care about anything anymore. My mates have left the prison planet without me.
21
Xanthox
PAST…
Felicity’s gone.
Where can she be? People don’t wander off in camp; the detsena come out at dusk, and everyone’s usually home before that.