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I suck in a breath.The sight is a dream come true.

“You like the view,” Aruan says.

When I look at him, I catch him studying me.“I’ve always loved dragons.Since I was a little girl, I had pictures and toys of them in my room.I read every book about them I could get my hands on.”

The light in his eyes is both soft and sad.“Maybe a part of you remembered where you came from.Even though your power wasn’t developed, it was always there.”

“I suppose that makes sense.”I stare back at the picture in front of me, unable to believe that it’s real.“On Earth, we call them dinosaurs.Only there, they’re extinct.They lived millions of years ago before an asteroid caused major climate changes that caused them to disappear altogether.”

“You’re passionate about this subject.”

“It’s that obvious, huh?”

“You’ll have to tell me everything about your dinosaurs.”

“Why?”I search his eyes.“I thought you didn’t want to talk about Earth, seeing that it’s a forbidden subject.”

“Everything that’s important to you is important to me.”

I’m stunned into silence, contemplating the meaning behind his declaration.Could he actually care about me for who I am and not just because I’m his mate?

The breeze picks up, blowing wisps of his hair that came loose around his face.

Glancing at the horizon, he says, “We’ll have time to come back here.”He pulls me behind him toward the white cliff.“The eastern wind is rising.”

I recognize a few of the creepy-crawlies from Lona.A long line of the same spidery ants I saw in the jungle cross our path.The giant tube worms are everywhere, but I’m not worried, knowing I can control them.Anyway, Aruan will melt them if they snap their fanged maws in our direction.A colony of those prawn-like insects are hard at work in the trees, cutting larvae from their cocoons.

As we round the foot of the cliff, a gap appears like a dark distorted mouth in the rockface, giving the impression of a grimacing mask.We go inside.Light comes from the other end, so it must be some kind of tunnel running through the mountain.

Hissing reaches my ears.I access the map in my mind, but there’s no animal life around us.I’m about to ask Aruan what’s making that noise when my gaze falls on movement in the shadows.When my eyes adjust to the dark, I almost jump out of my skin.

A creature that looks like a giant snake slithers from behind a rock.Beady little eyes shine like black marble from a triangular head.It pushes up onto two front paws, observing us slyly.I nearly fall onto my back when the human-sized snake opens its mouth and speaks with hissing and clicking sounds.

I cling to Aruan’s hand as he listens attentively.When the creature falls quiet, I whisper, “What the hell is that?”

“They’re one of the intelligent species on Zerra.We call them Slitheax.They’re stealthy assassins.”

The Slitheax says something, its red forked tongue peeking out as it spits and hisses more foreign words.

I suppress an urge to jump behind Aruan’s back as it slides through the sand toward us.“What did he say?Or is it a she?”

“They’re hermaphrodites.It was asking what our business is here.Your aunt employs them as guardians for the palace.That way, the Alit and Slitheax live together in peace.”

A whole army of Slitheax crawl out from behind the rocks, hissing and clicking their tongues as they surround us.

I swallow.“What did you tell them?”

“They know who I am.”Aruan pulls me closer with an arm around my shoulders.“They’re curious about you.”

Unable to stop myself, I yelp when they narrow their circle around us.

“Just keep still.”Aruan’s tone is reassuring.“They only want to get to know you.”

It’s difficult to stay still when “getting to know me” means licking my face with their sandpapery tongues.

“It’s their way of smelling you,” Aruan says with a grin I can’t see, as I’m currently being blinded by tens of licking tongues and snake-ish saliva, but that I can hear clearly.

They’re only happy when my entire face is covered in glob, and sticky slime is dripping from my chin.