Page 17 of Possessed by the Dragon Alien (Zarux Dragon Brides #6)

THIRTEEN

Madrian held Nena close. His wings created a private space around them, filling his senses with the scents of soil, green things and something uniquely her.

She fit perfectly against him, her smaller form tucked against his chest like she belonged there.

For the first time in his life, he felt…

complete. At peace. Never had he experienced such contentment, such rightness, and the foreignness of how he felt revealed the stark emptiness of his existence serving the Axis with cold precision and ruthless force.

The dragon inside him purred with satisfaction. This was right. This was home .

His purpose crystallized with stunning clarity.

He would dedicate his life to being worthy of her trust, her touch, her love.

No more serving an empire built on suffering.

He would change the course of things. For her.

For himself. For the chance to become someone who deserved the way she looked at him.

But first, he had to keep her safe.

Madrian pulled back slightly, though it physically hurt to create space between them. “Soon they’ll discover you’re not in your cell.”

Nena nodded against his chest. “What will they do?”

“Search the gardens first. Then expand outward.” He stroked her hair. “I need to handle this before suspicion falls here.”

“You have to go.” It wasn’t a question.

“Yes.” He stepped away, immediately missing her warmth.

“Stay here. Rest. Eat. There is a replication unit that will provide food, clothes. Whatever you need.” He gestured toward a panel in the wall.

“No one will enter these chambers except me. Do not let anyone in.” He crouched slightly to look directly in her eyes.

“Seriously. No one . Even if they sound like me, or look like me, it’s not me.

In fact, stay away from the door entirely. ”

“I understand.” Her green eyes were steady, though he saw worry lurking in their depths.

“The device you found,” he said. “May I have it?”

She pulled it from her pocket and placed it in his palm. The small disc felt heavy with secrets. “I need to know exactly who is moving against us.”

“Be careful,” she said softly.

He wanted to kiss her again. To wrap her in his wings and never let go. Instead, he turned toward the door. “I’ll return soon.”

The corridor outside felt colder somehow. Empty. He touched the device in his pocket and strode toward the secure communications room where he knew Rien would be waiting. Time to learn who among his fellow council members had marked Nena for death.

Madrian found Rien in her secure communication hub, a small room deep within the tower, filled with monitors and scanning equipment. She sat at the central console, her pale form ghostly in the blue glow of the screens.

“The workers’ cells are in chaos,” she said without turning. “They’ve discovered she’s missing.”

“Good.” Madrian pulled out the listening device. “Let them search the gardens. It will keep them occupied while we deal with this.”

Rien swiveled to face him. Her gaze fell to the disc. “Ah. I was wondering what happened to this.”

“The device is yours?”

“Of course,” she replied. “What kind of prime watcher would I be if I wasn’t gathering every scrap of information I could?”

He had to have a grudging respect for that, even though it only confirmed that there was absolutely zero privacy in Central. He grunted. “Let’s get on with it, before they finish searching the gardens.”

“You realize they’ll move to the towers next.”

“By then we’ll know who’s behind this.” He placed the device on her scanning pad.

She tapped a series of commands. Static crackled through the speakers, then cleared. Voices emerged, and Madrian’s wings drew tight against his back as he recognized them.

Taghi’s clipped tones: “…showing all the signs. Just like the others.”

Uri’s deeper voice: “Are you certain? Madrian has always been loyal.”

Madrian’s hands curled into fists. Two council members he’d worked alongside for cycles, calmly discussing his downfall. But it was the third voice that made his blood run cold.

“Then the experiment worked. Bringing the Terian female here proved he’s susceptible.”

High Chancellor Valkos. He’d never liked that one. Always chose unnecessary suffering and oppression over simpler, less brutal methods.

“Like all Zaruxians apparently are,” Taghi sneered. “They can’t resist Terian mates.”

He listened, his gut coiled into a knot of fury. Voices were a blur amid his rising anger.

We can’t have a dragon loose in Central.

Especially not one as powerful as Madrian.

“Then we’re agreed?” Valkos’ tone held cold finality. “The female must be eliminated before the bond strengthens. Make it look like an accident. A fall, perhaps. Or a faulty hygiene pod.”

“When?”

“Tonight. During sleep cycle. Quick and quiet.”

That was all he needed to hear. Dragon fire surged up Madrian’s throat. He slammed a hand on the console. “Turn it off.”

Rien stopped the recording. “It’s quite clear,” she said. “Taghi and Valkos orchestrated this. Had Nena brought here deliberately to test your loyalty.”

“And planned to kill her.” His wings trembled with fury.

The need to shift—which he’d never experienced before—clawed at his chest. He’d wondered if it was true, that Zaruxians could change their form entirely.

It was only mentioned once in the scant information he had on his species.

But now, he knew it was real, as the need to embrace his dragon form and burn them all to ash, burned like hot coals under his ribs.

“Yes.” Rien’s expression was grim. “And now they plan to eliminate her,” she agreed.

“They can try.” Heat rolled through his chest. The urge to shift, to embrace his true form, pressed against his skin, but this was not the time.

Not the place. He took a deep, fortifying breath.

“But first, I want to know why. What is this connection between Zaruxians and Terians that has them so afraid?”

“I’ve been researching that.” Rien pulled up a series of files on her screen.

“There are references in ancient archives about an alliance between Zarux and Teria. The planets orbited each other, and the species developed a symbiotic relationship. The Terians enhanced Zaruxian dragon fire, while Zaruxians protected Terian settlements.”

“How did I not know this?” Madrian asked, scanning the ancient text. “I have complete access to the Axis databases.”

“Because someone erased it all,” Rien said. “I found these records in old archives from conquered worlds. The Axis purged their own data of any mention of the connection between your species.”

Madrian’s wings rustled with agitation. “What else have they hidden from me?”

“Much.” Rien pulled up another file. “The Zaruxian people weren’t just defeated by the Axis. They were systematically destroyed because of this bond with the Terians. Together, your species were too powerful.”

“Tell me everything you know.” The words came out as a growl.

“When bonded to Terians, Zaruxian dragons could channel immense power. Your fire became strong enough to melt stone, to reshape reality itself.” She gestured to the screen.

“The Axis couldn’t defeat you through force.

So they separated you. They declared war on Zarux and exiled the surviving Terians to a penal colony where their lives would be much shorter than on their home planet, causing future generations to quickly forget their past and their true nature. ”

Madrian’s blood ran cold. “Penal Colony 5-11B…”

“The descendants of the last Terians.”

“ Fek .” Pieces were falling into place.

Rien tilted her head. “Are you sure you want to know this?”

“Yes.” His attention snapped back to her. “How many Zaruxians survived?”

“Records indicate a small number did escape, some were captured and imprisoned, and a clutch of hatchlings was taken by the Axis when the Zaruxian queen surrendered. Sources indicate that those hatchlings were hers. She made their survival part of the conditions of surrender.” Rien’s pale eyes met his.

“Based on your age, you would be one of them.”

The truth of it rang through him like a bell. All his life serving the empire that had destroyed his people. That had stolen him as a child and twisted him into their tool.

“The queen.” His mother . “What happened to her?”

Rien shrugged. “She was executed. The Axis kept their word, but raised those hatchlings to be agents of the Axis. Or tried to. Two did not stay in the system as intended.”

Those other hatchlings… They had to be his brothers. Right there, under his nose his whole life.

“The other Zaruxians who’ve rebelled,” he said. “They must have discovered this too.”

“It’s likely, yes. And now that they’ve found their Terian mates, their true power is returning.

” Rien’s fingers moved over the console.

“The Axis fear you’ll be next. That’s why they brought Nena here.

To see if you were susceptible to the bond, giving them reason to weaken you before you became too powerful. ”

“And they proved I am exactly who I was meant to be.” His voice roughened.

“The council will move against you both soon. They already have their scientists developing weapons to use against dragon form.”

“Let them come.” Dragon fire scalded his throat. “I will not let them take her from me,” he said, thinking of Nena’s eyes before he left, unafraid and unwavering in their trust. “Where are the others now? The Zaruxians who have rebelled?”

“Unknown. But I’ve heard there’s an Axis subset of scientists who have developed a weapon to use against the Zaruxian dragon form. It’s not perfect, but it weakens them.” Rien pressed her fingertips together. “I’m guessing they will use it against you, if presented with an opportunity.”

“Or they’ll force me into one of their memory-erasing surgeries.” He gritted his teeth. “I always voted against that, but was overruled. Found it barbaric.”

A sudden thought occurred to him, and he turned to fully face Rien. “You have extensive knowledge of my kind. How long have you had this information?”

Rien folded her hands in her lap. “I’ve had pieces of this information for some time,” she said. “But I assumed you knew at least some of your own history.”

“You assumed wrong.”

“Would it have helped?” She met his gaze steadily. “If I’d shown you these records cycles ago, before you were ready to see them, would you have believed me? Or would you have reported me as a traitor spreading lies about the Axis?”

Madrian’s wings drew tight. She was right. The male he’d been before Nena would have rejected any suggestion that the Axis had stolen and twisted him. That they’d destroyed his people, his world. He would have dismissed it as rebel propaganda.

“Besides,” Rien continued, “the information was fragmented. Scattered across conquered worlds in languages I had to piece together. It’s taken cycles to build a complete picture.” She gestured to the screens. “I needed to be certain before I brought it to you.”

“And now?” He leaned forward. “What else haven’t you told me?”

“There are references to other Zaruxian survivors. Hidden strongholds. But finding them would mean leaving Central, and until now, you weren’t ready for that truth either.”

His fingers dug into his temples, but there was no massaging away the ache that pounded there.

How many of his kind were out there? How many had escaped the Axis’ control?

The need to learn more about his people, his true nature, burned like acid in his blood, but he had pressing concerns now, and they were more important.

“Right now, I must focus on keeping Nena safe. The council will be coming for us.”

Rien nodded. “What orders do you have for me?”

He raised one brow. “You’re still loyal to me? Even after knowing that I will forsake the Axis?”

One corner of her mouth twitched. “I am loyal to the one whom I believe to be on the winning side.”

“And you think these renegades and I are?” he asked, incredulous.

“Knowing how fragmented and spread thin the Axis is? Yes.” Her eyes were crafty, calculating. “The quadrant is primed for rebellion to overthrow this empire. I believe it can be done.”

Her words demonstrated an enormous amount of trust in him. That alone gave him pause. Only a short time ago, such language would have been treasonous. “Hide the data crystal. Find the location of the rebel Zaruxians or Terians. I will deal with the Axis leadership.”

“Yes, Chancellor.” She slipped the small disc from the console and it disappeared into a pocket in her uniform.

“Call me Madrian,” he said. “The chancellor is no more.”

Rien bowed her head. “As you wish. But, Madrian?” Her voice softened. “Be careful. The Axis fears Zaruxian power for good reason. And a mated pair? That’s their worst nightmare.”

He nodded, thinking of Nena waiting in his quarters. Of the way she looked at him like he could be more than what the Axis had made him. Like he could become someone worthy of the love he saw in her eyes. Someone who could help reshape this broken empire into something better.

“Keep monitoring the situation,” he said to Rien. “I need to speak with the council and try to keep things quiet for now.”

He strode from the room, wings spread wide, dragon fire burning in his chest. It was time to face the Twelve and show them that their perfect weapon had found a different purpose.

And stars help anyone who tried to take Nena from him.