Page 41 of Possessed by the Dragon Alien (Zarux Dragon Brides #6)

“She is. One time she tried to show me how to punch.” The thought of Sevas channeling her warrior skills into protection rather than mere survival felt right.

“I couldn’t hold a shovel for two days. At least we have Stavian and Cerani nearby all the time.

” The other couple had chosen to live on Teria as she and Madrian did.

“Yes. Stavian’s engineering expertise has been invaluable for the terraforming projects, and Cerani’s artistic vision…

” Madrian gestured toward the village below, where Nena could see the graceful lines and organic curves that marked Cerani’s influence on the architecture.

“She’s helping our people remember that beauty and function can coexist. You know how well she’s doing with the schools.

The literacy rate of settlement-born Terians is up to ninety-six percent. ”

The four of them had fallen naturally into leadership roles on Teria, though it bore no resemblance to the rigid hierarchies of the Axis. Instead, it was collaborative and organic. People brought their strengths to common goals. No one was forced into roles they didn’t want.

“The progress has been remarkable,” Nena said, thinking of the transformation she’d witnessed. “When we first brought people here from the settlements, so many were broken. Afraid to make choices, afraid to hope.”

“And now, it’s so different.”

Nena smiled, remembering the village council meeting from the previous evening.

“Now they’re arguing about whether to prioritize expanding the schools or building out the farming lands first. Vehemently arguing.

With passion and conviction and no fear of consequences.

” Her voice grew thick with emotion. “They’re acting like free people. ”

The psiak radiation that naturally occurred under Teria’s surface was proving to be as vital to Terian health as they’d theorized.

Already, people who had seemed prematurely aged by hardship and oppression were showing signs of renewed vitality.

Children born since the liberation were thriving in ways that would have been impossible in the settlements.

Best of all, preliminary studies suggested that Terian lifespans were returning to their natural length—centuries rather than the decades that had been their lot under Axis rule.

“The radiation supplements we’ve been sending to Zarux are working well too,” Madrian added, as if reading her thoughts. “All the Terians who live there are seeing enormous improvements in their health. Turi will live as long as Ellion, now, and their daughter won’t need the supplements at all.”

They sat in comfortable silence for a while, watching the world wake up around them. Nena felt a deep contentment settle over her. It was the kind of peace she’d never imagined possible on Settlement 112-1. She had everything she’d ever dreamed of and things she’d never dared to dream possible.

But as she glanced at Madrian, taking in the slight tension around his eyes and the way his fingers drummed absently against her arm, she sensed something else beneath his contentment.

“What’s troubling you?” she asked softly.

He was quiet for a long moment, his gaze fixed on the horizon. “Sometimes I wonder if I deserve this,” he said finally. “This peace, this happiness. After everything I did in service to the Axis…”

Nena turned in his arms, cupping his face in her hands and forcing him to meet her gaze. “Madrian, we’ve talked about this.”

“I know. But seeing our people flourish, watching children play without fear, knowing that worlds are free because the Axis fell…” His voice grew rough. “The contrast between what I helped maintain and what we’ve built here is sometimes overwhelming.”

She could see the old guilt in his silver eyes. The weight of decisions he made in ignorance and conditioning was something he’d probably carry forever, but she’d learned how to help him bear it.

“You chose differently when you learned the truth,” she said firmly. “Every free world, every liberated people, every child who gets to grow up knowing their own name instead of a number, exists because you chose to be better than what they made you.”

“Because you showed me I could.”

“No,” Nena corrected gently. “Because you already were. You just needed permission to remember.”

The tension in his shoulders eased as her words sank in. This was a conversation they’d had many times over the past mig -cycle, and she suspected they’d have it many more times in the cycles to come. Healing from that kind of conditioning was a process, not a destination.

“I love you,” he said simply, the words carrying the weight of absolute truth.

“I love you too,” she replied, then stood and took his hand. “Now come inside. All this talk of flourishing and growth has given me ideas.”

The heat that flared in his eyes made her pulse quicken. Even after all this time, the hunger between them remained as powerful as ever. If anything, it had matured into a bone-deep knowledge that they belonged to each other.

Madrian rose and swept her into his arms in one fluid motion. Nena laughed as he carried her through the terrace doors and into their bedroom. The gauzy curtains billowed around them in the warm breeze.

He set her down beside their bed. His hands immediately went to the ties of her robe.

The fabric whispered to the floor, and she stood before him naked in the dappled sunlight streaming through the windows.

His gaze moved over her with reverent appreciation, as if he were seeing her for the first time.

“Beautiful,” he murmured, echoing the words he’d spoken on their first night together. “Perfect.”

Nena reached for him. Her fingers traced the familiar patterns of scales across his chest before moving to the fastenings of his pants. He helped her, stepping out of the garments with easy grace, and then they were skin to skin. The warmth of his body singed her like a living flame.

Their lovemaking had evolved over the mig -cycle from desperate claiming to a deeper dance of give and take, of absolute trust and shared pleasure. Madrian lifted her onto the bed. His mouth trailed fire down her neck. His hands mapped the curves he knew by heart.

Nena arched beneath him, tangling her fingers in his dark hair as he lavished attention on her breasts. Each touch sent sparks racing through her veins. That familiar heat never seemed to diminish between them. When his mouth moved lower, she gasped his name.

“I love watching you come apart for me,” he said against her skin, his voice rough with desire. “Feeling you tremble, hearing you say my name. It makes me want you so much I ache.”

“Madrian,” she breathed, proving his point as his fingers found their mark. “Please.”

He built her pleasure slowly, deliberately, until she trembled beneath him with desperate need. Only when she was balanced on the edge did he rise over her and position himself at her entrance with hands that shook slightly with restraint.

“Look at me,” he commanded softly, and she opened eyes she hadn’t realized she’d closed. “I want to see you when you come for me.”

He entered her in one smooth thrust, and Nena cried out at the exquisite sensation of being filled, completed, claimed. They moved together, having learned each other’s rhythms, needs, sensitive places.

When her climax crashed over her, Nena held his gaze as he’d requested, letting him see her love, her trust, her complete surrender to the moment. To him . His own release followed with her name on his lips as he buried his face in her neck.

They collapsed together, breathing hard, skin slick with perspiration and hearts racing in tandem. Madrian rolled to his side, pulling her with him so that she was draped across his chest, her head pillowed on his shoulder.

“I will never grow tired of that,” he said once his breathing had steadied. “Of you. Of this.”

Nena smiled against his skin, pressing a soft kiss to the pulse point at his throat. “Good thing, considering we potentially have hundreds of mig -cycles ahead of us.”

“That’s a long time,” he said wonderingly. “Do you think we’ll still be doing this when we’re ancient and gray?”

“I think we’ll be doing this until the stars burn out,” she replied with absolute certainty.

“Hmm. Perhaps we’ll make a few offspring of our own.” He seemed to like that idea. She was open to it, but right now, it was a time for just them.

They lay in comfortable silence as the afternoon sun streamed through their windows, painting patterns of light and shadow across their entwined bodies. Nena sighed, complete and happy and satisfied.

She gazed up through the transparent ceiling panels. The stars were hidden by the wake cycle light, but they were still there. Still guiding her.

“You know, I used to lie awake staring at the stars, wondering if I’d ever see them from another place. A place where I wasn’t hungry or cold or in pain.” She traced a pattern in the air with her finger of a constellation she knew from memory. “I never imagined the stars would lead me to you.”

“The stars brought us together,” he agreed, his voice soft with wonder. “Across all the pain and darkness, through all the choices that should have kept us apart. And here we are. We found each other.”

Nena turned in his arms so she could see his face. She was always struck by the way sunlight seemed to make his silver eyes glow. “Do you ever regret it? Living on Teria to farm, rather than being a prince on Zarux?”

“Never,” he said without hesitation. “My life is with you.” His hand came up to cup her cheek. “I’ve never been happier. Who would have thought that a high chancellor would find his passion farming? You saved me from a life of misery, Nena.”

“You saved me too,” she said, leaning into his touch. “Not just from the Axis, but from accepting that a life without choice was all I deserved. You showed me that I was worth fighting for.”

Above them, the stars waited for the night cycle to be visible. Nena thought about all the people across the galaxy who were free to look up at those same stars now without fear.

“I love you, Madrian,” she whispered, the words carrying all the depth of feeling in her heart. “My dragon, my prince, my choice.”

“I love you, Nena,” he replied, his voice thick with emotion. “My heart, my home, my everything.”

As the day grew brighter overhead, Nena settled more deeply into his embrace, letting the profound contentment of the moment wash over her.

They had faced the impossible and emerged victorious.

They had found love in the darkest places and built something beautiful from the ashes of what dragon fire had devoured.

For now, surrounded by the peace they’d fought so hard for, Nena knew with absolute certainty that she was exactly where she belonged. She was home. She was loved, and the stars themselves seemed to celebrate the victory of hope over despair.

The future stretched ahead of them, full of possibilities and promises. There would be challenges still to face, worlds to heal, and people to help find their way to freedom. But they would meet whatever came as they had everything else— together .

I hope you enjoyed Nena and Madrian’s story and the whole Zarux Dragon Brides series!