Page 30 of Serving my Dragon (The Dragocracy Chronicles #2)

The Starlink receiver had been installed and appeared to be functional. It meant we could now stream, search, video call… And guess who was first on my list?

I could barely sit still as Sophia put the finishing touches on my appearance. I might already be beautiful, but I quite liked the way the applied gems and sparkles enhanced my features. As for my lashes, whatever she did left them long and thick.

As to why I primped? I wanted to look my best for my first meeting with Abaddon, something my female servants teased me about.

“Polly’s getting a boyfriend,” Kayleigh had sung.

“Be sure to be nonchalant and mysterious,” Sophia advised.

Lola reminded me, “You don’t need a male to be strong.”

As if I didn’t know that.

Carmelita had a prediction. “Together the two of you shall do great things.”

Given I wished for this first conversation to be private with no outside influence, I gripped the laptop in my claws and flew to a tall bough in a tree that left me close enough to receive a signal.

Then I waited. Impatiently. Yes, I was early, but that didn’t stop the fluttering in my belly. Would he actually call? Should I even bother speaking to a rival?

A chime went off asking if I wanted to accept a video call. I took a deep breath. Nervous? Maybe a little, not that I’d ever admit it.

A tap of a key and the session went live.

I stared at the screen and a handsome dragon stared right back.

“I’m not alone,” I whispered in the old tongue without meaning to.

“It’s nice to meet you,” he replied politely in the same language. “I am Abaddon.”

“Pollita, but my servants call me Polly.” I could have bitten my tongue for admitting I allowed them such leeway.

Abaddon didn’t show disdain but rather chuckled. “Such disrespect. Mine still call me ‘little fella’ despite the fact I’m bigger than Pip and catching up to Maddox.”

For some reason, his admission relaxed me. “I hear we both hatched through unnatural means.”

His brow furrowed. “Yes. A group of humans intentionally caused our volcanoes to erupt with the intent of capturing us. They’ve since seen the error of their ways.”

Having spoken to Pip and Maddox at length, I knew most of the story.

“You have in custody those who began the hunt for us.” A rich man who’d been convinced by a scientist to look for dragons.

That same man had since become a devoted slave and given over all his wealth to Abaddon.

The scientist, however, while he had been providing aid, apparently remained untrustworthy.

He'd been the one giving orders to Blake and the others who’d come after me.

“Leo’s been successfully converted, however, Malone is sly. While he’s been doing the tasks assigned to him, I am sure he plots his escape and my demise.”

“Why not kill him?”

“Because he might be useful. I currently have him studying our kind so we can know more about ourselves.”

“Why?”

“Because the humans are many, so we must be aware of our every advantage and weakness.”

Smart, not that I complimented him. “Have you discovered anything interesting yet?”

“No, but he’s only recently begun his research. I am thinking of providing him with an assistant, although one versed in dragon lore will be difficult to find.”

“Not really. The female who tried to capture me seemed fairly knowledgeable.” Sally would most likely be grateful to trade a mental asylum for a prison that would allow her to pursue her passion—if without the glory she’d wanted.

“That might be an option.” Stated without emotion but I could tell he admired the idea.

I changed the subject. “Your servants mentioned you are plotting world domination.”

“Aren’t you?” he countered.

“Of course.”

“It won’t be easy. The humans have exploded in growth and their technology makes them fearsome.”

“Agreed.”

“It will take us time to become of imposing size and acquire the army we need to conquer.”

“Assuming it is done through violent means.”

He cocked his head. “You have another method?”

“This world is ruled by unseen cabals of ultra wealthy humans. Who’s to say we can’t do the same?”

“Buy institutions and influence,” he mused aloud.

“That would be part of it, along with conditioning humanity to accept dragons as their rulers for when we do eventually reveal ourselves.”

“Establishing a dragocracy ahead of time,” he mused. “Given how easily they can be swayed, it shouldn’t be hard to convince them of our superiority.” His sharp gaze focused on me. “If we work together, we can make this happen much faster than apart.”

“I am not sharing my territory,” I hissed.

“Me either,” he growled back. “However, given the size of our respective continents, I see no reason for us to encroach the other. North America will be considered mine. South America yours.”

“What of the other land masses?”

“Out of reach for a while, so I planned to ignore them for the moment.” He paused before adding, “Unless we find another that could begin influencing.”

“I thought our kind went extinct.”

“More like dormant, waiting to be hatched. Because of Malone and Leo’s research, I have the locations of some other eggs from the clutch.”

More dragons? It would make my eventual domination tougher as they’d have to be taken out, however, Abaddon had a point about humans being a pressing problem now.

“You want to hatch another,” I stated.

“No. We don’t need more competition. However, I believe there might be another dragon already in Europe.”

“You have proof?”

“Not yet, but according to Leo, ours weren’t the first volcanoes they exploded.

Two others were attempted that should have held eggs.

While Malone’s dragon hunters never located any hatchlings, there is a possibility they were out there and just hid well.

I am thinking of assembling a team to go look. ”

“And if they find one?”

Abaddon smiled, a wicked thing of sharp teeth that made me shiver. “The dragon will be given the choice to join our alliance or die.”

“You are devious.” I finally couldn’t help but compliment.

“And you are quite beautiful.”

I was, and it appeared I might have found my mate—assuming the already hatched dragon in Europe wasn’t a more powerful male. After all, I wanted only the best fertilizer for my future eggs.

What kind of arrogance and surprises will we find in Taming My Human ?