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“I s that the hearth -stone vault?” A few miles outside the territory center, Kai spotted one dragon after another landing in an open field a half mile away to the right.

Each had a large sack clutched in their claws before a massive three-story stone building.

The beasts landing and leaving one by one in opposite directions reminded Kai of the videos in the archive center she’d watched of old airfields and the coordination of planes.

She’d always been fascinated with flight schema, and now she saw it in real time, except dragons didn’t need a runway.

From her front view, she didn’t see a window or balcony like most buildings in the territory. It was plain and nondescript. She would have thought nothing of it and considered it a warehouse or storage facility.

“Yes.” Tana began. “They are delivering Drago’s hearth-stone to the sacred space, which will remain there until the next time a Drahk connects with that particular infinite stone.

They represent a promise from the Great Spirit to our kind, each a connection to this Earth, proof we belong here.

Guardians of the planet.” Pausing their trio momentarily, Tana, the older Drahkelle, a historian for her kind, who always seemed so stalwart and unfazed, released a small sigh.

Guardians of the Planet . It's too bad Drahks couldn’t save humanity from themselves and how they almost destroyed the world.

Kai looked at the jade in the hilt of Ladon’s board sword strapped to his back, and the tiger’s eye beads around Tana’s wrists.

Before Kai had ended up living with the Drahk, she would have only seen the precious stones as expensive jewelry humans in the Consumer District would covet.

After talking to Aodh, being with him, and watching a long-lost family member pass among his hoard, the significance of the stone tightened her chest. In the human world, it would have been her right to take one of the pearls and hold on to it in memory of her greatest uncle’s life.

However, living among the Drahk, she knew it would not be fair or proper to keep something so precious to another.

So, even though there was a sadness in seeing large sacks of pearls going in, at the same time, a glimmer of hope warmed her because she knew in one of the next generations of younglings, one would be drawn to the infinity stone and make it their hearth-stone.

Kai placed a hand on her swollen belly and wondered which stone their little one would bond with when the time came.

She stood with Tana and Ladon for a moment; they all watched as each Drahk shifted and walked into the vast, high door of the vault.

Kai mentally named each dragon as it landed before it changed.

Knowing she had such a connection to them placed a small smile on her lips, even though her heart was still heavy.

“I’m sorry that I pulled you away from assisting with preparing Drago for his final flight, Tana. ”

The Mckenna’s attendant glanced over at her and shook her head.

“On such a day, every Drahk is showing support somehow. Even those still on patrol surveying the border, those cooking the feast for this night, and gathering dry wood for the altar. We all play our part. My ensuring you are dressed for this night is just as important.”

Hearing the older woman’s words lifted her heart, and Kai didn’t feel so useless.

“We should go. Anala’s textile building is still a bit of a distance. She will want to see you and help you select the right garment for tonight.” Tana turned them back to their route.

Ladon continued to shadow their steps.

“I don’t want to put anyone out when I already have so many things you placed in the suite closet for me. Can’t I wear something I own?” There were so many things that Tana had brought her, including the tunic-style top and pants Kai loved to wear since her waistline was rapidly expanding.

“Not for tonight. It will not do.” Tana may be older, but her long, quick stride never faltered, so they’d covered such a great distance in less than two hours.

Used to walking with Aodh, Kai had no problem keeping pace. “Are you sure? There are things I have not even worn yet.”

Tana glanced her way but did not stop. “If you never noticed, even though your clothing is in many different colors and fabrics, none is white.”

Kai paused, mentally scanned the image of the closet, and realized there wasn’t anything white in her apparel. Aodh’s clothing was pretty standard male Drahk, and the only clothing he owned with color was the dress shirts he wore to the meeting grounds—still no white.

“Here we are.”

They took a path to the right, which led them to the front of a building that wasn’t rough-hewn stone like many of the places in the area.

Instead, this one had a smooth, sleek finish, with black and white marble columns holding up the thick covering before double glass doors, which complemented the two large, glass windows on each side.

When they entered the sunlit room, Kai gasped. The warehouse-like space was filled with tall racks that displayed clothing by its shades. However, she couldn’t miss the one long wall filled with nothing but white clothing for men and women: pants, shirts, dresses, slacks, and skirts.

The sight of it all took Kai’s breath away.

She didn’t know whether to turn left or right.

Beyond all the artfully displayed clothes was the consistent sound of multiple sewing machines and other things she couldn’t name.

The sounds directed her gaze toward the back, where she spotted shelves with folded household items like sheets, blankets, and towels.

“I’ve never seen any place like this.”

That gave Tana pause. The attendant was already headed toward the wall of whites when she turned and faced her. “You and your sister had clothing on when you came. Surely, humans have places where they get their clothing. I remember shops and malls before the catastrophes.”

“Perhaps before, and maybe now the Consumers in the Providence area may have places to buy new clothing.” Kai shrugged as she moved in the direction Tana stood.

“In the Dispatch, it worked more like an exchange. If you had a clothing item you no longer wanted, you found someone with something you did want and hoped for a trade, or you bartered with them to swap something else they may have needed. Most in the Dispatch didn’t have enough on their accounts to purchase things from those who ran the government shops. ”

“That’s disheartening.” Tana tsked. “I’ve always believed the humans went about things the wrong way. Drahks never sell things among each other. If one has the skill to do something, grow, sew, build, cook, fight...no matter, we all benefit from it.”

Kai nodded. “Oh, I’ve noticed.” And she had.

The first time she walked into the Great Hall and saw all the Drahk sitting at long, family-style tables with heaping bowls of food between them and no server walking around asking for money or account books at each table, it was apparent things were different.

“Is the textile warehouse always so empty?” Kai looked through the white items beside Tana, trying to decide what she wanted to buy.

“No. Drahks like clothes. Especially female Drahks.” Tana smiled. “Even when we mixed with humans, because of our height and size, we still provided our own garments.”

For the first time, Kai felt comfortable looking at clothing.

Usually, because she was a tall, curvy female compared to other humans, she stressed when it came to locating someone with whom she could swap.

Especially since food had to be portioned out in small amounts, many women and men were thin-framed in the Dispatch.

Often, she ended up exchanging with men, which helped since she had a job as a scrap collector, where things that made her feel feminine didn’t make much sense.

She noticed Ladon at the other end pulling out some white cargo-style pants. The guard would most likely be working during the ceremony and wanted something similar to his uniform.

“If the protocol is white for a final flight, is there a certain style of dress I should be looking for?” Kai pulled out a pair of wide-legged pants and a long tunic top. Like Ladon, she was already wearing them, and she didn’t think she’d go wrong choosing the same thing.

“No, there isn’t a—”

“Ah, I see you, too, made it.” A Drahkelle with pale skin and bright-red hair drew their gaze as she entered the clothing area from a back door.

Kai frowned. It sounded as if the woman had been expecting them.

As the woman approached, Tana greeted her, “Anala, it’s good to see you.”

“I wish it were under better circumstances.”

“But the Great Spirit allowed Drago to remain long enough to meet Kai.”

Both Drahkelles turned and faced her.

Kai smiled. She still wasn’t ready to dissect the feelings surrounding her uncle. “It’s nice to meet you, Anala. You’ve set up the textile building beautifully, open and inviting.”

“Thank you, Aguya. We all try to keep it set up so that a Drahk can easily find what they need and not take up a lot of their time.” The woman smiled.

“You all have done well.”

“Anala not only manages and trains the Drahk who are with her, but she is also one of the leadership members.”

“Oh.” Kai stared at the skilled designer. “I don’t know why I assumed most leaders were trainers, security, or communications.”

Anala shook her head as she clarified. “The leadership board governs all the important areas that help maintain the Drahks’ way of living: textile, growers, archivist, security, combat, communications, development, and the burn pit.”

“Aodh and I discuss all the different areas in the territory. I just never realized the leaders of those areas were decision-makers, too.” Kai smiled. “I’m happy to know a diverse group is offering advice to my mate.”