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Dragon? Excuse me? “I am safe where I am, too,” I said without thinking.

My hand tightened around the scrap of fabric Artek gave me, and I felt my resolve grow firmer.

“I’ll stay here for now. I’m… I want to learn more about everything first. Maybe you guys can visit if it’s so easy to get here.

” I didn’t want to leave the place I already knew—on the back of a dragon?

I had to have heard that wrong; maybe it was the name of some kind of vehicle they had here.

“Easy?” Vera said with a laugh. “I find a dragon ride terrifying. And I can’t travel anyway—I'm ready to give birth any moment now.” She rose just a little, and her big, very pregnant belly came into view.

“My mate would go nuts if I got onto Sesethul like this,” she added with a fond smile as she sat back down.

“Mate?” I asked. As far as I knew, Vera had not been pregnant at her public trial; they would have talked about that if it had been known. So, was the father a local? A guy like Artek? Naga? If they were all as sexy as Artek was, I could see that. It would be hard not to fall for a guy like that.

“Yes, Zathar is like my husband, but they call it “mate” on Serant. His sigils glowed for me, and that was that, but I couldn’t be happier, Nala.

This is a good place, I promise. You’re going to be just fine, and we’re going to find a way to rescue those other humans from their slavers, too.

” So they knew about the Krektar and the crashed ship.

Min-Ji grinned and elbowed the pregnant former heiress.

“And these guys work fast. Out of the six of us, how many are pregnant now?” She waggled her eyebrows at Vera, then shot Kalani a daring look.

I liked her for that—she was easy to get along with, eager to poke fun at things, and quick to put people at ease.

“Three,” Vera agreed sagely. “Me, Charlie, and Naomi. That’s why we can’t travel, but I understand that you want to stay where you feel safe, Nala.

Artek is a great guy, you can trust him.

Prepare yourself for a bit of a culture shock, though.

You’ve landed in the lap of luxury, but Artek’s place has fully functioning technology.

It’s very different from the rest of the planet—it’s like the Dark Ages out there. ”

With that warning still ringing in my head, we talked a little more.

I got the lay of the land as best I could figure it out: Haven—where the girls lived—how long they’d been here(over six months by now).

They had many unmated Naga males at their home, though—ready to protect them, they said—but I was pretty sure those males would be eager to chase the one single girl.

If these guys moved as fast as they did, there was only one guy I wanted working his magic.

I was staying put until I figured that part out.

Mates, Vera had called her relationship with her Zathar—a true love thing.

I’d believed her. She was clearly smitten with her Naga guy, and I hadn’t even seen him yet.

Glowing sigils , she had also explained, were the hallmark of a mated pair.

I’d asked them to describe these sigils, and now my brain was burning.

So that’s why Artek glowed, was it? Then why had he let me call these women, knowing they’d want me to go to Haven?

By the time they hung up, my head was buzzing with information, but also with the echo of their voices.

It was too much, and I was exhausted. I’d never worked a job that required much human interaction, and there was a reason I’d paid for that crappy apartment: I couldn’t handle roommates.

The bowl-shaped bed looked rather tempting, but first I stuck my head out the door, just to see if Artek wasn’t outside, waiting for me.

Being with him seemed equally tempting, I had a whole new batch of questions for him.

I was disappointed when I didn’t see any sign of him, but Zap was sitting farther down the hallway at a crossing, her hind paw in the air as she licked at a patch of fur on her belly. She looked up at me as if I had intruded on a very private moment, and, with a laugh, I retreated.

I’d barely made it to the bed when the door to my room opened behind me.

I looked up, surprised, hoping it was Artek and, at the same time, equally upset that he’d just walk into my bedroom.

It was Zap again, trundling through the door, which had apparently slid open for her without issue or delay.

She lifted her blunt snout, eyes all cute and imploring.

“No, I don’t think your quills make for a good sleeping partner, Zap,” I said.

Pulling my legs into the nest, I eyed the huge bed, made for a much larger body than mine. “There is plenty of space, I guess.”

She was up on the round bed in a hurry, moving faster than I expected.

First, she pressed her snout against my knee, then my hip, before she sprawled on her side with a big, pleased sigh.

Her quills had flattened against her rear, and when I petted her, I discovered they were firm but smooth.

With the weight of the smallish animal next to me, my hand against her head, I didn’t feel alone, while also not feeling smothered by another person’s presence.

It wasn’t like with Athol, who filled the room like he was larger than life and bouncing with palpable energy.

It was quiet, soft. I liked it. Within minutes, my eyes drifted shut, and I fell asleep.