Page 18

Then I saw why. It wasn’t a bird, but the shape was beginning to make sense.

If a huge golden dragon could make any kind of sense.

It was so big that I struggled to grasp the enormity of the beast, and that such a mythical was even real.

Its giant wings made it as big as a medium-sized spaceship.

At least a hundred feet long from nose to tail tip, if not more, and probably weighing far more than any creature of flight should.

A dragon. I vaguely remembered Vera saying they rode a dragon, and I had laughed that off assuming she meant a vehicle, not the actual beast.

It was almost upon us now, and I could see a leather harness and several riders along its spine, perched between wickedly sharp-looking spikes.

It circled above us, then drifted down to the ground in the clearing just outside the greenhouse where we were standing.

The wind gripped at my clothing and nearly pushed me over with its force, but Artek’s tail curled against my back, propping me up.

I found my hands digging into his scales as I clung to him, adrenaline making my heart rate skyrocket.

It was supposed to be friendly, at least, that was the impression I was getting, with the riders and all.

There was something very daunting about facing a beast as huge as this, and clearly wickedly dangerous.

When it swiveled its head around to look at us from not even twenty feet away, it was the size of a car, its eyes bigger than a dinner plate.

And yet, it had landed with lots of blowing wind, but not so much as a thud.

Very graceful and agile. Still, my fingers did not let go of Artek’s glowing scales.

Wings held aloft, the dragon shook himself before finally folding those big, bat-wing-like sails against his flanks.

The tail came around to curl near his neck, where two riders sat.

More were clustered along his spine—I counted six of them in total—but only two were human.

Distinctly, shockingly, familiarly human.

A golden Naga appeared to be in charge, directing those behind him on the dragon with curt hand gestures and words I couldn’t quite hear.

Then he twisted to help the small human girl right next to him down, his tail functioning like a step for her, lowering to the ground once she stood balanced on it.

The Naga called out to us then, a warm, friendly smile on his face.

“Heyo! Looks like we almost missed you! I knew we should have told Corin to call.”

This Naga had a sharp black horn on his chin, and a pair of them also rose from his forehead, making him stand out, I realized, among the others.

Two blue Naga, and one with red and orange, both had a horn on their chin but none on their forehead.

For the first time, I realized that Artek might be unique, missing the horn on his chin.

Was that a deformity, a rare quirk of his genes?

“Zsekhet,” Artek greeted, with a tone that sounded anything but welcoming.

It only made the golden male grin wider, as if that entertained him.

He suddenly, vividly reminded me of Athol—not least because of the similar golden hues—and I protectively clasped my hands around my belly.

The curve of my pregnancy was hidden beneath the thick coat, but the small red-headed woman this Zsekhet was escorting noticed my gesture and tilted her head in question.

By the time she and what had to be her mate had approached, the others had also dismounted from the dragon and begun swarming us.

There was a lot of talking from the male Naga, low-voiced inquiries about Khawla’s health, the status of something called “Bitter Storm,” and speculation on the crashed spaceship I’d arrived on.

But I was focused on other things, like the small red-headed human I didn’t know and the taller Black woman I did.

Kalani smiled at me as she overtook the smaller woman and stuck out her hand.

“Nice to see you in person, Nala. Artek treating you okay?” She and the others had gone out of their way to assure me that the Shaman was a good guy, but I saw the genuine concern in her eyes.

She really wanted me to tell her the truth, not just some platitude.

This was someone used to taking care of others.

“Same to you,” I said, wondering how long they were going to stay and whether they were going to try to convince me to leave with them.

I eyed the dragon, who’d lain down like he was a very oversized cat and closed his eyes, cute, perhaps, but I definitely didn’t feel like getting on his back.

That was perhaps a little too much adventure.

I hadn’t gotten on Athol’s hovercicle either when he’d invited me, spur of the moment, one time.

Heights were not my thing. “I am fine,” I said resolutely, and my fingers tightened on Artek’s tail, which he had definitely not withdrawn.

Nobody had commented on the glow of his sigils—not even Khawla, when he’d seen it in the med bay earlier that morning. Kalani dropped her eyes to my hands, though, and a faint smile curved her mouth. “This is Cosima, the dragon rider’s mate,” Kalani said, introducing her red-haired companion.

The woman wore form-fitting leather with soft lavender fur peeking out near her throat and wrists, and spilling over the tops of her boots.

She looked very sexy and fashionable. I’d have felt drab in comparison if she hadn’t smiled widely and thrown her arms around my neck for a quick squeeze.

“Welcome to Serant. I’m sure you’re a little frazzled and confused, but you’ll like it here.

” She wasn’t shy about saying what the others so far had failed to bring up.

“Now I see why you wanted to stay. Artek is your mate! Have you guys bonded yet, or are you still deciding?”

Bonded yet? Deciding? I guess I was. Vera had called her mate her husband, like it was a very permanent kind of relationship.

That wasn’t hard to believe, these males all appeared as possessive as Artek had been acting.

Cosima had the tip of her golden mate’s tail curled around her wrist. And while Kalani wasn’t actively touching the dark blue male, it was obvious he was her mate from the glances the pair shared at regular intervals.

He was a very daunting male, with a huge ax strapped to his back, I was impressed she was willing to take him on.

“She means, ‘Have you guys had sex yet?’” Kalani said with a grin.

She’d leaned in close, her words pitched at a conspiratorial whisper, but still the conversation of the Naga males near Khawla’s hovering sled abruptly fell silent.

The red male gave me a long, lingering look that made my skin break out in goosebumps.

Artek abruptly cut him off by bodily throwing himself between me and the guy. “That’s enough, Joxra. Why are you even here? Shouldn’t you be watching your younglings?” The open hostility made the golden guy, Zsekhet, slap Artek on the shoulder and cheer him on.

But the lightest-blue male slashed his hand through the air and barked out an “enough” that had both Joxra and Artek stand down.

Interesting. “I am glad we caught you,” he said, glancing my way, then looking at Kalani and Cosima.

When both women nodded, he nodded back. “But we mustn’t delay your journey if you want to make it to Thunder Rock Village by tomorrow.

We would offer to take Khawla ourselves and save you the trip, but the village is too unstable.

Showing up with the dragon would probably be seen as an act of aggression.

I do not want the Clan to think I wish to come back and take over. ”

Artek reached out, clasped the male’s forearm, and nodded.

His tail tightened around my hips as if he wanted to pull me to him.

I wanted to go, even though I’d enjoyed seeing other humans.

Honestly, it felt good to know that they’d been concerned enough for my well-being to take the trip down the mountain to see me.

Give me a welcome that wasn’t through a screen.

“Thank you, Zathar. I agree, showing up with Sesethul at the village would only destabilize it further. And I believe Khawla is getting anxious to go.” He squeezed a little more with his tail, a not-quite pull, but I knew he was asking me to join him.

I smiled at both human ladies and thanked them for the welcome, endured another warm hug from Cosima while Kalani grinned at me, and then I did as both Artek and I wanted: I jogged to his side.

He tugged me under his arm immediately, then quickly introduced me to everyone before turning me to face down the mountain. “Let’s go.”