I can't allow them to take control of the situation. That would be the end of me. I dislike the title of queen, and I want to let go and give in to their dominating power. But I know I cannot. I must be the leader. And they must follow me. That is the only way that any of this will work.
My brothers’ advice runs through my mind. I am not required to take all of their bites. I can choose only one or two. I don't have to have five. I look around the table and consider who I would cut. Would it be Uri, the brash and aggressive warrior? Would it be Reese, the man whose sensitivity and devotion makes me uncomfortable? Plume, the dangerous and mysterious viper dragon? Would it be Donte, the stone dragon senator who is old enough to be my father? Or would it be Mika, the youngest, with the least experience?
I don't want to make this decision, but I know that it is mine to make and no one else's.
“Let’s just eat. We’ll discuss the mating ritual later.”
I take a long sip of spiced merrow wine. It heats my throat and warms my belly on the way down. I take a nibble of silken sea egg soufflé and the creamy flavor melts in my mouth. I look around the table at my new mates. Their eyes are focused on me.
“Eat,” I groan, taking another drink of wine.
My nipples prick inside my sleek white dress and my sex clenches from my own thrall. My inner dragon growls at me. All logic and reason flew out the window the moment my first mate thralled. I will not regain my rationality until I have been claimed. None of us will be reasonable until the mating ritual is complete.
After an awkward dinner, we retire to the sitting room. Quintin brings more bottles of merrow wine. I've already had an entire bottle myself, more than I usually ever drink. I'm lightheaded and barely in control of myself. I know it’s stupid, but I don’t care.
Sitting on the couch in my gorgeous nanotech dress, I feel warm and giddy. The sexual energy of the thrall radiates from each male into me, magnifying my own desire. My inner dragon purrs and groans for fulfillment.
As I watch the males bicker and push each other verbally, Reese sits beside me and takes my hand in his, bringing it to his lips.
“My Queen, my darling,” he whispers.
Uri sees him touching me and flies across the room, yanking his hand away from mine. My mouth drops open, and I can’t speak through the surprise.
“What are you doing?” I ask him.
“I cannot stand to see another man touch you,” he says.
“I do not enjoy watching any of you fight over me. I wish you to stop, now.”
“Then let me be the first to kiss you, My Queen,” Uri says as he pulls me up from the couch and wraps me in his massive arms.
Before I can fully comprehend what is happening, he leans in and presses his lips to mine. His kiss is hard and unyielding. He enfolds my body as his tongue slips between my lips. I can feel the other males staring at us with hunger, jealousy, and aggression. The kiss stokes the fire inside me and I want to give in. I want to give in to all of them. But I push Uri away, my eyes still closed, and try to regain my self-control.
When I open my eyes again, I look up at the males. They are stunned at Uri’s actions and are all staring at me. I straighten my dress and smooth down my hair, lifting my chin with confidence I don't fully feel.
“Since Uri has taken the first kiss. I will now kiss each of you once, in turn. After which, I must excuse myself for the night. Tomorrow, we will make arrangements for me to spend time alone with each of you. Do you all understand?” I say.
They nod, and I tell them to line up by age. The first is Donte. He walks towards me and gently takes my hand, caressing it with his fingers. He is solid and strong and bigger than all the other males. As the oldest of my mates, I know he has vast stores of experience behind his emerald green eyes.
He leans in and softly kisses me, the intensity of his desire growing as the seconds tick past. I moan as I feel the hardness of the stone dragon press against me. I want to surrender to it.
But Plume is right behind him, tapping him on the shoulder. Donte lets me go and Plume is there to take his place. He is built like a viper, slim and quick. He wraps me in his agile arms and kisses me in a sweeping motion. His tongue darts over mine. I can taste his poison, a poison he has made unviable as he kisses me. There is a spice to it, and I’m filled with longing. He lets me go, but whispers in my ear.
“I have given you a taste of what I have in store for you. My Queen.”
He steps away and I'm left breathless. I want to explore his promises and to know if it's true.
Reese, known across Draxos as the Poet Prince of Umbria, for his poetry in the pages of publication Bones and Ash, seems shy now as he is given the opportunity to kiss me. He kneels before me and takes my hand, kissing my palm.
“My Eternal Queen. The depth of my devotion rivals the deepest seas of Umbria. I beg to pledge my service.”
“Reese, this is unnecessary,” I say.
He stands and kisses me more fervently than I had expected. I'm swept away like a tidal wave has crashed inside me. I want to scream with the bottomless desire I'm drowning in. Reese lets me go, and I catch my breath. He kisses my palm again and nods dutifully. I don't know what to do. I'm like a rudderless ship.
The last in line is Mika, the youngest, and closest to my age. He has the self-confidence of youth, but his hands are pushed deep in his pockets. Then he gives me a sly smile.
“Are we going to do this?” he asks me with a shrug.
“Do you want to kiss me?” I ask him, batting my eyelashes.
“Course I do. But I don't know how to follow all of them,” he says, cocking his chin at the other four.
“Don't worry about them. Just worry about us.”
He comes closer and wraps me in his arms. There's an awkwardness to it, but at the same time, his impulses are strong and decisive.
He smiles and chuckles before he kisses me. A wash of sunshine descends from nowhere as I lose myself in my young golden dragon’s kiss. He lets me go, chuckles, and kisses me on the cheek. With his lips brushing my earlobe, he whispers, “You're going to be okay, Joon.”
Chapter 9
I sit at the head of the table in the dining hall sipping black tea and awaiting the arrival of my mates. I’m wearing a form-fitting black nanotech dress, knee-high boots, and a tailored jacket. I take another long sip of tea and squeeze my eyes closed.
I need to wake up. I spent the night before tossing and turning as my arousal throbbed between my legs. Even after bringing myself to climax twice, the pressure remained. I spent a fitful night alone in my chambers, my inner dragon growling and scratching.
My mates arrive one at a time and take their seats around the grand table. The servants bring out our breakfast and we begin to eat. I sip my second cup of tea, wishing that it would alleviate the pain of my arousal.
“Now that you are all here,” I start, “I would like to discuss our arrangement. I know I need to spend individual time with each of you. So, I’ve decided to go on an individual outing with each of you. This should alleviate some of the competitiveness. Once we've gotten to know each other better, it will be easier for me to decide.”
“Decide?” Uri demands.
“The judges have assured me that I am only required to take one mate. They told me you all had already been informed.”
“We have,” Donte says.
“You can't do that,” Uri protests.
“Our Queen can do whatever she likes,” Reese says.
Donte regards me from across the table. I feel myself shrivel under the weight of his gaze. I know there is no way out of this decision. I must choose, and I must be mated.
“I may also choose all of you,” I say, looking at each of them in turn. “I will spend a day with each of you. After you have each had a day with me, we will decide on the next step in the process.”
“We all know the thrall only ends at the consummation of the mating ritual,” Plume says. “If you mate with one or two or three
of us, those who have not mated with you will die.”
“I'm aware of that,” I say, trying to keep my voice from shaking.
I know it lacks compassion to not automatically assume I will mate with them all. But I must be rational. I must do what is best for myself and for my future. All of Draxos awaits my first clutch of eggs.
Female dragons can only be impregnated after the mating ritual is complete. The male and female dragon are thralled, matched, mated, and claimed. Only then does the thrall end. Only then is the ritual complete. With my five matches, the mating and claiming must happen all at the same time. I don’t know if I can do that. I don’t know if I can love them all.
“Today, I will spend with the day with Donte. Then on consecutive days I will spend time with the Plume, Reese, Uri, and Mika. In order of age.”
“I will go before the Poet Prince,” Uri objects.
“You will get your turn, General,” I say, trying to remain calm.
Uri both infuriates and arouses me. Part of me wants to cut him now for his impetuous behavior and relentless belligerence. But I also long to give my body to him more than to any of the others. I can't resolve the feelings. Not at all.
“Very well,” Uri says, standing from the table. “Please excuse me, My Queen.” He turns his ember black eyes away from me and storms out of the grand hall.
Chapter 10
After our meal, I follow Donte to his speeder. A sense of dread lingers in the pit of my stomach as we travel down the coast to the Arcadia Academy.
I long for my old life, my old apartment, my work. I haven't been to the lab in two days, and I'm itching to get back to my experiments. I know that the longer I am away from my work, the longer it will take to find the cure to the plague.
Donte settles his speeder into the landing pad outside the great library of Arcadia. I have spent many hours in this library. It makes me reminisce further about the past, when my parents brought me here as a child.
“I went to the Arcadia Academy,” he says as we exit the speeder.
“I didn’t know that,” I say.
“It was long ago.”
The library is six stories high with many landings and turrets. The entrance is large enough for a dragon to crawl inside. We walk through the front entrance on the ground floor and look up into the six-story high, domed ceiling far above us. A model of the Draxos solar system circles above us. Our sun is orbited by seventeen planets. Our original planet, Draxos Prime, the planet of the gods, is the largest of them all. My moon, Arcadia, orbits the water planet of Umbria, where Reese is from. Umbria is further from the sun than Draxos Prime, making it cooler than the jungle planet.
The Draxos inhabit other solar systems, but the Draxos System was the first our kind settled on in this galaxy. At least, that’s what the stories say. Our histories are fragmented after decimation of all our major databases and libraries, during the cyborg attack during the plague.
The Draxos fought back as our strongest males recovered from the sickness. Our military pushed the Archon Empire far from our systems, with the indomitable strength of the dragon.
I gaze up at the circling multicolored planets above and Donte threads his fingers through mine. The skin of his massive hand is smooth like polished stone.
He gazes at me, his wise eyes glittering green like multifaceted emeralds. I want him to hold me in his strong arms and carry me on his broad shoulders. Desire sweeps through me, and I grip his hand.
“Let me show you my favorite place in the library,” he says, guiding me through the foyer. We take the circular staircase, that wraps around the library, six stories to the top.
We stop on the second floor and enter the stacks of newly fabricated texts. The library of Arcadia was bombed during the Archon invasion. It has since been restored, but most of the original texts, documents, and databases were lost. What remains is copies and oral histories that were lovingly written down by academics like my parents. This is what we were left with. This is all we know.
Donte pulls a thick dusty book from the shelf, sets it on the table, and begins to read aloud.
It's the story of an ancient queen. I know this parable well. The moral of the story is to have faith in oneself. But I do not have the desire to hear children's stories today. I cross my arms and my mind wonders to the laboratory.
“Do you not like this story?” he asks.
“I would if I were ten and not an accomplished scientist,” I say, my attention still on the lab.
I flick my wrist com and send a message to Taylon, asking what they are doing at the lab today. Donte looks disappointed at my lack of interest and puts the book back in the stacks.
“Perhaps that was the wrong choice. Let us go to the top of the library and look at the view.”
“I like that idea,” I say.
He takes my hand and leads me up the stairs to the very top. On the sixth floor, there is a huge open balcony, big enough for a dragon to land on. Out in the sunshine, the wind blows up from the ocean and riffles through my long white hair. I bask in the cool air, my inner ice dragon reveling in the chill breeze. Donte turns to me and cups my cheek in his massive gray hand.
“I feel I’ve offended you with the children’s story. I had only hoped to give you some wisdom for your current predicament.”
“The Queen of Stars is a well-known tale.”
“You are much like her. You don't fully believe in yourself. Not yet.”
“I do believe in myself, as a scientist, as a daughter and sister. I wish to serve Draxos as their White Queen and have many female hatchlings.”
“But?” he asks.
I sighed deeply and look away. “I wish to serve my people as a scientist more than I wish to serve them as a broodmare,” I say. “Perhaps it is treasonous to say such things, but that's how I feel.”
“You are no broodmare, Joon D’fray, my lady queen. Your gorgeous body is important to the survival of our race, but so is your sparkling diamond of a mind.”
He tips my face up to his, his emerald eyes shining with desire. I let out a deep breath as he presses his smooth, hard lips to mine. A wall of desire hits me. I groan as his solid frame surrounds my cool blue form. I want to be lost in his embrace.
Donte wheels me around and he shuts us inside a private alcove. There is just enough room for him to press me against the back wall. I whimper at being trapped like this. His huge body blocks the exit as his hands rove my flesh.
“Perhaps you are past such childish lessons,” he says, his voice full of gravel. “Perhaps you need to know what it means to be a woman.”
I can feel his thrall taking over. The sexual energy surges through me, and I’m shaking with need. I have no idea what to do as his hands slide inside my jacket and cup my breasts. He slides his thumbs over both my nipples at once, exciting my core into a hungry rage.
“I know I’m a woman,” I protest, breathlessly.
“Let me see,” he says, kissing my neck greedily.
“See what?” I gasp as he nibbles my ear.
“Let me see your woman’s body,” he says, pressing his granite-hard cock between my legs.
“My…”
“Here, let me.”
He takes my wrists and activates my wrist com. With a few flicks, he deactivates my nanotech clothing and I’m left wearing the gow leather boots I’d put on this morning. I’m completely nude, my light blue body and stark white scales on display for his ravenous eyes. I’m embarrassed as hell. I cover my breasts and sex, trying to retain my modesty.
He shakes his head and pulls them away, gazing down at my body.
“You should never be ashamed of this beautiful body,” he tells me, kneeling on the floor before me.
The dim lights from above shine on his broad shoulders and black wavy hair.
“Spread your legs,” he says, gazing at my sex.
I hesitate and he spreads them for me. He looks into my eyes as he runs his hand up my inner thigh.
“Do
you know where your pleasure buttons are?” he asks me.
“Of course,” I grumble, holding my breasts up so I can get a better view of him.
“And have you touched them until you peaked?” he says, sliding his hand between my legs to cup my sex.
“I did last night, twice,” I gasp as his hand presses my core.
“Good,” he purrs.
I can see the dragon in his eyes. His fangs are out as he looks back at my untouched body. He parts my lips and slides a finger between the center slit. I’m dripping wet with need and it quickly coats his fingers. Donte growls and brings his fingers to his mouth, lustily sucking every drop of my juices from his skin.
With his hands coated in his own slick saliva, he slides his fingers around the rim of my entrance, exciting every outer pleasure button I have. I squeeze my tits and groan, looking down at the giant of a man. The senator. The man the same age as my older brothers. I gasp and throw my head back, lifting my leg to rest on his thigh.
I’m leaning against the back wall; my legs open for his touch. Donte slides his fingers around and around my hole, making my buttons tight with need. He leans in to replace his fingers with his tongue, and I’m reeling with the first flick.
He circles my sex with his sopping wet, stone-hard tongue. I grip a breast in one hand and grab a clump of his hair just as he pushes his tongue up inside me. I explode with a mind-ripping orgasm. It shatters me, my body throbbing with exquisite pain. I scream and arch my back.
He looks up at me and I meet his emerald gaze. I swear in a whisper as he stands and taps my wrist com to reconstitute my outfit.
“You’re right, Joon. You are definitely a woman,” he says holding me in his firm grasp.
He’s still hard as a rock and I want to relieve the pressure for him. I reach out and try to push my hand in his pants, but he stops me.