Chapter 12
“Why are you going? I could go in your place,” Dax offered as he barged into Arena’s office.
Arena didn’t stop typing on the computer at the interruption. “I’m leader of this clan and there may be more of my people coming to Earth. I need to be there to greet them.”
“Just let the other kings take the newcomers in. Our clan is full.”
She raised her eyes and narrowed them at him. “That is not up to you, Dax.”
“I’m going with you then.”
“As my second, I expect you to remain here to look after our people.”
“My place is by your side.” He placed his hands on her desk and leaned toward her.
That infuriated her. She stood up and glared at him. “Your place is where I say it is. If you cannot do the job, I will find another second.”
He looked angry but also hurt. She never intended to hurt him but she would not back down. He couldn’t keep acting insubordinate when it came to their dynamic.
Dax straightened stiffly. “I know my place, my Queen.” He turned and left the room, slamming the door behind him.
Sighing, she walked over to her window. It overlooked the rocky surface below.
Every few decades the clans would relocate so that their lack of aging would not be noticed by the humans. They accrued several different homes over time. This one had never really been her favorite.
It was located on a small rocky island near Japan. They had found the island fifty years ago and had built a strong but stark set of buildings hidden among the rocks. It did have a lovely beach, but the vegetation was not as lush as some of their other locations.
She much preferred the islands inAri Atoll in the Maldives. One of the islands they kept exclusively for their use, but after they relocated, they joined the other islands in a very profitable investment of luxury resorts. It would be another year or two before they could return to their little paradise.
Her territory covered most of the continent of Asia. Arena was considering selecting a new location, another private island, where they would remain and no longer have to move around. Some of the other clan leaders had settled down in one location where they owned much of the land and could control their contact with the humans. Moving around had taken a toll. Maybe that was why they had such a hard time finding true mates and having more dragonlets.
The thought of dragonlets that she probably would never have filled her with such a painful loneliness. She placed her hand over her heart. Fear was growing among the Drakonians that even though they lived long lives, their lineage would live and die with the current living generation. Very few dragonlets had been born in the past few decades. King Reichardt and Captain Markus had each mated successfully with a human and both had mixed breed dragonlets.
True mates were as rare as dragonlets and were highly coveted. She had known her grandparents had been true mates. Her grandmother had once said that she knew the moment her grandfather walked into the room that he belonged to her, her dragon sensed it and they his scent confirmed it. True mates were supposed to have a connection to one another allowing them to feel each other’s emotions and they would always be able to find one another if they were separated..
“Dyson found a way to breed dragonlets,” she whispered. The idea of dragonlets was exciting but knowing that a monster like Dyson bred at least one horrified her.
One of the former kings, Dyson, had always been a cruel ruler. He didn’t show respect for females on Drakonia, but his attitude seemed to change for the worse once he arrived on Earth. As a dragon shifter king, he felt that the Drakonians should enslave the humans because he felt they were inferior. His abuse of humans and frequently exposure of the Drakonians’ existence finally got him rebuked as a king. He was supposed to answer for his crimes, but upon his rebuke, he had evaded capture. His latest misdeeds involved force-breeding humans. As far as she knew, he had only succeeded so far with one, but the mother had died at birth, leaving a mixed-breed dragonlet. The boy had been adopted by one of Arena’s former lovers, Drake, and his human mate.
Arena closed her eyes at the cold empty feeling of loss. She wanted that child for her own, but it was not meant to be. She was not looking forward to seeing Drake and his mate again, but if she had people on the Zyon, she owed it to Zocor to welcome them to their new home. She tried to bring Zocor’s image to her mind, but it had faded centuries ago. One image had not faded — Blaze. She wondered if he could have possibly survived. She knew it was unlikely, but still, her heart beat a little faster at the possibility.
