ZOHR

I am dreaming, I think.

I rise from my nest, my limbs twined with that of my mate’s. Emma still sleeps, curled up in the hot sands of our bed. I leave her behind and move to the rocky ledge of my home, my aerie. I look out, and off in the distance, I can see the aerie ledges of other drakoni nests lining the steep cliff walls. Behind them are weathered mountains, the warm, rippled tan surface of each one marked by the occasional dark mark that tells me another aerie is there, another family. I raise my hand to my eyes, shielding them from the bright sunlight, and gaze upon the others as they take to the air in battle-form. The skies have a warm reddish glow to them, and there is a vast sea of sand far below. The breeze carries the sweet scent of the land, the warmth of my mate’s musk, and the distant signatures of fellow drakoni. Someone bugles out a greeting and it is joyfully answered.

It is beautiful and familiar, and a hard knot of longing forms in my throat. Home. This is home.

Zohr? Emma’s sleepy voice calls to me, but I cannot turn away from the beauty of the scene before me. Home. I have missed it so badly. It does not matter that this is a dream. I want to enjoy it for a moment longer. A breath later, I feel her warm hand on my arm. What are you doing?

My people, I tell her. They are here. They are fine. I stare at the skies in amazement. It is a beautiful thing.

You’re dreaming, she tells me. Wake up.

I will, soon. There is plenty of time for that. For now, I just want to breathe in the air of home for a moment longer.

Come to me, a voice calls in my mind. Join me.

The voice is familiar and yet not. It fills me with longing and unease at the same time. Who is it? Someone else from home? An old memory that I have forgotten? I must know.

I will be back, I tell my mate. I change to battle-form and take to the air.

No, Zohr! Stay with me!

Wait for me, I tell her. I will return soon. But I must find out who that other voice is. Who is calling me? An image enters my mind, of a female with reddish-golden skin and long hair and soft, soft eyes. Is it her? Who is she? How do I know of her?

I take to the air and spread my wings. They feel good. Strong. I fly over the mountains, seeking…something. Higher and higher, I fly until the mountains are distant below me. Across the other side, there is greenery. So much green. The sight of it makes me uneasy, as do the smells. Salorians. I know this place. Salora, the land of the mind-lords. I tilt my wings and fly lower, until I can see lush trees and verdant greenery, and the smell of wet soil. It smells nothing like my homeland. Rising out of the trees are white marble buildings, carved into unnatural squares. They look like squares pushed atop one another to form a pyramid, and I hate them instinctively. They seem harsh and cold, not at one with the land, and jut out like intricate thorns amongst the blanket of greenery.

I fly lower, curious. Something about this feels wrong, but I do not know what. All I know is that this place will hold the answers I seek.

Zohr? Emma’s voice is full of worry. Zohr? Are you in there?

I want to answer my mate, but then I see her. The female whose face seems familiar but not. She stands atop one of the strange white Salorian pyramids, her hair flowing around her body like one of Emma’s clothing skins. The female looks up to the sky and sees me, and I descend, because I think I know her. I know who this is…

As I land atop the pyramid next to her, I change to my two-legged form and bow at her feet. I remember now.

My queen.

Her mind reaches out to touch mine, a call of greeting. Come to me, she says again.

I reach out with my mind to tell her that I am here. I connect my thoughts to hers and stand. Our eyes meet and—

Hers are gray. The gray of Salorians. The gray of mind-control. The gray of entrapment.

I remember now. I remember why seeing the queen fills me with such sadness and frustration. She is a prisoner of the Salorians, her mind corrupted by them. It is her that traps us…

And now you are mine.

Azar.