ZOHR

A mental virus, my Emma calls it. That is how she refers to Azar’s possession of me. One touch of minds to a polluted one and it spreads. The other females do not seem happy at the thought, and Claudia immediately insists on her sister returning to her room to hide. The sister does not seem pleased but does as she is told.

The wind grows strong, Kael tells us. We cannot take the risk of her scent being carried to another. My mate is very protective of her sister.

I acknowledge this and watch the females. They are far easier with each other than the three of us drakoni together. I study them, noting that the new dragon—Dakh—is far more battle-worn than Kael. Both of them are great warriors that have seen much conflict, then. I wonder if they remember any of it, or any of their past. I do not remember any battles of mine. I do not remember Kael or Dakh, either. They could be my brothers, or long-lost friends, and I would have no idea. The thought is a disturbing one.

I have no memory of either of you, I tell them. I am sorry. My memory is bad.

Mine is gone, thanks to this place, Kael sends, and there is a hint of bitterness in his mind. If it were not for my Claudia, I would be glad to burn this land to the ground.

Dakh echoes him with silent agreement. He studies me, eyes a mild gold. You have lost a claw, brother. From an old battle or a new one?

Claws are a warrior’s honor. I study my foreleg, admiring the missing claw. Of course they ask. The human females might not notice, but a drakoni male always does. Neither.

What do you mean, neither? Dakh is curious.

I tore it off myself to pleasure my female.

Dakh rumbles with amusement. A bold move.

She is worth it. I am not ashamed.

There is a long stretch of uncomfortable silence between us. Dakh shifts on his haunches. Kael studies his own claws, long and unbroken.

I never considered such a thing, Kael says after a moment. I have pleasured my mate, but I am careful of my claws.

I am, as well, but she likes…to try new things. My mate is inventive.

It is a human trait I am fond of, Dakh rumbles. My Sasha sometimes has strange but pleasing ideas.

I grunt a response. I know this well. Emma surprises me often with the way her mind thinks. They are not like us.

If they are, we do not remember such things. At least, I do not. All I remember of the years before my madness are flashes and glimpses, Dakh admits. And not much of that.

My memories are shattered and come mostly in dreams, Kael tells us.

Mine, as well. I think of the dreams I have had, of the mountains and sands of home, and the jungles of the enemy. I think of the female who betrayed me. The queen. Do you dream of her?

I dream of no queen, Kael says.

I have dreamed of her, Dakh adds after a moment. They were not pleasant dreams.

Nor mine. I think she is one reason why the Salorians can trap us with their minds. She works for them. Even now, just thinking about it fills me with anger, dismay, and loss. As if I have been betrayed by my oldest of friends.

My dreams are slightly different, Dakh says. I think she has been taken by the Salorians and they use her as much as they use our people. I remember that.

Interesting. For some reason, I find that reassuring. Do you think it was she who sent us through the Rift? I think of the green, pulsing wound in the sky, and shudder mentally.

Emma sends me comforting thoughts automatically, sensing my distress even locked in conversation with the other females. I reply with a caress of thoughts. I do not want her to worry. They are just memories. They cannot harm me now.

The queen is our past, Dakh says. Our mates are our future.

I agree completely. I would not return home for the queen or for my people, not if it meant leaving my Emma behind. She is my world now…and it is all the more reason I must strive to eliminate the Salorian. If he captures my mind, I cannot keep Emma safe. If she is not safe… I growl at the very thought.

Sasha keeps a log of everything I tell her about our past, Dakh admits after a long moment of silence. Sometimes I have her read them back to me and I do not remember anything that is in there. I wonder sometimes if there is something that is preventing us from remembering. That it is not our minds that are broken but something else that stops us from being able to think about the world we left.

More Salorian mind tricks? I ask.

Perhaps. Who can say? I do not recall any more of Salorians than I do of my mother’s face.

I try to think of my parents. There is nothing but fog. Perhaps Dakh is right. Perhaps there is something that is stopping us from recalling who and what we are except for the basest of memories. If so, it is a very evil thing. I snarl at the thought of it. What reason is there to strip us of everything?

If I had that answer, I would also know how to fix it, Dakh replies, and Kael growls an affirmative.

Perhaps the solution is to destroy the Salorian. Or if nothing else, to find out what he remembers, since he seems to have his mind without a mate. He does not suffer from the mating frenzy that our people do. He is not falling prey to the madness.

Perhaps he is the answer to everything.

EMMA

As I talk with the women, I can’t help but get bits of emotion from my dragon. Zohr’s thoughts are little pings of distress, no matter how much he tries to cover it up. I know he’s thinking about something that bugs him. You okay up there? I ask as Claudia refills our cups with more coffee. What are you guys talking about?

Nothing, he sends back. Just dreams. Memories.

Bad ones?

They are all bad to some extent. Even the good ones are of things I can never have again.

He’s got a point. I’m sorry, babe.

Why do you apologize? You did not bring me through the Rift. You are the only good thing here. His thoughts turn sweet and sultry all at once. You are the best thing…

Down, boy. Not right now, I tease, even as I force myself to concentrate on what Sasha and Claudia are saying. I feel a little bad for Amy because she’s not here, and it was clear she was sad at having to leave the conversation.

“We have to do something about Azar,” Sasha’s saying, her coffee untouched. There’s a distressed expression on her pretty face. “I hate that he’s capturing other dragons and holding their minds hostage. I can’t imagine what it must have been like for you, Emma.” She shudders. “You’re lucky you caught him in time. I don’t know what we do to stop him.”

“I do,” I tell them. “We kill him.”

Claudia’s eyes go wide. “You’d murder someone?”

Sasha looks surprised, as well. Why are they surprised? “He’s a threat,” I tell them. “He’s evil. He has no conscience. Why wouldn’t you take him out?”

They both continue to look shocked.

“It’s not like I’d enjoy murdering the guy, but look at what he’s done. He tried to take your dragon,” I say to Sasha. “He’s forcing reds under his control. He stole Zohr’s mind while he was sleeping. What if it happens again? Even if we run away, we’re never going to be safe from him. I stayed with him and his men. I know them. They can’t be reasoned with. And the others are so far under his thumb that they’ll do whatever he wants and not give a shit about the consequences. If they had any humanity, it’s long gone.” I shake my head and cross my arms over my chest. “Unless you’ve got a better solution.”

Claudia shakes her head. “I don’t. It’s just so…”

“Bloodthirsty,” Sasha whispers.

“Practical, you mean,” I correct them. “This is the After. No one’s looking out for us anymore but us. You think if we ignore Azar he’s going to just wander off and retire to raise flowers somewhere?”

Sasha bites her lip and glances over at Claudia. “She’s right.”

Claudia nods. “I know. I don’t like the thought, but…I also don’t like the idea of someone taking over drakoni minds like a virus.” She puts a hand to her stomach. “I have to think of the future, too.”

Sasha grows pale.

“I can be the one to pull the trigger. I don’t mind.” I don’t understand their reticence. To me, the answer is clear. If he’s a threat, we take him out. “I just want him gone and unable to hurt my Zohr ever again. He’s been through too much already.”

I think of my mate’s shredded wings and how hard he’s worked to recover and I just get angry. Angry that Azar thinks our lives matter less than his. Angry that even in exile, even in a world gone to shit, someone’s making crazy-ass power grabs and trying to ruin what little we have. Fuck all of that.

“We’re on board,” Sasha says quietly. “Dakh is more than ready to exact some revenge.” Behind her, I can hear a dragon growl in agreement.

“We’re on board, too,” Claudia says, though she looks a little worried and touches her stomach again. Maybe breakfast isn’t sitting so well with her.

She carries young, Zohr tells me. I can smell it in her scent. That is why she worries.

Oh. All the more reason that we need to act. “We need to do this, and we need to do it sooner rather than later. I don’t want to be trying to get close to Azar when he has an entire army of mad dragons at his beck and call. No one’s going to be safe. Not you, not me, not those bambalans in the fort. No. One.”

Sasha nods firmly. “Then how do we do this?” she asks. “How do we get close enough without putting our men in danger?”

I think for a minute, drumming my fingers on my chin. For some reason, I think of Claudia’s sister Amy. Her sweet, soft sister…who reeks of perfume to hide her scent. The idea’s genius in its simplicity. “We do it the same way that Azar’s pulling in dragons. With bait.”