I felt aching pain in every fiber of my body when I finally regained consciousness. First, it was just darkness, and then I heard her voice, broken and quiet. It sounded like nonsense at first, but as I slowly became more aware, I registered some of what she was saying until she stopped talking and all I could hear was the babbling sound of water.

As her voice clattered to a halt and I realized that cold thing pressed against me was her freezing body, it jolted me completely out of my stupor.

I was sore, but that was the worst of it, leftover sensation from all those stun charges and the jolt of diving headfirst into the bottom of a canyon. Truthfully, the impact could have killed me if I’d hit a sharp enough rock with the kind of momentum I had.

Shifting at once, I scooped her up and carried her away from the water. In the process, I realized she had been waist-deep in the water, and it hit me that she had been trying to protect me in my unconscious state.

She could have left me. She could have sought shelter, but instead, she had stayed in the icy waters at the bottom of a canyon, holding my head above water. Part of me was almost angry at her for being so reckless with her own safety, for nearly getting herself killed, and part of me was humbled beyond words, struck by the fact that she would have sacrificed herself.

Overcome with emotion, I whispered her name, kissing her lightly. Her eyes fluttered open once more, a look of surprise on her face that was quickly replaced with a secret, probably delirious, smile.

Her eyes closed, and she was breathing but in shallow, disjointed bursts. I needed to get her warm, and fast.

Stripping us both, I laid her down farther up the bank, on a carpet of eggplant-colored foliage. I shifted again, though it stung just a bit, and huddled to keep her warm. I didn’t know much about humans or how they healed, but she was cold so I connected the dots that I could.

In a normal scenario, the feel of a woman huddled naked next to me would have left me aching for release, but I was too distracted by my concern to give the situation even a fleeting thought.

We stayed like that for hours. I was content knowing she was still breathing and that her body had finally stopped the violent shaking from before. The second sun was already midway across the sky when she finally seemed to be warm.

She stirred, and my senses leapt to attention.

“Karun,” she breathed, and I nuzzled closer to her.

She didn’t seem to have minded my dragon form, but it was the first time I was in close contact with a human like this.

It was strange and yet thrilling, this feeling of acceptance.

Dragselians had probed Earth for colonization thousands of years earlier, influencing human lore and mythos, but it had been decided by a council of Dragselian elders that it would violate the Rule of Settlement, which required that no planet, asteroid, or other celestial body could be colonized if such colonization were to displace an autonomous and intelligent species.

We had hosted many galactic travelers, surely, mostly dignitaries, but our interactions were generally diplomatic and brief. It was new to me, and I knew, surely, that it must be different for her as well, being amongst only humans in a tiny, hermetic colony.

All my life, though I had all the privileges and freedoms of a prince of Dragselia, I had always known that I wasn’t truly accepted. Behind two older brothers, the chances of my inheriting the throne were slim at best. That was fine with me, but it seemed not so to others.

Why would anyone care for someone who wasn’t going to matter or be anybody in a few years’ time? I was tolerated up to a point, but there was a threshold I could never cross. I had taken lovers and had friends, to some extent, but it was always clear that those connections could only be temporary. It was the unspoken rule of my life—don’t get too close because sooner or later, you won’t matter to them.

Now, I was treading on a new frontier, one where that rule couldn’t reach me. The reality frightened and thrilled me. There were no more limits, no protections.

Andie’s stomach growled, rousing me from my ponderings. She opened her eyes slightly, and I saw two faint pink circles grace her soft cheeks. Yawning and rubbing at her back, where Baluwama had pierced her armor, she sat up.

She wrapped her arms in front of her, tiny bumps raised along her arms and chest. I shifted and grabbed her jacket from where it had been drying in the sunshine.

“Here, this should help,” I said as I put it around her shoulders.

She managed to croak a quick thanks, but she still looked cold, and according to her stomach, hungry as well.

Handing her the rest of her clothes, I added, “I’m going to find us something to eat. We will both need the strength. Wait here and do not leave.”

She nodded and curled up again on the purple leaves. Without thinking about it, I took off my core necklace and placed it over her head.

It was a powerful stone that contained in it the heat and energy of Dragselia and myself. I knew it wouldn’t necessarily protect her if the demon returned, but it could give her the energy to defend herself.

She clutched at its heat and we locked eyes. Something for which neither of us had words was in that look.

Breaking the contact, I turned and went in search of something to sustain us. We needed to reconnect with the others, but I had only a vague recollection of where we had come from in this maze of canyons and crags, and Andie wasn’t in travel-ready condition.

I wandered the lush garden beds of the canyon floor on foot as my dragon form might compromise myself and Andie if we were still being tracked. There wasn’t much wildlife, which was a safer option than trying to forage for flora. Trying to determine whether plant life was edible was a dangerous endeavor, but fortunately, there was no poison known to harm a Dragselian, at least not permanently.

I located a bush with little red, translucent berries. I mashed them against my skin with no initial reaction. Placing them on my tongue, I waited, giving my body time to react. Finally, I crushed them in my mouth. Their tart, bright flavor was sweet. I waited again before swallowing, but they seemed safe. I gathered bunches of the berries to bring back to Andie.

Next, I found a strange spiky plant with teal fruit. Tearing off the skin, I rubbed the flesh against my skin, and immediately, deep purple splotches appeared along with an uncomfortable prickling sensation. Bad choice.

Shaking off the tingling feeling, I continued my search along the upstream bank of the river. The thicket of brush and plant life was vibrant but offered few options for food.

Closing my eyes, I concentrated on my dragon’s senses. There were birds, but weaponless as I was, unless I took to the air, it wasn’t likely I could catch one. I stood, attuning myself to the fauna until finally, I heard a small scratching from along the rock ledge.

I padded quietly along until I had neared the source of the noise. It was a brown, furry mammalian creature with short ears flattened against its head, a dark bobbed tail, and shocks of vibrant red hair in stripes along its body. There wasn’t likely much meat on its dainty form, but it would suffice.

The creature looked alert and had ceased its work of digging at the canyon wall. Crouching low, I waited for it to return to its task. When it finally did, I leapt through the air and snatched it, breaking its neck in one quick motion and hopefully sparing it any agony.

“Sabalu,” I whispered to the animal in thanks for its gift to us. Dragselian tradition and law demanded gratitude and respect for any life that was taken. Quickly, I cleaned the animal where I had killed it.

Carrying the game and berries, I returned to where I had left Andie. I approached quietly and watched her, sprawled out on the carpet of vegetation.

Her blonde hair was loose in waves around her, catching and reflecting the sunlight. She had her eyes closed but was smiling as the heat of the suns warmed her. She was a breathtaking vision, and I swallowed to stem the tide of lust that I felt rising.

She must have heard me as her head jerked in my direction. The delicate, lush curves of her mouth broke out into a wide grin, and I suddenly heard my heart thundering in my ears.

“You found food!” she exclaimed and brought my focus back to where it belonged—taking care of her.

“Yes, but it isn’t ready yet. It needs to be cooked.”

I set the carcass on a rock and went to work making a fire. Fortunately, as a dragon, that wasn’t too hard. I hurriedly gathered a few sticks and dry leaves from the brush and breathed a quick torrent of fire on them.

She whistled. “Hot damn, that’s handy. Can all of you do that?”

“You mean Dragselians? No. We all have two forms, dragon and humanoid, but only members of the royal line have a gland that produces a combustible combination of chemicals,” I explained as I placed the animal on the fire, rotating it with my bare hands.

“Doesn’t that hurt? Or do you just heal so quickly that it doesn’t matter?” She asked as she wiggled close to where I had kneeled in front of the tiny campfire.

“My people believe that we were created by the Great Lava Gods, formed and shaped from the lava itself. Fire is a life giving force to my people and cannot be used to harm us.”

I crushed the berries and held them in my hands over the fire until they nearly boiled. Having no receptacles, I lifted the liquid to my mouth and drank a small sip. The sweet juice revived me.

I went to offer the rest to Andie, extending my hands out to her.

“Drink some. It’s sweet,” I prodded.

“Isn’t it super hot though?”

Realizing she was right and that it would probably scald her, I blew on it briefly then offered it again.

Hesitantly, but with a slight smile, Andie lowered her lips to my hands. She made eye contact as she sipped from my palms. Realizing it was good, she quickly drank it all until she was left licking my palms and fingers. It was exquisite.

The roasting meat crackled and startled us both. I turned and lifted the carcass off. Ripping a chunk off, I blew on it as well before handing it to her. She devoured it, and I wondered if her appetite was as vigorous in other areas.

“Mmm, please pretend you don’t see me stuffing myself like a piglet. I just don’t care to keep up appearances right now,” she joked.

“Your appearance is anything but lacking right now,” I said, aroused by the sight of her eating.

I had never found food consumption to be a particularly sensual act, but watching her now, I felt my body responding to the sight of her mouth at work.

She licked her lips slowly and looked at me mischievously.

Just then, a portion of the cliff at the far end of the canyon gave way and collapsed into the river, damming its currents even more. The water level, which had started to recede as rocks had shifted, began to rise again.

“Shit, that’s not good,” she muttered.

“We should leave this place. Are you recuperated enough to hold on?” I asked.

“Hold on . . . you mean to you?” She looked ecstatic.

“Yes, it is the fastest route out of here.”

“Oh, hell yes!” she said, springing to her feet.

Sparing no time, I shifted and came to her. Her face was full of wonder and excitement. I knelt and lowered one side, allowing her to climb onto my back. When her weight felt balanced, I took off.

“This is amazing!” I heard her scream, and I smiled inwardly at her joy.

We reached the top of the crag and started flying westward in the direction I thought our camp might have been.

We had flown for three minutes, at most, when the first flash of lightning struck. There had been no warning, and hardly any clouds were in the sky. I could feel the electricity starting to build, the air feeling heavy and charged.

We descended once again into the crags, and I flew quickly, searching for shelter. The crag opened into an even wider canyon than before, and Andie patted my side. She gestured toward a dark opening that was seated a good distance from the river’s bank.

Lightning began striking along the rim of the crag as rain fell in short bursts, and I raced to the cave.

We landed with less grace than I intended. Andie climbed down, wet once more.

As I shifted, Andie explained, “Damn glitch storms. It’s because of the manipulated atmosphere. It was programmed to replicate Earth’s desert storms, but because there is so little moisture, the rain is brief and sporadic and the dry air is hyper-charged.”

She was shivering again, and I began to feel the cold creeping in as well. I moved toward her, rubbing her arms to warm her, but it was no use. We needed a fire.

I looked around the cave. In the dark, it would have been impossible for a human to see, but with my enhanced sight I spotted a small pile of driftwood that must have been washed in during some long-ago flood. I gathered it up and set it aflame.

Andie stripped off her jacket and began to unfasten her pants. I looked away, trying to respect her privacy but dying to watch her strip those wet clothes off the curved perfection of her body.

She left her tank top and underwear on and came close to the fire. Glancing at her sideways, I noticed the core stone bouncing in her cleavage.

“Aren’t you going to dry off too?” she asked silkily.

Realizing she was right, I took off my worn leather pants and dark hooded linen shirt. Turning around, I saw she enjoyed the sight.

We sat, sides pressed together, sharing heat. Finally, she broke the silence.

“What is this stone you put on me?” she asked, turning her warm brown eyes upon me.

“It’s a core-stone. All Dragselians are given one at birth to wear as a symbol of our heritage and a connection to our people.”

“So why is it hot, and why did you put it on me?”

“It is taken from a magma flow at the center of our capital, Vahakun. It reaches deep into the very core of Dragselia and is the supposed source of all of our people. It contains the energy of Dragselia and is also linked to its owner, a constant source of energy. So long as I live, it will always be warm to the touch. I placed it on you to channel some of my energy to you . . . to help you recover,” I finished awkwardly, wondering how much I had just revealed and if I had even realized the full ramifications of it myself.

She was silent, looking down at the stone in her hand.

“If we shift, it becomes a part of our dragon form and aids in regeneration. Of course, if we die, it will go cold and shatter.”

Her eyes were molten as she looked back at me. “So I’ll take it as a good thing if it’s fiery hot.”

Her breast brushed at my arm as she turned her body to face me. I looked at her mouth and reminded myself there were no rules anymore.

“Kiss me, Karun,” she whispered.

“Only if you call me dragon-man,” I joked. She started to laugh, but I kissed her, and everything but our mouths, our bodies, fell away in the dark warmth of the cave.