I fall. The wind whips by me as I plummet into the depths of the canyon. I can hear myself screaming, but it doesn’t register as me. All I know is that I’m going to die. I see the bottom of the pit, and my inner dragon comes crashing toward me. She’s awake and alive and full of passion and anger. In that breath of a second, she’s taken over my body.

I don’t realize it until I’m flying that I’ve transformed. As my wings beat against the air, I can hear the call of Conyac and Trav from above. They’ve taken flight, and their cries tell me of their shock and fear. I glide upward with giant, beating wings and circle around them on the air. Swooping, I come to land on the grass. The males land beside me, licking at my scales with their long, wet tongues.

Letting out a roar, I let them know my strength is unquestionable. I am queen. I know it. I am the lady of this land and the last of my kind. My bright silver scales speak of the depth of my power.

My human mind convulses, trying to take in what has just occurred. I know that this woman, raised on Earth, is weak. I am angered at my own weakness, but she fights me to gain control of our body. I know we must be further integrated, but for now, I cannot abide by her fragility.

She pushes against me, and my precarious hold on our body lessens. I slip away and transform back into a woman.

I fall to the ground, speechless, crying. The men run to me, kneeling around me. Hands touch my back, shoulders, and legs. I don’t understand what happened. My fractured mind can barely hold on. I want to crack into madness, but all I do is cry.

“Get away from me,” I growl at the men, rising from the damp ground. They back away, and I run down the path and up the front steps of the castle.

“Dinner is served, my lady,” Hammon says. I groan as I pass him, running up the stairs and into my room. Locking the door behind me, I let out a petrified yelp. What just happened? I fell off a cliff and almost died, but then… Then I became a dragon.

I put my hands to my head and pace the room. They told me it would happen. I’d been hearing and feeling her inside my mind for days. No matter how much I want to deny it, I know she’s there, waiting, biding her time.

I’m locked into this life. There is no way back to Earth, but that doesn’t stop my mind from obsessively working through every possible escape. I can feel the dragon just below the surface. She is clawing at my mind, trying to get out.

“Stop!” I scream, pressing my palms to my temples. Her thoughts snake through my brain. Her voice is soothing but aggressive.

“Bind, we must,” she says, slithering inside me.

“I don’t want to be you,” I shout at myself.

“And I do not want to be you. You are weak. Soft. Not a dragon born princess.”

“Screw you,” I spit out. I realize I’m arguing with myself, and it makes me feel like I’m going insane. My rational mind tries to offer logical suggestions. I’m passed out in the cave back in Glacier National Park. This is a big delusion. But I know it isn’t.

I sit on the bed, tears sliding down my cheeks. She’s right. I am weak. I’m not cut out to be a dragon princess. I couldn’t even hack it in my old job in a world I understood. How am I possibly going to cope with being a changeling on an alien planet?

“If there was a way for me to give this to someone else, I would.”

“You cannot. We must bind. We must become one.”

“How exactly are we supposed to do that?” I ask my inner dragon.

“Accept me. Let me give you the strength you lack.”

“I’ll work on it.”

There is a knock at my door, and I open it to find Hammon standing in the hallway. He looks worried as he wrings his hands.

“The princes said you changed, my lady. Are you all right?”

“I’m fine,” I say, drying my eyes.

“Are you coming down for dinner? The princes are waiting for you to join them in the dining room.”

“I’ll be right there. Just let me gather myself.”

Hammon scurries away, and I quickly fix my face and hair and change into a gown. I look better when I glance in the mirror on the way out, but my eyes are still rimmed in red.

I make my way downstairs and enter the grand dining room where the princes are seated at the long highly polished wood table. As I enter, they stand, putting their hands over their hearts. I take my seat at the head of the table and nod to them as I sit.

I don’t enjoy the ceremony, but I suppose it’s something I’ll have to get used to. Servants bring us the first course of fruit and salad.

“About our agreement,” Conyac says as I pop a piece of fruit in my mouth. I cringe. I don’t want to face the sex agreement we all made, and the fruit I just ate is incredibly sour.

“Yes. That…”

“We should begin right away, princess. There is no time to waste. The Org are marching out of the mountain in a massive horde, headed straight to Castle Warren. We cannot hold them off with our current forces,” Trav says.

“I’ve sent my troops to reinforce your garrison, Trav,” Conyac says.

“It won’t be enough. We need the power of the king and queen. One of us must make hilock with the princess. The power of the monarchs is the only way we will win this war,” Trav protests.

“The princess isn’t ready to decide. We must give her time.”

“There isn’t time!” Trav smashes his fist on the table; the dishes and silverware bounce from the surface.

“Guys. Look. We can start…tonight.” I gulp, not sure what the hell I’m agreeing to. I know I can’t put it off much longer. Trav is right. The Org will destroy Endor if I don’t choose soon. I’ve seen what they are capable of. If what Conyac and Trav say is true, a horde of those things will bring us all down. I don’t want to see that happen to my new home.

Even if I don’t really fully understand what is going on, there won’t be anywhere to hide if the Org conquer the rest of the planet. I’d be safe in Skyland for only so long.

“It will be the greatest honor to make love with you this evening, my lady,” Conyac says. An honor indeed. I flush with heat and desire. What have I gotten myself into?