After our meal, I follow Donte to his speeder. A sense of dread lingers in the pit of my stomach as we travel down the coast to the Arcadia Academy.

I long for my old life, my old apartment, my work. I haven't been to the lab in two days, and I'm itching to get back to my experiments. I know that the longer I am away from my work, the longer it will take to find the cure to the plague.

Donte settles his speeder into the landing pad outside the great library of Arcadia. I have spent many hours in this library. It makes me reminisce further about the past, when my parents brought me here as a child.

“I went to the Arcadia Academy,” he says as we exit the speeder.

“I didn’t know that,” I say.

“It was long ago.”

The library is six stories high with many landings and turrets. The entrance is large enough for a dragon to crawl inside. We walk through the front entrance on the ground floor and look up into the six-story high, domed ceiling far above us. A model of the Draxos solar system circles above us. Our sun is orbited by seventeen planets. Our original planet, Draxos Prime, the planet of the gods, is the largest of them all. My moon, Arcadia, orbits the water planet of Umbria, where Reese is from. Umbria is further from the sun than Draxos Prime, making it cooler than the jungle planet.

The Draxos inhabit other solar systems, but the Draxos System was the first our kind settled on in this galaxy. At least, that’s what the stories say. Our histories are fragmented after decimation of all our major databases and libraries, during the cyborg attack during the plague.

The Draxos fought back as our strongest males recovered from the sickness. Our military pushed the Archon Empire far from our systems, with the indomitable strength of the dragon.

I gaze up at the circling multicolored planets above and Donte threads his fingers through mine. The skin of his massive hand is smooth like polished stone.

He gazes at me, his wise eyes glittering green like multifaceted emeralds. I want him to hold me in his strong arms and carry me on his broad shoulders. Desire sweeps through me, and I grip his hand.

“Let me show you my favorite place in the library,” he says, guiding me through the foyer. We take the circular staircase, that wraps around the library, six stories to the top.

We stop on the second floor and enter the stacks of newly fabricated texts. The library of Arcadia was bombed during the Archon invasion. It has since been restored, but most of the original texts, documents, and databases were lost. What remains is copies and oral histories that were lovingly written down by academics like my parents. This is what we were left with. This is all we know.

Donte pulls a thick dusty book from the shelf, sets it on the table, and begins to read aloud.

It's the story of an ancient queen. I know this parable well. The moral of the story is to have faith in oneself. But I do not have the desire to hear children's stories today. I cross my arms and my mind wonders to the laboratory.

“Do you not like this story?” he asks.

“I would if I were ten and not an accomplished scientist,” I say, my attention still on the lab.

I flick my wrist com and send a message to Taylon, asking what they are doing at the lab today. Donte looks disappointed at my lack of interest and puts the book back in the stacks.

“Perhaps that was the wrong choice. Let us go to the top of the library and look at the view.”

“I like that idea,” I say.

He takes my hand and leads me up the stairs to the very top. On the sixth floor, there is a huge open balcony, big enough for a dragon to land on. Out in the sunshine, the wind blows up from the ocean and riffles through my long white hair. I bask in the cool air, my inner ice dragon reveling in the chill breeze. Donte turns to me and cups my cheek in his massive gray hand.

“I feel I’ve offended you with the children’s story. I had only hoped to give you some wisdom for your current predicament.”

“The Queen of Stars is a well-known tale.”

“You are much like her. You don't fully believe in yourself. Not yet.”

“I do believe in myself, as a scientist, as a daughter and sister. I wish to serve Draxos as their White Queen and have many female hatchlings.”

“But?” he asks.

I sighed deeply and look away. “I wish to serve my people as a scientist more than I wish to serve them as a broodmare,” I say. “Perhaps it is treasonous to say such things, but that's how I feel.”

“You are no broodmare, Joon D’fray, my lady queen. Your gorgeous body is important to the survival of our race, but so is your sparkling diamond of a mind.”

He tips my face up to his, his emerald eyes shining with desire. I let out a deep breath as he presses his smooth, hard lips to mine. A wall of desire hits me. I groan as his solid frame surrounds my cool blue form. I want to be lost in his embrace.

Donte wheels me around and he shuts us inside a private alcove. There is just enough room for him to press me against the back wall. I whimper at being trapped like this. His huge body blocks the exit as his hands rove my flesh.

“Perhaps you are past such childish lessons,” he says, his voice full of gravel. “Perhaps you need to know what it means to be a woman.”

I can feel his thrall taking over. The sexual energy surges through me, and I’m shaking with need. I have no idea what to do as his hands slide inside my jacket and cup my breasts. He slides his thumbs over both my nipples at once, exciting my core into a hungry rage.

“I know I’m a woman,” I protest, breathlessly.

“Let me see,” he says, kissing my neck greedily.

“See what?” I gasp as he nibbles my ear.

“Let me see your woman’s body,” he says, pressing his granite-hard cock between my legs.

“My…”

“Here, let me.”

He takes my wrists and activates my wrist com. With a few flicks, he deactivates my nanotech clothing and I’m left wearing the gow leather boots I’d put on this morning. I’m completely nude, my light blue body and stark white scales on display for his ravenous eyes. I’m embarrassed as hell. I cover my breasts and sex, trying to retain my modesty.

He shakes his head and pulls them away, gazing down at my body.

“You should never be ashamed of this beautiful body,” he tells me, kneeling on the floor before me.

The dim lights from above shine on his broad shoulders and black wavy hair.

“Spread your legs,” he says, gazing at my sex.

I hesitate and he spreads them for me. He looks into my eyes as he runs his hand up my inner thigh.

“Do you know where your pleasure buttons are?” he asks me.

“Of course,” I grumble, holding my breasts up so I can get a better view of him.

“And have you touched them until you peaked?” he says, sliding his hand between my legs to cup my sex.

“I did last night, twice,” I gasp as his hand presses my core.

“Good,” he purrs.

I can see the dragon in his eyes. His fangs are out as he looks back at my untouched body. He parts my lips and slides a finger between the center slit. I’m dripping wet with need and it quickly coats his fingers. Donte growls and brings his fingers to his mouth, lustily sucking every drop of my juices from his skin.

With his hands coated in his own slick saliva, he slides his fingers around the rim of my entrance, exciting every outer pleasure button I have. I squeeze my tits and groan, looking down at the giant of a man. The senator. The man the same age as my older brothers. I gasp and throw my head back, lifting my leg to rest on his thigh.

I’m leaning against the back wall; my legs open for his touch. Donte slides his fingers around and around my hole, making my buttons tight with need. He leans in to replace his fingers with his tongue, and I’m reeling with the first flick.

He circles my sex with his sopping wet, stone-hard tongue. I grip a breast in one hand and grab a clump of his hair just as he pushes his tongue up inside me. I explode with a mind-ripping orgasm. It shatters me, my body throbbing with exquisite pain. I scream and arch my back.

He looks up at me and I meet his emerald gaze. I swear in a whisper as he stands and taps my wrist com to reconstitute my outfit.

“You’re right, Joon. You are definitely a woman,” he says holding me in his firm grasp.

He’s still hard as a rock and I want to relieve the pressure for him. I reach out and try to push my hand in his pants, but he stops me.

“Let’s save it. I got what I needed. When I’m with you next, I will be inside you.”

I flush in his arms, light headed and dazed.

My wrist com pings and I pull away to read a message from Taylon.

“Admiral Sysko contacted the lab. You should come down here immediately.”

“I have to go,” I tell him.

As I turn away and head back into the library, he follows me. I can feel his frustration at my abrupt departure, but keep going. He grasps my arm and turns me toward him.

“Joon, wait. What is it?” he asks.

I shake my head apologetically. “My brother Admiral Sysko D’fray contacted the lab. I need to go.”

“Why did an Admiral contact your genetics lab?”

“I’m not sure. Sysko is leading the fight against the Archon Empire at the edge of the galaxy, preventing the cyborgs from incorporating other civilizations into their collective. Sysko hasn’t been home since I was a little girl. I haven’t heard from him in quite some time.”

“Let me take you to the lab,” Donte offers.

* * *

When we make it to the lab, I lean over to plant a kiss on Donte’s lips. “Thank you for earlier, Donte. I wish I didn’t have to run off like this. I never had an experience like that with a man before. Thank you for understanding why I cut our date short.”

“I am here to help you, Joon.”

“I feel like we needed more time together.”

“We will have our time, dear one. Today was special for me too. It was the first time I tasted my mate. The first time of many. We will share many moments of passion in the future. It is something to look forward to.”

I kiss him again and hop out of his speeder. I'm greeted by Taylon and we walk into the communications room where I see my brother Sysko’s face on a widescreen above the meeting table. My brother recognizes me immediately.

“Joon,” he says. “Finally.”

“What is it, brother?” I ask him.

“Your area of expertise is genetic synthesis,” he states.

“Correct. Genetic Synthesis is the leading theory in the search for a cure. I’ve done countless trials with female Zoha genetics in the past six months. Before that I used genetic samples from five other races in the Galactic Collective.”

“I have information I know you will want to hear.”

“Tell me,” I say, sliding into a chair beside Taylon.

We are the only two scientists in the room, and I feel that something important is coming, something none of us anticipated.

“We were fighting the cyborgs in an uncharted system at the edge of the galaxy. The Archon attacked a small blue-green planet called Earth. It is inhabited by a species that calls itself human. The Draxos defended Earth and the humans. After the battle, we scanned the information systems of the primitive planet. In our search, we found some very interesting components in their genome.”

“Components in their genome? Please explain.”

“My science officer scanned the databases of the humans, and found a recessive dragon gene in their sequence. He believes this commonality could make the humans compatible with the Draxos.”

“Compatible? No species in the entire galaxy has been found to be compatible,” I say, dumbfounded.

“There is already a recessive Draxos gene in the humans’ genetic pool, unlike all the other races. We believe that there is a connection between the Draxos and ancient humans.

“I need your help, Sister. Fragments of our history are scattered throughout our systems. I beg you to search for a reference to our connection to the humans. It will give us insight into how to begin our breeding program.”

“Breeding program? Already?”

“We’ve concluded there is a strong probability of compatibility. However, it is still not clear how breeding might happen between humans and dragons. Computer simulations of standard reproduction have had negative results.”

“Would a Draxos even want to breed with a human?” I ask, wondering what they look like. “Are they attractive to you?” Sysko uploads images of humans and they fill my screen. They look weak. I frown.

“These humans are interesting. Their females are small but beautiful,” Sysko says.

“You desire these humans?” I ask.

“I have participated in the mating tournament many times and have never thralled. It is the same for most of my comrades and brothers. We all deserve a mate and hatchlings of our own.”

“You are right, brother…” I say.

“I must leave you now, sister. I will contact you again soon. Please keep me informed of your progress.”