Shay,” she said, swooning into his arms.

They held each other on the couch and looked out into the expanse of space outside the windows. Ella felt her heart ache for Shay’s kingdom. He was two hundred years old and had ruled his land for a hundred and fifty. Now, when he’d gone out to rescue her from the danger of the Mulgor, he’d lost his kingdom. She felt guilty, but Shay wouldn’t allow her to feel that way for long.

His tender kisses and comforting words were enough to soothe her mind and heart over the last few days before they made it back to Galaton.

When they arrived in orbit around the terraformed planet, Ella’s stomach clenched with excitement and anticipation. Finally, she’d arrived home. But they still had so far to go before they were done.

The water lords still had to be overthrown before she and Shay could finally settle down and start their lives together. She’d waited so long, and at the very doorstep of home, she had to wait even longer.

It just wasn’t fair. But that was the way of things on Galaton. She knew that Shay would do everything he could to defend his throne. That was what scared her the most. She feared she might lose him in the fight.

Her baby was due soon, and it would be a wonderful experience for her and her mate. But if she lost him, she didn’t know what she would do.

“Shay,” she said, reluctantly, looking out at Galaton orbiting in the distance outside her window. “What if something goes wrong?”

“What do you mean?”

“If you can’t win?”

“I don’t want to hear you say that, beloved. I will not lose.”

“I’m scared, Shay,” she whispered, leaning into him.

She’d never been so terrified. Losing him would be like losing her own life. Perhaps even worse.

“I know, my darling. But have faith.”

“I’m trying.”

He leaned down and kissed her head.

“If something happens to me, the other princes will take care of you. If you wish to stay on Galaton or return to Earth. You will be taken care of and so will my son.”

“Thank you, my mate. I needed to hear those words.”

After they packed their things, they climbed into a space pod and hurried through the expanse between the ship and the planet. Entering the atmosphere, the space pod rumbled and groaned as if it hadn’t been used in a hundred years.

She wanted to scream, but Shay took her hand, and it helped keep her calm. The feeling of his big fingers wrapped around her tiny hand gave her a sense of grounding, even as she hurtled through space.

When they broke through the atmosphere, the world stretched out below her. She saw the vast green jungles of the Fire Lands that circled around the central volcano. A plume of smoke curled in the distance.

“Salvatt, the Fire Prince, and his bride will care for you in my absence,” Shay said, kissing her hand.

“Please come back to me,” she said as the space pod began to descend onto the landing platform and landed. He helped her out of her harness, and smiled up at her.

“Try not to worry,” he said.

“I’ve just landed on a strange planet and my mate is going off to face a horde of aggressive dragons. I don’t know what else to do but worry.”

“I understand, my love. I will not tell you not to worry. It is a legitimate emotion for my human bride.”

He kissed the top of her head and helped her stand. Her seven-month pregnant belly was heavy and round, making it hard to get out of the space pod seat.

When they came out onto the landing pad, they were greeted with the fanfare appropriate for a visiting prince. The Fire Prince and his lady greeted them with their guards all around.

“It is good to see you,” Prince Salvatt said, placing his hand on his heart and bowing forward slightly as was the customary Draconian greeting.

“It is good to see you too, old friend,” Shay said with the same gesture.

“And this must be your bride,” Salvatt said, looking at Ella.

His ruddy red skin seemed strange after getting used to Shay’s blue-green skin. Ella put her hand to her heart and bowed slightly in greeting.

“This is my mate, Ella Turner,” Shay said.

“And this is my mate, Celeste Dawes,” Salvatt said to Ella, motioning to the pretty red-headed woman beside him.

She was curvy and petite, holding a pudgy, bouncing baby who gurgled at Ella and smiled. Ella cooed at the baby, wanting to hold him. It made her long for her own child who would soon be born.

“This is our son,” Celeste said.

“He’s so gorgeous!” Ella said.

The group walked into the Obsidian Palace through the high arching entrance. The walls of the entry hall were smooth and black, curving upward overhead.

Ella marveled at the sight of everything around her. The palace was a marvel of technology. Salvatt served as tour guide as they walked to a comfortable sitting room. He explained that the Obsidian Palace had been constructed during the time of terraforming for the four types of elements.

When Ella was comfortable in a well-appointed room, furnished with bold red and black furniture that reminded her of medieval Earth style, Shay turned to her to tell her goodbye.

“Do you have to leave so soon?” she said, reaching up to him from the couch where she sat beside Celeste and her baby.

“You will be well taken care of here, beloved. Prince Salvatt and his princess will make you feel at home. I will return to you very soon.”

“You’d better come back to me,” she said, standing up to wrap her arms around his waist.

“You can count on it,” he said, leaning down to kiss the top of her head. “I will be back before you know it.”

He held her close for another moment and then let her go. Ella watched him as he left the sitting room and disappeared into the wide hallway outside. Tears slid down her cheeks and she couldn’t keep them back. She collapsed into the couch next to Celeste and tried to wipe away the torrent of emotion.

“I’m sorry,” Ella whimpered, sniffling. “I must seem so weak right now.”

Celeste reached out and touched Ella’s wrist. The baby gurgled in her lap.

“Don’t worry about it for a second! I understand exactly what you are going through. When I first arrived, my mate was injured in a fight, and I thought I might die with worry. I love him so much.”

“This is all so strange. I don’t know what to do or what to think.”

“You’ve just been in space for seven months, Ella. And now you’re here, and you can’t even go home. The fact that you’re functioning at all right now is a testament to your strength. You are truly a dragon bride,” Celeste said with a wink.

Ella let out a long sigh. Celeste was such a sweet woman. Ella was more than grateful to have someone to talk to who understood what she was going through. The baby giggled and reached out to Ella. Celeste looked up at her questioningly.

“Do you want to hold him?” she asked.

“Can I?”

“Of course. I have a nanny, but I like to take care of him myself,” she said, handing her child over to Ella.

The sweet-smelling child was heavier than Ella had expected. His weight and the scent of him filled her with a heady sense of excitement and longing for her own baby. Something in her seemed to burst open and she felt her breasts let down milk for the first time.

She gasped and put her hand to the side of her breast, not fully understanding what was happening.

“What is it?” Celeste asked, surprised.

“I think my milk just came in,” Ella said with a gasp.

Then she felt her belly ache with such intensity, it almost threw her out of her seat. She screamed, and Celeste picked the baby up off her lap. Celeste spoke into her wrist holocom and a medic entered the room only seconds later.

“What is it?” he asked, scanning Ella with a medical wand.

“I don’t know. I think I’m in labor!”

Celeste paced the room with the baby in her arms. The medic picked Ella up and put her on a hover bed that a second medic brought into the room.

“I can’t be in labor. It’s too soon!” she screamed.

“We’re taking you to the medical ward,” the medic said.

They quickly pushed her bed out of the room and down the vast hallway and into an elevator. Celeste was beside her in the elevator, holding her hand.

“Shay,” she whispered. “Where is Shay?”

“Try to stay calm,” the medics advised.

“I need my mate. Please tell him to come.”