Dennox:

I sense Harper’s disappointment when I tell her I want to be alone, but I cannot help it.

The dragon clamored for more, demanded that Vulrux and I plunge into her soft, willing body and take her, claim her, make her ours. Until I remembered the Liberation of Kraush.

As we climb the stairs, it seems like a dam has burst in my head. Images tumble out, clearer than they’ve ever been before. I remember our ship landing in the main square of Padris, Kraush’s capital city. For the Zoraken, Kraush was a minor skirmish. Not so for the Kraush, who viewed the two companies of Zoraken as saviors. Danae was one of them. Her deep golden eyes had sparkled with gratitude as she served the hungry and thirsty troops. As the evening went on, and more pints of Padris’ finest firna were consumed, her expression had changed to lust. She’d taken my hand and led me up a set of stairs…

That memory had been wiped as soon as the Zoraken returned to their bases, but it’s come back to me. Eighteen battles. Kraush. Senish. Gaarven. The hellholes of Remousi. And of course, there was the last battle. Adrash.

It’s Adrash that I’m thinking of as I make my way back to my house. Pouring myself a cup of kunnr wine, I sit on the porch and watch the rain. The battlefield had been gray. Bodies were strewn everywhere. In death, the Zoraken lay side by side with the maroon-robed Adrashian techmages.

We’d holed up in a bombed house in the high-walled city of Karhm, waiting for reinforcements. Our supplies were running low, and three of my soldiers were badly wounded. As dangerous as it was, I’d decided to head out to the battlefield, hoping to find a med-kit among the fallen.

Someone had followed me.

A cold sweat breaks out on my skin, and though the air is warm, I shiver involuntarily as the memories unfold in my mind. I’d realized I had a shadow almost as soon as I’d stepped out, but I’d kept going, hoping to lure him or her into a trap.

I’d walked into an ambush. Six highly trained techmages had surrounded me, their staffs glowing. I’d drawn my weapon and stood my ground, prepared to die in battle, but one of the techmages had signaled to the others. “Our orders are to bring this one in alive.”

Another long-dormant memory surfaces. A gold-tipped needle puncturing the skin of my neck. Bright blue blood trickling out. The tester flashing crimson. “Draekon,” the techmages had hissed in unison. “The Zorahn scientists will pay a bounty for him.”

The next thing I remember, I’d been in the Crimson Citadel, tied down so I couldn’t escape.

A deep shudder of relief passes through me.

I had not been handed over by the Zoraken to the Scientists as punishment for crimes I’d committed. I’d been kidnapped by the Adrashian techmages.

I don’t understand why the scientists would ally with the Adrashians, and I don’t remember anything that happened to me at the Crimson Citadel, but I know one thing. I’m not a monster.

I’m now free to claim Harper.

* * *

Harper:

When I return from talking to Raiht’vi, both Vulrux and Dennox are waiting for me. “Before you start,” I warn them, “you only said I had to tell you where I was going until I recovered.”

Vulrux doesn’t crack a smile. “There’s something I need to tell you,” he says. “It’s important.”

My heart does a funny little pitter-patter. Vulrux’s expression is more serious than I’ve ever seen it. I give Dennox a sideways glance, but he looks as puzzled as I do.

“What’s going on?”

He seems to gather his thoughts. “You already know about our first mate,” he says. “Like Dennox, she was being held prisoner by the scientists. One night, some unknown instinct drew me there.”

Please don’t say you’re still in love with her, please don’t say you’re still in love with her… I don’t think I can bear hearing those words from Vulrux.  I was miserable when Tom broke up with me, but underneath the pain, I’d known that Tom wasn’t a very nice person, and I’d known, as much as I would have denied it then, that I was better off without him.

I won’t have any such consolation with Dennox and Vulrux.

“You’ve already heard that we transformed into dragons when we saw her,” he says. “And you know that when we changed, the guards didn’t know what to do. They fired at us, but our scales are impenetrable, and their weapons did not hurt us. Then, one of the guards received an order.” His hands clench into fists, his knuckles white with pressure. “He turned his weapon on the woman and killed her. The moment she died, Dennox and I transformed back to men.”

Vulrux is right; I already know this story. I’d demanded the truth from Viola, and she’d revealed everything. The surprise isn’t in the details of the narrative. The surprise is that Vulrux is telling me about it.

“I was exiled immediately after that,” he continues. “For years, I burned to know who gave the order that killed her. And then, your spaceship crashed on the prison planet, along with two people that might know the truth.”

“Raiht’vi and Beirax?”

He nods. “Indeed. Raiht’vi, in particular, wears white robes, a mark of distinction among the scientists. Only a handful of them earns that honor.”

“So you asked her?” I frown at the tall man in front of me. “I can’t imagine Raiht’vi telling you anything.”

“I didn’t expect either scientist to be forthcoming with the truth,” he replies with an oddly ashamed look on his face. “But I had to know. Not just for my sake. For Dennox’s as well.”

Dennox looks sharply at Vulrux. “What did you do?”

“I couldn’t bring myself to harm Raiht’vi. Not after what she did for Harper.” He stares at the two of us. “So I drugged Beirax.”

A shocked squeal erupts from my lips. “What?”

“I’m not proud of it,” he says flatly. “I will take the guilt of what I did to my grave. But I don’t regret doing it, and if I had to make the same choice over again, I would.”

“What did you learn?” Dennox asks intently. “Did you find out why I was there?”

“No. Beirax knew nothing about the underground labs.”

Dennox’s shoulders slump. I frown at Vulrux. “There’s more to this story, isn’t there?” I guess. “You said you wanted to talk to me. You found out something connected to us, didn’t you?” My voice rises. “Vulrux, tell me.”

“Beirax’s mission was to determine if the human women would trigger the Draekon transformation,” he says. “If he succeeded, he was to carry word back to the Order of the Crimson Night.”

He takes a deep breath. “According to Beirax, somewhere out in the jungle,” he says, “are the component parts of a Cloakship.” He looks at me steadily. “There might be a way off the prison planet, Harper Boyd. There might be a way for you to go back to your planet. To Earth.”

I stare at him, shocked and speechless.

“The Draekon mutation has made your body stronger,” he says. “If we mate, the effects will accelerate. The mutation will prepare your womb for Draekon young, and you will not be able to bear human children any longer.”

He draws a deep breath. “If you mate with us,” he concludes, “the effects are permanent.”

I look back and forth between the two men. I don’t really know what to say.