Mal stalked back and forth in front of his office wall screen.

Launch statistics scrolled across the screen. The locations of the shipments. Their estimated arrival times on Draconis. Pre-launch meetings with their retail spaces. Influencer coverage.

He hadn’t seen Cheryl in days. He hadn’t slept in as long.

Their rank was so far down the list they could never rebound, to say nothing of charting or reaching the top spot. And yet, he had nearly killed himself to make it. Never had it been more important. Never had he needed to succeed more than today.

“Mal.” Amber came to a stop behind him, startling him. Her hair was out of place as if she’d just arrived from flying. “You’ve done all you can.”

“There is still more to do,” he growled. He must do something. Something.

“If there is, we’ll handle it as we handled the launch.”

His siblings had assumed responsibilities with flair and skill he hadn’t realized they possessed. Several times he started on a problem only to realize one of them had already resolved it. Not only Kyan or Jasper but Amber and Alex and even Pyro.

During the next launch, he would check before going off to resolve problems on his own.

“Go to your future wife,” Amber said.

He should. In a few hours, their goods would reach Draconis markets. The freighter was circling the main planet now, requesting port inspection. Soon, their influencers would leak the first pictures of the new products to the hungry public.

Cheryl had been put off long enough.

He wanted to be near her so badly the craving for her was starting to overtake his back itch. He wanted to be with her even more than he wanted to burst free his dragon wings. And he hadn’t wanted anything that badly. Not since he was a youth desperately seeking recognition, validation, his place in the world.

But the other part of him was terrified.

What if there was a crisis? What if the number one rank was within their grasp and something went wrong? Something only he could resolve?

From the moment his mother had refused to acknowledge him, he’d thrown himself into work. Perfecting his scores so everyone would need him on their team. Perfecting his studies so everyone would need him during exams. Perfecting his military record so everyone would need him in their unit.

He couldn’t leave the launch now. He had to be needed.

Mal retreated to the easy answer. “Her art show isn’t for two hours. This is our final launch. I will see it to the end.”

Amber’s delicate brows drew together. She was normally so careful to remain expressionless. “Maybe this isn’t the end. Maybe it’s the beginning.”

“Of?”

“I am sorry it’s ending,” she said. “I’ve enjoyed seeing you every day. After this ends, I still want to see you.”

What?

He focused fully on her. “Why?”

She smiled. “Because I like you.”

Amber just… liked him?

“I’ll be sad if I can’t see you anymore. So come up with a good new company idea. Okay? And we can all stay together, here, just like this.”

His throat closed. He didn’t know what to say.

Of all of them, Amber had autonomy. A female dragon had only to select a rich, worthy, aristocratic male for her mate and she could go anywhere in the Empire. The rest of them had to scramble and find a landing place.

Amber didn’t need him. She’d never needed him. He only invited her to join the company because he was inviting everyone else and he didn’t want her to feel slighted. Her agreement to come had always mystified him. Especially since, although she questioned his judgment sometimes, she’d never tried to take over.

“I want to see you even if there’s no company,” she added.

He cleared his throat. “You can. Anytime.”

“Good.” Her smile faded to her normal, quiet expression. “Go to Cheryl.”

He wavered hard. “She hasn’t summoned me.”

Her eyes glowed. “Mal. You know she’s not a dragon female.”

For the second time, someone was reminding him of this. Cheryl said the same thing. “Yes. Obviously.”

Amber held his gaze. Careful, in her way, to make her point but not over-intimidate. “Cheryl will never summon you like a dragon female. She is a human woman. You must listen to her as you would listen to an equal.”

He growled. “What’s your point?”

“You must respect her wishes.”

His anger darkened. For the first time, his attention left the launch and focused only on his sister. “When have I disrespected her wishes?”

“Do you not know?”

He thought hard.

“She will not overpower you with flames and claws. Consider her desires. That is your respect back to her.”

With those words, Amber left the office.

What did she know? Had Cheryl confessed disrespect? When? How? She had not ripped Mal’s head off, either in the way he was used to or in the human meaning of the word. When Cheryl raised her voice, it did not hurt his ears in the least.

Mal resumed his pacing. He could raise his voice and summon the rest of his siblings for their opinions. Kyan was monitoring the building for any last-minute sabotage from Sard. Alex had queued up the communications room in case of a dire emergency.

Pyro was in his office. He couldn’t stand to watch Mal pace. He’d had to leave just to keep from pummeling Mal into a heap.

Regarding Cheryl, Mal intended to make her happy, of course. He did that in all the ways he knew how: by provisioning her with a lair, by pleasuring her body, and by attempting to impregnate her with the dragonlets all females desired.

But… Amber was not entirely wrong. Cheryl kept demanding something odd.

She kept asking for his time.

Not for riches. Not for an aristocratic position. She would be pleased for him to simply be at home with her. Spending time together. Doing nothing at all.

Odd. Strange. Unfathomable.

And impractical.

Still, he would visit her art show today. Perhaps Amber was correct. Perhaps he should go soon.

The itch in his shoulder blades grew.

Just a little longer.

Perhaps he could afford a short honeymoon. She had demanded it and accused him of not following any human marriage traditions. So, after their argument, Mal had consulted a human male. Darcy had laughed hysterically, and then he had explained all the ways the dragons had misunderstood the proposal traditions. A honeymoon was essential to a strong marriage.

“For what purpose?” Mal had demanded.

“For spending time together.” Darcy had smiled at him like he was an idiot. “Why else?”

Humans and their free time.

But, perhaps… It wasn’t that Mal didn’t want to spend time with Cheryl. No, he had to actively fight the soul-bending impulse to spend all his time with her. Locking her up with him for eternity would not be a bad fate.

He couldn’t though. Spending too much time with her was extravagant. Decadent. Above him.

Aristocrats spent all their time with their loved ones. Mal was the son of a brimstone miner. Death would come for him before abdication of duty.

And yet Cheryl didn’t care about his status either. Aristocrat? Low class? Outer Rim dragon? She preferred him. She wanted to spend time with him.

Just like Amber.

They both wanted to see him.

Mal wished to spend time with them, too.

What if he could have those things?

The urge pulsed in his shoulder blades. It drove into him like a knife.

What if he was needed not because he worked hard and earned love, but because he was loved just as he was? Cheryl had told him. How many ways did he need to hear this to finally believe it?

Mal turned to the glass shaft. Yes, he would fly to Cheryl now, wherever she was. They would spend the rest of the day together. His siblings would handle any problems from the launch.

He opened the window. His back shuddered.

“Mal!” Alex raced into the office. “You’re still here. Come to the communications room. Hurry!”

Mal left the shaft and flew after Alex. His brother shimmered, leaving the ground as he raced along the hall. “What happened?”

“Our sales are being embargoed.”

“But we made the deadline to use the ports!”

“We did use the ports. Our products made it to retail outlets. But across the whole surface of the planet, our stores are closed down.”

“What?”

“Empress Horribus stopped all sales. She found out you’re not going to marry her.”