2

I slip into a new designer gown. The white fabric drapes over my curves, evoking a seductive aura not unlike the dress I wore to the tournament. Tonight is my big night. Officials from all across Draxos will come to congratulate me on my discovery.

I went back to work a week ago, after much negotiation with my mates. The exact components of the vaccine are still being scrutinized by a team of my hand-picked scientists at the Academy. With each iteration, we come closer to a combination that will be safe to administer to the general population. There are naysayers in the public, but I choose to ignore them. We are closer every day to curing the plague completely. The antibodies in my own blood are enough to prove it.

I slip a pair of gold hoop earrings on and leave my hair long down my back. Multiple gold chains dangle over my curves to my waist. Walking across my chamber, the long slit in my gown reveals my leg to my thigh. I'm wearing gold leaf heels that increase my height and accentuate my curves.

When I open the door, I’m met by my mates, all dressed in formal attire. They wear black jackets with a tie at the neck, dashing and delectable as ever. I miss the feeling of them in my arms. They have refused to come to my chambers since my near-death experience. It seems as if they've conspired against me to force me to remain chaste. I admit I am grumpy about it, but the party tonight should distract me from my predicament with my mates.

“You all look so handsome,” I say, going from one to the next, kissing their lips and running my hand over their lapels. Uri grabs my ass when he kisses me, and I slowly peel away, wondering if tonight is the night they’ll change their minds.

Donte offers his elbow and we all take the antigrav to the first floor. My guests are gathered in the grand hall. The hall is draped in formal banners for my house. Tables are set in a large rectangle with the main table at the far end of the room. Well-dressed guests fill the chairs and animated conversation fills the air. Servers refill glasses with merrow wine from crystal pitchers, and the scent of pasties fills the air.

The twin ice dragon crest of the D’frays is honored tonight. I’ve done my family proud. When I enter the room, the first faces I see make my heart leap and my mouth drop open.

“Mother? Father?” I gasp, running toward them at the head banquet table.

I'm wearing a lavish nanotech ballgown and prance like a child into their arms. I don't care who sees me. I haven't seen my parents in cycles, and I've missed them terribly. Especially since the mating tournament. My mother scoops me into her arms and kisses both of my cheeks. My mother’s night sky-black skin is wrinkled with age, but she is more beautiful to me than ever.

“We’ve missed you,” my father says, patting my back as we all take our seats at the head banquet table.

“Have you completed your research on the databases in the station in the Sea of Flux?” I ask them.

“We have spent three cycles there. When the asteroid tide went out, another research team arrived to take our place. After three cycles, it’s time for us to take a sabbatical,” my mother tells me.

“Most of the data is deeply fragmented and requires a great deal of manual processing to make sense of,” my father continues, his steady blue eyes revealing his pride in his research.

“But we have done good work and have recovered much of the history of the outer systems,” adds my mother.

“That is amazing, mother and father,” I say, clapping my hands.

That data is invaluable. My parents are my heroes. As much as I've missed them during this time, I would never rob them of their mission. It impacts us all. Much like my own work. But I am so happy they are here.

“But enough about data recovery,” my mother says. “Our baby girl has discovered a cure for the plague!” She hugs me tight.

“They postponed the drug trials…again,” I say.

“But you have the antibodies in your own blood,” my father says. “You’ve been cured.”

“Technically, perhaps. We will see for sure when our first clutch is born.”

If my mates ever make love to me again.

Look down the table down the main table at my mates and notice my brothers Silas and Beshard at the end. I wave at Silas when he meets my gaze. I’m so happy my brothers are here too, the spitting image of my elderly father in his youth. Looking out on the crowd, I see multiple senators, all the senior faculty at the Academy, and most of the tournament judges. I wave to Ge’ono and he lifts his wine glass to me with a smile.

Everyone is dressed beautifully and the conversation is convivial. The waiters serve my guests and we all eat a delicious feast of fire-roasted sea swine in wasp honey sauce, gow cheese cakes, and spiced merrow wine. My stomach and heart are full by the time I’ve finished eating.

After dinner, we move to the ballroom and the house AI plays uplifting classical music. Mates scoop up the few female dragons in the room, multicolored ballgowns twirling over the polished wood. Flume escorts me into a dance and moves effortlessly across the floor. I’m swept up into his graceful movements, so much more sure and swift than my own. But he holds me in his arms so tenderly, leading my clumsy steps until they seem as graceful as his. He looks down at me with those dark brooding eyes, and my heart leaps.

The look in his eyes is such a mystery to me still. I don’t know if I’ll ever get it. Being held by one of my mates this close, feeling his strong body next to mine, makes me crave the touch of their hands on my skin. It’s been too long.

My mates take turns dancing with me, and I'm lost in the steps and the sound of the music beating in my heart. Each of them dances with me in a different way. Flume is by far the most skilled, effortless, graceful, confident. Uri is bold and urgent, feeling my body as he moves me. Mika is playful and quick, spinning me around the dance floor. Donte is protective and brave, dipping me low and pulling me up to enfold me in his arms. Reese, ever the romantic, holds me close and looks deeply into my eyes as we undulate in fluid movements across the room.

“Can I have your attention?” Spensi Foro, the Academy president says. “First, I want to thank Joon’s mates for arranging this important celebration,” he says, raising a wine glass. “Joon, we at the Academy want to commend you for your work on the antidote for the plague. There is still more testing to do before it is ready for the general population, but all signs point to a cure. We all have much to thank you for, Joon. You single-handedly discovered a cure for the plague. Not to mention your work with Admiral Sysko in the breeding program with the human species. Joon D’fray you have saved the Draxos from destruction. We all owe you a deep debt of gratitude.”

My heart seizes up in my chest as his words fill the room and everyone cheers for me. I saved the Draxos? I shake my head, not wanting to think of it that way. I didn't have a choice. I had to bring life back to our people. For myself and for my children. It was as selfish as it was altruistic. But I did succeed, and I need to take that in.

“Has Sysko updated you on his situation with his mate?” my mother asks me, between orations. “We didn’t get a lot of news out at the space station.”

“The last I heard, his bride still considered him an enemy operative,” Silas says with a sly smile.

“Sysko has his work cut out for him with his mate. But humans have begun to volunteer for the mating program,” I inform her.

“I still question the wisdom of bringing another species into ours,” my mother says. “That is why your discovery is so important, Joon.”

“I wouldn't count Sysko’s humans out yet. They are the reason I was able to find the cure. The Gods mated with them long before they even settled Draxos Prime.”

“You have a point,” my mother says, scratching her chin.

My mates fill me with sweets and dancing for the rest of the evening between speeches of gratitude and congratulations from my guests.

My head is light with spiced merrow wine and by the end of the evening, I know I've never had a better, more enchanting night in my life. My mates tuck me into bed and each of them kisses me goodnight.

“Kiss me again,” I whisper to Uri, holding on to his neck.

He kisses me hard, and growls, pushing me down as he withdraws.

“Goodnight,” he growls, joining the others at the door. “I will kiss you more soon.”

I drift off to sleep, feeling utterly satisfied, grateful, and fulfilled. All that is left is to give my mates their first clutch of hatchlings.