Octavia went back to her apartment and began packing her things. She was going to run away. As far away as she could possibly get. She had failed to convince Joss to listen to her about the needs of her city and her people. She could not stand to watch the last vestments of New York be turned into Joss’s dystopian vision.

She knew that her friends back at the camp would miss her, but she couldn’t face the shame of her failure. Everyone had been counting on her from day one. As soon as the reconstruction council had begun, she’d been a primary member. After she had been mated with Joss, her new mission had become convincing the Draconians to build a better city. She’d failed in that, too.

When she was finished shoving her things in her bag, she made her way to the door, hoping she could slip out of the building without anyone noticing. She’d get a ride on one of the barges that came across the water and make her way out of the city forever. Just as she stepped in front of the door, it slid open. Joss walked through and stared at her with the strangest expression on his face, somewhere between pain and insanity.

Octavia took a step back, terrified of the look in his eyes. Was he angry? She didn’t know what he was capable of. He’d already shown her that he was willing to disrespect her to the very core of her being.

“What are you doing?” he asked, looking down at her bag.

“I’m leaving,” she said, lifting her chin up defiantly toward him.

“I deserve that,” he said.

His words took her aback. He deserved it? Something had definitely changed. Had he come to his senses? She didn’t want to stick around to find out. He’d been a massive prick the entire time they’d been together, and she wasn’t counting on him changing in any significant way.

“Well, sounds like we’re on the same page,” she said, stepping around him to the door.

“Before you leave, please allow me to apologize to you.” His words were labored and pained. She turned around and looked at him. That was different.

“Go ahead. Apologize,” she said, gripping her suitcase handle.

“I should have listened to you from the very beginning. You understand things about human culture and civilization that I will never understand. You are also an expert in your field, and I have belittled and devalued your expertise. It was not only disrespectful to you as a human being, it was also disrespectful as a Draconian. We value expertise, and I did not value yours.”

“I’m listening,” she said, setting down her suitcase. Was he really coming around? What had happened?

“I would very much like to see your plans for the new, New York City,” he said.

She smiled brightly, excitement bubbling up from her chest and spilling over into her face. His expression crumbled, and he lurched towards the couch where he collapsed. She darted toward him, suddenly feeling concerned for his health.

“What’s wrong?” she asked. “Are you all right?” She put her palm to his forehead, feeling his fevered skin. “You’re burning up.”

“It is the mating impulse,” he stuttered. “My dragon is punishing me for my actions, for my disrespect of my bride.”

“Is there anything that can be done?” She had heard that Draconians would lose their minds if they did not claim their brides. She had never heard that they would become feverishly sick and collapse for disrespecting them.

“I do not know. It is highly uncommon for a male to disregard his bride as I have you.”

“Why have you been such a dick?” she asked. Maybe it wasn’t the most appropriate time to ask that kind of question, but she couldn’t keep the words inside. He mouthed the word dick, looking up at her with confusion.

“I assume you are questioning why I have been so unkind to you,” he said, his voice soft and distant.

“Yeah,” she said. She wrapped her fingers around his hand and held it in her lap. Now that he was coming around, her own feelings were beginning to throb and burst in her chest.

All this time, she had been resisting the emotions that had been building for her from the first day they met. He’d been such a jerk, it had been impossible to even like him, let alone love him. But now, the fate that had brought them together was making itself known. She felt softer towards him. She wanted to help him. She didn’t want to fight anymore.

“A long time ago, when I was a young man, I loved a girl. She was a Draconian like me. We both came from high-ranking families in the Draconian government. We were in the same social circles and spent most of our youth together. Our feelings were mutual and we loved each other.

“Though it is frowned upon by Draconians, we had a love affair before we came of age, before the mating impulse could show either of us who our fated mates happened to be. We both believed that when we came of age, the mating impulse would begin for each other.

“Alas, it did not. When she came of age, her mating impulse came for another man. He was an older, wealthy man with a high ranking position in the government. His mating impulse began for her as well. She left me without a single word, without a single goodbye. Though we had broken Draconian custom, I had believed that we had meant something to each other. She still meant something to me, but I meant nothing to her.”

“I’m sure you still meant something to her. Isn’t the mating impulse super strong for Draconians? She probably just couldn’t resist it,” Octavia said, patting his hand.

“Perhaps you are right,” he said, sighing. “I had never thought of it that way. I was hurt. From that day forward, I resented the mating impulse. I believed that I would never find my own mate and was destined to be alone for eternity. When Commander Or told me that I had been entered into the mating lottery, I scoffed at the idea of being mated with a human. I had lost my Draconian love, a woman I had idealized for decades. How could I possibly settle for human?”

“I thought you were turning over a new leaf,” she said, snorting.

“Turning over a new leaf? You mean changing my attitudes about humans?”

“Yeah, it’s just a saying.”

“I am changing. I have been a fool, a ridiculous fool. Humans are vivacious, beautiful creatures. You are a beautiful creature, my human bride. I beg that you forgive me for my idiocy and my inappropriate treatment of you,” he said, looking down at his hand as she stroked it.

“Do you really mean it?” she asked. She wanted to believe that he could really change. She wanted to believe that all the sacrifices she had made for her people were worth it. And even more than that, she wanted to believe that she and Joss could really be meant for each other.

“Yes, I mean it,” he said.

“You aren’t just saying this to get in my pants are you?” she said, with a laugh.

“I will prove it to you. Come with me to my planning office. I will show you exactly how serious I am.”

He stood from the couch, seeming to be a little less shaky on his feet as they walked towards the door. She followed him down the hallway to his planning office, where his assistants were still gathered around the table, waiting for him. They looked at him with questioning expressions, most of them betraying how intimidating he must have been to work for.

“There’s been a change of plans, gentlemen,” he said, taking his seat at the head of the table. He offered Octavia a seat beside him and she took it. His fingers began to flick across the holographic screen and the blueprints that hung above the table disappeared. A map of New York City and the area’s debris spread out over the table. He briefly explained to her how to use the controls on the table.

“Now, show us, my beloved mate, how would you redesign New York City?”

Her heart leapt in her chest and started doing a tap dance. After everything he put her through, this was finally happening. She suddenly felt a wave of apprehension. Were her ideas really any good? Maybe they were ridiculous. But she drove those fears away and began to draw out a rough sketch of her plans for the new, New York City. It took into consideration what the old city had once been, but at the same time, it made for greater use of public transportation, walkability, public spaces, and open areas where people could gather and recreate.

The team of architects around the tables watched her with rapt attention. Several were shaking their heads and scratching their chins as they inspected her plan. She looked up at Joss and could see by the expression on his face that he was impressed with what she had to offer.

“I see where you’re going with this. It is a very human design, but our cities on Draconia are not altogether different from what you are proposing. It was backwards and foolish of me to expect to turn your grand old city into a Draconian colony. Let us work together to create an advanced and beautiful city that both Draconians and humans will be proud to live in.”

Octavia breathed a massive sigh of relief, her heart fluttering triumphantly in her chest. For the rest of the afternoon, Joss, Octavia, and the entire team worked to put together plans for the reconstruction of the new, New York City. By the time they were done, their collaboration had created something so monumentally beautiful and functional that it could truly be called utopian.

It integrated human aesthetic and the human need to walk rather than fly with advanced Draconian technology. All of the poor planning of previous centuries was swept away and the space had been turned into something that represented the great bright future Draconians had promised.

The team celebrated their triumph and began to plan the removal of debris throughout the city so that construction could begin while leaving Central Park intact. She was so overjoyed that she almost forgot the pain Joss was in through the entire process.

Night began to fall. When she looked up at him, she could see the torment in his eyes. She leaned over to him and whispered in his ear.

“I think it’s time we went back to our apartment and finished what we started,” she said.

He gave her a surprised look and immediately stood, taking her hand. They left the office without another word.