Chapter One – Lily

She already felt lighter than she had on Earth.

Lily knew it was ridiculous since the gravity of Bronæl was just the same as Earth's, or at least similar enough that after several days on a ship traveling between the two planets, it wouldn't have been noticeable. Lily bounced on her toes, eagerly looking around her new home as she left the ship with the rest of the women. After an excruciatingly long process of applications and examinations galore, she was finally here.

"It's so beautiful," she sighed, adjusting the backpack that held all of the worldly possessions she had brought with her. The rest of her luggage wasn't due to arrive for another couple weeks, as it was being transported on a slower cargo vessel. She grabbed the arm of one of the women she had gotten close to on the trip and giggled. "Isn't it exciting? We're finally here!"

Kristen nodded. "And there are our dragons!"

The two women squeezed each other's hands, giggling more out of nervousness than anything else. The men – Not men , she reminded herself. Dragons. Males are dragons, females are dragonesses – that they had been matched with all stood at the base of a large platform, waiting. Lily's gaze roved over them, and she found a couple that she recognized from the pictures that the other women had shown her. They were all tall and muscular, with skin covered in glittering scales and eyes that were blood-red. A few of them had hair in surprisingly human shades, but most wore their heads bald.

A group of dragons wearing forest-green robes approached them from the left and started to organize the women according to the numbers on the cards they had been given, but one of them approached her and bowed.

"Lily Hunter?"

"Yes."

"Greetings, my lady. If you will follow me?"

My lady. Lily gave Kristen a final squeeze before she followed the dragon away. He led her into a small building nearby. Her heart slammed against her ribs as the dragon she had been matched with came into view.

Was it just her imagination, or was he taller than the others? Broader shoulders, his eyes keener. They were blood-red like all the Stlozyns' eyes were, but warm and welcoming. His skin was red, so red that his eyes blended in with the rest of his body, and he wore robes that were the blackest color she had ever seen. Her hands started sweating as she stopped a few feet before him and sunk into a graceful curtsy.

"Lily Hunter," he greeted and took her hand. He bowed over it. "I am pleased to meet you in person. I am Eyrl, prince of Bronæl."

"I am honored," she replied.

"The honor is mine."

He kept hold of her hand. To her surprise, the scales weren't hard or sharp-edged. They were smooth and soft. Gentle hands. Huge, though. They swallowed hers, just as he dwarfed her. His smile was so charming that her heart skipped a beat. She hadn't been certain at first how she would do, marrying a stranger and an alien. The women who had joined the program over the last couple of years all had good things to say about the Stlozyn, though, and the more Lily had looked at pictures of them, the more she found similarities between them and humans.

Plus, he was hot, scales and all. The most gorgeous man she had ever seen.

His gaze traveled down her body. She had gone with a pink silk blouse and a pair of dark slacks that suited her petite frame. He smiled. "You are even more beautiful than in the pictures I received of you."

"Thank you."

"Shall we go?"

Lily nodded, happiness bubbling in her heart as he pulled her close to his side and led her towards a small transport vehicle. The architecture all around them was stained glass windows and sharp edges, but the transport was sleek, shaped like an egg with windows.

"I'd love to see your dragon – I mean, your beast," she said, imagining how majestic he would look. Blood red, with a wingspan as big as a jet airplane. "I'd love to go flying over the city to see everything."

"I will show you the city at another time," her prince said evenly. "For now, we have to go home and meet my mother. How are you doing with your course to learn about Stlozyn history?"

"The Stlozyn are a people that are descended from early anatomically-modern humans who were stolen from Earth by a now-extinct species of alien that genetically changed them so that they could transform into giant, beautiful winged beasts, the likes of which are known on Earth in myths and legends as dragons." Lily beamed at him. "In the past few thousands of years, you have developed an advanced culture, using technology from the former aliens to build your own. Your government consists of various boards covering justice, peace, scientific research, and other such things."

Eyrl laughed, shaking his head. "I didn't mean for you to recite the whole handbook. I am glad that you have taken it seriously, though. My decision to seek out a mate among humans has not been without its challenges."

Lily nodded. For the longest time, the Stlozyn and humans had nothing to do with each other. It wasn't even until the last couple decades that the Stlozyn came to Earth looking for a cure for a disease that was rendering the vast majority of their population sterile. It was discovered that even dragons and dragonesses that had been infected could produce young when paired with a human, and there were some experiments to introduce human DNA into the Stlozyn code so cross-mating wasn't necessary.

That the prince decided to take a mate from outside his species was causing a stir due to the fact that he was a dragon and would take over leadership of the monarchy at some point. The Stlozyn were fiercely matriarchal, making it difficult for males to assume positions of power.

"When will I be able to see the other girls again?" she asked, pushing aside her thoughts on Stlozyn culture. "I've made a few friends and I'd like to know how they settle in."

"Your friends are being mated to low-ranking individuals. It would be improper to consort with them in your new position."

"What?" Lily stared at him as he seated her on a soft cushioned bench in the transport. She hardly even felt the moment they started to move. "You can't be serious. They're my friends. Who is it going to hurt to talk to them?"

"You'd be surprised." He patted her hand. "You'll have plenty of companions in the palace. Don't worry."

The palace. Lily settled down in her seat. She was certain that she would be able to convince Eyrl to let her see her friends later. Currently, though, she just wanted to focus on all the new things coming at her. A palace. A prince. She snuck a look at his from under her lashes. When would the wedding be? When would he want to start trying for children? So much to talk about.

When they got to the palace, it didn't seem much different from the rest of the buildings she had seen. It was made of blue glass and twisted up and round like an icicle or a unicorn's horn.

"I'll take you to your room so you have a chance to freshen up," he said as he led her from the transport. "I hope you like it. I had it redone to be similar to an Earth home."

"I'm sure I'll love it." She squeezed his arm and laid her head on his shoulder.

The dragon gave her an odd glance but smiled as they continued.

Lily gasped when she stepped into her 'room.' More like an apartment. A greeting room opened into a carpeted living room, with a kitchen to one side, a bedroom to the other, a bathroom attached to it. She ran to it and squealed to see a tub big enough for her to float in. A half-bath with a toilet sat off the living room, and next to it was a small library. She continued to squeal with happiness and danced around the room, unable to contain herself.

A dragoness with white hair and blue-green scales entered in after Eyrl. When she saw Lily she gasped and rushed over to her. Her hands shot out, grabbing Lily's shoulders, and forced her flat on her feet.

"My lady! You can't act like that. I know you're human, but you have to keep such emotional displays under control." She clicked her tongue and shook her head. "Nobody wants a masculine queen consort."

Masculine? Belatedly, Lily remembered that here males were considered ill-suited for positions of power because they were thought of as too emotional and quick to violence. She glanced over the dragoness's shoulder at Eyrl with a raised brow. He seemed unsurprised by the accusation.

He joined them and took her hand. "Lily, meet your maidservant, Zaner. Zaner, this is Lily Hunter." He glanced at where Zaner still held her down. "I must ask that you remove your hands at once. She is not your child."

Zaner released her, lowering her eyes. "I apologize."

"It's okay," Lily said. "It's going to take some getting used to, though. On Earth, at least in America, where I'm from, men are seen as the rational ones and women as too emotional. I don't like being told to hide who I am, though."

Zaner glanced at Eyrl again, as though expecting him to laugh or something. When he didn't, she curtsied to him. "Your Highness, please excuse us. The human needs a proper cleanse and I am sure she would be more comfortable to bare herself to you when passion is permitted."

Lily folded her arms over her chest, heat rising into her cheeks. Were they really this forward? She didn't speak, though. She'd had enough training on the way out here to know that this was going to be her life. Zaner probably wouldn't think twice about her nakedness.

Eyrl kissed Lily's hand, making her giggle. "I'll see you soon."

"Good."

She watched him go, admiring the way his large frame looked in his robes. After the door shut, she let out a sigh and turned back to Zaner. The maidservant circled her, tutting under her breath, and at last shook her head.

"It's not my place to disapprove of the prince's choices. You look sturdy enough for a human. You've got good muscle definition. But you are human. Not quite right for… Well, it's not my place, my lady. Now, take off your clothes. I will do the best I can to prepare you for this world. It is far different from yours."

Lily sucked in a deep breath and started to undress, unnerved by Zaner's stare. It certainly was different, but that was half the fun. She had always wanted to travel. Now she could explore a whole new world.