Page 32 of Dragon Me Through Space

“We chose to be in a group together,” he answered. “Though, I guess it might have been a little bit chosen for us by our parents keeping us close together through our adolescence and our shared status.”

“Why stay in groups when you could travel across the galaxies to find any female of a different species to mate with? Aren’t you diminishing your chances of success?” There couldn’t have been that many females who would willingly mate with a group of males instead of a single one, could there?

“That’s part of what all Dragonkin are in search of,” he said. “The one who fits our group and wouldn’t seek to split us up. Our group is different, though we’re looking for our …” He stopped talking, a deep frown on his face as he realized he’d been about to give me more information. Turning away, he opened a bag of frozen, shredded cheese. “Put this on all the pizzas.”

Dammit, I had been so close to getting more information.

“Do you have any booze on this ship?” I asked. “A drink always makes dates better.”

He quickly turned towards the fridge. “Been on many dates?” he asked as he moved things around inside, searching for what I’d requested.

I laughed and shook my head. “No. I’ve actually only been on two and they were both boring.” Though, they had ended with me getting laid, which had been the entire point of them, so at least successful.

Zeke returned with two brown bottles and twisted the caps off before handing me one. With a soft smile he said, “Well, let’s hope third time’s a charm.”

I clinked my bottle against his and returned the smile. “I’ll drink to that.” I took a tentative sip and immediately a large gulp. “I don’t know what this is, but it’s delicious.”

“It’s called a seltzer, these ones are strawberry,” Zeke answered. “It’s one of my favorite drinks.”

“Are you sure there’s alcohol in this?” It didn’t have the usual bite I associated with alcoholic drinks. Looking down inside, I gave it a sniff, but still didn’t get any hints of alcohol.

He laughed softly. “Yes, I am sure. Now, let’s continue making our pizzas.”

We added a few more toppings and he added even more to a few of them. “We aren’t certain what you’ll like, so I thought it would be better to make a few kinds for you to taste.”

The giant Dragonkin was incredibly thoughtful.

“How about another round while we wait for the pizza?” I asked as I shook my empty bottle. The first drink had me feeling a little tipsy, but definitely not drunk, so I was fairly certain I could drink another.

“Okay,” he said and grabbed two more.

We stood in silence for a bit before he broke it.

“How old were you when you left your planet?”

“Ten,” I answered. “My parents heard rumors of the Exostalons planning an attack and sent me away in secret. Not even a week later, the planet was destroyed.” My life along with it.

Absentmindedly, I reached up and played with my necklace through my shirt. Zeke noticed, but said nothing, turning slightly away to take another drink.

“I’m surprised you weren’t betrothed already,” he said. “Most royals on other planets sell their daughters off as political pawns once they hit ten years of age.”

“Actually, that’s what started the war,” I admitted.

“What?”

Exhaling harshly, I looked up at him, meeting his eyes. “I was betrothed to the Exostalon prince, but when we found out they were awful people who only viewed women as breeding machines, my mother broke it off. She apparently set up some other betrothal, but didn’t tell me about it before the Exostalons killed her.”

“That’s why you can’t go on their planet,” he whispered. “Because either they’ll kill you or force you to complete the marriage.”

I nodded and looked down at my hands. “I probably shouldn’t have told you that. Now, you can use it to get the king to pay you for me. Pretty sure he’d pay you a large sum.”

Zeke set his bottle down and stepped in front of me, pinning me between him and the island. I had to tilt my head way, way back to look up at him. His fierce face worried me and I felt my heartbeat increase. He set his hands on either side of me atop the island and bent down to look me directly in the eyes. “We will never sell you. It seems like you’ve had to deal with that often, I can understand why you fear it, but we will never do that. I swear it on my life and the lives of my brothers. If an alien took control of one of my brother’s bodies and they tried to sell you, I would take you and flee. I won’t allow anyone to take you from us. Do you understand?”

No. Not at all. I didn’t understand them at all. Why were they so adamant that they wouldn’t sell me? Why did they talk to me like I was important to them, like I was a treasure of some kind?

“Do Dragonkin covet shiny things like the story books say about dragons?” I asked, my heart in my throat.

He smirked. “Possibly. Why?”