Page 62 of Dragon Me Through Space

“Wait, if you were sent to search for me when my planet was destroyed, does that mean you haven’t been home since then? For, what, ten years?”

They all nodded.

“I’m sorry. You’ve probably missed so much.” I lowered my eyes to the table and felt regret, even though I knew it wasn’t my fault.

“We’ve been able to stay in contact with our families,” Wayne said. “So, we haven’t missed all that much.”

“Still,” I whispered.

“Over the next two weeks, we will be teaching you as much as we can about Dragonkin culture, our planet, our society, our rules. We want to ensure you know as much as possible before we land. Knowledge is power, especially there.”

My eyes widened and my head rose to look at him. I’d wanted to ask about their planet, so this was even better.

“Knowledge is extremely important for the royals especially,” Gage said.

“Wait, if I’m betrothed to all of you, does that mean none of you can become king?” I asked.

Preston smiled. “Each of them will be king of their regions while the leader of the quartet becomes the High King.”

“Which means you’ll be High King?” I guessed.

He dipped his head in acknowledgement. “Yes.”

Knowing Preston was a prince and the leader who would become High King, his calm and collected, sometimes condescending tone, made complete sense.

“And you’ll be High Queen,” Wayne said with a smile.

“High Queen and Queen?” I asked, confused.

“No, just High Queen, but you’ll be mated to both a High King and Kings,” Zeke corrected.

“Our parents lucked out by only being in pairs, but the rest of Dragonkin society form quartets to find a mate,” Wayne explained. “So, it was decided that our society would still keep a High King, Preston, and we would retain our titles as kings of each region. It will ensure that every region is properly cared for while the High King focuses on Drakorantia as a whole.”

“So, you’re separated by cardinal directions, by territory or region?” I asked.

They all nodded.

“Each of our regions specializes in something separate,” Wayne continued.

“Let me guess, the Western Dragonkin are known for their military prowess?” I asked as I looked at Zeke.

He nodded, completely stone-faced. “Yes.”

Gage set our plates of food before us and we ate in silence.

I barely noticed my food as my mind spun a trillion lightyears a minute trying to process this new information and what lay ahead of me, but I did manage to eat it all.

“I’m going to the jungle room,” I announced and headed in that direction while they whispered behind me.

Instead of getting into my hammock, I sat on the table and resumed working on the bracelet that I’d started with Wayne. “Scout, replay,” I ordered.

Scout replayed the video it had recorded of Wayne showing me how to make the bracelet.

“Stop,” I ordered when I had watched the part I needed and resumed working on the bracelet.

“Done!” I gasped when I had finished it, but my smile quickly melted into a frown as I inspected it. “It’s so ugly.”

Groaning, I set it down and grabbed a new leaf to start over.