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“Why is it so dark in here?” she asked. He smiled softly, clapping his hands together just once.
The roof lit up with glittering, colored trails. Azura gasped as she realized that they were star patterns.
“This room can show you the skies of hundreds of worlds as clearly as if you were standing on its surface,” he said.
She nodded. “Oh, a planetarium. How cool.” She studied the ceiling. “This is Earth. Can you show me others?”
“Of course,” he answered. “It’s like a slide show. It will keep changing over our heads.”
He led her toward the comfortable seats in the center of the room. There were cushions and blankets to keep them warm as well as platters of fried chicken, bowls of fluffy potatoes and rich gravy. Azura laughed in delight as she sat.
“You really do think of everything.”
He grinned, pushing a button at the edge of his chair. Low music began to play, enhancing the beauty of the stars wheeling over their heads as if they were completely in tune.
“What instrument is this?” Azura asked in wonder.
“It’s similar to an Earth violin,” he said. “Only much longer. You have to have three or more arms to play it properly.”
“Whoa. So, you couldn’t play it?”
“No, that’s part of why I appreciate it so much. I’d have to employ a three-armed alien to live here if I wanted live music, and they aren’t easy to hire.”
“Oh, are they unionized?” Azura giggled. He shook his head. He wasn’t familiar with the word and decided tonight wasn’t the night to ask her to explain her jokes.
Azura leaned against him, helping herself to some chicken as she watched the stars turning over their heads.
“Thank you,” she said, looking up at him. “This is just what I needed. No people, no glamor, just us hanging out together.”
He hugged her close. “I would move the stars to make you happy, and as you see, I don’t mean that as a joke. I truly will move the stars if you desire it, my darling.”
She snuggled even closer to him. “I’m sorry about before,” she said. “It’s a good thing that you and Martin have bonded. Really, it is. I was just so worried about him, and seeing him change so much was really frightening.”
“I understand,” Onyx said. Azura sighed.
“I’m not sure you do. But it doesn’t matter. I just needed some time to calm down.”
Onyx stroked her hair gently.
“I’m afraid to tell you this in case you take it the wrong way,” he said. “But Martin’s welfare is entirely my responsibility, now.”
“What do you mean?” she asked, confused.
“He’s not human anymore. He’s a dragon. He can’t go back to Earth at all. He wouldn’t fit in. Furthermore, he is now part of my flight, my family. I am his lord, and I decide what happens to him.”
Azura sat up, looking at him with surprise.
“I’m his guardian, his sister. I’m in charge of him. It’s not like I can just stop caring about him.”
“I know,” Onyx said reassuringly. “What I’m trying to tell you is that the legal systems of Earth don’t get a say in Martin’s life anymore, and he can’t go back to his old life. He has a new one now, and he has already shown me complete respect and fealty. He is a worthy dragon prince, and he will be treated as such.”
Azura’s eyes were wide as emotion built in her. She was clearly excited for Martin but still afraid.
“But … I have to care for him.”
“Not anymore,” Onyx said firmly. “He’s not a baby. You aren’t his mother. He has a purpose now, and he is becoming a man. As his lord and protector, I am responsible for him from now on.”
Azura sagged against his chest, relief flooding her. He knew she’d been too young to take on the care of a teenage boy, to raise him on her own. The stress had been slowly killing her, especially every time Martin acted out.
