Yes, it would, I send back strongly. It would be a terrible thing if he stole someone.

Are you unhappy being my mate?

I don’t reply. What can I say? If I say I’m happy, I’ll lose any chance of going back to Fort Dallas. I’ll be abandoning Amy. But I can’t lie, either. It’s not that simple, Kael. I need to go back to the city.

Why? Are you not taken care of? What is waiting for you there? Possessiveness and jealousy tinge his thoughts.

My sister and my best friend, I tell him, and picture both of their faces in my mind. I know you won’t understand, but they need me. They can’t survive without me. I have to go back to the city, because I have to go back to them.

They will be safe with a dragon as a mate, Kael tells me. Shall I let Dakh know of your friends?

No! Don’t tell him a thing! My sister and Sasha don’t have to mate someone! They can come live with me. With you. In our apartment. It’s got plenty of room.

They cannot live with us. They would attract every male from sunrise to sunset, and each would fight over the privilege of having a mate. We cannot have that at our home.

I feel sick to my stomach. Amy can’t come? Sasha, either? I can’t leave them there, Kael. I can’t. Help me.

Then let me tell Dakh I know where he can find a mate. Do you understand how treasured they would be?

I think of Amy, imprisoned. I think of Sasha, selling herself to a brutal soldier for a few meals here and there. Perhaps a dragon mate would be an improvement.

Dakh would love and care for a mate, as would any male.

Oh god. I hate that I’m even considering this. I don’t know…I can’t decide for them, Kael. It still has to be their choice to take a mate.

Then perhaps we should find them and offer them the choice.

I have mixed feelings about that. I feel like I’m betraying my sister and my best friend…even though it would save them. If Dakh treated Amy or Sasha as well as Kael treats me, it would be hundreds of times better than our hardscrabble life back in Fort Dallas. They would be safe, just like Kael says. No dragon attack would ever threaten them again. No soldiers would, either.

And they’d both probably hate me forever for selling them out.

I don’t know what to do. I hesitate and glance over at the strange gold dragon. His eyes are less black than before, and as I look, they swirl to amber. Sanity. Happiness. The mere thought of a mate is enough to bring him out of the madness.

And as long as I save Amy and Sasha, I suppose it’s the right thing to do. They’ll be safer with an overprotective dragon than the gun-toting soldiers of Fort Dallas. But I still feel a little sick at the thought.

Over and over, I feel like I’m betraying my people. Ironic, since they betrayed me first.

28

CLAUDIA

We return to our tower later that night, and Dakh accompanies us. Kael gently sets me down and doesn’t transform to his two-legged form, but instead flies back up on one of the walls and sits next to Dakh, two brilliant and deadly golden bodies gleaming in the moonlight. I work on reinforcing my flight equipment while the two dragons talk, and try not to feel weird about being left out of the conversation.

At least, I think the dragons are talking. The place is silent, the two dragons perched high atop the broken walls, roosting like crows. Every once and a while, I’ll catch a flash of thought from Kael’s mind, and every so often, he reaches out mentally to me, as if trying to re-center himself. I send him affection back, and I get muted thoughts of pleasure before he drifts away again.

So yeah. Talking. I know something’s being said, but I’m not privy to it.

I’m a little uneasy that Dakh followed us home, because now he knows where Kael and I live. I suppose there’s nothing to be done about that. Dragons have an extremely keen sense of smell, and I bet he’d be able to pick my scent out of the air from miles away. I frown at that thought, looking up at the dragons from the swim goggles I’m adjusting on my face. Hey, Kael?

Yes, my mate? The thought is a purring snake that slithers through my mind, full of pleasure and possessiveness. It practically makes me blush, since I can practically guess what he’s thinking.

If you can smell me from a distance, how is it that other dragons have not figured out that there are a bunch of human women in the city and haven’t claimed them for their own?

The human hive stinks, he replies. His wings rustle, the leathery lengths catching in the breeze as he drops to the floor next to me. In the next moment, Kael drags me into his claws and begins to nuzzle my neck with his snout. They do not smell good like you do.

I squirm against him, trying to slide out of his grasp. If you’re going to get frisky, you need to change forms.

You are mine, and I like the smell of you. His snout trails across my shoulder blades, and I feel his tongue flick across the back of my neck in a sensation that makes me shiver. But I cannot frisk you now. I will not claim you until Dakh has gone. You are mine and mine alone.

I stop trying to slide out of his grip and let him snuggle me. I stroke a hand down his long nose instead, trying to get his mind back on track. So the human city smells? Bad?

Some bad. Some good. There are too many scents to pick out. They bleed into one another and make it impossible to find individuals. The smell of humans drives the females especially wild.

I nod, thinking of the frequent dragon attacks. They’re more often than not instigated by the red dragons. The golds are less frequent. So women are safe as long as they stay in the city.

You say they are safe, yet you wish to bring your sister here. If she is safe, why will she come to us? I am the enemy.

I let my hand play along the hard scales of Kael’s chin, stroking them as I think. I was in trouble in the city. They want me to come back so they can punish me, so they are holding my sister hostage. I worry that they’re going to get tired of holding her and do something worse. I think of the guards in the city, with their grabby hands and smug, superior ways. I think of Sasha’s ‘friend’ who likes to use his fists in exchange for a few bites to eat. A woman with no power in Fort Dallas was a woman in danger, and there are plenty who will take advantage. It’s for the best, I tell him. Trust me.

Now I just have to convince myself of that.

I will do whatever makes you happy, my Claudia.

I gaze up at Dakh, who still perches above us. He watches me like a hawk, his gaze covetous as he looks down on me, nestled in Kael’s claws. And him? Is he going to behave?