Dragon King's Alien Queen

Chapter 7

Glacian was shocked. Five languages? Drakians only bothered with their own language. With the communication drives, there was no need to learn multiple. Maybe that needed to change. The implications of what speaking different languages could accomplish wasn’t lost on him. This group was obviously intelligent. He couldn’t help but wonder just how much. And for his mate to be their leader?

His gaze moved back at Kiera. His Kiera. It was a nice name. Her voice was soft and gentle. Well, unless she was setting him straight on something she thought he was doing wrong. With her features and voice combined, she gave the impression that she was delicate. But he had already seen snippets of her fierce personality.

“My fangs don’t bother you?” he asked her. With other survivors, he had always been careful not to show his fangs. His height, build, teeth, and, of course, his dragon, had intimidated them. Frightened the women and children. Not this group though. He was beginning to think nothing frightened them.

Kiera shrugged one shoulder in a ‘why would it’ gesture. “You are a different species. There are going to be differences.”

“Mate not judge,” his dragon purred, impressed and already a little obsessed and infatuated with their mate. “Mate get better and better.”

Glacian completely agreed. It was a good quality to have in a leader who would be helping with any future survivors. On second thought, scratch that. He would never allow her around unknown people who had the potential to harm her. He would only allow her near them after he had assessed whether they could be dangerous.

The dragon inside him shook his head. His Drakian side would have to learn the hard way about handling a mate. He was interested to see how it turned out. He was sure their mate was stronger, smarter, and more dangerous than the oaf was giving her credit for.

Rokk stepped forward, inwardly grinning. His king was already gazing at his mate like a lovesick youngling. This was going to be so much fun watching his king try to catch his mate. Unlike Kittra, this female had substance. She valued herself, did what was in the best interest of those she cared for instead of always putting her own wants and needs first. That was the kind of female that the kingdom, and especially his king, needed. Many had noticed his temperament of late changing and not for the better. His temper was shorter, his patience almost nonexistent. Yes. They would all benefit from this alien female being here. He just hoped his king could woe her into staying and taking the role of queen. From the indifferent look she was giving his king, it was going to be a merry chase.

“We are having rooms prepared in the castle until other arrangements can be made. I took the liberty of having some food prepared. I was not sure of what you can eat, so I ordered a variety. If you would please step into the transport, we can be on our way. If you have need of anything, you have only to ask.” Rokk bowed slightly. This lovely female was going to be his queen. She deserved his respect.

“Thank you, Rokk. If you are sure it is no trouble? We can make camp on the outskirts of your city if we need to. We don’t want to put anyone out.” Kiera said. She liked this dragon. He had manners unlike a certain other dragon.

“It is no trouble, my queen. It is always a pleasure to see to any of your needs.” He bowed slightly again.

Kiera was already shaking her head at his address of her. She wasn’t queen. His or any other.

Shaking himself out of his daze, Glacian held his hand out gesturing for the group to proceed him before she could protest the title Rokk had used. She would need to become accustomed to being addressed by her station. Once they were all seated and their packs safely stowed, he joined Rokk in the front.

Looking around the shuttle, Kiera was impressed. It was small but surprisingly spacious. There were two chairs in the cockpit, but the section she and her crew were in could easily hold ten people comfortably. The top was a clear dome so they could view everything that passed by them as they flew. She knew they would be using those once they left the ground. Knowing your environment was a large part of survival. Her gut was telling her that she needed to take notes. She never ignored her gut instincts.

Kiera watched Glacian go as he went to sit with Rokk in the front. She could feel the attraction between them. It was difficult not to. She couldn’t allow herself to get close to him. She couldn’t, wouldn’t, just bow down and let him dictate to her. It wasn’t in her. It would be interesting to see how everything played out. He would either accept her for who she was, or he wouldn’t. She wouldn’t change herself for anyone. She liked who she was. The fires of hell had already scorched and reformed her once. She didn’t see the point in going back.

Her pulse jumped in exhilaration as the engine of the shuttle purred to life. This is why she had joined the exploratory program. The danger, the unknown, never knowing who she would meet or what obstacles she would have to overcome. The adventure made her feel alive like nothing else ever had. It was what made their little group work so well. They were all the same.

She looked at her crew, grinning foolishly. They were all doing the same.

“Let the adventure begin,” she said as the five of them fist bumped as the craft took off.

As soon as the transport lifted off, all five of them were glued to the dome. The trees were nothing short of amazing. It wasn’t just the height and the color but the incredible width of the trunks. This planet was not facing the issues that Earth had been. On Earth there were very few if any trees left. These trees looked like they had never been touched. They stood tall and proud, almost majestic. Just thinking about what kind of wildlife they were sheltering was enough to get the explorers in their blood pumping.

The further they flew, the landscape changed to rocky mountains. Every so often they would notice cave openings in the rock. They caught sight of several large hairy creatures with six legs moving over the rocks and assumed that these were the creatures living in the caves. They weren’t close enough to get any other features of the animals.

During the trip, the team quietly discussed observations and distances. How some of the caves could be used for cover or maybe the large animals for food and supplies that they could make for their benefit. Always keeping in mind to make sure they preserved the population. They talked about the terrain and how to best go about getting across it safely and quickly. Ways to camouflage themselves, if the need arose. The most worrying part was that they could see very few sources of water. That was something they would need to figure out. Her team were chattering away to each other with their observations. Rokk kept looking back in fascination. Glacian looked on in annoyance. More than likely because they were speaking different languages again. Poor dragon man.

They had been flying for about forty-five minutes when the last mountain was finally past and forests, fields and buildings came into view. They weren’t the monstrous skyscrapers that littered Earth’s many cities but small village type dwellings with a market type area in the center. Getting closer to the mountain cliff, it became apparent that the castle was built into the mountain itself. It was large with several wide, spacious balconies. There were people and dragons everywhere. Some people were carrying items while others were helping the dragons who were delivering and picking up different cargo. Everyone was going about their business and barely paying attention to the transport landing near the front stairs of the castle. It made sense. This transport didn't look any different from the others flying around.

Looking at all the people, Kiera noticed that they all seemed to be Drakian. Sure, they were all different colors of the rainbow but they mostly all had the same body build and mannerisms. The women were just as tall as the men. The only difference in the two were that the females’ faces were slimmer, their waists more tucked in and their chests were only slightly more developed. All the Drakians had tails and there was no one in the immediate area that didn’t have one. So, if all these people were Drakian, where were these other survivors that Glacian had spoken of?

There was also a definitive difference in the way they were dressed. The soldiers wore the same leather pants and vests that Glacian and Rokk were wearing. Others were wearing what appeared to be leggings with tunics. Males wore vests over the tunics and women didn’t. The women wore a slim type of belt around their waists. There was a difference in class, but they were all converged together. Some laughing together while others were just talking. There didn’t seem to be any animosity or superiority between the two. It just worked.

The landing was smooth, giving testament to Rokk’s skills as a pilot. Kiera’s fingers actually started itching, wanting to try her hand at the controls. Maybe she would be able to get Rokk to give her some lessons on how to pilot one of these. She made a mental note to ask him about it later. As the back ramp lowered, they all stood and grabbed their large bags from the storage area.

Glacian and Rokk came from the cockpit area and headed down the ramp. As they came to the bottom, Glacian turned, smiling.

“Welcome to East Balaur,” he said proudly.