“That is big—positive—news.” The Draconians had made great progress in the six short months since he, Helena, and Patsy had arrived. “So Draco’s claim on Elementa is free and clear?”
“Yes. So, will you come?”
“I thank you for the offer, but if it’s not too much trouble, I still wish to return to Earth. My future is there.” His parents and sister were there, although, for their safety, he couldn’t contact them. After his CIA cover had been blown, he’d been given a new identity. “It’s different for you. You’re mated to Prince T’mar. Rhianna is here, and you two are very close. You’ve established yourself in Draconian society. You have ties here.”
“You have ties,” she protested. “You have me!”
“And I appreciate your friendship tremendously. However, you need to focus on your mate and your royal duties. If I stayed, I’d become another responsibility. You have enough on your plate with the transition. Since the situation on Earth is more or less normal again, it’s best that I go back.”
With distance, maybe he could forget O’ne. Meet a nice woman and settle down in the suburbs. Have 2.3 kids. Get a dog.
Eventually that prospect might hold some appeal.
“Biggs is still on the loose,” she argued.
“He’s one man, and Earth is a populous planet. If he became a significant threat, I’m sure your father would see I received a new identity.” Another new identity. This was getting to be a habit.
She sighed. “All right. I accept your decision. I don’t like it, but I had a feeling you’d go that route. You’ll have to come with us to Elementa, and, from there, we can work out transportation to Earth, determine who will provide a ship, T’mar or my father.”
“Thank you. So, I need to be ready to leave Draco the day after tomorrow?”
“Yes.”
Curious, he asked, “How many Draconians will be moving to Elementa?”
“Only about five thousand in the first thunder.”
Only?
“The plan is to keep the first group small to work out any glitches in the relocation. We need this first trip to go smoothly to convince the doubters to leave. There’s a significant minority of dragons who are refusing to leave Draco. They’ve never seen Elementa, and they’re reluctant to leave the only home they’ve ever known. That’s another reason why it’s so important for a member of the royal family to set an example by being the first to relocate.”
On Earth, it took months to move tens of thousands of troops across the globe. The logistics to transport millions across the galaxy boggled his mind.
“Once the First City is settled, relocation will ramp up. The first thunder will expand the Elemental workforce, allowing housing and other infrastructure to be constructed faster, which will permit more Draconians to relocate, which will increase the workforce, etc., etc. The royal family will transition, along with the populace.”
There were enough Draconian royals to comprise a small town by themselves. King K’rah and his queen had eight children and dozens of granddragons in addition to siblings, nieces and nephews, aunts and uncles, and first, second, and third cousins.
“What about O’ne—the priestess?” he asked. “When does she move?” He’d met the woman once, for crying out loud. And she was a priestess. A dragoness. Why couldn’t he get over this inappropriate preoccupation?
Helena’s mouth quirked. “The answer to that question is above my pay grade—everyone’s pay grade. She’s not in the first thunder—that I know. Someday she will go, but when is anybody’s guess.”
“When she does move, what happens to the Eternal Fyre? Do they snuff it out and light a new one on Elementa?”
“Oh god, no!” Helena muffled a horrified laugh. “I’m sorry. I assumed you knew. While the Eternal Fyre manifests as a flame to the human eye, it’s not fire. Not exactly. It’s the collective of all their fyres. If anything happened to it, if it were to be extinguished, every single dragon would die. So, moving it from Draco to Elementa is a major and critical undertaking.”
“And they only have one priestess protecting it?” He was aghast.
“Twelve guardians protect her, and twelve novitiates are ready to step in if an unlikely tragedy did befall her. But it won’t. She commands powers the king doesn’t have. She’s held her position for more than 10,000 years.”
“You’re kidding.” He’d known she was out of his league, but this information floored him.
“Here’s another tidbit you might find interesting.” Helena paused. “Rhianna and I are remotely related to her.”
“What?”
“She’s like our five hundred times great-grandmother. While searching for a replacement planet, Draconian explorers crashed on Earth 10,000 years ago. The priestess, who was only an acolyte then, had gone with them. They were stranded for a while, and she got pregnant by a human man. A rescue ship came, but the other Draconians forced her to leave her daughter behind. Rhianna and I trace our ancestry to her.”
“So that’s why she calls you my child.”
“She refers to all dragons as her children, but yeah, with me and Rhianna she means it literally.”
“So you have fyre?”
She held up a hand with a sliver of space between her index finger and thumb. “The tiniest little spark.”
He cocked his head. “Would you be in any danger—if the Eternal Fyre went out?”
“I don’t think so because I’m like 99.9999+ percent human.” She snorted. “But I’d rather not find out I’m wrong, if you catch my drift.”
He chuckled. “How do they move it?” On his visits to try to see O’ne, he’d seen the flame hovering in thin air in the massive round sanctuary.
Helena shrugged. “I have no idea. I doubt if they have figured out how to do it. It’s never had to be transported before. It sprang into existence here on Draco—thus igniting the age-old
