What if she has family on this planet? Someone who misses her? A…mate? My blood heats at the thought as I stalk through my lair, looking for Maez.
But no…I have not seen two-legs like Charlie on this planet. Small, with pale-colored skin and no claws, fangs, or scales. She is…different.
I will ask her at the first opportunity.
I have been good to the female two-leg. I have kept her safe. Without me, she would die on this planet. She may not want to be here, but she will stay.
I will protect her, and she will keep my loneliness at bay.
Chapter Five
Charlie
Time passes. Now that Dragix can switch between forms, he takes me down into the lair whenever I like. I spend hours relaxing in the hot pools, while he disappears to do who knows what.
We haven’t spoken about his family, but now that he’s remembered what he refers to as his “two-leg form,” he spends more time in it. I’ve seen him wandering through the huge rabbit warren inside this mountain, his expression lost.
Maez has made herself scarce. She ensures I have everything I need—including soap, a comb, and even long strips of clean material cut into pieces for when my period arrives.
Dragix has given me what used to be his sister’s room, so I tuck my makeshift pads into one of the huge wooden chests that passes for my closet. I stroke my hand over it, wondering about the woman who used to live in this room, who slept in the large bed in the corner. Dragix seems to realize that sleeping on the hard ground on top of the mountain isn’t exactly my preference, so he allows me to sleep down here instead.
During the day, I’ll often find him snoozing on the top of his mountain, his scales gleaming like fire in the sunlight. But at night, he refuses to leave me down here alone, choosing instead to sleep in what must have been a huge communal area at the bottom of the mountain. If I leave my room and peek over the side of the stone walkway, I can see him curled up like a cat, far below me.
I haven’t tried to escape yet. I’m smart enough to bide my time. I’ve done it before.
I push away the memories of Ben and climb the stairs to find Dragix.
I’m…bored.
I’ve been here for days, and I’m no closer to convincing Dragix to let me see the other women. But if I can just get a glimpse of them, they’ll at least know I’m alive. Then, maybe, they’ll think twice before they leave without me.
If they even can leave.
From what I’ve gathered so far, we may be trapped here. I’ve seen no planes, no cars, nothing that would suggest that the people here know how to travel through space. The ship we landed in… I have no idea if we’d be able to use it to leave.
The thought is depressing, but I shake it off. This is just one part of this planet. Who knows what the people can do in other parts? Maybe this area is like the Amazon rain forest on Earth, and there could even be a New York City that I just haven’t seen yet.
I snort. Right.
Dragix gets to his feet as soon as I make it up the stairs. The sun beats down on us, warming my skin, but at least up here there is a breeze to counter the sweltering heat.
“What is wrong?”
“Holy shit! You can speak in my mind? How long were you going to keep that on the down low for?”
Dragix ignores me, his tail swishing along the ground as he stalks closer.
“You are bleeding. Tell me why.”
If the mountain opened up and swallowed me whole, it would be preferable to this.
Of course he can smell my blood. He’s the king of predators.
“Um.”
He steps closer, his nostrils flaring, and then I squeak, pushing his head away as he sniffs at my hair, neck, and then lower.
“It’s my period, Dragix. Get a grip!”
He angles his head, staring at me.
“My uh…cycle. And if you could not let me know that you can smell it, that would be great.”
If I didn’t know better, I would think the dragon was embarrassed with the way he backs away, his tail lying like a dead snake on the ground.
Change the subject. For the love of God, change the subject.
“You can talk in my head? Can you read my mind as well?” No wonder he was pretending to sleep that night when I tried to escape.
“No. I am able to open a pathway to your mind, allowing for conversation. You are able to speak back. I had…forgotten. It was only when I thought you were hurt and needed to know where that I remembered I could still communicate. It happened automatically.”
He refuses to look at me. It must be difficult to admit that he’s basically forgotten who and what he is. Something aches in my chest with the need to make him feel better.
“LIKE THIS?” I shoot the words at him like bullets from a gun, unsure how much force to put behind them. I’m squinting at his head, and from the low rumble that comes from Dragix’s throat, I obviously look constipated.
“Quieter.” His voice is a low murmur. Soft. Intimate. “You are yelling.”
Oops. He no longer looks like he’s about to settle into a long brood though. Although why I should care is beyond me.
“Listen,” I say aloud. “I’m bored. How about we go for a flight? I’d love to see the spaceship that I crash-landed in.”
He narrows his eyes slightly on my face, and I keep it—and my mind—carefully blank. He could be lying about being able to read my thoughts.
And I’m desperately hoping that the other women will be hanging out near that ship.
After a long pause, Dragix nods. He holds out his foot, claws gleaming like polished obsidian,
