After that, she started to play tag with him.
She turned toward Yr-el, and he kissed her. “It was a very good first shift, Styra. You should be pleased with it.”
“I am. I just forgot that the area is lined with monitors and video devices. It wasn’t at the forefront in my mind at the time.”
He grinned. “This moment is being broadcast to every elder with any kind of descendants who are capable of a shift. They will be begging Mbrak for an introduction, but if they are wise, they will simply send their best.”
She chuckled. “Is that your classification?”
His eyes were bright. “I am an opportunist. Just lucky to be close enough to Blue Station when he called. I figured it was worth an introduction; I just wasn’t expecting to be exploited by a computer glitch.”
She smiled. “And I wasn’t expecting to have to kiss you and then you again to wake you, but it seems to have worked out.”
“I needed you, you needed healing, and now, I wake you up with kisses. It has all come full circle.” He kissed her hand and then stroked her cheek and started a kiss that had some of the humans around them giving off scents of heat.
Styra whispered, “Is that what I smell like?”
His eyes widened, and he laughed, “No, you smell like peaches and roses. The stronger the scent, the deeper you are in your heat.”
“Ah. They smell like sweat and musk.”
He grinned. “Yeah, they do.”
Styra nodded. “Okay, sense of smell is kicking in. Huh. Who knew that that would come after the full shift and wings?”
He laughed and hugged her. “The order of things that you are involved in is peculiar, but that seems to be the way that you go through life. I now stand forewarned.”
She smiled. He smiled, and the party got going.
* * * *
Yorath the Gold was sitting on his throne when the projection of the newly mated pair completed. “How many of these cobbled-together dragons did Mbrak have?”
His assistant bowed. “Close to two dozen, Your Imperial Highness. The exact number is unsure. He will not respond to our queries.”
Yorath looked at his assistant, and he snorted. “You tried to ask for one?”
“I thought it would be a good idea to bring them here and let you pick one as mate, Your Imperial Highness.”
Yorath smiled. “It does not work that way. I will send a note to Mbrak, and if he has a suitable descendant for me, he will let me know. It is a good thing, in general, though. I am very pleased with the new arrivals. Human body-born drakes are less powerful, but they are faster, so we shall see what becomes of him and his station.” There was time. That was the one thing that Yorath had in abundance. If one of the new couples had daughters, that would work out as well. There was plenty of time, and suddenly, many more drakes were on the horizon.
He smiled. He did love moments of change in history, and he was watching one.