Her Dragon Captor (Her Dragon King Duet 1)

I’m so confused I’m barely able to process any of this, but I take a stab at summarizing what he’s just told me. “So you’re saying the huge uptick in interracial relationships and the many technological advancements of the 21st century go hand and hand? The more we mix and work together, the closer we’ll come to this quantum leap you keep talking about?”

“Yes, that is the Betrayer King’s hypothesis exactly. What you free will believers would classify as changing attitudes is actually a timed evolutionary advancement as you approach your quantum age. Early drakkon are said to have had a similar evolution regarding our outer flames. There was a very long time ago when drakkon were only Red, Blue, or Yellow.”

Okay, I’m trying to keep up. I really am. But damn. “Outer flames?” I repeat, hopelessly confused.”

“Outer flames are how we refer to how our drakkon epidermises reflect the sun. In the far-off past, it is said we only reflected three colors. But now, there are green, orange, purple, and even black drakkon, thanks to the various mixings of our flame colors. In fact, though my and my cousin’s familial line is referred to as the Blue Line, our outer flames reflect a much darker blue because we have so many of these mixed drakkon in our lineage. It is understood by all that we never would have reached the age of quantum if we had not begun to mix our flames, both privately and publicly.”

“So you think our current diversity levels means were about to level up to a quantum age,” I translate carefully. “Which is what exactly?”

“This is the age when your scientists learn to manipulate the quantum field so that your species may do simple things. Like creating fating portals and vehicles capable of intergalactic space travel. Also, folding yourselves into exoskeletons as we drakkon do.”

“Oh, yeah, all those things sound totally simple,” I say with a rueful eye roll.

He regards me with another smoky rumble. “In truth, I have only a rudimentary understanding of quantum physics myself. I would compare my use of it to a four-year-old learning how to use a smart device at the beginning of the century. Once such advancement is understood and achieved by anyone, the rest of the civilization can enjoy and use it without an explicit understanding of it. In truth, I turned my attention to more physical matters like hunting and sport. I barely paid attention during our schooling when we learned about such matters. Though, I deeply came to regret that instinct after my cousin turned on our drakkon race. Without a drakkon possessing specific technological knowledge to manipulate the fating portals, we had no choice but to reverse engineer the process. This, as I’ve already told you took a very long time. Even by drakkon standards.”

“But you think our civilization is about to get on your dragon level?” I ask.

“Yes, with every century, anthros are getting exponentially closer to our quantum capabilities,” Damianos answers. “And this is why, my cousin believes his mate survived both her first birth and her second birth of drakki twins—a feat unprecedented by drakki. He told me it is well documented that after a quantum leap, many alien civilizations have problems with severely decreased fertility. Many have even died out. His professors taught him that this declining birth rate was the inevitable cost of advancement and something to battle against with the fating portals. But now, my cousin believes it might be a higher evolutionary directive from our designer to seek out another species with whom to mate. Species from other planets. According to my cousin, Golden Son was punier than most drakkon at first, but on the cusp of adulthood, he appeared as strong as any drakkon who’d come before him. Mightier even because he can choose to walk as a true human, a drakkon, or a wolf.”

“So according to Xenon, this baby and me are going to be all right because evolution wants you to mate with somebody who isn’t a drakki?” That theory sounds wild to me and crazy. But for some reason, I feel a lot more peaceful than I did before.

As if reading my mind, Damianos says, “Yes, that is my cousin’s belief, and I am choosing to make it my belief as well. The alternative…even the thought of it is too much to bear.”

A huge wave of grief washes over our mate bond as he says this, and I suddenly feel like an insensitive asshole. He’s putting on a brave face, but obviously, nobody’s going to get over accidentally killing their mom as the very first thing they do in life. He needs to believe this. I can’t see his flame, but I can tell my many questions are upsetting it.

“Hey,” I say, grabbing onto his arm. “If you believe, I believe. Don’t start mourning me yet. We got this.”