Page 17 of Dragon Me Through Space

“No,” Preston said. “If they knew, we’d be hunted and used as weapons in wars we don’t believe in.”

I sat down hard on the chair as my legs gave out and exhaled. “What have I gotten myself into?”

“So, you are royalty and⁠—”

“Was,” I corrected. “I don’t have a planet to rule over. Or people. Or a crown.”

I missed my tiara.

I missed a lot of things from my previous life. My parents most of all.

“How did you not suffocate out there?” I asked. “Or freeze to death.”

“Dragonkin have higher body temperatures, due to being able to create fire at will. So, the coldness of space doesn’t affect us. Plus, our scales are very hard. Also, we can hold our breaths for a very long time,” Wayne explained, a tablet back in his hands. He clearly had an affinity for technology, since he was always glued to it. “Our bodies are designed to handle space for short periods of time, though we haven’t dared test the extent, we know we can survive at least five minutes out there.”

“You four continue to surprise me,” I whispered.

“And you continue to cause us problems,” Preston said. “So, how about you tell us how many people are after you?”

“Quantifying that is very difficult,” I mumbled. Tapping my lips as I thought, I finally answered, “Half of the universe?”

“Half of the … universe?” Wayne asked, eyes wide as he looked up from his tablet to meet my gaze.

I shrugged and tried not to smile. “I traveled a lot.”

Preston threw his head back and laughed. “Oh, pet, you are so intriguing.”

I smiled wide at him. “Thank you.” Though, I wasn’t sure how I liked him calling me “pet,” but I wasn’t going to say anything about it right now. They hadn’t sold me or given me up, which was more than I could say for ninety percent of the beings I’d met over the last decade.

“We should get some rest. If what she says is true, we will probably run into trouble at the next planet we travel to, too,” Gage said.

I walked out of the bridge and muttered, “It’s not my fault people keep trying to sell me and I escape. I doubt you would want to be a slave either.”

“No, we would not,” Zeke replied, a growl slipping out after his words.

I looked over my shoulder with a scowl. “So, Dragonkin have even better hearing than most know about, I see.”

He shrugged.

Wonderful. I needed to be better about keeping my thoughts in my head.

“What’s the most you’ve been sold for?” Wayne asked.

My entire body tensed and I stopped walking, my eyes fixed on the doorway before me. “Why? You said you would never sell me.”

Gage came up to stand before me, stepping back far enough that our eyes could meet, and said, “We will never sell you. There is no amount of money that would convince us to sell you.”

I arched a brow. “You four seem awfully confident of that. You say it with the amount of conviction I would assume you would use when talking to your mate.”

He smirked. “So, you are interested in mating with me?”

A snort escaped before I could stop it. “That is not what I said.”

“I’m sorry,” Wayne said.

I turned to face him.

He continued, “I’m not great with social interactions and often say things that aren’t appropriate. I didn’t mean to upset you or make you think I was trying to find out so we could consider it. We are not slave traders. We would not sell a being to another. Ever. I was just wondering since the Bolsan on Porantine had offered Gage so much, if there was an even higher amount you’d been sold for before.”