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They released simultaneously, dropping quickly towards the earth. Madeleine shut her eyes tightly and braced for impact. Javelin used every ounce of strength in his legs to spring up, catching air before his enormous wings extended fully and flapped with enough force to propel him up with lighting speed. He tucked his head in time for Madeleine to land behind his shoulders with a soft thud. “Hold on,” Javelin said.
“Beast Lightning can fly again,” a voice called out.
Her hands recognized the skin beneath her before he even spoke. Madeleine knew her dragon. She exhaled with relief when she saw June being carried by Mykos. The dragons delivered their precious cargo softly on the ground where Zara was waiting to usher them to a safe hiding spot.
Now that the women were off the ship, every dragon lined up in preparation of lighting up Captain Badeed and his merry band of scumbags. A wall of flames surrounded the ship, causing the metal to pop and weaken against the heat. Javelin’s wings flapped hard to keep him steady as he breathed a steady stream of fire until the smell of singed flesh filled the air.
Captain Badeed tried to get the ship to duck and weave, but fire and razor-sharp talons met him from every angle. He had no other choice but to try and escape through the original opening. He tried to destroy everything in his path on the way out. Light globes melted, one elevator came crashing to the ground, and flesh bled as he aimed indiscriminately. He cleared the entrance, but they gave chase until his ship crashed into the side of the cliffs. The explosion echoed throughout the structure, sending small tremors through the walls.
All that remained was a damaged, but alive tribe. Several of the dragons flew to protect the colony in case other smugglers were in the vicinity preparing for a sneak attack. One spacecraft had escaped. They could end up anywhere undetected since large parts of the planet were still unexplored. No one cared as long as they never returned.
“You flew. I knew you could,” Madeleine whispered in Javelin’s ear when he returned from the fight.
“Are you hurt? Is your belly still vibrating?”
Madeleine placed both hands on her tummy and said, “She’s fine.”
“She?”
“I have no idea why I just said that. It just … I know it’s a she.”
Javelin picked her up and held her tight, rocking from side to side. “You gave me my flight back.”
“You never lost it,” she said. “It was just waiting for you to be ready.”
As he embraced his mate, Zara caught his eye and she gave him a knowing wink. It was always within you.
Epilogue
Over the next few days, Zara prepared salves for the wounded and the tribe got busy repairing all the damage. June stayed within the cliffs to heal and enjoyed the time with Mykos acting as her willing tour guide. He helped her collect samples of every lifeform native to the structure from the moss to the dirt, and even the rocks themselves. She had also shared a gentle kiss with her suitor. Mykos believed he had found his forever mate, but he had no plans to rush her and busied himself with flirting and spoiling her with moss smoothies and bouquets.
Delilah and Lagos became the proud parents of a beautifu
l baby girl. She kept them on their toes as they learned all the challenges of raising a child who could fly at will or set things on fire with a common case of the hiccups.
Javelin and Madeleine welcomed their own daughter and named her Blitz after the German word for lightning. Beast Lightning had become a nickname Javelin could be proud of and he wanted to continue the tradition. Madeleine loved being a mother and sailed through the pregnancy, which led her to request another child immediately. Javelin was happy to comply, especially since pregnancy made his mate insatiable in the bedroom. They will not confirm nor deny ever attempting the deed with him in dragon mode.
The dragons offered unlimited supplies of moss, essentially curing the settlement of the cough and fever. Both communities agreed on a long-term plan to move the colony closer to the cliffs, and possibly inside, since co-mingling was now increasing at a rapid pace.
All the couples brought together by Zara that year gave birth to daughters. The drought was over.
