Page 59 of Possessed By the Dragon Alien
The shuttle bucked and shuddered as they streaked toward the gap in the mine field. Madrian gripped his armrests, wings folded tight against his back as he pressed into the seat’s padding. Through the small viewport, he could see Zarux growing larger—his homeworld, stolen and corrupted by the empire he’d served.
“Onepikuntil we hit atmosphere,” Razion called from the pilot’s seat. His gold-scaled hands moved over the controls with the easy confidence of someone who’d flown through hell more times than he could count. “You ready for this, brother?”
Brother. The word still felt foreign on Madrian’s tongue and in his mind. Until recently, he was alone. He’d believed himself an orphan and had been grateful the Axis had given him a purpose and a position. Now, surrounded by males who shared his blood, his heritage, his stolen past, he felt something he’d never experienced before.
Belonging.
“I don’t know,” he admitted quietly. The honesty surprised him. As a high chancellor, he’d never shown weakness, never revealed doubt. But here, racing toward what might be his death, pretense felt pointless.
Razion glanced back at him, storm-gray eyes serious. “What part are you worried about? The jumping out of a perfectly functional shuttle or the transforming into a massive fire-breathing dragon you’ve never been before?”
“Both.” Madrian’s laugh came out hollow. “But mostly the transformation. There are no instructions for this. No protocol.Fek,I never thought I’d miss protocol so much. I fear the Axis conditioning runs too deep in me.”
“It betterfekkingnot,” Razion drawled. “But I don’t think it will. You want to know how I know?”
Madrian nodded.
“Because when Lilas was in danger, when those bastards were trying to take her from me, I didn’t think about shifting. I didn’t plan it or prepare for it.” Razion’s hands tightened on the controls. “One moment I was Razion the raider, the next I was something else entirely. Something that would burn the universe to ash before letting anyone hurt my mate.”
Through the shuttle’s communication system, Madrian could hear the conversations happening in the other two craft. Ellion’s steady voice was asking Takkian how long it took to melt through the metal door when they were escaping the Slarik Arena. They had both gone through this process, but Cyprian was making jokes to ease Stavian’s nerves. The ex-Axis mine controller had also not completed the transformation. That was partly due to a chemical he’d been hit with that stalled it.
Six brothers, preparing for the most dangerous moment of their lives.
Madrian sighed. “I would do anything to protect Nena.Anything. I just wish I had some training in dragon form before…this.”
Razion chuckled. “The dragon doesn’t care about training. It doesn’t give afekabout conditioning or memory implants orwhatever else they did to us. The dragon cares about one thing—protecting what’s ours.”
“And if I can’t let go of what they made me?”
Razion was quiet for a moment. When he spoke, his voice was gentler than Madrian had ever heard it. “Think about your mate. Think about her hands in your hair, her voice saying your name. Think about the future you want to build with her. That also will keep your mind off the pain.”
Madrian looked over in surprise. “It hurts?”
Razion flashed a grin. “Like all your bones breaking at once.”
“Well.” Madrian sniffed, thinking about the beatings he’d received as an Axis trainee. “I can handle pain.”
The shuttle lurched as they hit the outer atmosphere. Warning lights flashed red across the console as the hull began to heat from friction. Through the viewport, Madrian saw the energy dome that protected Axis Central. There was his target. There was the barrier that stood between them and freedom.
“Incoming fire,” Razion reported. “Axis fighters are trying to intercept.”
Energy blasts streaked past the shuttle, close enough that Madrian could feel the heat through the hull. One caught them with a glancing blow, sending sparks cascading from an overhead panel.
“We’re losing cabin pressure,” Razion said grimly. “And the hull’s compromised. We need to jump now.”
Madrian’s heart hammered against his ribs. This was it. The moment everything they’d planned for came down to. Six brothers leaping into the void, trusting in instincts they’d been trained to suppress.
“Ellion and Takkian’s shuttle is already gone,” Razion reported, watching his displays. “Cyprian and Stavian are about to jump.”
Through the communication system, Madrian heard his red-scaled brother’s voice, tight with concentration. “See you on the other side, brothers.”
Then, silence, as Cyprian’s shuttle emptied.
“Our turn,” Razion said. He hit the emergency release, and the shuttle’s rear hatch blew open. Wind howled through the cabin as the planet’s atmosphere rushed in. “Remember—think about Nena. Don’t fight the dragon. Just let it come.”
They jumped together.
For a heartbeat, Madrian felt nothing but the rush of air and the sickening sensation of falling. He spread his wings and slowed the decent. He felt the leather go taut with the strain of trying to catch himself. He winced as the bones and tendons of his wings braced hard against the wind and fast decent. He’d flown many times. It wasn’t difficult, but what alarmed him was how the rest of his body was stillhim. Around him, he could see his brothers. All of them had at least begun to change. Takkian was nearly fully shifted already. His clothing hung off his limbs in shreds. Long green limbs stretched with power as he let out a roar and controlled his flight effortlessly.
