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  He smiled, and the molten gold in his eyes swirled slowly. “You chose me?”

  She snorted softly. “That is your takeaway from that?”

  He stroked her jaw and kissed her. “Yeah, it is.”

  When he lifted his head, she murmured, “What about the punching?”

  He grinned. “I can take it.”

  She leaned in to kiss him and paused a millimetre from his lips. “What about dinner?”

  “I can eat later. You?”

  She winked and eased away from his grip. She touched a panel on the wall, and the privacy panels snapped together and gave them a space of their own with a floor-to-ceiling window. “I think both would be nice.”

  She returned to his lap and smiled. “So, how would you like to proceed?”

  “I would like to re-enact the first night, but I understand that the burn was painful.”

  Habel nodded. “I still wake up in the night, feeling your tongue on my fingers. Aside from that, I would have no problem wearing a robe with a single tie and trying again.”

  His gaze brightened. “Can we?”

  She sighed. “Here, I hoped I would be getting a proper dinner out of this.”

  He nuzzled her ear and ran his tongue along the edge. “I promise to satisfy you later.”

  She shivered at the light touch and sighed. “Fine. No sex in the restaurant. Let’s go.”

  Khyran smiled and got to his feet. “Good.”

  He helped her balance and didn’t let her go until she gently elbowed him. She opened the panels and grabbed his hand, hauling him bodily out of the restaurant, calling out as she spoke, “Excellent food, Riikor. I feel inspired.”

  The elves in the public areas stared as she hauled Khyran out, and the murmurs had started before they cleared the doorway.

  “I can walk in a straight line on my own.” He was grinning; she could hear it.

  She pulled him into the lift and punched the marker for her level. “I enjoyed that. Dragging you around adds to my legend.”

  He wrapped his arms around her. “Isn’t your legend elaborate enough?”

  She laughed as the lift doors opened. “Never.”

  They made it to her door, and when she had him inside with the door closed behind them, she tried to remember where she had put that gauzy robe, and she had no idea where he was going to get one.

  She walked to Camder while Khyran explored her room. “Camder, I need a first-night robe.”

  The screen darkened and then flicked on again. “You are going to use it with him?”

  “Well, it will be off most of the time.” She sighed. “He’s your mind template.”

  “I know, but I was with you first.” He was grumpy.

  “You have had your sensors over me far more than he ever will. So, the robe? Please. I don’t want to live the rest of my life without a touch or caress meant only for me.”

  There was a whir, and the robe emerged from the closet on its support. “Enjoy yourself.”

  “I am just going to enjoy seeing what is going on.”

  He chuckled, and she glanced around before she removed her clothing and slipped the robe on. She tied the closure and walked into the living area where Khyran was examining the few items she had for personal enjoyment. They were items that her nieces and nephews had created and sent to her.

  “You are still in touch with your family?”

  “I am. All of the children made the transformation to troll successfully.” She walked over and took one of the items in her hand. It was a globe carved in stone using her nephew Havel’s first claws.

  Khyran went quiet, and she looked over at him and smiled. “See what you can get out of Camder. I have told him about my personal motivation for this, so he should be fine.”

  He was staring at her. “It’s the same one.”

  She inhaled deeply and nodded. “You are right. You are on it.”

  “We are on it. Damn. Please, excuse me. I will be back when I finish negotiating with your AI.”

  “It is your AI, and his name is Camder.”

  He nodded and disappeared for ten minutes.

  She reset all of the keepsakes on the table behind her couch. After that, she went to the snack dispenser and got a tray with a teapot and a teacup without handles. The tea wasn’t the same kind as that night, but it was a close approximation.

  She carried the tray into her bedroom just as Khyran turned away from the extrusion module, and he tied his robe.

  “Where are your wings?”

  He smiled. “I am holding them in.”

  She waited until he stepped away from the closet and then walked around him. “Where are you holding them in, exactly?”

  He chuckled and turned to her. “None of your business.”

  Habel smiled and knelt next to her bed platform. She tucked the robe under her knees and sat with her hands folded in her lap, her hair rippling down her back. He walked up to the edge of the tray and knelt facing her. She smiled and said, “I thought this would play out with less of an urge to giggle.”

  “Perhaps pretend that it is that first night all over again, and open your eyes when necessary, closing them when you feel like it.”

  She blinked slowly, looked at his features, and then she closed her eyes and poured the cup of tea. Habel held the cup to him, and he wrapped his hands around hers. She looked into his eyes, and the urge to giggle faded. He easily drank the scalding hot tea, which raised other questions, but when he released her hands, she set down the cup and put her fingers on the tie. He put his fingers over hers, the tie opened, and the fabric slipped from her shoulders.

  With the bright light of the day shining on her skin, he pulled her into his arms, his own robe fell away with her help, and they relived her first night with full knowledge of both parties aware of the other.

  This time, Habel saw the light streaming out of her skin in a burst, and the feelings running through her eclipsed any embarrassment that she had felt. Khyran didn’t seem upset by her reaction to his focused attention. In fact, he set her off a few more times.

  Lying with him as the evening light faded, she put her hand over his around her waist. He pulled her closer, and she felt like he was trying to fuse them together.

  “I can’t believe that I waited this long to say something.” He sighed. “It is a good thing that we have centuries to continue this.”

  She chuckled. “Who says I want to do it again?”

  He leaned in and licked the point of her ear. “I will just have to work on my persuasive skills.”

  She shivered. “Uh-huh. I look forward to your efforts. Do you think Elder Monathian will have a comment on it?”

  He smiled. “That young pup will have to discuss it with me first. By the way, have you managed to make your own orb?”

  She paused. “You know about that?”

  “Of course. So, did you?”

  She leaned back against him. “Sort of. We had to craft a rig of five different orbs before they stopped exploding, so we went to nine for safety. My brain patterns, knowledge, and energy patterns have all been recorded for future generations to examine. I even had to write out the complete history of Habel Trollblood. As I learn, Monathian makes me add chapters.”

  He whistled. “Nine. Even dragons only take three.”

  “Whatever I am, I am complicated, but the world made me for a reason and shaped me for a purpose. I help those I can and comfort those I can’t. It’s a good way to spend a long life.”

  “What would you do if you weren’t here?”

  “If I was an elf and not the troll I was born to be, you mean?” She chuckled.

  “I think you were born to be just as you are. Just as I was. We all take our shape in time.”

  Habel laughed. “This is a serious conversation for a moment like this. Isn’t it?”

  “I don’t know. I have never wanted to stay wrapped around a woman for decades before.”

  “Don’t you have somewhere to take your train?�
�

  He chuckled. “The sirens are staying until tomorrow in the guest quarters down below.”

  She smiled. “That is one of the better initiatives. Guest quarters so that they can stay overnight, and the occasional shenanigan occurs with the single members of the parties.” She chuckled.

  “Is that how you would classify this?”

  She inhaled slowly and exhaled on a “No. This is different. This I feel in my soul, which is a very un-elflike thing.”

  “Don’t worry about it. You are as you are meant to be. I am not complaining.” He had a smile in his voice. “The first time I saw you on the platform, I was shocked. The elves, they are like carved marble. They are beautiful and beautiful together, but they do not mix with others. You? You jump in, take hands, and take action. That is not a very elf-like behaviour. It was amazing to see. You shine so brightly, even when surrounded by those whose illumination dazzles.”

  “I thought you were just impressed because I don’t get out of the dragons’ way.”

  “Or anything else’s way. That is definitely part of your charm.” He licked the tip of her ear again.

  She squirmed. “Stop doing that.”

  He nuzzled her neck. “Why? I finally have you where I have been imagining you for decades.”

  She wove her fingers through his. “Enjoy the moment. That is all we really have anyway. Well, we have a lot of moments available to us. Do you have any idea why you became a dragon?”

  He chuckled. “I wasn’t born a dragon. I was born human just like you were. Then, I became something else, and then, I became a dragon. It was not a fast process.”

  She was stunned. “You transitioned again?”

  “All of the dragons did. We were all something else before we became dragons. We aged into it.”

  She squirmed in his arms to face him and propped her head up on her fist. “You were all elves.”

  He nodded. “The memories are blurred, but yes, we were. When elves get old enough and have an urge to wander, they leave. If they can make it on their own long enough, the change begins. When the change starts, we find them, take them in, and help them through it.”

  “What about the women? The dragons I have seen have all been men.”

  He stroked her hair and sighed. “We don’t know. We only find the males because their transformation resonates. The females who go out simply disappear, or they become medics and educators in other communities.”

  She made a face. “That sucks.”

  He chuckled. “The pearl sheen in our skin darkens to carbon, we gain an affinity for the tunnels and the stone underground. New Pangea is our domain, and the stones of the ancient continents are our playground. I would love to take you for a tour of the tunnels and introduce you to races you have never seen.”

  Habel sighed. “You would be surprised at what kind of races came to trade at the troll settlement.”

  He kissed her forehead. “I would be interested but not surprised. I expect exceptional things from you now. Ever since that day that you flew over the heads of the assembled delegates, I stopped being shocked and decided just to enjoy the moments of your attention that I could gather.”

  “You have my full attention now.” She grinned, stroking his neck and shoulder with her hand.

  “But I will have to take the sirens back to their coastline tomorrow. It means that I don’t know when I will be back.”

  She smiled. “Whenever you come back, I will be here.”

  “In that case, I am going to make it my business to return often and frequently.”

  “And, no more sending personal requests to my AI. He is a people pleaser, and since his mind is yours, he’s also been trying to convince me that some of the barely there outfits are suitable for daily aerobic wear.”

  He smiled. “What’s wrong with that?”

  “I am doing a lot of combat with Nerion. It would shred to pieces in seconds.”

  Khyran frowned. “Right. I hadn’t thought about that aspect of it. Nerion has enough of an interest in you that I wouldn’t want him near you if you were unclothed.”

  “Not your choice but appreciate the frankness.” She continued to stroke him, her hands left his neck and shoulders, and her touch roamed to less-safe portions of his anatomy. The recreation of their moment was over. Now, it was time to create new memories. She got very creative.

  The next day, they accompanied the smiling sirens back to the platform for their return to the coastline. The lead couple of those wearing feathers and claws couldn’t help smiling in the lift.

  Khyran asked, “Good night?”

  The matriarch chuckled. “There was this glow, and then, we felt like we had just met each other again.”

  The patriarch smiled. “The years just fell away. I don’t know what it was, but it was magical.”

  Khyran was snickering. “You have visited before. Has it ever happened?”

  The matriarch shook her head. “No, we will just consider it a blessing from the tower.”

  The patriarch chuckled. “And we may visit again soon, just to see if it happens again.”

  Habel studiously counted feathers on the siren in front of her once Khyran’s smug expression became evident. When the lift doors opened, they walked out laughing, the couples firmly connected, and the others walking with slight smiles on their lips. It was at that point when she realized that the elves would follow their impulses with any race that was willing.

  They walked them to the train, and as they settled in their car, Khyran looked at Habel. “I don’t want to leave you.”

  “Good, but I feel the same. Come back when you can and send me a message when you are on your way so I can make the time to greet you properly.” She pressed a hand to his chest and felt the thud of his heart with his vest in the way.

  He leaned in, and they kissed before he left her, climbed into the train engine, and he and his cargo slowly dragged off into the darkness.

  Habel turned to return to the lift, and Elder Monathian was standing in the doorway. “So, you two finally got together with full disclosure.”

  “If that is what you want to call it.” Habel smiled and skirted the elder to get into the lift. He huffed and followed her.

  “It had to be him?”

  She shrugged. “I am not inclined toward anyone else. I have tried to be seduced, the seducer, be romanced, be companions who find the other attractive. All elves are attractive, immortal, and most don’t understand what it is to see change in the world and embrace it. Seeing and being part of that change is a very sexy characteristic.”

  He groaned. “It is like hearing a sibling talking about her true love.”

  She laughed. “That is what I am going for.”

  Monathian stopped the lift and looked at her. “He won’t be here often. You know that, right?”

  “I know. It is probably for the best, considering the side effect of our getting together is contagious.”

  He winced. “You know about that?”

  “I haven’t forgotten from the first time. I came out of the ritual room, and everyone I saw had soft and goofy expressions. Niika and Ibera explained to me that when it had happened, it had been a fun and hot wave that ran through them, and they found partners who were feeling the same thing.”

  He sighed. “You know what this means, right?”

  She glanced at him. “I have a fairly good idea. Do you want to say it out loud, or shall I?”

  “I am not going to say it.”

  Habel went against everything she had ever done before, and she hugged him. “Good. Then, we know I am not going to stay here forever.”

  He exhaled slowly. “You are too big for this place.”

  “On that, we definitely agree.” She chuckled. “Now, push the button, and let’s get some pastry. This is too serious a discussion for this early in the morning.”

  “Fair enough. Lobelli is doing wonderful things with fruit and cream lately.”

  She cackled. “Does everyone
know my favourites?”

  “Pretty much, yeah. We talk about it when you aren’t in the room.” Monathian got the lift started again.

  “Of course, you do. I would expect nothing less. I am the most fascinating thing to hit this tower in centuries.” She grinned.

  He laughed, and they were still laughing when they picked up the lovingly made pastries, sitting in the public dining area, and looking at all of the couples and groups who had a satisfied glow on their features.

  Monathian shook his head. “You see what you did?”

  “I didn’t do it alone.”

  “The dragons have intertwined for evenings with our population before. Nothing like this has ever happened. I would have remembered it.”

  She chuckled and glanced around. “From the sudden outbreak of love bites if nothing else.”

  He snorted. “It is a good thing that there are no other races here to witness this.”

  “Ah, well, the sirens are going home with funny smiles on their lips.”

  He laughed. “Their memories of this place will fade as they travel. That is what the dragons give us. They keep us legends.”

  She blinked. “But my family...”

  “Ah. That. Your ties to them are stronger than whatever it is the dragons do, but your entire settlement is protecting the knowledge of your origin. I would not have thought that the trolls would be so proud once they got used to the idea.”

  She sat and sipped at her tea, looking at the elves around her coming out of a pleased stupor. “Trolls are a fierce family race. We are born into a hostile world where the species that surround us think of us as threats or food. It isn’t an easy situation, and it shapes the people who live there. They are hard, rough, aggressive, and tough, but once they accept you as their own, they are intensely loyal.”

  He smiled. “I thought they tried to kidnap you on your changing night.”

  “They did, and I reacted accordingly. After that, the communication and interactions have been getting warmer over time. The presents that I send to the settlement don’t hurt. Trolls don’t bite the hand that feeds them.” She chuckled.