“Have you noticed that most of the tribe is female?” The dragoness asked.
Damon couldn’t help but laugh. “How could I not?”
“Doesn’t that strike you as unusual?”
Now, Damon frowned. “Um, maybe? I’m not very experienced with dragon culture, and Sky said most of the males died out over the last two hundred years.”
The female snorted. “More like the last two.”
“Wait, what?”
“And ‘died out’ isn’t quite accurate,” the dragoness continued. “After all, I’m still very much alive.”
This got a stare from Damon, who took in the female’s sleek form, her shimmering bronze scales and slender curves. Nothing about her looked masculine in the slightest. “You’re male?”
“I was. That changed when Sky and his gang took over. It all happened so fast. One day, he challenged our leader for dominance right out of the blue, unheard of for one so young and immature. The two of them faced off in the traditional way and said a few words. Then, without even letting out a single fireball, our leader submitted to Sky, surrendering his title in an instant. After that, the two simply flew back to Sky’s cave and disappeared inside for a while. Minutes later, Sky emerged again, escorting a beautiful young female that he handed off to one of his friends to be his mate. At first, we didn’t make the connection. The idea was just too absurd. But when the leader failed to return, we suspected foul play. Challenges are allowed, but murder is strictly forbidden. So, in outrage, more dragons challenged Sky, sometimes confronting him in groups right outside his cave. Each time, however, after a short conversation, they would surrender and accompany him into his home, only to be replaced by more fertile females for his gang.”
Damon felt her stomach go cold. “The spell.”
The other dragoness nodded. “We figured it out soon after, and the challenges stopped. It made no difference. When we stopped challenging him, he started approaching us, commanding us to come to his cave. And for some reason, we would always agree. Having gone through it myself, I can say that some kind of magic makes every word that he speaks sound perfectly reasonable, which would explain how he won every challenge just by talking. Anyway, we would do as he commanded, get turned into young females, or in the case of actual females, simply return to prime breeding age with a few enhancements. Then, we would allow ourselves to be impregnated by one of his friends and return to our lives. Only then would we question our actions, but it would be too late to go back.”
“Why didn’t any of you leave?”
“Oh, many did. But Sky would chase them down and tell them to come back. Once he made a public speech forbidding us to run away, nobody else tried. We all became submissive and obedient overnight. In the end, the entire tribe was converted into mates for Sky’s group. And as if that wasn’t enough, now he goes patrolling for solitary males to add to his harem.”
“Like me and Thoren,” Damon said numbly.
“That’s right. He pretends to give you a choice to find a mate from the tribe, but it’s really no choice at all. Your answer will always be the same, and you become like the rest of us.”
“Why does he do this?” Damon demanded.
“We don’t know,” one of the other females sighed. “It all seems like ridiculous overkill. An entire tribe of females for seven males?”
“You mean six,” the first female corrected her.
“Six?” Damon wondered.
“Till now, Sky has never mated. He’s always let his friends take all the females. Until now.”
Damon blushed. “Why me?”
“That’s what we’d like to know. Does this mean some kind of plan is coming to fruition?”
Recalling her initial hesitation to mate with Sky, Damon shuddered. Had her instincts tried to warn her? But Sky had said not to worry. He sounded so nice, and he treated her so tenderly, bringing her pleasures she had never imagined possible in her previous life. I even thanked him, she thought, suddenly feeling like throwing up. “I need to get out of here.”
“No!” The bronze dragoness nearly shouted, making her jump. “Please, you must stay and help us find out what Sky is up to. Where did he learn that spell? How is he controlling us? What is he up to? And is there a way to stop him?”
“Can’t you do it?”
“He never comes near us! And his gang will never talk. You’re the only female who’s been given access to his cave. Besides, he would only drag you back here if you try to escape. This is the only way any of us can free ourselves from his rule.”
Damon thought this over.