I leaned back into the couch, feeling the soft fabric envelop me. Sydney sat beside me, her head gently resting on my shoulder. Two cups of hot chocolate sat untouched on the coffee table, sending tendrils of steam into the tense air, drifting lazily as if reluctant to dissolve. A few feet away, Akasha watched from the loveseat. She held her coffee, took a sip, set it down, and leaned forward, her eyes fixed on Sydney. 

“You said you would explain your actions this evening.”     

Sydney nodded. “Yes.”     

Sydney turned and met my eyes, her gaze sharp and focused. I suddenly felt exposed, my heart racing as I wondered what she wanted to say. Involuntarily, my fingers tightened around the soft fabric of the couch, a sure sign of the turmoil that brewed within me. But the warmth of her presence calmed me, easing my nerves. I pulled her closer, wrapping my arm around her shoulders. She gave me a small, knowing smile, and a gentle warmth spread through me, relaxing my anxiety. 

A moment of confusion swept through me. Why was Sydney’s touch calming? I looked at Akasha, the question filling the back of my mind. 

“Why does your touch calm me?” I asked. Sydney blinked in surprise, a soft blush filling her cheeks. 

“Some of the runes I carved," Sydney answered, looking away. “It would be easier to trap you if my touch calmed you." 

“Remember our last time together?” she inquired gently. I nodded, smiling.     

“How could I forget?”     

“Tell me what you remember.”     

“I remember being with you. Holding you. Loving every inch of your body. Reveling in the feel of your skin against mine.”     

Akasha rolled her eyes, her lips twitching with a hidden smirk. Sydney smiled, her eyes bright with playful mischief and a hint of shared understanding. 

“What else do you remember?”     

“I remember being with you; the intensity of it was unlike anything I'd felt before.” 

“What do you remember next?”     

Akasha leaned forward, clearly interested in my answer. When I looked at her, her intense stare made me nervous, sending a wave of anxiety through me. Sydney gave me an encouraging smile, helping me calm down. I frowned, trying to remember more than just the overwhelming pleasure—something had felt wrong. My thoughts were slow and confused. I shrugged, unsure. 

“It felt amazing...”     

“What else?” Sydney pressed.     

“I... I remember my parents pulling me off of you. You were crying. Trying to hold on to me.”     

Sydney gave a sad smile and nodded. Akasha let out a sharp sound, part laugh and part something else. 

“You were both virgins,” Akasha said. We nodded. “That explains a lot.”     

“My mom dragged me out of the room. I remember you crying, trying to come after me, but my dad was holding you back. What happened? Why can’t I remember what happened?”     

Akasha laughed again. “The lust-frenzy.”     

I looked at her. “What?”     

Sydney turned to look at Akasha for the first time since we sat down. “Is that what you call it?”     

“There is no word in your language that captures it precisely. The closest is 'lust-frenzy.' It happens to young dragons when they have sex with a virgin. Minds blackout and mating instincts take control, as if they were caught in a violent storm that obliterates the sun, swirling in raw, uncontainable energy, where reality bends until nothing exists but the undeniable urge to mate. This frenzy is deeply rooted in dragon culture and lore, often viewed as a rite of passage for young dragons entering adulthood. Historically, this instinctive drive is celebrated among dragons, seen as both dangerous and sacred, embodying the raw power and chaos of their nature. Such moments are believed to carry remnants of ancient magic, a time when dragons roamed freely, and their desires were woven into the fabric of the world. The frenzy is a reminder of their primal origins, a testament to their enduring connection to the world around them that defines their existence.” 

Sydney nodded. Her eyes were distant as she turned back to me. "You were a fucking machine. Hammering into me. Your eyes had glazed over, not really seeing me anymore. Then you came, but you didn't stop. I felt your seed filling me up inside. It was amazing.”     

My eyes widened in shock. I shook my head, wanting to say something, but no words came out as embarrassment and confusion mixed inside me. Sydney put her hand on my chest, her eyes sad and gentle as she gave me a comforting smile. Her touch steadied me, and I let out a shaky breath, thankful for her support. 

“I loved it,” Sydney said, voice trembling as she gulped. "Then your parents burst into the room, wrenching you away from me. You looked lost, panicked. My insides were flooded with your seed—swirling, freaking me out. It didn’t hurt, but I was terrified by the strange newness taking hold inside me."   

Akasha nodded. “Normal reaction.”     

We both looked at her. Sydney nodded. Akasha met my gaze.     

“Your parents never told you?”     

“No.”     

“Not a surprise. I guess they thought it would upset you.”     

“Can you explain it?”     

Akasha sighed, reached down for her coffee, and took a long, slow sip. She swirled it around her mouth, then swallowed, before returning the mug to the table. Finally, she looked at us and drew a long breath.     

“Dragon reproduction has been tied to humans for millennia. We cannot breed without a human host for our babies.”     

“Why?” We both asked. Sydney chuckled and snuggled closer. I squeezed her shoulder and kissed her forehead.       

“Dragons have been around since before humanity. There was a time before Australopithecus took his first steps when mystical creatures walked the earth. Dragons roamed that world, and many other things you have never heard of. We watched human evolution. We dragons realized early on how adaptable your ancestors were. Some of us theorized that your species would take over the planet. Most of us never expected you to do what you did, but it was theorized by some.     

“Many mystical creatures started to die out as time progressed. The dragons of that age decided that if we were going to survive, we needed to be tied to another species that would adapt. Humans made the most logical choice.     

“Before those days, Dragons reproduced much like your larger lizards do now. Males and females would have sex, a clutch of eggs would be laid, and watched over. Hatching into little hatchlings that grew into Dragons.   

“Dragons evolved. We stopped laying clutches of eggs. Dragons would mate, and a baby would grow in the belly of the female, who eventually gave birth to an egg that was then watched over.”     

Akasha stopped, taking a sip of coffee. Setting the mug back on the coffee table, she resumed.     

“Back then, dragons were huge by your standards, hundreds of feet long, but they moved with a grace that didn’t match their size. You could see them gliding through the sky, their giant wings casting shadows over whole forests. Using magic and alchemy, those dragons found a way to merge their essence with humans. They didn’t have your science, but they knew things that are now lost. 

“Using magic, a combination of runic spells and innate magic talents, they could shift their bodies into the much smaller shapes of humans. Certain things did not translate well, but they could go undetected among those early humans. 

“Legends speak of ancient rituals and lost troves of grimoires that hold the collective knowledge of those alchemical transformations. Rumors tell of its last known location, hidden from the world—a place whispered about in hushed tones among dragonkind. They say it could restore the ancient ways, or perhaps forge a new path beyond the limits known today.   

“Co-mingling didn't always go well. Many dragons became enamored with humans. Mating happened—often driven by humans, eager for sex.”     

Akasha peered hard at Sydney, “You just cannot help yourselves. You want to fuck and breed until you wipe out all life on this ball of mud.”     

Sydney blushed and turned away from Akasha’s intense stare.     

“I can’t blame you. I also enjoy being with both dragons and humans.” Akasha smiled, but there was something else in her expression, a mix of sadness and hunger that was unsettling. She met my eyes and licked her lips. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been with a dragon who could truly satisfy me.” 

Akasha sat back and took a full breath. Then she continued.     

“We couldn’t breed together, so dragons changed our reproductive nature. How, I don’t know. I’d fix it if I could. I just know the result.”      

“A mated pair of dragons cannot have a baby without a human host. Our material does not mesh; it combines and dies. We need human genetic material to complete it. Something in this creates a surviving dragon baby. Maybe it was the world's magic dying out, or maybe a mistake the dragons made. We do not know. Magic has faded, and only a few things still work.”      

“Dragon babies only grow in a human womb, but a normal one can’t hold a hatchling. Their appetite is too much.”      

“Male Dragon sperm was altered. I do not understand the details, but it only works with a virgin’s body. A male dragon goes into a frenzy once he enters a virgin. He thrusts until he cums repeatedly, filling her womb with his seed. The sperm contains special properties that only act on a virgin female. As the body absorbs the material, her womb changes. The cervix thickens, and an opening forms to allow the egg to be inserted. Throughout this transformation, a mix of fear and wonder is typical for many women as the ancient, primal magic takes hold. Such moments often evoke a deep emotional response, as their connection to the dragon and the profound impact on their bodies become intensely real. It's a vivid example of how the physical and emotional become one in dragon lore, filling the air with a sense of both awe and anxiety.” 

“It changes her body. She can’t bear human children anymore—her womb is remade for a dragon, brain chemistry altered to crave her dragon mate, making her a perfect host. Although occasionally, a seemingly normal human was born from these matings, they still had dragon blood running through their veins.”     

“Dragons are stronger than humans. Frenzied mating can easily crush a partner. Many were killed; even now it’s risky. You’re lucky you weren’t hurt.”   

“Even after all that, upon reaching maturity, a baby hatchling would eat its way out of its mother. Its need for additional genetic material and sustenance would drive this.”     

Sydney shuddered, her shoulders trembling while she turned to me and buried her face in my chest. I wrapped my arms around her, patting her back gently and murmuring reassurances while meeting Akasha's gaze over Sydney's head.      

“There is an old saying among Dragons,” Akasha said, her whisper a soft breath in the room. “Virgins are only good for two things. Breeding and Eating.” 

As Akasha's words lingered in the air, their weight seemed to reverberate through the room, a shadow casting over our collective memory and intentions.  

Akasha looked me in the eye. “Your parents were trying to change that process. Create something new. Something that would have more predictable results. Where the host could survive.” 

Sydney turned to look at Akasha, tears fresh in her eyes. Akasha looked at her. There was something different in her gaze. An appraising look.     

“I saw the runes carved onto your body. They carved those.”     

Sydney nodded.     

“They were trying to see if they could have a child that did not kill its host. They wanted you to be that test subject. What happened?”     

Sydney gulped and sat up a little straighter. She looked at me with an apologetic look on her face.     

“After Ed’s mom dragged him from the room. His father sat with me. He told me he was going to help me. After Ed was gone, he picked me up and carried me into his basement.” She winced, her eyes faraway in the remembrance of the experience. “I felt the changes happening in my lower body. I felt the bones reshaping. That was when he started carving runes in my flesh. He shaved me. His fingers... his fingers became like talons that cleaved through my flesh like a knife through butter.     

“It didn’t hurt. I watched him do it, and I felt nothing. When he was done, he smiled, looked me in the eyes, and said, ‘No more breeding and eating for you.’ He chuckled then, as if he had just made a great joke. I did not understand at the time.     

“They kept me in their basement. I only wanted to see Ed, but they said I couldn’t, that I wasn’t ready. They kept scribing new runes on my body. Casting new spells. The door was locked from the outside; I couldn't get out. But all their books were left around the room. I read everything I could. Studied every book in that room.” 

“Maybe, if they had explained they were trying to save my life, I wouldn’t have been so desperate to escape. But they were so wrapped up in what they were doing...” 

Sydney took a sip of her hot chocolate. Her hands quivered when she put the mug back on the coffee table. She turned to me with tears in her eyes.     

“You must understand. After everything they did, I still had that insatiable desire for you. It wasn't just the carnal desire, but an unshakable belief in our connection and the life we could build. To feel you inside me again, to bear your children, was more than an obsession; it was an act of hope. Yet, beneath that hope lurked a shadow of fear, a niggling doubt that I couldn't shake off. The trauma of what they did, the constant reshaping of my body and mind, left scars deeper than the runes on my skin. I was haunted by the memories of their manipulation, terrified at times for what might happen. But I was also determined to find you, driven by the idea that our tie was beyond the physical. They healed my body, carved these runes into my flesh, and made me into something else, something more than I was. But more importantly, I felt a great strength and purpose that pushed me to learn the runes. Amidst captivity, this drive kept me alive and resolute. That desire for you, sustained by both love and a flickering fear, never went away.” 

Akasha laughed. “You were imprinted on Edgar. Of course you wanted him.”   

Sydney turned back to Akasha; her jaw dropped, realization dawning in her eyes.  

Sydney sighed sadly. “That makes sense. Not that it matters now.  I studied those books, found a sharp object, cut my fingers, and drew runes with my blood. When they returned, they walked right into the circles I had drawn. Trapping them.”     

Sydney turned to me, tears in her eyes. “I’m sorry, Ed. I just wanted out. But once they were in those circles, something happened. I must have drawn the wrong runes. I don’t know. There was an explosion. I was thrown through a window. When I came to, the house was gone. Everything was gone.     

“I found shelter and started writing down everything I could remember—all the runes. I was so angry and hurt. I realized that using the runes I had studied and the knowledge I had gained, I could drain your essence into myself. If I got the runes right, you would be human, and I would be something else. If I could get you to climax inside me again, it would complete the ritual.     

“But when you started singing with me, you changed it. The magic shifted. Trapped me in my own spell. You changed it from my lust and need for you to... something tender.  The spell twisted in on itself. Trapped me instead of you. When you brought me to climax and came inside me, you tied my soul to yours."  

Akasha stared at Sydney intently. “How did you know the ‘Song of Seduction’? No dragon has sung that song in a thousand years.”     

Sydney blushed. “I read about it. Then I just tried it. I wasn’t sure it would work. It just felt right.”     

Akasha laughed. Then, the smile and humor faded from her face as if they had never been there. She looked at Sydney as if she had just done something really interesting.      

“Maybe you have a little dragon blood in you. I’ve never met a human who could intone the runes like you. Where did you learn that?”     

Sydney squirmed and blushed under that intense stare. “I heard Ed’s parents speak some of them. Others, I just guessed. It felt right.”     

I held up a hand. “Whoa, wait a minute. Sydney might have dragon blood running through her veins? You mean, like what you mentioned earlier?”     

Akasha nodded. “Dragon reproduction is not a sure thing. There were cases I witnessed where the surrogate gave birth to what seemed like an ordinary human child. That child would carry some hint of dragon blood through its body and could pass that on to its children.”     

Akasha turned back to Sydney and smirked. “Whether you have dragon blood in you or not, you still meddled in things you had no business in. How did you remember all those things you read?”     

Sydney looked embarrassed. “I have a photographic memory. Anything I read, I can remember almost perfectly.”     

Akasha’s eyes widened. “Then you know all their research?”     

Sydney nodded. “Most of it doesn’t make sense to me, but yes.”     

Akasha leaned forward, staring intently at Sydney. “Then their knowledge is not lost. We still have a chance to change things. I lived with humans for a while. It broke my heart when their daughter died giving birth to my son.     

“Dragons are dying out because we have grown too attached to our human families. There are so few true-born dragons left. Dragons either do not mate or choose not to try because they do not wish to watch their human companions die. But you could change that!”     

Sydney’s mouth dropped open. Then she snapped it shut and blushed. She turned and looked up at my face. Fresh tears were in her eyes. “I’m so sorry for what I did. I’ll do anything you ask to make up for it.”     

Akasha glared at Sydney, who kept her gaze on my face. The intensity of Akasha’s gaze was so hot that I was sure she could feel it burning into her back, but she ignored it. Keeping her eyes on my face. I bent down and kissed her. A soft brush of lips. Sydney sighed against me, relaxing her body against mine. I had not realized how tense she had become until that moment.      

I looked at Akasha. “What do we do?”     

“Make her our surrogate. Sydney, would you agree to carry Ed’s child to maturity? Even if there is a chance you won't survive?”     

Tears glistened in Sydney’s eyes, but she kept her eyes locked on mine. She nodded as she spoke quietly, “Yes.”     

I was not sure how to take that. But if I understood the implications, it was something we had to try for the sake of our people. I turned to Akasha. There was a look on her face that I had never seen before. A look of hope that I did not recognize.      

“How would this work?”     

Akasha laughed. It was a deep, throaty laugh full of sex and hunger. She looked me over from head to toe when she was done laughing. I shivered under that gaze. She nodded to herself.      

“You might just do, Edgar.” Akasha leaned forward and picked up her mug of coffee. She took a long drink, polishing off the last of it. Akasha set the empty mug on the coffee table and looked at me eagerly. She licked her lips as she sat back and readjusted her robe, showing off some of her considerable cleavage. I fought the urge to squirm in my seat. Sydney laughed as she felt my body respond against her.      

“If you can make me climax, young dragon, then you will keep that cock inside me until the combination of our seeds merges and is attached to the head of your dick. Then, you would carefully pull that out and insert it into Sydney. You would need to drive it into her uterus. When you climax again inside her, if you can make her climax again at the same time, then all that genetic material will combine inside her and hopefully grow a child.” 

“This act must be performed under the ancient rites of union, invoking the mystic energies that bind dragonkind. We shall light the ceremonial candles around us, their sacred flames releasing the aged scents of dragonwood and thyme. As we commence, you will intone the chant of life, letting its rhythmic resonance guide the merging of our essences. This ceremony, echoing the whispers of our ancestors, shall bless the union and fortify the bonds that tie us to the earth and sky.” 

“That's a lot of 'ifs,'” I said. 

Akasha’s eyes sparkled. “Not up to the task?” 

My back stiffened. I squared my shoulders. “I didn’t say that.”  

Akasha’s grin widened. I turned to Sydney. She looked up at me, her eyes shining brightly in anticipation. “What about you?”     

Sydney nodded immediately. No hesitation. "I want this. Please. Allow me bear your child."  

In the dim light, a glowing amber shone in Akasha’s eyes, casting shifting shadows across her face. The light seemed to carry the weight of generations, silently showing how important their agreement was. The glow reflected on the walls, leaving a lasting impression that marked the seriousness of their choice.