Chapter 16

SIXTEEN

“ T hat’s ridiculous,” Quinn muttered, though she couldn’t deny the pattern in her data. “It’s probably just his natural dragon energy affecting the readings.”

“Like how his natural dragon energy affects your heart rate?”

“That was anger!”

“Sure it was.” Lydia picked up another sample, examining it closely. “Just like how you get ‘angry’ every time he takes his shirt off to practice fighting.”

Quinn grabbed the sample from her friend’s hands, carefully placing it in a containment unit. “I’m trying to understand the geological composition of an alien planet. I don’t have time for...” She waved her hand vaguely. “Whatever you’re implying.”

“Right, because you totally weren’t just imagining running your fingers through his hair.”

“I was thinking about mineral crystallization patterns!”

“In his very crystallized jawline?”

The guards shifted positions slightly, and Quinn realized with horror that they could probably hear every word. Her cheeks burned as she buried herself in her work, aggressively cataloging samples while trying to ignore Lydia’s knowing smirk.

But as she packed up her equipment for the day, she found herself stealing glances toward the palace, wondering if their king was as unsettled by their confrontation as she was. Not that it mattered, she told herself firmly. She had rocks to analyze and a planet to map - and no amount of dragon king interference would stop her from achieving her goals.

Even if said dragon king’s interference was becoming increasingly hard to resist.

“Come on, lover girl,” Lydia said, helping her pack up the last of the samples. “Time to head back. Maybe if we’re lucky, we’ll catch His Majesty doing his evening workout again. You know, for purely scientific observation of dragon physiology.”

“I hate you,” Quinn grumbled, but she couldn’t quite hide her smile. Or stop herself from wondering if Kai would be in the courtyard again, practicing with that massive sword, all power and grace and...

A tremor shook the ground, sending loose crystals skittering across the rocky terrain. Quinn immediately dropped to one knee, pressing her palm flat against the surface as her instruments began recording the seismic activity. The vibration felt different from Earth’s tectonic movements - more rhythmic, almost like a heartbeat.

“Fascinating,” she murmured, pulling out her tablet to analyze the data. “The crystal resonance patterns during the tremor match exactly with...” She trailed off, remembering how the readings had spiked in Kai’s presence.

“Match with what?” Lydia prompted, steadying herself against a rock formation.

“Nothing. It’s probably just coincidence.” But Quinn copied the data three times, just to be sure. There was something here, something in the connection between the dragon king and his land that defied conventional geology. Not that she was looking for excuses to study him more closely. Definitely not.

The guards maintained their distance as promised, but she could feel their watchful presence. Just as she could feel something else - a warm, electric awareness that made her skin tingle. She told herself it was just the alien atmosphere, the strange energy that seemed to pulse through everything on Nova Aurora.

It had nothing to do with intense blue eyes that turned molten gold when their owner was emotional. Nothing to do with the way Kai’s voice seemed to resonate in her bones, or how his protective instincts made her feel simultaneously frustrated and... something else she refused to analyze.

“Focus on the science,” she muttered to herself, carefully packing the last of her samples. But even as she said it, she knew it was a losing battle. The mysteries of Nova Aurora might have brought her here, but they weren’t the only things capturing her attention anymore.

As they made their way back to the palace, the violet sun finally dipping below the horizon, Quinn found herself wondering about more than just geological anomalies. She wondered about the connection between a dragon king and his land, about the way crystal formations pulsed in time with certain heartbeats, about the heat that lingered long after intense blue eyes looked away.

But she was a scientist, and she would approach this methodically. No matter how many unauthorized butterflies took flight in her stomach when a certain dragon king was near. No matter how much she wanted to map more than just the territory of this alien world.

She had a job to do, a reputation to maintain, and mysteries to solve. Even if the biggest mystery was becoming less about the rocks beneath her feet and more about the way her heart raced every time Kai appeared.

“For science,” she whispered to herself, clutching her samples close as they approached the palace gates. But she couldn’t quite suppress a shiver of anticipation when she heard the distinct sound of sword practice coming from the courtyard ahead.

Purely for research purposes, of course.