Jorhee (Dragonii Hearts: The Mates of New Haven #1)

1. Johree

JOHREE

I knew it was coming, but it didn’t make answering the summons any easier. As I stepped out of the shuttle, I looked at my greeting entourage. Great. In addition to four palace guards, my eldest brother and his mate were also here.

“Jo-Jo!” Hulomin said, clapping my shoulder with a smile. “Why so glum? Anyone would think that you didn’t want to come see your family!”

Jusrvi gave her mate an indulgent smile. “Now, Hulomin, you know he dislikes it when you call him that.” She turned her attention to me. “We’re here to offer you moral support.”

I sighed, falling into step with the pair as they began walking from the private landing pad into the palace grounds proper.

“Thanks, and truly, I appreciate it, but I’ve been dreading this for days.”

She looked at me quizzically. “Why? Wait - do you think this is about that stupid poll?”

I blinked. “Isn’t it?’

My brother laughed. “Not at all! In fact, our fathers were quite amused. ‘Sexiest Eligible Dragonii’!” he guffawed.

“It’s undignified. And the colonial advisors were aghast. Talking about tradition and how my not issuing a statement about not being flattered by the attention was tantamount to making our colony a laughingstock instead of a dignified representation of traditional Dragonii lifestyle.

I knew Grekl was going to get in touch with Father and demand he force me to do so. ”

“Hmm,” Jusrvi hummed as we entered the Grand Hall.

All around us, portraits of my ruling ancestors gazed down at us.

I couldn’t help but feel they were judging me, finding me as lacking as Grekl and his cronies on my Colonial Council did.

“He might have done so, but we’ve certainly not heard about it. ”

“Nothing at all,” my brother reassured me, his vivid blue eyes so like mine filled with sympathy.

It had often been said when we were kits that I was his twin born five years apart.

We had the same silver hair and bright blue eyes framed by lashes of a darker blue, the same generous mouth and elegant nose, inherited from our Pata.

Our other brother favored Father more strongly, with his amber eyes and sooty black lashes, nose slightly too long and thinner lips.

We all, of course, had the royal metallic gold scale patterns and wings that allowed us to fly short distances and glide for even longer ones.

“In fact,” he continued, “I was given the impression that he wanted to discuss the new treaty with the humans and the Mylos with you.”

I paused midstep. “Oh? Is this about the higher education initiative? I’ve had several members of my Council talking about it.

They’re particularly interested in the animal husbandry exchange program.

Something about being able to go to Earth and work with livestock native to their planet, with the possibility of importing some of them later. ”

My brother and his mate exchanged a look. “Well, it could be that,” he hedged, just as we reached the throne room.

“But?”

“Your Graces,” the chamberlain manning the door said, with a bow. “The King and Prince Consort have been anxiously awaiting you.”

“Better go on in, then,” my brother said, pushing me forward with a hand at the small of my back as if I was still a recalcitrant kit. “Mustn’t keep them waiting. We’re right behind you.”

“Crown Prince Hulomin, Princess Jusrvi, and Prince Johree,” the chamberlain announced.

Our fathers sat upon their twin thrones, Father looking solemn while Pata’s eyes danced, a welcoming smile gracing his face.

“It’s just us this morning,” Pata said. “Wurtz, close the door. This is a private audience.”

Wurtz nodded, exiting the room and closing the double doors behind him. That left just me, my brother, his mate, and the palace guard here with our fathers.

Father sighed. “While this is a private audience, I’m afraid it is an official one.”

I nodded, going down on one knee.

“Not that official,” he amended, a smile tugging at his lips. “Come closer. I’d rather speak to you father to son, but I need you to understand that what I’m about to tell you has the weight of a royal decree.”

I approached, and Pata pointed to the edge of the dias. “Go on, take a seat, all of you. Your father might as well get his business as king over with all at once.”

Father inclined his head. “What I am about to say affects all three of you. Johree, I am transferring your current governorship over to Hulomin, to oversee until Paxtil is of age. He’ll act as Regent Governor for him.

The announcement will be made later this week during the celebration of Paxtil’s fifth birthday. ”

I swallowed. “Is this because of the sexiest Dragonii thing?”

Father blinked at me in surprise, and Pata laughed.

“I told you he’d think that,” he chided Father.

“But it’s not,” he sighed. “Yes, normally, Paxtil would have been granted one of our newer colony worlds, but given the treaty we just signed, it’s been decided that we should hand New Haven over to you instead and transfer the other to Paxtil.

It will be a much easier task for Paxtil, giving him the tools he needs to rule someday but with a gentle introduction. ”

I made a sour face. “If you can call having to deal with Grekl and his traditionalist nonsense gentle. More like extremely annoying.”

Father nodded. “That may be, but once Hulomin ascends the throne, he’ll inherit the provinces and colony world holdings attached to the role of Crown Prince, so the experience will stand him in good stead.”

“Meanwhile, for the next fifteen years, I get that headache,” my brother observed sardonically.

“That brings us to the other matter,” Father said.

“You are my only unmated son, and as such, in addition to handing you the governorship of New Haven, we are ordering you to meet with the Mylos representative who’s here and sign up to the matching program as an example to our people that we are committed to making this work.

New Haven is one of the three worlds we will be funneling human colonists to, and some will be mates. ”

I stared at him. “You want me to enter the mate lottery?”

“It’s a matching program,” Pata corrected. “Unless they find your perfect match, you will not be mated. The technology is sound, as proven by the discovery of Redondo’s mate.”

Redondo was the orphaned Dragonii kit saved from an attack on one of our more distant colonies by the Mylos, and adopted by a Mylos couple.

He’d indeed been matched and caused a sensation amongst our people as well as those of Earth.

In fact, his match has been the catalyst for this whole three-way treaty.

I stood before going down on one knee. “It will be as you command.”

“It will be okay,” Pata said as I rose. “You’ll see.”

“How soon do I have to meet with this Mylos?”

“After we enjoy a nice lunch,” Father said, rising. He held out his hand to Pata. “Come, now that the official stuff is out of the way, let’s retire to our chambers and enjoy a nice spot of lunch in the garden.” We followed them out. “How’s Paxtil?” Father asked my brother and his mate.

“Oh, he’s doing well,” Jusvri responded. “He’s very excited about the upcoming party for his birthday.”

“He also got top marks on his entrance exam,” Hulomin boasted.

Father chuckled. “Did we expect anything less? He is an incredibly bright youngster, as you and your brothers all were.”

The talk continued as we made our way to the private residential wing.

I tuned the chatter mostly out, thinking instead of the logistics of moving to New Haven.

It was one of the very newest of our colonies, with only one spaceport and town on it, and calling it a town was probably my being generous.

Was there even a dwelling for me to move into?

If not, I’d have to live aboard my yacht until one was built.

I didn’t entertain the notion of moving there with a mate.

Everyone knew that the Mylos matching system was seemingly infallible, but the odds of then matching you with someone already in their database was several million to one.

We reached the door to my father’s apartment.

“Did you hear me, dear?” Pata asked me, looking at me expectantly.

“Sorry, no. I was thinking of what I needed to do to make my move.”

I followed him inside, refocusing my attention.

“I was saying,” Pata said gently, “that this is quite the honor for you, really. You not only will be standing as an example to Dragonii hoping to find their mates as a beacon of hope that they might find theirs amongst the humans, or even perhaps the Mylos, but our confidence in your leadership skills will be evident for all to see. New Haven was established only eighteen months ago after our interactions with the Mylos finally reached their peak thanks to Redondo’s mating, leading to us joining the Galactic Council.

It has less than a thousand colonists, and this treaty will bring many more as humans and Dragonii alike take up the offer to settle in exchange for testing.

We have no doubt the colony will quickly grow, so much so that we opened up two of our other colonies, one’s a bit more established, to the program so we could help control the flow.

It’s truly a frontier world, filled with rolling plains ripe for planting and ideal for grazing stock.

It’s also a prime candidate for grifters, drifters, and so on to try to take hold, to turn it into what the human ambassador called the Wild, Wild West. This is why, as the only colony without a governor, we’ve chosen you. ”

So, I wasn’t being sent to the fringes of space to keep me out of sight after causing embarrassment. Quite the opposite, in fact; it sounded like.

“I take it there will be a lot of public relations events happening there?” I asked cautiously, hoping to prove my assumption was correct.

Pata nodded, taking my arm to lead me outside to where the rest of our family who were present were already seated in front of a veritable buffet of roasted vegetables, platters of prepared fruit, and slabs of seared meat.

“There will be coverage of you meeting the ambassador. They will not go inside while you are completing your testing procedure, but they will be hanging about to report your coming outside,” he revealed.

“It will be broadcast across every Draconii world and picked up by several streaming services, so it will be seen across the galaxy.” He accepted a filled plate from Father, who gestured for the rest of us to begin.

“Which, as much as I dislike having to deal with the press, is only fitting as it is a rather historic occasion,” I conceded. “But what about once I arrive on New Haven?” I picked up a plate and began filling it. “Will they be covering my arrival?”

“I can answer that,” Father replied. “I had a request come across my desk yesterday, which I approved. A small vid crew from Earth, along with some Dragonii they are partnering with, will be filming a documentary. They will arrive ahead of you, sometime in the next few days, as they are already within Mylos space after having just wrapped up a feature aboard that Mylos military space station their Space Force is stationed on. No doubt it is intended to not only be informational, but drive up recruitment.” We all nodded in agreement, knowing how these things worked.

“They will be documenting their arrival, first impressions of the tiny outpost town that’s there, and visiting some of the claims and interviewing the farmers.

They will then cover your arrival, get impressions from the locals about the changes they see it bringing, and cover your new home being built.

They’ll return later as humans establish their claims and there are enough who are mated to Dragonii to make it worth the trip. ”

“That’s right, they only have to be tested to gain a title claim, don’t they? Whether Dragonii or human,” Hulomin said before cutting off a large chunk of meat and stuffing it in his mouth.

“Unless they are already mated,” Father corrected. “Those with relevant skills who are already mated may also file for a claim, though the immediate media buzz is all about the mate matching program.”

I was not a fan of arranged matings, believing that such things should be left to fate and love, and when I’d first heard about the Mylos and their sentient AI’s mate matching system, it had left me feeling similarly about it.

But I was a prince, raised to always do my duty for the betterment of the Dragonii Empire, and this was no different.

I’d do it and smile, pushing aside any personal qualms I had.

Which, to be fair, I only had about the program because one often was required to sign up to be tested in exchange for what they sought.

No one was being forced to sign up, as far as I’d ever heard or read.

Except for me, I thought morosely. Then I perked up, recalling the odds of my being matched.

So close to zero, the chance might as well not exist. Feeling much more upbeat, I popped a succulent piece of meat in my mouth, my eyes closing at the delicious flavor of the kilt-ha, delicately seared just enough to seal the juices inside, but still delightfully raw inside.

Yes, all signs point to this being a good thing for me, and as a personal bonus, I’ll have that nitwit Grekl out of my hair for good.