Free Solar Dare by Tianna Xander, Viola Grace

Chapter One
    T he storm was coming.
    Solar watched the churning clouds through the window and waited for the impact of the winds. Her sisters were down below, using their newly honed skills to make dinner while Solar was on dragon watch.
    Five of her sisters had found matches in the dragon population, but the astronomical cluster was still together and single. Solar, Stellar, Celestial, Astral and Lunar were all gathered together on an abandoned world beset by wild weather.
    They took shifts sending their senses into the atmosphere and watching for encroaching humans or hunting dragons. Now that the dragons knew that the sisters were cut off from home, they had become more aggressive than ever as they sought out mates.
    Solar shook her head. What kind of evolutionary design was it when a species produced so few females
    that snatching them out of their homes was the only way to get a wife?
    The upper tower of their home was ideal for watching for the flying beasts. Whatever race had built this house and the abandoned town nearby had done a wonderful job creating a watchtower for the children of the dragon queen.
    The lightning strikes in the distance set her nerves into overdrive. Her body was drawing energy from the weather in a way that life underground on Earth had not prepared her for.
    The blasts charged her, and her body was screaming at her to do something, anything, but all she was on assignment for today was to watch, and so, she watched.
    The sky above was still open, and the stars stared down at her. Solar held her breath when one star separated from the dance above her. She closed her eyes for a moment and made a silent wish that they would get the humans back home and they could find a way to get on with their lives.
    You will find a way, Solar. You and your sisters were born for this.
    Thank you, Mother. How are you today?
    Same as always, watching my girls and feeling pride at your growing skills. Now, open your eyes and look at the sky. You are missing the show.
    Solar opened her eyes and watched four other stars join the one that hosted her wish. The wind pulled at her containment suit while she watched the five stars swirl in the sky and grow in size.
    “Ladies, we have incoming!” Solar screamed and ran down the stairs to join her sisters in the main hall.
    They all shifted to their assigned tasks, and while Solar got the crossbow, the others all grabbed their chosen weapons.
    Stellar grinned and took the rocket launcher from their weapons’ store. With nineteen human colonies sent back home, they had quite a few collections of weaponry at their disposal, and Solar’s eldest sister did so enjoy using the launcher.
    They walked into the wind and watched the approach of the bright, sparkling balls of light. The girls had dodged dragons in the past, but none of them gleamed like this.
    Solar watched her wishing dragon come closer and closer. “Easy, ladies. No sense burning out the last clothes we have.”
    Celestial smirked. “Like anyone would complain if we went naked.”
    Stellar settled her launcher on her shoulder and aimed toward the approaching dragons. “We also don’t want to cook off the ammunition. Calm down, sisters. If we have to, we will run. You know where to meet up.”
    Solar made a noise of agreement, but there was something in the air. “I am getting a funny feeling here. Mother told me to look up, but now, she isn’t answering.”
    Astral bit her lip. “Maybe she is busy?” Celestial snorted, “Don’t be stupid. From what she has hinted at, she is confined.” Lunar scowled. “Quiet, they are almost here and bickering isn’t going to help.” The glowing dragons came in on a roar of wind.
    Solar looked up at her wishing dragon, and he dropped to the ground in front of her in his bipedal form. Silvery-white hair, black-on-black eyes and deep bronze skin with tattoos similar to those of her set marked him as a dragon if the four companion fliers left any doubt. He wore a metal