Draconia Cyborg: Draconia Outcasts, #2

By Renee Hewett and Mandy Rosko

A dragoness with a secret. An elf with a chip on his shoulder. A call to an island inundated with technology and a chance for love or total annihilation.

 

As Draconia island's resident tech genius, Naomi has been living layers of secret lives. She has an online beau the dragoness leadership doesn't know about, and her boyfriend doesn't know she's a dragon shifter on an all-dragoness island.

 

Buzz has some shadows in his past, but he's managed to build a life for himself as a tech guru for the local wolf pack. When his online girlfriend goes missing, he has to leave town for the first time in forever.

 

Someone has lured them to a remote island, but why? Something nefarious has a plan for the two that doesn't require both to remain alive. Will this long-distance couple find lasting love, or will deception ruin what they thought they had?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Eighth Ripple Press
• Release date: May 23, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215664544

Book preview

Draconia Cyborg

A dragoness with a secret. An elf with a chip on his shoulder. A call to an island inundated with technology and a chance for love or total annihilation.

As Draconia island's resident tech genius, Naomi has been living layers of secret lives. She has an online beau the dragoness leadership doesn’t know about, and her boyfriend doesn't know she's a dragon shifter on an all-dragoness island.

Buzz has some shadows in his past, but he’s managed to build a life for himself as a tech guru for the local wolf pack. When his online girlfriend goes missing, he has to leave town for the first time in forever.

Someone has lured them to a remote island, but why? Something nefarious has a plan for the two that doesn’t require both to remain alive. Will this long-distance couple find lasting love, or will deception ruin what they thought they had?

This book was originally published in June 2022 as The Dragon's Cyber Secret. It has been revised and expanded before re-release.

Draconia Logo

Draconia—also called Isla de Fuego Reina (Island of Queen Fire) in the shifter community—is hidden from the rest of the world. Tucked in the Bermuda Triangle, it uses the location’s erratic magnetics as well as magic to keep it uncharted.

Queen Regina of Draconia has many sisters, daughters, and nieces...but no brothers, sons, or nephews.

At least, none that live on the island.

This island is for dragonesses only, and if you want love, you have to leave. If you have a son, he has to go.

A new generation of dragonesses have decisions to make. Do they want to continue the island traditions and live forever without ever knowing love? Can they ignore love when it crosses their paths? Do those in line to rule want to wear the heavy crown? Will they be able to defend the island against attacks from angry rogues?

The dragonesses in these stories are about to find adventure and love. Some don’t know their heritage can be traced to the island. Many are going to feel the pull to the outside world and find it's a place where both rogues and refugees seek asylum, and where trouble and potential peace await them.

Chapter

One

The letters and numbers flashed across her screen as Naomi's fingers flew over her multiple keyboards.

She'd been through every corner of the web looking for any sign of Buzz.

Ever since her friend sent her the weird distress signal with nothing but SOS and location coordinates, she'd been unable to find any trace of him, anywhere. It was like he disappeared off the face of the cyber world.

She stood and paced around her home. Decked out with monitors, routers, and miles of cabling, she was the only one on the island who had access to this stuff. As such, she was the go-to when anyone needed to communicate with the world outside of their isolated dragoness island, Draconia.

None of that did her any good, though, when her technology wasn't helping her find the solution to the mystery. And she didn't exactly have anyone she could go to for help. Claire was the only friend she used to have who could’ve done anything, and she was long gone from the island.

The rest of them were stuck here, not allowed to leave the island without permission.

All the residents of Draconia—also called Isla de Fuego Reina: Island of Queen Fire— were female dragon shifters. It was a clandestine island, no more than a rumor for much of the shifter community, and virtually unknown to the human world. It was hidden from modern mapping in the Bermuda Triangle by a combination of magnetic interference and magic.

The residents obeyed the laws, which included staying on the island unless given permission to leave, set by their queen.

Naomi had always known she was luckier than the others on the island. As a descendent from the royal line, she had opportunities for jobs and benefits those not of royal blood didn't have. She also wasn't chained to the throne like the princesses more closely descended.

Naomi had taken a quick interest in tech when she was young. The island had certain people and locations where modern-day advances could be accessed while the rest of the island lived in a tech-free environment. Naomi had followed her passion and become the best and brightest tech dragoness the island had ever seen, keeping her home tech dungeon as up-to-date as she could, given she had to rely on others to bring her the latest and greatest gadgets. Good thing there were regular outside traders as well as dragoness smugglers who helped.

But Naomi had pushed the boundaries in more ways than one. She'd lied to herself, convincing her brain that she wouldn't be caught, but now, with Buzz gone, she dreaded that the queen had figured out her scheme and gotten rid of Naomi's biggest distraction.

If the queen knows about Buzz, does she know about—

Hey, you all right?

Naomi jumped at the voice and turned toward the stairs to see her friend and neighbor, Shae Green. Dude, sorry, I was in another place.

You look stressed. Shae nodded with a concerned expression. I rang the bell, but you must not have heard it.

Naomi shook her head and looked at her screen setup.

Is something wrong with your computer stuff? Shae asked, knowing it was what Naomi lived and breathed.

No. Naomi sighed.

Your secret boyfriend?

Naomi's eyes snapped to Shae. Shae was one of the very few who knew Naomi's secret. Naomi didn't call Buzz her boyfriend—he was just a contact. One she looked forward to talking to daily…

One she'd opened up to. One she was losing her mind over not being able to locate online.

There was emotional intimacy between them. Naomi couldn't deny that if the queen or the council learned about Buzz, that would be the end of it all. The dragonesses weren't allowed mates, boyfriends, or anything of the sort. If they did, they would be exiled from the island and become outcasts—sent off to fend for themselves in the outside world.

The fact that Naomi had shared the information with not just Shae, but a few others, was proof that Naomi was slipping. Becoming careless. That she'd be caught by the queen and the elder council.

And if they found out she'd been abusing her privileges, they'd take away all her tech!

Yeah. Naomi sighed again. I got this strange message, and I don't know what to do.

What is it?

Naomi explained the coordinates and how she'd not found any other trace of Buzz.

You have to go to him, Shae concluded.

Naomi still wasn't convinced. It just doesn't make any sense. Something's off about it.

"So what are you going to do? Stay here and make yourself crazy? Just wait and wait forever while he might need help?"

I can't leave.

"You can't not."

Sure I can.

Shae gave her a serious look. Naomi, you're going to wonder every day what happened to him if you don't go out there yourself and find out.

It could be a trap.

"Why would it be a trap?" Shae countered.

Naomi shrugged. How well can you really ever know someone you meet online?

I thought it was more serious than that, Shae said softly, taking a seat on the couch and patting the cushion next to her. You spend so much time online with him. You're practically married. I half expected you to build a robot and mount a screen to it so he could move around the house with you.

Naomi laughed with her friend, taking a seat next to her. That wouldn't have been a bad idea. Why didn't you mention it sooner?

Shae beamed. You mean I have some good techie ideas? Maybe I can take up your spot in your absence.

My absence… Naomi mused. She wasn't the only tech person on the island. If she left, people would have other options, so it wasn't like she was abandoning her people. Shae could play around on her stuff, but she'd need authorization from the royal elder council to officially take over Naomi's job.

I don't know why you're hesitating. Shae broke into Naomi's thoughts. Do you really not know you'll be moving on eventually? This island is too small. You're too reliant on the outside smugglers for the really good stuff. We've all known that you're too advanced and futuristic to thrive here.

"You all? Who is all?"

Shae shrugged. Everyone says it. Of all the dragonesses to tire of being here, you're at the top of the list. Especially if the council ever found out how much fun you're having online.

Fun. Yeah, Naomi had plenty of that in ways other Draconia residents couldn't have. There were the video games, the chat rooms, the extracurricular vigilante hacking… and then, of course, the boyfriend. As she'd grown bolder and bolder each year, a part of Naomi had begun to feel unstoppable, like she'd never get caught, like the council would never punish her and take away her toys.

But the rational side of Naomi knew she was doing wrong, playing against the rules, and no one could get away with that forever.

I've just always been happy here. Naomi shrugged. I never planned on leaving like some others do.

Claire never planned on leaving either, Shae said, referring to their friend who'd recently found love in Georgetown. But she's happy out there. Sometimes we don't plan things, but life throws curveballs at us anyway.

Naomi looked around her hacker cave, at everything that was her life. If she left the island, she'd be leaving all her stuff for good. Even if the council let her back on the island, they wouldn't give her back the same privileges.

Sure, she cared about Buzz, and she wouldn't be able to live with herself if she didn't leave to find out what happened to him. But a part of her had always wanted to explore and see what was out there. She was happy surfing cyberspace, but wasn't there more?

She thought about finally being able to go to one of those big tech conventions and showcases, and she giggled, feeling nearly giddy at the idea. She'd been so limited on the island… but what if she could just… go?

She couldn't deny the core part of her, solid and still in the pit of her stomach, knew this was her destiny. Knew all the lip service about her being happy here was just that. She was too adventurous for this island, and the day had come for her to fly away and never look back.

My goats, I can't take them with me, Naomi said, looking toward Shae.

You know Aunty Shae will take care of them.

Naomi smiled, then gave Shae a hug. Thank you.

Naomi left her house at dusk, a large leather bag over her shoulder. She'd downloaded her backups and