“I’m not sure but I think I could rule the world from here.”
“You could,” Magnus told her. He touched a few buttons and brought up an aerial view of a city. “This is the main province. I believe this is where you come from my queen.”
“That’s it. This is Penna, we are the biggest province, city, or territory on the map. We are part of the Amerix. If you can pull out.” She waited until he did giving her a view of half the world. “This is the outline of Amerix.” She traced it with her fingers. “As you can see three-fourths of it is vacant. Before the war, we were expanding. After the war, our government made the decision to keep its citizens close for their protection.”
“Maybe, or maybe they learned the lesson I should have. It’s hard to keep a people under your thumb if you can’t watch them every day.” Rilan gave a bitter laugh.
“Is that what you wanted to do with your people?”
“No, but if I had we wouldn’t be here today.”
“I might not be here either.”
“I’m going to let the two of you fight in peace while I go hunting. My king, I beg of you not to leave while I am not here. We don’t know who is after you, but we do know he wants your mate.”
Chapter Nine
Rilan was bringing up different images on the screen while Kisame told him what they were and where he was focused. He finally settled on the mall bringing up images from inside. They watched as people passed by shopping and dealing with family and friends.
“He’s a dragon.”
“That’s impossible,” she said sliding her chair closer to his.
“Watch the way he moves compared to the other men.”
She did, the movement was subtle, but it was there. Concealed power and absolute grace.
“Watch how he draws the female eye without trying.”
She did, then licked her lips. She could see what the others saw in him. Then she looked at Rilan. Between the two the man on the screen was playing dress up to the raw power that Rilan commanded.
“How could there be a dragon in our society and we don’t know about it?”
“The dragon is repressed, but it’s there.”
“That’s impossible, why would anyone want to hide a dragon?”
“Breathe in Kisame, feel the breath all the way down to your toes, then let it out slowly.”
“Yes, mama.”
“Remember the mean lady and man we talked about?”
She nodded her head while she concentrated on her breathing. Her mom always wanted her to breathe weird.
“They will try to scare you today. You must be my strong girl and not let them win.”
“Yes, mama.” She shivered, they were really mean always staring at her like she did something wrong.
“They will call you names like dragoness and demand you come forth. All you have to do is breathe. If something feels weird or different inside what do you say?”
“I tell myself in my head it will be okay little dragon, it’s my turn to protect us.”
“Perfect, I know you will make me proud.”
“Every boy and girl is tested at the age of six to see if they possess a dragon.”
“That is around the time the dragon likes to make its first appearance.”
“What happens to those that are dragons.” She asked, but she didn’t want to know. If there was one more revelation of hatred and cruelty, she might not be able to take it. Not that it mattered to her she was convinced that she wasn’t a dragon.
“How would you feel if the dragons came back?”
“Aren’t you already back?”
“We are, but that doesn’t tell me how you feel about it.”
She went to give a blithe remark but bit her tongue. How did she feel about having her whole culture turned upside down? She came to The Interior with righteous indignation and a thought that she would be the one to save her people. She’d convince them that there were no aliens, and the past needed to be embraced. This wasn’t what she had in mind.
You’re more than you thought you were or less depending on how you took the news. We the people, actively participate in genocide every day. We are unknowing bigots against a part of humanity that in the end is us. Yeah, none of that is going to go over well. She might start the next war.
“Truthfully, I don’t know. There is a part of me that is suffering from moral outrage. I like that part because a different part of me is trying to stick her head in the sand. All I can think is how horrible of me. I see my whole world crumbling. No longer do I see the good of society since the evil has been highlighted.”
“That’s the same in every society. There is always evil. You guys don’t get to get off that lightly. There was evil in the days of the dragons. I wondered back then as I do now. What could I have done to make life better for my people, all my people? Did I turn a blind eye to the suffering of those who couldn’t or wouldn’t embrace their dragon? How did we get here and what role did I play in it?”
“Your father was king.”
“How does that exonerate me?”
That was the crux of the matter as far as she was concerned. If she kept this knowledge to herself if newborns were systematically killed because she didn’t speak up? Would fear of change exonerate her? She already knew the answer. Nothing would excuse the children dying and the ignorance being perpetuated.
“The truth is I don’t get to make a decision for thousands or millions of people. They have to make their own individual decisions. My job is to tell them the truth. I present the facts but I don’t get to make up their minds.”
Rilan smiled at her before he nodded agreement. “Not everyone will like you or your attitude.”
She laughed. “Not everyone likes me or my attitude now. My dad will… Let’s not talk about my dad.”
“We should see if we can identify any other dragons and maybe follow them.”
They spent several hours combing through the populations looking for dragons. When they found them, they followed them. It looked like they had their own secret society. Dragons had not been bred out or killed, but they were keeping a low profile.
“If someone had come to me and told me that there was a secret society within our society, I wouldn’t have believed them, and that was before they uttered the word dragon.”
“I’m just glad to see that our people are still surviving. I think a large portion of the people have a dormant dragon that lives within them.”
“What would make you say that?”
He shrugged, “just a theory.” Rilan tugged on the edge of her chair bringing her closer to him. “I love listening to you talk about our people.” His voice was a low purr.
Kisame fidgeted in her chair. His voice was doing things to her nether regions. Things she wanted to keep to herself. She was scared if he kept it up there would be a wet spot when she stood up.
“You realize,” she said in a desperate attempt to redirect him. “That our people no longer follow or worship a king.”
“So, I’ve heard. You have a government, democracy. How amazingly modern of you.” His fingers traced down her arm until they stopped over her fingers. He began to caress them one at a time making her hand feel special. The rest of her body was beginning to resent her fingers.
“So, umm, they wouldn’t, you know, embrace you as king.” Her tongue was tied as other parts of her body begged to stand in for her fingers.
“The dragons would. They are looking for a leader someone to take charge. There’s a reason we have a king. There’s also a reason the crown gets handed down from son to son or at times daughter to daughter.”
“Why is that?” Her voice was almost breathless. Rilan was now playing with the sensitive palm of her hand. She wasn’t sure when it happened, but her palm was directly connected to her clit. Every time he caressed her, her clit pulsed with need. Soon she’d be squirming in her chair looking for release.
“Dragons are not what I would call civilized people and we cou
ldn't care less about democracy. When you can fly and breathe fire, as well as several other elements, someone bigger and more in control than you, is needed to keep the peace. So, we have a hierarchy of sorts with a king. The king has the ability to control all the elements as well as the dragons under him. He keeps the peace almost by virtue of who he is.
“That king for a long time was my father. Now it’s me.”
“Why do you seem to be missing the swagger of being in charge?”
“Ah yes.” He let go of her hand and stood. Then he bowed in front of her. “Being a king isn’t all about fun. Besides a war that was being fought, keeping your people in line and helping to settle disputes isn’t easy. Thankfully we have or had come a long way.”
He took her hand pulling her to stand. “Magnus should be back soon. It’s starting to get dark.”
“Where do we go from here?” She asked as they walked into the living room. She could be as naïve as she wanted to be, but this wasn’t going to stay hidden. Did her father already know? Was that why she was given permission to come in the first place. “What if they already know about you?”
“If they didn’t, I am sure they do now since you woke me up. The one place I would think was being watched would be the palace. We were in a gathering room, it had become my favorite spot to hold planning sessions. My father’s office brought memories I wasn’t ready to face. The gathering room would have been easy to bug. Magnus warned me, but I had to have things my way.”
“Or you were a young prince whose father had been killed in battle. Remember you were and are just coming into who you were meant to be.” Magnus stepped through the open balcony doors changing from a dragon to a man.
“Dinner.” He held up several rabbits as well as chickens. “I have eggs and fruit. I hope my queen will be satisfied with my offerings.”
“I couldn’t imagine not being. What’s lying on the balcony? It almost looks like you… wait on second thought don’t tell me that way I’ll be able to eat it. I’m going to go in the other room while you and Rilan take care of that.”
She walked down to the bedroom that she shared with Rilan last night. Was she being a wuss? Hell yeah, she was. It didn’t matter though, she was one of those that believed her meat came from the grocery store. It was the only way she could eat it. She was going to continue to think that way.
“Kisame.”
She stood still she knew that voice. She hadn’t heard it in years, but she knew it.
“You’re not real,” she whispered. I am not losing my mind and that voice is not real. It was something out of the nightmare of a child. Good thing she was grown now.
“Come in child. I won’t hurt you.”
She looked back at her mother who was giving her an encouraging smile, but who wouldn’t cross the threshold of the room.
“Don’t worry, she’ll be there when we’re done.” The same voice spoke to her.
She didn’t like the voice or the woman whose mouth it came from. Don’t trust her the small voice in her head told her. She wanted to nod in agreement but knew better than to draw attention to the voice in her head. She walked into the room that’s when she realized she was trembling. Now that her mother wasn’t holding her hand, she was cold.
“Are you alright child?”
“It’s cold in here.”
The woman looked down and made a note. Kisame trembled more thinking she said the wrong thing.
“Cold can be a good thing. Some predators don’t like cold. Do you understand?”
“No,” she trembled. What was a predator?
“Don’t worry about it, sweet girl.” The voice was meant to be soft, but she found herself shivering. The woman led her to a chair before she took her own seat. “All we are going to do is watch a movie, okay?”
Kisame nodded her head. A movie would be nice. Little animated characters came on. There were a pretty wolf and a smart-mouthed bird that didn’t want to listen to his mommy. These made her laugh. Then the prettiest dragon came on with eyes that same color as hers.
“Isn’t she pretty?” the woman asked.
“I like her eyes.” Kisame gave the woman a small smile, but she was staring at her making her feel scared.
“Of course, you do dear they are beautiful, but you know the preferred color for eyes.
“Brown,” Kisame said dutifully. “The prettiest girls and boys are the ones with brown eyes. They are the popular kids.” She thought her eyes were pretty too, but she knew better than to say it.
“Yes, brown eyes like mine are the best.”
They turned back to the screen where the small dragon was joined with some of her dragon friends. None of them had brown eyes. They started flying and playing tag. It looked like a lot of fun.
“Wouldn’t it be glorious If we could fly in the air like that and play games? Why don’t you try dear?”
She thought about flying. That would be fun maybe she could have some real friends that way. Her back felt itchy as she wished for wings.
“Don’t listen to her,” the small voice in the back of her head told her. “Remember what mommy said.”
Mommy said the woman would try to trick her, but she wanted to fly so badly. Tears sparkled in the back of her eyes.
“Come on dear, I know you can do it. Let me see you fly, then it will be all over.”
There was a loud knock on the door that made Kisame think of other things like her mom being mad if she disobeyed her.
“What’s the meaning of this?” The woman asked her voice loud making Kisame shiver.
“There’s an emergency, and the director is asking for you.” The other woman said quietly.
“I’m in the middle of—.”
“I’ll handle it, don’t worry.”
The first woman turned to look at Kisame before she stood and left the room.
The second woman bent down by her whispering in her ear as she tied a shoelace that came undone.
“I see you were watching movies about dragons. How do they make you feel?”
“Like it would be fun to play pretend.”
“I enjoy pretending too.” They went through the rest of the movie and then the woman stood and took Kisame’s hand. When she opened the door, her mom was waiting.
“You have an adorable daughter, but then you knew that.”
“Thank you.”
When the woman let go of her hand, Kisame ran into her mother’s arms. She’d never forget the words the woman whispered in her ear.
Chapter Ten
“Mate, you can come into the kitchen now, it’s safe,” Rilan’s voice rang through the hallway. She had to give him credit for the way he seemed to want to protect her. More people had protected her as she grew than she realized. Soon she was going to have to make a choice, a choice that may cost her her life.
“Coming.” Not yet, but she hoped she would be soon. It was time to stop walking the tight rope of her life. How many times had she been the one on the capitol steps advocating for openness and honesty while she stuck her head deep in the sand to keep from seeing the truth around her? She wasn’t the only one, but she could only change herself.
“What’s for dinner?” She asked as she came into the kitchen.
Rilan pulled her into his arms giving her a swift kiss on the lips. “Rabbit, but it tastes like chicken.”
“Lies,” she teased. “I’ve definitely expanded my culinary palate living with you two.”
“Aww, we are good for my queen.”
“I swear if you keep that up, I’m going to go into a deep bow.”
“You should probably practice,” Magnus told her.
She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. He was serious. Pulling out of Rilan’s arms she took a seat at the table.
“What do we do next?” It made more sense to ignore the possibility of being queen for now. There was no one here but the three of them and whoever the hell was haunting them.
“Tomorrow we tour the land,” Rilan told h
er.
“What?”
“Isn’t that what you’re here for? You're supposed to tour the land, find anything living and report back. I need to do that very thing. My people are here somewhere. It’s not safe to have a working theory, but I needed to start somewhere. Magnus’ mate woke him up but didn’t stick around long enough to meet him.”
“That’s impossible no one has been in The Interior for hundreds of years.”
“That you know of. Can you tell me with certainty that you know this place has been deserted that long?”
No, she couldn’t. The silence around this place was almost as intense as the silence around the children that died almost every day. Her silence spoke louder than any words would.
“That’s what I thought. Then we need to explore our home, find our people, then look for a way to wake them without their mates being present.”
“Do you really think I’m the reason you’re awake?”
“I know you are. I felt you before you touched me. You called to me, I was already stretching trying to get to you. It was like you were across a room and the middle was filled with dragon eating serpents.”
“Please tell me there are no dragon eating serpents.”
Magnus and Rilan refused to meet her eyes.
“Doesn’t man have natural predators?” Magnus asked.
She opened her mouth to say no but snapped her teeth together. Yeah, the ‘Lions, and tigers, and bears, oh my.’ Song popped into her head. Catchy but true.
“We do I just sort of thought that you guys were so the top of the food chain that nothing could hurt you.”
“Mother nature doesn’t work that way. There is always something a little bigger or devious than you,” Rilan told her seriously. “Let’s hope they still sleep like the others.”
She nodded and took her plate when Magnus handed it to her. After several bites, she decided that rabbit wasn’t that bad. It wasn’t something she would order from a menu, but beggars couldn’t afford to be choosy.
The Dragon's Mate (Ancient Dragons Book 1) Page 6
