by Loki Renard
“Unused…” Her jaw dropped. “Do you know how… messed up you’re being right now? You can’t talk to me like this. I have rights.”
“You don’t have rights,” Casimer interrupted her abruptly. “This is not a human realm. We do not have the concept of rights as we have observed in your world, a petty nonsense which allows the lower classes to make believe that they are anything other than slaves.”
“They’re not slaves…”
“By my observations, they work for a pittance and live where they can,” Casimer replied. “Less than slaves, really. But I did not take you to argue politics. I took you to save your life.”
“My life wasn’t in danger. And what do you care if it was? It sounds like you hate humans.”
Her attitude was returning. She couldn’t help it, even though the cold look he gave her made her bottom tingle all over again.
“I do not hate humans. If I hated humans, I would have destroyed your realm when I had the opportunity. Our armies did but a fraction of the damage they could potentially have done. I forbade retaliation even when we were betrayed by your leaders. I could have taken two worlds, but I decided instead that both should remain separate and self-contained. In the years since that decree, it has been broken only by members of your family.”
Mika sat silent, shocked at what she had heard. It was all so sudden and so very strange. She could not believe that there was so much as a drop of dragon blood in her, but she could also not deny that what King Casimer said made some odd kind of sense. Her father’s features, and to some extent, hers, were exceptionally uncommon. But every person she had seen since her arrival, the ladies and the gentlemen alike, including King Casimer—they all shared a certain similarity in appearance, a certain height to the brow and cheekbones, the straightness of the nose, the sharp little ending of the tip that had become so popular for so many of Mika’s friends to emulate with makeup.
In a very strange way, these people were familiar. And Casimer’s words held a ring of truth to them, she could just sort of sense it. She was exhausted. She was coming down from the effects of a strong hallucinogen. She was in a world so far removed from what she knew as reality that it was almost impossible to understand it. And yet what this fearsome king said made a dangerous, confusing, exciting sort of sense.
“I’m really part dragon?”
“You are,” he affirmed.
“But… my parents never told me anything… I mean… they never talked about dragons at all. Whenever shows about them would come on television, they’d change the channel… I can’t believe they would keep this from me.” She was talking more to herself now than to the king. Her mind was whirling. Could it be true? Her father had always been slightly out of place. People had put it down to his being ‘foreign,’ but perhaps he was even more foreign than she imagined. “Why wouldn’t they tell me?” She lifted her eyes to Casimer, as if he might know.
“I believe your mother thought you human enough to raise human,” he said. “She underestimated the effects of your father’s blood. She was too prideful to admit that she was wrong, or perhaps her legendary powers of observation failed her when it came to her own daughter.”
“So you’ve met her,” Mika said. “The way you talk about her, it’s like you know her.”
“I know her by reputation only,” Casimer replied. “I am given information on all that occurs in my realm, especially on those who might cause some measure of trouble. I did nothing to interfere in your father’s affairs, believing that your family would remain here. But of course, that was not the case. In the dead of the night, your mother opened one of the forbidden portals. Instead of insisting she stay here in this realm, your father accompanied you and her to your world. The rest is history.”
“So they left without your permission,” Mika said. “And you didn’t like that.”
“No,” Casimer said. “I did not… like that. They defied my rule of law. I should not have been surprised. Your father was always a renegade and your mother…”
“My father is not a renegade. You must be thinking of somebody else,” Mika said. “He’s never done anything wrong a day in his life. He’s the straightest person I know. He observes laws just for the fun of it.”
“Then he has changed since he committed larceny against the crown.”
Mika lapsed into silence. She couldn’t believe that her father was a criminal in the eyes of this king. Her father was not the sort of man who committed crimes. He was a good, honorable man.
“Well, my parents are going to miss me,” she said. “And they’re going to look for me. I’m their only child, as you know. And if it’s true what you say about them, then you should know they won’t rest until they find me. And you should also know that they will look here.”
The dragon king smirked at her, as if she had said something silly and cute. “I have already contacted Vilka and made him aware of your presence in my household. He has thanked me for offering you shelter.”
“What!? He has not!”
“He had to,” Casimer said. “You see, as I have been trying to explain, your life is not entirely your own, Mika. You hold great significance to many people, and the dragon blood which runs in your veins is precious. Your parents believed that your identity could be kept a secret for the duration of your life. They were wrong. We have identified several key parties who are actively looking for you, Mika. They have been waiting for an opportunity to take you since you were fourteen. The year you had your appendix removed.”
Mika screwed her face up in confusion.
“The surgery was a simple one, but the doctor noticed an abnormality in some of the tissue. He sent it away to be tested, thinking you perhaps had some form of illness. The results came back normal and you and your family were none the wiser. But someone at the laboratory found the sample and knew what it was. From that moment on, you were living on borrowed time.”
“That’s not…”
“To his credit, your father ensured that you were always watched over and your social status prevented you from simply being snatched away,” Casimer continued. “Unfortunately, you decided you no longer needed that protection, and you abandoned it when you needed it most. There were agents from around the world descending on the island where you decided to abandon your virginity.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I am talking about the fact that there are groups of people with medical and genetic interests who are aware that you possess dragon blood.”
“What!?”
“People will pay the world for you,” he said. “They will pay a great deal for mere pieces of you. You have no idea how close you came to becoming a specimen in a laboratory. A girl gone missing in a party town, never to be seen again.”
His words frightened Mika so much she could not accept them. “You’re lying.”
“I have no need to lie to you. I could have taken you at any time in your life for any reason whatsoever. I refrained from doing so until it became clear you had entered a phase of extreme recklessness precisely when the danger was at its greatest. You need a guiding hand, my pet. You need training. You need to be protected from the world full of dangers you can’t even begin to fathom. Your innocence is a virtue, but it also blinds you from the darker corners of the world.”
Mika sat, stunned. Then she realized that if she was at risk, then surely…
“What about them? My parents. Are they in danger?”
“I will be granting your parents refuge if they require it. For the moment, they are satisfied knowing that you are safe in this realm. Your mother and father make a formidable team. With them, you were safe. But you made the decision every new adult must make. You flew the nest—and straight into the arms of danger.”
“Is that what you call them,” Mika said, trying to quip her way to a better mood. “Your arms… arms of danger…”
She giggled a little, but the dragon king did not so much as crack a smile.
�
�You are terminally flippant, Mika,” he growled. “Have you not heard a single word I have told you about respect?”
“I’m just trying to lighten the mood,” she whimpered. “This is really heavy stuff. Kind of a downer.”
“A downer,” he repeated, shaking his head. “Mika. Do you understand the significance of what I have shared with you?”
“Yes, I understand! It’s insane though. Things made more sense on mushrooms than this does. I’m a quarter of a dragon, my dad’s half a dragon, and people want to part me out for spares.”
“You laugh at the danger you were in because it never truly touched you,” he said. “You were utterly unaware of the men who stalked you. You were never more than a few hundred feet from an agent from the moment you left your parents’ home. Only your habit of traveling with your friends kept you from being snatched at the airport or hotel.”
“So I was taking care of myself… I didn’t need to be stolen.”
“They would not have waited much longer. As we opened our portal, no fewer than three men were descending on your room. You were going to be taken, Mika. You escaped to safety with moments to spare. You have no idea how close you came to a living nightmare.”
His words were delivered with enough intensity to make a shiver run down her spine. He did not seem to be joking, or lying. He was not a man who needed to do either. She could see the power and riches he had at his disposal. Unlike the earthly authorities, he could have taken her at any time, for any reason. Casimer was a creature without limitations.
“Well, thank you, I guess,” she mumbled. “It’s a lot to… you know… think about…”
“You do not understand because you are still innocent, which means that I was able to preserve that innocence,” Casimer said, touching her hair with a gentle affection. “Your rebellion is a sign that I have done well—though I will not tolerate it for very long, Mika Ferrier. You are in my world now. It is very different from the one you left behind, in ways big and small. Every second that passes on your round world, ten pass here. You will live a decade while those back on your little planet live a single year.” Casimer leaned forward, his words taking on a majestic intensity that made her tremble. “This is an ancient place and I am an ancient creature. You are in the very heart of my kingdom. Here I rule every breath taken. I command the air and the sea and the sky. You understand, you have no choice in this matter. No living creature does. When I make a decree, it is so.”
A smart-ass response rose to Mika’s lips, a sort of who died and made you king quip, which died long before it began to be spoken. She had never been in the presence of such a person before. She had met senators and such, and they had perhaps a fraction of this man’s energy. Gravitas. That’s what it was, gravitas on a level she had never imagined possible.
Lost for words, she simply nodded. What could possibly be said in the face of such a declaration?
“You are beautiful,” he said, his voice softening a little as his eyes ran over her confused and confounded form.
“I know,” Mika murmured without thinking.
Casimer let out a sudden laugh. “You know? Of course you know. I imagine you are told that often. Humans seem drawn to even the smallest traces of dragon blood. From what we observed before you came to our realm, you have been in favor for a long time.”
“Seems to me dragons are drawn to humans as well,” she said in turn.
“You’re argumentative,” the king observed with a little shake of his head. “It is not a trait that will bode well for you here.”
“I’m only stating the obvious,” Mika replied. “Like you did.”
“Like I did?”
“You just called me beautiful, remember?” She smiled in spite of herself. It was a strange time to discover a flirtatious side, but a great many things were being awakened in Casimer’s presence. Maybe it wasn’t so strange after all.
Chapter Seven
Casimer could not help but chuckle as the impudent young woman gave him what could only be described as a reckless grin. She probably thought her beauty would earn her special treatment. She was quite obviously incredibly spoiled and used to being given preference due to her appearance.
His first impression of her as an addled innocent was giving way to something a little different. She was very beautiful, of course. Her awareness of the fact was interesting. It was not that she seemed arrogant so much as self-possessed and poised. She was innocent, but she was not helpless. He could see that immediately. She had her father’s spirit, and if the stories were anything to go by, her mother’s rebellious intellect as well, perhaps.
Casimer was eager to explore her capacities. It was difficult to tell at this stage just what being a quarter dragon meant for a woman. Her father with his half blood had retained his flight form. Indeed, in many respects he had been more dragon than human. But the same obviously was not true of Mika. She had managed to pass among humans for eighteen years—though he had already seen some signs that the dragon blood flowed in her veins.
There was a secret he had not shared with Mika, or with anybody. He had allowed the rise of human dragon hybrids out of interest. Vilka had been an exceptionally interesting test case—and he had proven to be no less of a dragon warrior for his human blood. Casimer suspected that the young woman squirming half naked before him would have distinct dragon qualities as well. But he could never forget her human side. Human dragon hybrids had only existed for a matter of decades, a mere blink in the eye of his lifespan, and yet in that time they had caused great chaos. Humans were wicked little things who needed to be treated with the firmest of hands. This one was still scared and confused, but he could already see that she would be trouble in very short order unless she was tamed and broken to his rule.
“You will enjoy being part of my household, I think,” he said. “But you need to learn proper deportment and manners. This is a world of order and strong rule. You must act according to your station.”
“And what is my station?”
“What is my station, my liege?” he repeated, correcting her speech.
“I’m not your liege,” she said, attempting to look serious to hide her deliberate rebellion. He saw the glimmer of mischief in her eye, however. She was enjoying her disrespect. She would not enjoy it much longer. Casimer had every intention of teaching her a lesson, but he wanted to gauge her temperament and character first.
“Allow me to make your place in my world very clear,” he said, leaning forward. “You are my prisoner. My pet. You are my toy. You are a plaything with which I will amuse myself. You are here at my pleasure and you will perform at my desire.”
He watched her eyes widen, her round pupils expanding like two saucers. Casimer found her quite adorable in that moment. She looked incredibly human, and incredibly vulnerable. His words no doubt frightened her, but they were not designed to be cruel. Yes, Mika had some dragon blood. That made her fractionally more of a fully recognized person than her mother or grandmother, but not by much. She could never be accorded anything in the way of rights—Casimer doubted she would know what to do with freedom even if she were given it. Her actions thus far were irresponsible and dangerous in the extreme. If he had not had a portal opened, she may very well not have survived her vacation in Ibiza anyway. She was too innocent to notice the way men of ill intent orbited her, keeping their distance, but planning their attacks. She was an innocent, and yes, though she had some intellect and evidently no shortage of spirit, it was best she were kept much as a pet would be.
“You can’t do this,” she said, shaking her head. “You just can’t.”
“You don’t understand,” he said, his voice coming in an icy hiss. “I can do whatever I please. This realm and all that live in it are mine.”
“Not me,” she said, showing a sign of bravery that he found rather amusing and somewhat admirable.
“Especially you,” he purred.
She no longer seemed inclined to let her tongue loose. She was ret
reating from him by fractions, her breath coming faster. She was excited, fearful, and something else… something he could scent. Aroused. She was blooming like a flower, her fragrance clear to him across the small divide between them.
He felt his own stirrings in response. They surprised him with their strength. Desire was one of the first things to fade with age usually. It had been a very, very long time since he had mated. His princess had died centuries earlier and though the grief of her loss had faded, he had never been interested in taking another lover. The harem, which had at times held up to a hundred fertile dragon women, was now entirely empty, dozens of rooms tended daily by servants, used in some cases for dignitaries from the further reaches of the realm, but otherwise unused.
Casimer did not look old in human terms. In his walking form, he appeared as a man in his prime. Humans reached a similar peak in their forties. Casimer was much, much older than that and the years had taken their toll. At times he had yearned for what the end of his life cycle would bring, but the trouble with the humans had brought him back to his senses and to the affairs of the realm. She did not know it, but in some sense, Mika had brought him back to life.
Looking into her eyes, he felt more than the obvious erotic impulses any male might feel when confronted with an aroused beauty of a woman. He felt a resurgence of what could only be described as his true self. It was strange, to be reminded of what he had once been, and to see himself anew in the eyes of this strange woman who shared only a fraction of the bloodlines.
“Are you going to stare at me until I submit to this insanity?”
If anyone else had dared make such insolent use of their tongue, Casimer would have reacted harshly. A public lashing would have been the first and least of their punishments. But his pet was yet to be trained and he could not blame her for behaving so wildly.
“I’m going to whip your bottom until you beg for mercy,” he said with a broad smile that evoked a visible quiver in his pet.
