Page 25 of The Dragon’s Captive

“I should have clapped you in chains and kept you in the deepest, darkest dungeon I have, you mean,” he said, his eyes narrowed to two angry slits. “Have you no remorse, girl? Do you not understand your role in all these things? How much destruction will be done before you see that you have some hand here?”

“I don’t think you see your role in this,” she countered. “You kept me here against my will. You expected me to roll over and obey you, why? Because I am a woman? You think just because you have sex with me I’m going to stay here forever?”

“I think because I have claimed you as mine, that I will keep you here,” he growled. “I think you have no choice in it, and I think that is a good thing because you take no responsibility for what you break. You think you are entitled to do anything you please. Even now, as the world eater could be visiting any kind of horror on your people, and you would rather argue with me than admit the error of your ways.”

“I have confidence in our military to handle a dragon, even one as big as that one.”

“You don’t understand, do you.” He shook his head and drew a deep breath. “Kate, Avastias is not a dragon. He is terror incarnate, he is fear and predation made flesh. Your militaries have weapons of great power, but he will not be defeated by their physical means. It will not be as it was at the end of the last war, when cowards trained their weapons on a gracious retreating force.”

“So this is about me being human. You hate me because I’m human.”

He let out a short laugh. “You can’t begin to know how wrong you are.”

“What does that mean?”

“You will find out soon enough,” he declared, taking her in hand. Kate tried to squirm out of his grasp, but it was a token struggle and she knew it. Vilka was determined to make sure she did not escape again and he showed it by wrapping his hands around her and holding her fast as he attached new chains pulled from a nearby chest. They were made of the same material from which the fortress itself was forged. The links were obsidian black, gleaming with a dark light. He clapped two irons around her wrists and a new collar replaced the pretty one she had worn before. That fell to the floor, shattered by the dragon’s grip and was replaced with a thicker, much less comfortable collar that was heavy around her neck, and to which the wrist irons were attached with more chains, smaller links that did not strain her overly, but that absolutely made her feel the intellectual weight of the shackles.

“The elders will be here soon,” Vilka said. “I will present them to you and your fate will be decided.”

“My fate was decided a long time ago,” Kate said defiantly, her shackles clinking as she stood defiantly before her irate lover and so-called master. “I decided it, and these chains and your elders don’t make any difference. You can slow me down, but you can’t stop me. I will get back home.”

“Defying me will not undo your destruction,” Vilka said. “I know you prefer fighting me to looking at yourself, but I will not allow you that luxury. You will await your true fate—the fate arising from the consequences of your actions, not the fate you imagine you deserve based on your fantasies.”

Not content with the chains and shackles, Vilka produced the last implement of his displeasure… a length of velvet fabric that he wrapped three times about her head, making the world go dark.

She felt another length of chain fastened about her waist, and then her wrist shackles clipped to it. She could no longer reach her face, not even to scratch her nose—and definitely not to remove the blindfold.

“Where are you taking me? What are you doing?”

“To your destiny.”

She could hear the dark smirk in his voice and let out a little growl as he tugged her forward. Wherever she was going, she doubted she was going to like it.

CHAPTER 9

“Vilka!? Are you there? I need to pee!”

Vilka stood at the end of the grand hall, within earshot of his fragile human mate’s whimpering. She did not like being blind, shackled, and alone, which was understandable. Her current circumstances were not comfortable, but she had not earned comfort. She was naked, naturally, her beautiful curves displayed to full advantage as she squirmed back and forth.

“Seriously! I’m going to make a puddle!”

He smirked to himself. He knew for a fact that she had relieved herself shortly before being taken to the hall. This was about the tenth strategy she had used to try to get herself out of her predicament. None of them had worked, and none of them would work.

“Hush,” he said. “Our guests are about to arrive. If you wish to urinate before them, that is your choice.”

He had already greeted the elders by himself as they arrived at the fortress as a single contingent, heavily attended by royal guardsmen who even now were populating his fortress and irritating his own legion who were still recovering from their hours flying with Avastias. A visit from the elders was deeply unpleasant for all concerned, but under the circumstances, could not be avoided.

Vilka had certainly not greeted them with any eagerness. They looked upon him as a mere pup, he knew that, and they made no attempt to hide it. He had much to prove, and he had proved nothing at all thus far, besides a talent for chaos. Kate’s actions were judged as if they were his own, and for good reason. He was lord of the fortress. Anything that went wrong on his watch was his fault. Vilka knew this and understood it.

“Here they come,” he said, moving closer to his chained mate as the elders began to file into the hall. They wore their ceremonial robes, blue and gold. Like Kate, Vilka wore nothing at all. Unlike her, he was not ashamed.

“Welcome, elders,” he said, addressing the small gathering. “You are here because an event in a hundred generations has occurred. Avastias has awakened. We thought it was impossible to wake a world eater before its time, but we now know otherwise, thanks to this woman.”

He gestured toward Kate and unwound the blindfold from around her head, allowing the elders to look upon Kate and her to look upon them.

“This is Kate,” Vilka said. “She is a young human female who decided to take it upon herself to generate a portal capable not only of allowing her passage to our world, but of waking Avastias in the process.”

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