Page 40 of The Dragon’s Captive

“Deal,” Vilka agreed, beaming broadly.

CHAPTER 19

“Iam a dinosaur!”

“You’re a dragon.”

“I am a dinosaur.”

At five years old, Mika was still absolutely certain of her identity. No matter how many times her peers and others informed her of her dragon heritage, she rejected it outright. It had been cute at first, and still was at times, but Kate was starting to realize that it wasn’t just some game of make believe Mika was engaging in. It was something deeper than that, a mismatch of identity that played out over and over again every time Mika tried to engage with others.

Kate often encountered the coldness herself when interacting with other dragons. Vilka was now a hero, worshiped as much as he had once been outcast and as a result his presence was much sought after socially, but entire parties would go by at times without anyone beside him so much as acknowledging her presence. Her humanity didn’t just make her different from the dragons. It made her less than them.

Somebody had even inquired as to why Vilka allowed her off a leash, as if they were expecting her to be kept as a chained pet. That inquiry, once made, had not been made again after Vilka’s reaction was observed by all and sundry. The gentleman who suggested Kate be tied to the table found himself forced to take dragon form after being summarily ejected out of a rather tall window. The matter was never brought up again.

Vilka could control what was said in his presence, but he could not control what was not said. He could not control the lack of warmth or even interest toward Kate, and he certainly couldn’t help the way the whelplings treated Mika.

“Dinosaur, dinosaur, dinosaur!” Mika stood at the doorway and shouted the words after her playmates, who were fleeing now, giggling among themselves. They only came to play in order to torment Mika, as far as Kate could tell, and their play sessions often ended with Mika in tears of frustration. They were only small, but Kate could see the future playing out in their little interactions, and she did not like it one little bit.

She had to do something about it. Now. As happy as she was with Vilka, time was passing, Mika was growing by the day and matters were coming to a head one way or another.

“Vilka, I need to talk to you about something,” she said, listening to the pounding of Mika’s feet as she ran up to her room to play alone.

“What is it?” His casual drawl told her he did not sense what was coming. He did not seem to notice the subtle cruelties inflicted on the female members of his family. Perhaps because he had been through much worse in his own youth.

There was no way to be subtle about it. She just had to come out and say it.

“I don’t want Mika to live in this realm. She doesn’t fit and I don’t think she ever will.”

The flash of hurt she had known would appear burst across Vilka’s face. “What do you mean?”

“I want Mika to grow up around humans,” Kate attempted to explain. “The others are already noticing how different she is, and she’s too headstrong to just be quiet and try to fit in. I can see her spending the rest of her life fighting just to be what she is, and I don’t want her to grow up as an outcast. She’s too precious for that, Vilka. And she’s more human than she is dragon. I think we should return to Earth.”

His brows drew down, perplexed. “You want to be free of me?”

“No! I want you to come there with us. I want to live there with you. I want you to be a father to Mika and a husband to me. Haven’t you spent enough time here? Don’t you want to see the world half of you came from?”

Emotion flashed in Vilka’s eyes. “The world which my mother had to flee, and in which I was at risk of being harmed as an infant? That world? The world which would still harm me if it knew what I was? And Mika too?”

“Yes,” Kate nodded. “That world. I know it’s not the safest choice. I know it’s safer to stay here and sit at the end of this rock, but I can’t. I want more for us.”

“And what will stop us from being detected the way my parents were? They tried to live an Earthly paradise. They were not allowed to.”

“You’re just afraid,” she said. “That’s not a reason to stay away from Earth. It’s not as bad as you think. It’s full of all sorts of things you don’t even know about, like public education, and advanced technologies… and Chinese food!”

“I do have something to fear,” he said solemnly. “I have two someones to fear losing. You and Mika. Whatever Chinese food is, it is not worth either of your lives.”

“You know you can’t hold me prisoner this time, Vilka,” she said gently. “I have to do what is best for Mika. This is not her world, and I don’t think it ever will be.”

There was an unbearable tension that made tears bead in her eyes. She really didn’t want to be without Vilka, he was her heart and her soul. But Mika needed more than what the dragon realm could provide her with. Vilka had suffered for being raised there, and he was half-dragon. Mika’s path would inevitably be more painful, and that Kate would not watch.

“I am not going to hold you prisoner,” he replied. “Not of anything besides your conscience, which will hold you as it will. You are safe here. Mika is safe here. And she will not necessarily grow as an outcast. I am not Vilka the pariah any longer. I am Vilka, he who bested Avastias. We could enjoy a long life of great riches here. And you, you came to study, and I have shown you much in the way of this realm. I have shown you how we coax precious gems from the rocks, how we work the elements with our skin. Mika may yet have some of these talents…”

Kate had been impressed with the way dragons manipulated metals and precious stones. They were masters of solid material; something in their very makeup allowed them to restructure the bonds of rock and turn it to gold, or lead or even diamond if they so desired. As a result, the realm was utterly festooned in the kinds of riches that would have made the wealthiest people on Earth appear mere paupers. But material magic was not enough.

“It’s not about what I can learn, Vilka,” she said. “It’s not about me at all.”

“I will give you permission to visit Earth as you please…”