Page 42 of The Dragon’s Captive

“Eight billion or so,” Kate nodded. “Total, on the planet, I mean.”

His expression became one of confused distaste. “Eight billion? That is far too many. Every crevice of this realm must have a human stuffed in it.”

“Not entirely, no. There are places where there are no humans for miles around. Relatively few of them now,” Kate admitted, “but they exist. And there are wild spaces left too.”

“Hmph,” Vilka said. “I see no evidence of that.”

“Because we’re in Times Square,” she replied. “This is one of the most populated places on Earth. There are people from all over the world here.”

Vilka stood out, even in that crowded square. There was nothing obviously different about him, he was tall, but not outlandishly so, and he was broad, but again, there were other men with similar proportions. What made him so different was how very raw he was. There was something wild and unfiltered about him, even in his buttoned-down shirt and sweater and chinos.

She was not the only one to see it. It soon became apparent that women were looking at him, their gazes lingering and appreciative. Kate curled her fingers in his a little harder as they moved through the throngs of people. Vilka did not seem to notice them, until…

“Why is that woman dressed so scantily?”

He was directing his attention to one of the street walkers, a woman in very high heels and a very short skirt and a top that was more like a bandage around her breasts than any kind of covering.

“Dragons don’t wear any clothes at all,” she reminded him.

“Humans do,” Vilka replied. “Besides, what she is wearing is somehow more suggestive than her being outright naked would be. Why is she an exception?”

Kate sighed inwardly. This was not going to please him at all.

“She sells her body, to make money.”

Vilka looked at Kate, his brows hitting his hairline. “That is what women do here, is it? Sell themselves to men? This is where you want our daughter to grow up?”

“Well, not all of them,” Kate said. “Not many, even.”

Vilka’s expression remained stony. Kate’s heart sank. Nothing seemed to please him the entire day. He had an almost perpetual scowl on his face as he encountered each new experience.

“This place is crowded, decadent, and dirty,” he said. “Look how the debris clutters the streets and these car machines, poor substitutes for wings. They are noisy and they smell…”

“Let’s get something to eat,” she suggested finally. “I like this Chinese place.”

They got some food and sat in the little hole in the wall shop to eat it. Vilka didn’t seem comfortable with the chopsticks or the fork, but followed her mode of eating as well as he could. She looked at him, sitting there stiffly on a chair that was too small for him and felt an odd sadness. He was so out of place. Was it even fair to ask him to try to live here?

As they were eating, a police car sped by, lights and sirens blaring. It pulled to a halt down the block and officers exited the vehicle.

“Who are those men?”

“Police,” Kate explained. “Guards of a sort.”

“Who do they report to?”

“I guess the mayor.”

“So the mayor is the king?”

“We don’t have kings anymore. Not real ones anyway. The people vote for leaders. We have a president, but only for eight years maximum.”

“So your realm must be in constant unrest,” he observed.

“Well… I guess,” Kate admitted.

“No king,” he mused to himself. “Interesting. And this works?”

“Well, it’s what led to all of this,” she said, gesturing at the city.