Page 17 of The Dragon King’s Pet

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 to 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.”