Page 35 of The Dragon King’s Pet

“Mhm, that’s the way of things,” Casimer smiled back. “Do not worry, pet, we will have a full and long life together, I promise you that. Now, I must attend to a matter of state. Go back to the bedchamber and rest. I think you need it.”

She nodded a little and turned to follow his directions. Casimer watched her go, his heart welling with emotion. She was beautiful and she was entirely his. He wished he could spend more time in her training. There was still so much they did not know about one another, still so much to mutually discover. Perhaps it was the scent of dragon sex in the air, but he suddenly found himself impatient, as he had not been in hundreds of years.

“You cannot rush this, Casimer,” he murmured to himself. “There is only one chance for a first time.”

CHAPTER 12

Solemn with what she had just learned about the true age of the man she loved, and the fate that would ultimately befall him, Mika returned not to the bedchamber as he had ordered, but to her favorite spot in the garden, a place where she could be alone and think. There was a view of the city she was forbidden to visit, and of the horizon beyond. This was a big world, one great continent according to the maps she had seen in her visits to the library. She was allowed to see such a very small part of it. She was a prisoner, and no matter how much affection she shared with Casimer, she could not forget that.

“Not a prisoner, a pet,” she said, mocking his deep voice to herself. “So it’s totally fine that you’re penned up here like an animal all the time.”

It really wasn’t fine. Mika was frustrated at her limitations. She had been on the cusp of discovering the world beyond her front door, and enjoyed less than a week in Ibiza before being taken into the custody of the king. She was at an age where she should have been exploring, and yet she was cooped up worse than ever.

Sniff.

Did Casimer understand that? She didn’t think so. He was much older, after all, and a dragon. If he remembered what it was like to be young, she doubted that his experiences were anything like hers.

Sniifffffff sniiiffff.

She’d told him a hundred times how she felt, but words didn’t seem to have any effect on him. He just told her to be patient, to wait a little longer, to settle in. How could she settle in a world she didn’t belong in? And how long could she possibly wait? She wasn’t a dragon. She wasn’t going to live a thousand years. She only had a few decades to make anything of her life. If Casimer didn’t let her start living soon, she’d wither and die before ever living at all.

Sniiiffffff.

From the moment she sat down, there had been a snuffling sound coming from the bushes. She had ignored it in favor of her own annoyed thoughts, but it was getting harder and harder to ignore. At first she thought it was one of the Rafikins trying to dig something up, but when she leaned over and parted the leaves, it was not one of the adorable flying dogs that greeted her, but Lythia. The young woman was half-crouched next to the wall, her face red and tearstained.

“Lythia? What’s wrong?”

“Oh, m’lady, I am sorry to disturb you,” the servant said, seeming ashamed to have been caught crying. “I will move on.”

“You’re not disturbing me,” Mika frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing m’lady,” Lythia said. “I brought a punishment upon myself. I forgot how formidable Lord Lazarus can be.”

“Come out and talk to me,” Mika said, forgetting her own concerns. She liked Lythia a lot. Lythia reminded her of her friends back at home. Seeing her upset made Mika upset too. She wanted to help if she could. She held the branches aside as Lythia emerged from her little hiding place, looking utterly miserable.

“So what happened?”

Lythia stood in front of her, her hands clasped before her, her head bowed. She seemed genuinely embarrassed by what had happened.

“It’s really nothing to concern you, ma’am, it was all my fault,” Lythia said, trying to avoid the subject.

“What do you mean? Tell me, Lythia,” she insisted, using what little power she had to compel the young lady to speak to her.

“I was touching things I shouldn’t have been touching in his chambers,” she said. “He’d warned me several times before about getting my fingerprints on his jewels. He said I was there to clean, not smudge all his things. I just can’t help it, he is one of the finest crafters in the city. He can bring the most beautiful stones from plain rock…”

“So he hurt you?”

“He took his cane to me,” Lythia said. “I deserved it… I…”

“Show me.”

Lythia sniffed and pulled up her skirt. There were several bright red marks placed across her bottom, ridged with puffy skin around the harsh red lines. Just looking at them made Mika angry. Lythia was a sweet, sweet girl. For anyone to have unleashed this kind of punishment was unfair in the extreme.

“You said Lazarus did this,” Mika said. “He’s the one with the black hair and black eyes, right? The one who always looks like he’s been sucking on a lemon?”

“I don’t know what a lemon is,” Lythia sniffed. “But he is a very grave man. Not one to be crossed. He is second only to the king.”

“He’s going to regret doing this to you,” Mika said, scowling furiously. “He’s not going to get away with this.”