Page 41 of The Dragon's Pet
“You trained your human,” Eldor pointed out in turn. “You took her and you thrashed her and fucked her until she had some semblance of domestication. She is your pet. But she is still human and she is still like the rest of them beneath that veneer you have instilled in her. They are a primitive species who canmanipulate matter in the slowest of ways to create huge tragedy. I do not like them, and I do not like her.”
Vyktor nodded coolly. There was nothing to be gained from drawing out this conversation. Eldor had made up his mind, and hearing Aria be the brunt of his slurs after all she had done and all she had been through made him angrier than he cared to express.
“Build your portal,” Vyktor said. “But do not say another word against Aria. Or it will be among the last you ever utter. She is my pet, and she will be by my side as long as I draw breath. If you do not like that, feel free to go your own way and see how long it is before the humans find you out. What do you think they will do to a lone dragon? You have seen what they do to one another in the course of their wars—and they are of the same blood. What do you think they will do to a creature they loathe?”
There was a long pause, in which Vyktor knew the argument was over. Eldor had developed a healthy fear of humans and though he might not like Aria, he wasn’t so stupid as to not realize that she was essential.
“You will be coming with us when we return to our realm,” Eldor said. “You will come to your senses.”
“I will not leave Aria, and I will not leave this planet. What you do is up to you.”
CHAPTER 16
Aria never thought she’d be buying an island. At first she didn’t know where to begin with the island buying process, but it turned out that all one had to do was fly to Greece, meet a soon to be impoverished ex-billionaire, and offer him more gold than he could carry for the title. Simple.
For several months, Aria and the dragons lived a fairly idyllic life on their private island. It was always warm, always sunny, and Aria truly began to believe that this could be it. The war was over, and they were safe. The rebuild was underway, the economy stimulated by all the work there was to do to fix the damage that had been done in the war. Those who had been lost were mourned, and it felt as though there was a new spirit of healing. Humanity had overcome a dangerous foe and as a result there was a global celebration.
Eldor had been working on a version of the portal in order to get the dragons who still desired evacuation home again. He seemed to be making good progress, but Aria and Vyktor did not pay as much attention to his work. Vyktor did not like to so much as think of the possibility of returning to his realm, and Aria didn’t either. The dragon realm was the past. This was thefuture, sunlit days on an island so remote and so well hidden in a greater archipelago that they would never have to interact with any world other than their own little paradise ever again.
Aria and Vyktor walked hand and hand upon the beach. It took just over two hours to circumnavigate the island, and they made the journey once a day at least. Golden sand coated Aria’s feet, little granules creeping between her toes as she walked barefoot with the man she loved more than life.
They stopped to kiss beneath a palm tree where they often made love to one another. It was their little secluded spot, a place apart from a place. Vyktor no longer wore human clothing, and he had gotten rid of the contact lenses too. Both were stored away in the room they shared deep in the mountain.
“I think…” Aria drew in a deep breath. “I think this is the first time I’ve ever been really happy.”
Vyktor smiled and ran his hands down her back, pulling her close to him. “I believe I know what you mean, pet.”
“Do you miss your realm?”
He looked at her and she knew that the answer must be yes, even as his lips said no. “This is my home now, pet, with you. I can accept that. We have many years ahead of us here. I believe in time that the world will change and perhaps we will not always need to hide. For now, I have you, and this little world we have made together.”
He spoke with such poetic passion that she almost believed him. But deep down, Aria knew that he could not be happy. The dragons yearned to fly, but they could not risk it. Some of the younger ones had been caught sneaking out in the dead of night and wheeling about the islands—something Eldor and Vyktorput a hard stop to once rumors of dragons began to spread through the locals.
Living as hunted creatures was a strain, and it showed in various ways. Eldor in particular had become incredibly reclusive and angry. He would not speak to Aria at all—not that he had spoken to her much when she was their captive, but it was a different kind of silence now, a more contemptuous one.
“I love you, pet,” Vyktor said, lowering his head to kiss her. “And I love our life together. Stop worrying.”
She succumbed to his kiss and let her dragon lover drive all concerns from her mind with his plundering tongue.
Suddenly, Vyktor broke the kiss, leaving her panting against his chest. He looked straight up and at the horizon and she felt every muscle in his body become tense.
“What’s wrong?” She looked up at him with concern.
“I think we should go back to the base,” he said. “Now.”
“Why?” Aria looked in the direction he was staring, but her eyes could not pick out what he was seeing.
“I think we are about to have very unpleasant company.”
“What do you mean?”
He pointed northeast. It took a couple of seconds, but then she saw what had him so worried. A fleet of helicopters were making their way over the open water, and under them, military speedboats fitted with significant artillery.
Aria’s heart began to pound in her chest. Her fingers and toes tingled as adrenaline saturated her body in an instant. “Oh, god,” she gasped. “It’s an invasion!”
“Back to base, pet,” Vyktor said calmly. “We will defend this place as best we can…”
“We won’t be able to defend it. There’s nowhere to hide. They will tear this place apart piece by piece.” She felt her eyes welling with tears. Why couldn’t they just be left alone? None of the dragons had taken the slightest aggressive act in return for the betrayal at the portal.
