Dragon Kin

22

Victor

It was no lie. My whole life was on display. People even stood by while I slept.

Her question brought to mind just how different we really were. I mean, I was attracted. Certainly. Her questions, her answers, what she talked about. How she just turned around and nailed the crowd in the head, and then stormed off. She was fascinating.

But this wasn't her world on so many levels. I always pictured the Enedra as bookish and boring. People who craved knowledge, but never ventured for experience. I was quite wrong. Pleasantly wrong, in fact.

She understood the gun I handed her. When she checked the weapon over, her motions were competent and practiced. Smooth, without hesitation. That took more than books and reading.

She had a fighter's walk to her, as well. Feminine, yes. There was no getting around that in those jeans, but a 'not to be messed with' accent to that femininity. An accent she underscored with her lambasting of the crowd. I wished Ocean would have seen...

No, I guess I didn't.

That was going to take some getting used to. If I heeded my own words earlier, then what Ocean did wasn't a betrayal, but a matter of following the law. Ethics. He was duty bound to bring us back together, alive, as surely as Alicja and I were bound to each other.

I wondered what she would say to that.

"Which way do you lean," I asked, "ethics or morals?"

"Both," she said. "That's why we have both. It's not an either-or world. Is it?"

No, I guess it wasn't. Which is probably why thinking of what Ocean did with an ethics perspective didn't feel all that good.

I thought he had a moral obligation to me.

I was wrong.

Ocean has been my guardian since I was ten. Two years before my mother died. I didn't know where he came from. My father and mother introduced him to me, and that was that. He lived in a room next to mine. We ate at the same time. He tutored me for lessons I was struggling with.

He was also my protector. I discovered, from several occurrences, that he was quite skilled in that position. He seemed to me, indestructible, when I was younger. This turned out to be false — you just had to try much harder with him. But you could make him bleed.

He looks the same today as he did the day he was introduced.

But he's not family, and never has been.

Sighing, I admitted that was my mistake.

But if you can't trust someone who has that kind of history with you, who can you expect to trust? I didn't like the apathy and pessimism that was required for the answer of 'nobody.'

If that was an error, fine. It was the error of my choice then. I could live with that.

When we reached the doors I told the porter our names and how to introduce us, keeping it simple. The prince Victor and his bond-mate Alicja. That was as simple as it got.

She glanced up at me with a menacing glare, which I didn't understand. And we went inside. She even took my arm which I thought was a bit much.

My uncle sat on the throne. There were four guards beside him and they marched toward us as soon as we came into view. It didn't take long for us to meet, and then they started to put me in chains.

"What's this?" I shouted. "Get off!" I commanded, and pushed one to slide half across the room.

"You are being held for contempt," my Uncle shouted back. "Go willingly or I'll just get more men."

I had one by the throat and another by his ear, when he said that. I let go. "What's the fine?" I grumbled.

"One night," Uncle Max said, and sat back down.

"Arrg." Fine, just fine. What was there to do? It was far less than I deserved and it cleared the air.

Fine.

She was glaring at me. "Yes? I ... Well I did say I might get that spanking. I did say it."

She smiled, shook her head to get it off her lips. "What do I do then?"

"You," my Uncle said, "May join me for something to eat or drink. A small chat if you would permit. Silence if you prefer."

I lifted an eyebrow and shrugged. "You are safe," I pointed out.

She looked down, "Only been with you a day and you're already getting thrown in jail for the night."

"Bad, huh?" I ventured.

She nodded. "I mean, it's a red flag. Right?"

I gave her a hug which she returned and we parted ways, for the night.