Dragon Blood

Seven: Threat of Exposure

Skylar felt the blood, which had been fueling her temper and flushed face, drain away. All that was left was a cold, clammy feeling that crawled over her skin. Even her dragon was unnerved by the response.

"M-my lord," she stuttered. To her dismay, her voice was weak and filled with trepidation.

"I've suspected for a while now, what you are, but now it's been confirmed," he sighed happily. "You're a monster."

"I beg your pardon."

"Don't lie to me, beast. You've done a wonderful job at hiding amongst the humans who don't know any better, but I can't be fooled. Not any longer. See, it has always troubled me why two dragons would have kept a human child alive. Why didn't they kill you? Where did they get you? But now I understand. They were your parents," he shook his head in disbelief.

"I don't understand," Skylar admitted.

"What don't you understand?" he asked with the slightest roll of his eyes. He had the fall to be exasperated with her.

"My parents are the king and queen," she insisted.

"So they've told you all this time. In reality, you're simply the replacement for the child they couldn't have themselves. Do they know what you are?"

He had her backed into a corner. No matter which way she answered, she would be admitting that she was a dragon. But, she knew that there would be no convincing him otherwise. He knew what he had seen; he had been waiting for it. That was why he had been so rude. He was trying to provoke her and her dragon. And she'd fallen right into his trap. "Yes, they know," she finally answered confidently.

"Really? And you have not yet been killed?"

Skylar remained silent.

"They need an heir, I suppose," Draco reasoned, not at all bothered by her lack of response. "Killing you wouldn't do anything for the kingdom."

That hit Skylar in the gut like a cannonball. It had never occurred to her that the only reason her parents allowed her to stay within the castle, despite what she was, was because they had no heir themselves. But that would mean that she really was adopted. That she wasn't a princess at all. That the only thing she was, the only thing that defined her, was a dragon.

"Don't you wish to know how I figured it out?" Draco asked. He eyes were filled with excitement, like a child seeing a new toy for the first time. He was obviously quite proud of his discovery.

"How," she choked out. They were still dancing, but no one was paying them any mind. She felt like she was going to throw up.

"I was going through some of my father's old books, the ones that speak of dragons. I came across a new one that was hidden deep within the back of the library underneath a mountain of his old books. See, the dragons have been quiet for the past few months, not attacking villages or livestock, and I was hoping to figure out more. The book was filled with information like I had never read before. It was obviously information that very few are privy to. It might very well be the only book of its kind.

"And when I opened the filthy, cracked book, I came across the most interesting drawing on the inner cover: a human with horns protruding from its head, glowing eyes, and claws. The caption to this work of art was 'mid-transformation.' At this point, I had no idea what that meant. I was simply appalled by the picture; it was quite grotesque. Then I began to read further and it spoke of these magical creatures who had been fused with dragons, and were able to switch forms between dragons and a human form. These beings were all the more dangerous because they could pass as a person," Draco glared at her. She knew her eyes were wide and her face was white, but she couldn't seem to help it. She was terrified. What was Draco going to do to her, now that he knew what she was? Her dragon whimpered within her, but then growled in defiance; it wanted to rip Draco's face off.