Page 26 of The Dragon’s Captive

Light poured in as the blindfold slid away, the slitted eyes of a dozen dragon men fell on her, and all Kate could manage was a cringing embarrassed smile of sorts.

“Sorry,” she squeaked. “I, um, didn’t mean to.”

Playing dumb was probably her best defense, she figured. Dragons seemed to think humans were stupid and simple anyway. And these ones looking at her now seemed particularly inclined to believe that she was a feeble-minded lump of female flesh.

“Do not let her demeanor fool you,” Vilka said, blowing her cover immediately. “She is very intelligent, dangerously so, but I have ascertained she did not intend direct harm. She is not malicious. Avastias’ waking was simply a byproduct of her reckless actions.”

“Sounds human,” one of the dragons snorted. “Why did you not send her back immediately?”

“I closed the portal, but elected to keep her…”

“Like father, like son,” someone guffawed.

“…because she has developed technology which would allow any number of humans to live in our world without becoming pregnant to a dragon,” Vilka finished his sentence with a glower. “She is a liability, but one I prefer in my control than loose in another world.”

There was a rumble of what might have been agreement or disagreement, Kate couldn’t tell.

“And Avastias?”

“That is the greater problem,” Vilka admitted. “After we closed the first portal, Kate decided to try to open a second one. She did so on the mountain. As a result, Avastias awoke and the portal was burned into the sky. Unfortunately, the world eater has flown through that portal and is now somewhere in the Earth realm.”

A rumble went through the dragon elders, men who showed signs of age about their faces and frames, but who were obviously still quite vital. They were an intimidating, handsome crowd and Kate wished she could cover herself up. Many of them seemed intrigued by her form and she could feel their gazes running over every inch of her naked body.

The lead elder, a man Kate took an immediate dislike to, spoke for the group. “This human has entered our realm unbidden and caused a great calamity to unfold. For this, she must be punished. She must do her penance thoroughly before our eyes. If you are to keep custody of her, Vilka, we must be satisfied that you are in some way capable of controlling her. When that matter is settled, the matter of Avastias will be attended to.”

“Naturally,” Vilka said, as if what the elder had just asked for was reasonable. “I intend to prove that this young woman is not only capable of contrition, she is capable of submission. You will see that in spite of the mistakes she has made, she is trainable. In due course, she will not only make an excellent mate, but her skills may very well be put to use in the service of our realm. She is capable of great things…”

“We are only interested as to whether she is capable of taking discipline,” the elder interrupted bluntly.

Kate looked up at Vilka with wide eyes. “You can’t do this,” she whimpered. “Not in front of them.”

“Not only in front of them,” Vilka said. “Before the eyes of the fortress, the men who were trapped in their dragon forms, flying until exhaustion nearly took them. There are many you must atone to, Kate.” He lifted his voice. “Summon the legion!”

As he spoke, a hundred dragon men filed in behind the elders, filling the hall row after row. She recognized many of them as men she had seen around the fortress before. There was an air of anticipation in the room, as well over a hundred souls waited for her to receive her due at Vilka’s hands.

Kate let out a little whimpering moan, shaking her head as she whispered desperately to him, “I’ve never begged you for anything but my freedom, but seriously, Vilka, please don’t do this.”

“You are beautiful, and you will show that beauty in all its glory,” he said gently as his hands went to the fastenings that attached the chains of her wrists to the chain at her waist. He freed her hands from her sides, but she knew that was not a good sign. He was merely preparing her for what was to come next, his hands guiding her around on the dais.

“This is not merely about punishing you, Kate,” he murmured so that only she could hear him. “It is about showing that I have command of you. If I cannot do that, then they will attempt to take you from me, and I promise you, lives will be lost if that comes to pass. I will not allow them to imprison you. They will not be as kind as I am… and I have been kind, Kate, whether you realize it or not. Do you know how these men think of you? As a pet. You are little more than a canary in a cage to them, and they will have you treated as such. I want more for you than that, but I have to prove my ability to handle you first, and let’s face it, Kate, I haven’t precisely done that so far, have I?”

She let out a little whimper as he turned her so her back was to the audience. It was a small mercy to not have to look at them, though she could still feel their eyes upon her.

“Kneel,” he said, pointing to a place at the middle of the dais.

She did so, sinking gracefully to the dais, her knees pressing against the pillow he had put there for the purpose. It was made of a green silk, which showed her coloring to full advantage, the pale creamy curves of her body, and the copper waves of hair that fell over her shoulders and hid her breasts. This did not come naturally to her. She was flushed with embarrassment at having her body exposed, and at making a display of submission.

But there was more than embarrassment. There was a welling between her thighs, a wetness that was already slicking her inner lips. She couldn’t help her hips, which squirmed slowly back and forth as she looked up at Vilka. He had always been strong and masterful, but in that moment all the qualities that made her melt were amplified. The hard lines of his jaw, the sharp angle of his brow, the regal set of his head, and the broadness of his shoulders tapering to a muscular midsection and a powerful waist. The elders whose older frames were cloaked in robes looked on with what Kate thought might have been some sparks of jealousy.

Vilka was a man in his prime, and there could have been no doubt in anyone’s mind that he was in control of not just her, but the room. They seemed to breathe as one when he moved.

“You have called on me to prove my mastery of this woman,” he announced. “And I tell you now, defeating Avastias himself is not as great a task as mastering such a creature. She is willful and she is tempestuous and she will not submit easily—but that does not mean it is impossible to take her in hand and turn her energies to positive ends.”

His speech ended with him taking her wrists and pulling them in front of her so that her hands moved toward an iron ring in the floor. He fastened her shackles there, leaving her kneeling facing away from the audience. She felt him step around her, lean down and tap her bottom.

“Lift,” he ordered. “And spread your thighs.”

Burning with embarrassment, Kate lifted her hips a little, but it was not enough to satisfy Vilka. He pushed her legs apart with his foot and lifted her hips higher so that she was left in a position that put her bottom and sex on display for all to see.