“What does that matter? We're forcing him to help. He's not doing so because he believes in our plight.”
“What plight?” I finally stopped laughing. “I haven't been here long, but you admitted to me that King Kaspian is a good ruler. You said you don't want him dead. And I've seen happy people in the streets of this city. No one looked abused or even impoverished. Where I come from, every city has homeless people begging for money or food. People down on their luck, we call them. I saw none of that here.”
“Don't let a few glimpses deceive you, Your Grace,” Valen said. “Not all prosper here. But you're right. It's not the King's fault. He does what he can for the people of his kingdom. It is simply the way of things that some shall have more than others. We are not trying to change that. All we want is to be seen as equals to Dragons.”
“And yet, you can't view humans as equals.” I held up my hand before they could argue. “My people have a saying—what you hate in others is usually what you hate most in yourself.”
The men stared at me.
“Great Gods, he's right,” Valen whispered.
“Fuck, that!” Enor slashed his hand through the air. “I don't hate Dragons. I'm just tired of being looked down on by them. So what if I do it to humans? All the races see humans as lesser.”
“Well, that's okay then,” I said brightly. “If everyone does it, it must be fine.”
Enor bared his teeth at me.
“Duke Demetrius is pointing out harsh truths.” Valen set a hand on Enor's shoulder. “But truths they are. We should accept them. They will make us stronger.”
I nodded. “Know thyself.” I snorted. “Sometimes the hardest person to face is our true self.”
“You act like a man with little value for philosophy and yet, you spout wisdom that I find to be profound,” Valen said.
“I'm only repeating what someone else said. I'm not a philosopher or a scientist. I'm not even all that smart. I told you—I'm a firefighter. And I'm damn proud of that, no matter how foolish people on this planet think it is. I've saved lives. And saving a single life can change the course of history. That person could go on to invent something incredible or do something incredible. Even if they don't, every life is precious. So, yeah, I see my job as worthwhile as the scientist who develops a cure for cancer.”
Valen leaned in. “What is cancer?”
“I assume you have diseases here. Cancer is a disease.”
“We do. But it's mainly—”
“In humans?” I cut him off. “So it doesn't concern you?”
“Yes. Immortals heal too fast for disease to take hold.”
I shook my head, over being their dancing monkey. “All right, guys. I've given you what you wanted. How about putting the whammy on me and dumping me in the street, huh? No bad feelings.”
“Duke Demetrius, you've given us some interesting descriptions,” Valen said. “But I hardly believe that those items are all that your world has to offer. We have a week, and I intend to make the most of it.” He motioned at the other men to pull up chairs as he had. “Continue, if you please.”
I sighed and started talking about fast-food restaurants.
Chapter Thirty-Four
By the second day, I was drained. The stress of being a captive combined with the constant questions and useless descriptions I had to conjure got to me. I'm an active guy and sitting there all day didn't help either. Nor did I trust those assholes to wipe my memory and let me go. I wasn't familiar enough with magic to know if that was possible. It seemed as if it would be, but they could have been lying to me as easily as I was lying to them. So, yeah, there was death looming over me too.
Actually, most of the things I told them about Earth were true. True and useless to their cause. I did worry about the laser thing. It wasn't exactly a lie. But that kind of technology would be a leap for them. It would be easier to go from catapults to projectile weapons. The thing was, the light as weapon idea had stuck with Valen. And he had magic. He could make the leap. I hadn't considered that when I came up with my plan.
Had I given Kaspian's enemies the idea that would inspire them to create weapons that could hurt him?
When I wasn't coming up with stories to entertain my captors, I was trying to find a way out. No way would I sit there and wait for Kas to rescue me. Fuck that. If I could escape on my own, that would be both satisfying and faster. Plus, all that shit they said about Kaspian haunted me. I felt the truth in it the more time went by. It didn't take long for me to realize that the anxiety I felt wasn't all mine. I could feel Kaspian's wild emotions, rollercoasting from rage to despair. The guy was not taking my disappearance well.
Which was kinda sweet.
Did love even matter in light of devotion like that? I was starting to understand why Kaspian was both unconcerned and offended by my concern over us falling in love. He said it was inevitable, and I finally agreed. Those savage things he felt could not be born without being fated to evolve into something softer. The evolution of love. That's what I was witnessing. Not only in myself but also in Kas. And how wondrous was that? Who else got to feel their lover's growing affection? No one.
Kaspian's elitist attitude became less of an issue for me. At least he didn't try to sugarcoat anything or hide what he believed. He was a product of his environment. Did that make him right? Fuck no. But speaking with my Tyasmoran captors made me realize that everyone has a ranking system in their heads. Depending on what they valued, they saw others as better or lesser than themselves. If you don't think that's true about yourself, I suggest you take another look in the mirror and be a bit more honest. Even if you're being self-deprecating, you're still participating in the ranking system.
Humans are just as bad as Dragons. We place people on pedestals because they're beautiful, athletic, powerful, or wise. We get so obsessed with these people that other people make a job out of following celebrities around, taking pictures of everything they do. Hell, Instagram wouldn't exist if we weren't obsessed with status or looks.Wewere the Evil Queen. Internet, who is the fairest of us all? We need to know. We have to watch their posts and emulate them even though we know they're fake. We search for the new tech gadget or purse or cosmetic—whatever will make us better than we are. And we think that in that betterment, we will find happiness.
