The four walls of Nikulas’ tower room were the limits of his world now. Only the changing of the guard and the delivery of a pittance of food provided him with any rhythm to his days. He barely moved, except to grab the small carcasses when they were presented to him. He ignored the guards standing duty, focusing on his memories of the valley, time with his brothers, and the sister he’d been unable to find.

After two days, the lady visited with the new guards. A change in the monotony of his imprisonment.

She assessed him as she spoke with the lead guard. “The Clan Congress starts next week, and I won’t be able to keep the other Clan Leaders away. We need to acclimatise the creature to visitors.”

The older man nodded. “How do you propose to do that?”

“Small groups. Start with a handful of volunteers from the Castilion staff. We can widen that pool to include any interested parties from the general populace. But start with people we know and who understand the risks.”

“Very good, Fox Leader.” He saluted and left.

She turned to face Nikulas again. “I hope you’ll be as docile with them as you are with me.” She sighed. “Though part of me wants you not to be. A sign that we share something special, perhaps. But I know that must be my imagination.”

She shook her head and left the room.

His heart quickened. She also felt something between them? Maybe Nikulas wasn’t imagining it. Though what future did they have? He was her prisoner, trapped in his dragon form. Still, she filled his dreams, But there he could shift. They could converse and do all the things normal couples did to get to know each other.

Later that day, three young men in leather aprons pushed their way through the door.

“Are you sure this is safe?” One of them hesitated.

A guard scoffed. “That’s what you’re here to test.”

The man swallowed, shuffling forward a couple of steps.

Nikulas ignored them, concentrating instead on counting the stones on the floor. There was little else for him to do. The visitors reeked of fear. Even in his half-fed state, they held little attraction for him. He couldn’t eat people. And attacking them for fun would be a waste of energy. They were safe. From him, at least. Though he imagined them running away in fear and falling down the stairs.

They stood just inside the door for a few dribs longer, then left.

A while later a second group bounded up the steps. These three were younger, scruff on their cheeks as a sign of their maturity.

One approached closer, swaggering right up to Nikulas.

“Look, it’s harmless!” He stood with one foot on Nikulas’ back leg, hands on his hips, crowing. “Why have we even been scared of these?”

Nikulas swung his tail, scratching the youth’s cheek. There was a limit to how far he’d let them come. Being caught was one thing, but he wouldn’t let them humiliate him. His eyes glowed, daring them to fight.

The youth screamed, clutching his face. Blood dripped between his fingers. “My face! How dare you?” He searched round the room, grabbing a poker from by the fireplace. “You’re going to pay for that, beast.”

His friends clumped together by the door, uncertain whether to run or join their friend.

Nikulas bared his teeth, daring them to try. He might be chained to the floor, but he wasn’t docile. Getting within the reach of his tail was still a stupid thing to do. If they came close enough, they’d feel his talons too. Or his teeth.

But the guard moved forward. “Stop where you are.” He stood between Nikulas and the youth.

“What?” The youth scowled. “It attacked me and now you won’t let me take my revenge on it?”

“Attacking a bound prisoner is not revenge. Whatever form that prisoner has. Take another step and I’ll be taking you before the Council for your actions today.” The guard’s hand rested on his sword hilt.

“It attacked me. It needs to learn its place.” He glared at the guard.

“We can’t allow you to harm it.” The guard nodded at his comrades, who stood ready.

The youth scowled. “I can’t believe you’re siding with that beast. I’ll speak with my father about this. Mark my words, you’ll regret crossing me.” With that, he stomped out.

His friends followed, scampering after him down the stairs.

Nikulas sighed in relief to be left alone again. Well, apart from the guards, but they just stood there doing nothing. So he ignored them as well.

Later that afternoon, raised voices approached from outside.

“What do you mean, letting people get that close to him?” The lady appeared in the doorway. Arms crossed, one finger tapped against her upper arm.

“Him?” The guard following her raised one eyebrow as he considered Nikulas.

She shrugged. “Him? It? Whatever. That doesn’t matter.”

Nikulas huffed. It mattered, but at least she took his side.

One corner of her mouth raised, but she kept glaring at the guard.

“No one else has tried to pet it. I had thought no one would want to get closer. But now we can take steps to keep any visitors away from the creature.” He gestured to the guards in the corners of the rooms.

They saluted, or at least the two Nikulas could see did. He assumed the other two behind him did as well.

“This line here.” The chief guard pointed to a line in the stonework on the floor. “No one is to cross this.”

The others nodded.

“I’ll update the other guards.” He turned back to the lady. “Is that enough? We can keep the visits shorter, so they won’t have as much of a chance to interact with it.”

She nodded. “Yes. The Congress starts the day after tomorrow. We can open visits up to the residents and then, assuming there are no more incidents, the Clan Leaders can view him after they’ve arrived.”

Inside, Nikulas beamed. She continued dignify him as more than an object of curiosity. That made his day. And she’d taken his side with the stupid young man from earlier.

More visitors would be a distraction from boredom, but was there a way to use them to escape? If there was, it evaded Nikulas for now.