My baby daughter is a dragon

Loyalties

"So there's a war between the dragons?" Frey could barely believe it, he had never seen a dragon attack another, let alone kill each other. "How is it even possible that you say we don't bother them? I've killed up to twenty dragons in my life."

"You humans are very strange creatures," the woman replied in that serious tone she had adopted, apparently this is how she behaved when she wasn't angry, "we don't form families or nations, we don't care about ours, each dragon looks out for himself."

"It doesn't make sense, for a war you need groups, factions, if every dragon looked out for himself, who did you even call 'traitors'?"

"It's because of the four dragon princes. The king has laid ten eggs in his lifetime, six, that is, five were spoiled, but each of those that hatched gave life to a prince, a dragon whose power could be compared to that of the king over time, but each one wants to be the strongest, the only one left of the king's lineage."

Everyone was silent for a moment, seeing that they would not interrupt her, the woman continued.

"As long as there is a stronger dragon, we are forced to submit, or we risk being destroyed, each prince has subdued a more or less equal number of dragons, they fight each other for the right to assassinate the king."

"If what you say is true," Frey scratched his head, confused, "the king's rule should be undisputed."

"The problem is that the king is a tyrant, there is not a single loyal one left, for he has ended up devouring all those he has subdued. In a group, with the support of a prince, we dragons can try to oppose, if not, we have no choice but to submit, as I did myself."

Eri interrupted.

"Excuse me, are you a sir or a madam? I don't understand. When I'm wrong, people correct me, but you don't. I thought you were a sir a little while ago, but now I don't know."

The dragon in the woman's body looked at Eri with stern eyes.

"I suppose," her sigh seemed resigned with a hint of irritation, "that you can address me as you would the human I devoured. We dragons do not have such distinctions, we all lay eggs and do not require a mate. I admit that I am comfortable with feminine treatment, I lived among you for a few years, two or three centuries ago. I cannot say my own name in this body. The humans of millennia ago called me Meraxes. Terror of the night."

"Lady Mera then?" Eri said with her best smile.

A very subtle, ephemeral rictus was reflected on Meraxes' face, if Frey had blinked he would not have seen it but he did... Did she just soften?

"I think it will work. But I have many questions, something I need to know."

"Ask, human, I have no reason to lie to you or secrets to keep, I am not one of you."

"Eighteen years ago, Cormin, my city was reduced to ashes by the dragon king, why?"

"It's as if you were asking me where the wind was going on a moonless night in the middle of the sea, I know he wasn't nesting, but sometimes he likes to fumigate for its loyalists, or maybe it was looking to eliminate some traitor, or maybe it was bored."

The serious voice, sprinkled with disinterest, fueled Frey's fury, the one he had locked away in his heart for so long, the one he had never managed to extinguish even with tears. But he remained stoic, as always when it came to the subject.

Runa touched his shoulder.

"Love, please take Eri to bed, we woke her up very early. I will continue the interrogation."

Frey understood that it was time for the difficult questions.

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With her husband and daughter out of the cell, Runa faced the dragon woman, until then, they had exchanged bravado and rudeness, she wanted to be more sincere.