Marco came out of the forest with Kalexis, and back down the path cutting through fields in full blossom—white, yellow, and purple flowers made the pasture look like a painting on that late spring afternoon. They had to cross another, though relatively short, stretch of woods before the lake reappeared, this time closer and with both Marco’s cottage and Gianluca’s villa in view. The refined garden really stood out against the totally wild landscape surrounding it.
With little road left to go to their house, Kalexis surprised Marco by saying they could go anywhere. It was then that he recalled the villages created by the Elder to accommodate each race during its stay in that virtual reality. He was tempted to ask Kalexis if it was possible to leave that secluded valley and visit other humans, but the idea itself was more frightening than having to stay and continue with the arduous training. Knowing the Pranksters so well, Marco was sure all humans knew of his role in the event of a recapture. But he couldn’t predict the reaction that going over there and saying hello would cause.
“So what if we left to just... explore?” he asked, as they both admired the view.
“Why not. You should ask Sathkela where to take us, if you don’t want me to show you a few places. But we can’t be away for more than a couple of days, as you cannot interrupt your training.”
“Don’t give me any crap about the importance of it all,” said Marco, rather crudely walking away from her and down the flowery field. “We have all the time we want, don’t we?” Marco stopped and turned around with his arms spread out. Kalexis understood the pressure, as it was showing. He was there only because he stayed with her at the crash-landing back in Italy, that’s what he thought. Perhaps to give himself the blame, when really the cause of his anguish was greater than he could ever be.
“Those who train you are dedicating their time to you,” replied she, stern.
“At least I could choose to do it or not, and I’m bloody well doing it,” said Marco, now staring at the grass.
Kalexis was struck by Marco’s darkened mood. “Don’t compare yourself to those that shy away from their duty. You do deserve a break, as you’ve worked hard after all.”
“Work never ends,” said Marco with a shrug. Then he shook his head, “I’m sorry, I guess killing those monsters took its toll.”
“You should go and stay at the human village for a few days,” said she, and Marco was stunned by the fact he had been thinking about it.
“Is it nearby? I don’t know, Kalexis, how do you think humans would receive me knowing that I have to stand for them on the experimental planet?”
“Like the hero you are.”
“I won’t believe that for a minute—they will resent me. Their lives are in danger because I have a relationship with you,” he said.
“And do you think that is a reason to resent you?”
In turn he rolled his eyes. “I don’t think I’m ready to meet other humans... especially considering they’re from the future.”
“They’re from the past, actually, and know about your training. If you don’t want to see them, we could go down to the lake, just the two of us. What about that?”
“And walk all the way here again? I think I need to sit down for a while.”
She nodded, and followed him back to the house where they were intimate for the rest of the afternoon. The fire was going and he loved to rub her all over. He kissed her, only to look down her snout and into the wide, elongated black pupils within her oblique, golden eyes. “You say I should visit humans, but how far are other Araks from here?”
“There are some nearby,” replied she, her big eyelids flapping twice.
“And how do they feel about you and me?” asked Marco, truly wondrous.
“You could say they consider my interest in you... very unusual.” She was comfortably seated and holding her larger head level with Marco’s in saying that.
“Are you spending time with them?” he asked, and only at that point did he notice a certain hesitation in her voice.
“I meet them in the forest, when I’m out hunting.” Was her generic reply.
Marco didn’t want to ponder the implications of what she just said, but by how Kalexis looked away from him, rather shamefully, he understood what was going on. Sitting beside her, he rested all of his weight against her slightly rounded belly—when it started, he knew his relationship with her would be a very complicated and dangerous one. But he didn’t quite anticipate he would also have to contend with her ravenous sexual desires.
“What do your friends know about me?” he asked, rather plainly.
“All there is to know,” said Kalexis, raising her scaly brow and facing him. “That I love you, that you are the human champion.”
“I am okay with you being around other Araks and getting mated by them, Kalexis. But the only reason why you would want to do it in here is because I can’t please you as they do,” he stated in resignation, having to face that hard fact.
“It’s not that, you know how to please me it’s I... I just couldn’t resist it—I’m so sorry, Marco.”
“Don’t be,” said he, slightly scraped. “Since they know about me, why don’t you introduce me to them?”
There was a really odd moment of pause in the dark living room.
“You’re not kidding,” she said, clearly not expecting Marco to act that way.
“How do we get there?”
“I can take you over to them, but why would you want to come?” she asked, now looking very concerned.
“Do you love me?” asked Marco, deeply.
“Yes,” she replied, tears surfacing to her eyes.
“Then I would like to meet your friends. I will take a minute to change.”
Very stunned by Marco, she had no words for him when she agreed only by lowering her head. He was disappointed she kept that from him, but not angry—he wasn’t going to ruin everything with jealousy.
He was carried on her back as she darted through the forest. She was incredibly fast, dodging the trees with clever angled jumps. Only toward the end could Marco hear her pant to compensate. He couldn’t see a thing, not even her, when she finally slowed down.
She asked him to dismount. She had no food in her, but quickly recovered her breath and said no more.
Since she wasn’t going to stop him, Marco was ready to introduce himself to her friends just so he could hear what they had to say for themselves. He already made up his mind—after clearing up the situation, he would either go home with Kalexis or by himself, despite the darkness.
She was dead silent as he carefully walked beside her until, after a little while, a faint orange glow could be seen on the brow. Wearing a black sweatshirt and the pair of jeans he picked for that ride out in the woods, he walked ahead of Kalexis to check out the other side. There was a bonfire around which the winged figures of three Araks threw long shadows on the cover of pine needles. That clearing was just about large enough for the fire to burn without setting on fire the dry branches on the nearby trees. The plume of smoke made it up to the pointy tops, blown the opposite direction from which Marco and Kalexis were coming.
Upwind though undetected for the moment, in the flickering light of the fire, it was hard to tell colors from about fifty yards away—he could say one of the dragons down there was black, the others being lighter. One was either orange or yellow, the other in a bright shade of gray. These clearly were all males, with more developed muscles and quite more weight on than Kalexis. Only one of the three—the gray one—was more or less her size, but from his bigger and curved horns, Marco assumed him to be a male as well.
“Hey there!” he barked.
The black dragon that was giving his back got up from sitting to turn around—the other two stretched and angled their necks to scan the woods, and they all spotted Marco on top of the hill.
Kalexis was right behind him and visible to the Araks. “Kalexis!” exclaimed the black one. “So you brought the human in the end!” The powerful voice of the male was rich of surprise.
Marco had no fear in taking big steps toward him and his buddies. “Yes it is me—Marco Giardelli. And who are you?” he asked, gesturing. The answer came when he was about four yards away from the imposing quadruped.
“You can call me Lorhan. I used to be an artificial intelligence specialist during the war effort. And these are Aten and Deirek, two of my former colleagues.”
While Aten and Deirak sided Lorhan, Marco turned to Kalexis and she look worried and embarrassed as never before.
“I came to visit you—because I am only human, and cannot pretend to fully satisfy Kalexis.”
“Yes, that’s exactly it!” exclaimed Lorhan, pointing an admiring black finger with trimmed claw back at Marco. “But she hasn’t told you all of the truth, has she.”
Marco didn’t understand why he grinned.
Kalexis was about to speak her heart when the black dragon interrupted her. “You told Marco that you visit us, but you haven’t had the courage to reveal why!” he claimed, and Kalexis didn’t reply. “Since you brought him here, I will explain it for you.”
Kalexis allowed Lohran to speak, Marco waiting and very curious to know.
“You are a very lucky human,” he said, now facing Marco. “Not only she is bound to you by a life oath, but she also really loves you—she told us countless times in the past month. Your smaller size has nothing to do with the reason she has sex with us, as it is linked to the noble origins of our race.”
Marco was intrigued by what he heard as he listened attentively.
“Now that we are living in this virtual reality, we are taking time off, it gives us a chance to be just like our ancestors. Did you know how long she has been visiting us, Marco?”
Marco had to admit he didn’t.
“That was over two months ago,” said Kalexis, gravely.
“She was returned to this virtual reality well before you, human. She still wanted to be with you and take part in your training, but the Pranksters offered her to be at peace for a while and she accepted, like we did. All of us here chose to revert, and when us Araks do, the males hunt for the females, and—” he was wearing a wider smile when Kalexis interrupted him.
“Ranshir is telling the truth. When I discovered it, I couldn’t resist it. Only two weeks—I told myself—and then you would wake up, and I would be with you—being wild helped me get over with grief, but I didn’t want it to draw us apart. I didn’t have the courage to tell you, but the Elder tempted me. Forgive Gianluca, I had him agree to lie to you about the fact I was already living in this world.”
She looked terribly sorry.
Marco gasped, utterly stupefied.
“I wanted two things that don’t go together. I have made a terrible mistake, Marco,” she said, and silently started to cry.
“No—you’re free to do this, Kalexis. I never told you how I was seduced by Sathkela... before I knew she also was the Elder!” Kalexis and the dragons present were happily surprised by Marco’s revelation. “I didn’t do it because I love you. But I do understand why you would want to do this anyway, how it ties you to your people. The last thing I want to do is to disrupt it with my presence,” he said.
“No, Marco, I don’t want to do it anymore.”
Marco was incredulous—if she wasn’t prone to relapse, she was giving up on her secret lovers after all. He couldn’t be any happier when Lohran spoke. “We will be leaving, then,” he said. “Congratulations—I am more confident about you after meeting you in person. You’re a worthy representative of your race, as you came here and won your female back. Strength through devotion—goodbye Kalexis, I will see you again on the other side.”
Marco turned to him and said, “Take care, all of you.”
And it was then that the three male dragons disappeared in the surrounding darkness, leaving Marco and Kalexis alone before the light of the crackling bonfire.
She couldn’t look at him. “I can’t believe you are prepared to forgive me,” she told him.
“No problem,” said Marco, “but now that they are no longer hunting for you, what do you say we hunt together?” he proposed. “I could ride you, and use the bow.”
“So you do understand!” she exclaimed, standing up in surprise. “Would you really do that for me?”
“Of course! But tonight you will have to do with meat that has been dead for a while.”
“We will begin tomorrow morning,” she said with a great deal of anticipation. “We should get back now and rest—you’re really special, did anyone ever tell you that?” she asked of him, squatting so that he could get up on her.
“Does this mean I have you all for myself?” asked Marco, so there would be no more doubts.
“Yes,” she said.