The Protagonist's Useless Brother-Chapter 118: Choice [5]

The wind rushed past the edges of the woven carpet. It was a constant, rhythmic sound.

Marcus sat on the magical rug with his legs crossed. The adrenaline from the escape had finally drained away.

He felt hollow and heavy.

He looked down at the dragon girl curled against his thigh. She breathed deeply and evenly.

She held onto his trouser leg with a tight grip.

Marcus shifted his weight carefully to avoid waking her. His gaze drifted across the carpet.

A few feet away, Elara lay on her side. She was curled into a tight ball with her knees pulled to her chest.

She looked small and fragile. Her dress was torn and stained with grime.

Even in sleep, her face held tension.

Marcus watched her for a moment. A gentle, sad smile touched his lips.

She had survived. It wasn’t a happy ending, but she was alive.

"Hey," a squeaky voice whispered.

Marcus looked down.

Goliath, the grey teddy bear, sat next to the dragon girl. He stared at Elara with his single button eye.

The bear scratched his fuzzy head with a paw.

"Isn’t that the lady?" Goliath asked quietly. "From the carriage ride?"

Marcus nodded slowly. "Yeah. That is her."

Goliath leaned forward and squinted at Elara.

"I remember her," Goliath said. "She was sitting with that guy."

The bear mimed a hug with his short arms.

"The one who looked at her like she was the only person in the world," Goliath recalled.

Marcus felt a sharp pang in his chest.

"Thomas," Marcus said.

"Right, Thomas," Goliath nodded.

"Where is he?" Goliath asked innocently. "Did we leave him at the warehouse?"

Marcus closed his eyes for a second. He took a deep breath of the cold night air.

"No, Goliath," Marcus said softly. "We didn’t leave him."

He opened his eyes and looked at the sleeping woman.

"Thomas didn’t make it."

Goliath froze. His button eye seemed to widen slightly. His fuzzy ears drooped.

"Oh," the bear whispered.

He looked at Elara again. His gaze shifted from curiosity to sadness.

"The bad men?" Goliath asked.

"The bad men," Marcus confirmed.

"They hurt him?"

"Badly," Marcus said. "He died trying to protect her."

Goliath fell silent. He stared at his paws and picked at a loose thread on his leg.

"That sucks," Goliath muttered.

"Yeah," Marcus agreed. "It really does."

"He was nice," Goliath said. "He gave his seat to the old lady for a bit."

Marcus hadn’t noticed that detail. But the bear had.

"He was a good man," Marcus said.

"And now she is alone," Goliath stated.

"She is," Marcus said. "But she is coming with us. So she isn’t completely alone."

Goliath nodded vigorously. The stuffing in his neck bunched up.

"Right," Goliath said. "We are her party now."

He puffed out his chest.

"I will protect her too," Goliath declared. "Since Thomas can’t do it anymore."

"Good man," Marcus said.

"Is she going to be okay?" Goliath asked. He looked worried.

Marcus looked at Elara’s furrowed brow. He thought about the hollowness in her eyes back in the cell.

"I don’t know," Marcus admitted. "She is broken right now, Goliath."

He ran a hand through his messy hair.

"Grief is heavy," Marcus explained. "It takes time to heal. A lot of time."

"Like a broken leg?" Goliath asked.

"Worse," Marcus said. "Like a broken heart. Magic can’t fix that."

"She has to do the work herself," Marcus said. "We can just give her a safe place to do it."

Goliath looked at the dark landscape passing below them.

"Is your home safe?" Goliath asked.

Marcus thought about the Aldridge Estate. He thought about the quiet vineyards and sturdy walls.

"Yeah," Marcus said. "It is safe."

The bear crawled over to Elara. He moved quietly on his fuzzy paws.

He sat down near her head. He didn’t touch her. He just sat guard.

"I will watch her," Goliath whispered. "In case she has a bad dream."

Marcus smiled. "Thanks, Goliath."

He leaned back on his hands and looked up at the stars.

Elara was safe. The dragon girl was safe. They were flying away from the nightmare.

For a moment, Marcus allowed himself to relax.

Then, a thought struck him. It hit him like a bucket of ice water.

Marcus sat bolt upright. His eyes went wide.

He stared at the back of the dragon girl’s head.

Specifically, he stared at the two black horns protruding from her hair.

Then he looked at her tail. It was curled around her leg. It was scaled and reptilian.

"Oh no," Marcus whispered.

Panic flared in his chest.

"Oh no, no, no."

He looked ahead. They were flying north. Toward civilization. Toward his home.

He was bringing a dragon to the Aldridge Estate.

In the chaos of the rescue, he hadn’t thought about the logistics. He had just reacted.

But now, reality crashed down on him.

Dragons were not pets. They were monsters. Myths of destruction.

If he showed up at the manor with a horned child, the guards wouldn’t open the gate. They would shoot her.

And his father...

Marcus groaned and covered his face with his hands.

If Marcus walked in with a dragon hatchling, he wouldn’t just be disowned. He would be executed for harboring a beast.

"This is bad," Marcus muttered. "This is really, really bad."

He couldn’t hide her in the basement forever. She had horns. She had a tail.

Anyone with eyes would see she wasn’t human.

"Hey," Marcus whispered loudly. He poked the top of his head. "Ventessa. Wake up."

The fluffball in his hair didn’t move.

"I know you are awake," Marcus said. "I can feel you breathing."

"I am ignoring you," Ventessa’s voice replied. It was muffled by his hair.

"It is important," Marcus insisted.

"Is it about snacks?" Ventessa asked.

"No."

"Then it is not important," she stated.

"It is about not getting shot by my own family," Marcus hissed.

Ventessa sighed. The fluffball shifted and popped up.

Two bored black eyes looked down at his forehead.

"You are dramatic," Ventessa said. "What is it?"

Marcus pointed at the sleeping dragon girl.

"Her," Marcus said. "Look at the horns. Look at the tail."

"I see them," Ventessa said. "She is a dragon. Dragons have parts."

"Exactly!" Marcus whispered frantically. "She is a dragon!"

"I cannot take a dragon home, Ventessa!"

"Why not?" Ventessa asked. "Is your house too small?"

"It is not about size!" Marcus said. "It is about species!"

He waved his hands.

"Humans hate dragons," Marcus explained. "They fear them. If I walk into town with her, people will scream."

"Guards will attack," he continued. "My father will kill me."