My breath caught and time stood still. His eyes glowed orange again, and I found myself lost in the depths. There was something so powerful about the way he looked at me. I felt something in my heart. It was trying to tell me something. But I looked away. The thing I craved so badly would never happen. My whole life I knew a life alone would be inevitable. I was destined to live solo. That’s what my mom told me right before she left me.
I looked away and took a deep breath stopping the tears before they filled my eyes. I wasn’t weak, and I certainly wasn’t going to cry in front of them. I plastered a smile on my face.
“I’m actually really tired if you don’t mind.”
The king stood and laughed. “Of course, we really have no idea what the trip is like.”
“Long,” I said and kept my smile.
“Okay well, meet with me when you are feeling better, and you can give me a run down on what your plans are.”
“Sounds great, thank you.”
Ciyrs led me from the house with his giant hand on my lower back. His heat burned my skin. He kept quiet as he led me down a dirt path. We passed others and all of them stopped to stare, but then their eyes widened and they moved on. It didn’t take long for me to figure out what was going on.
He was protective of me for some reason. It almost seemed like he was possessive. That didn’t make sense though. I’d just met him.
“You’ll love it here,” he said and smiled. “There’s a lot you’ll be able to write about.”
I nodded and stepped closer to him to see what he’d do. He wrapped his free arm around my waist and his fingers dug into my hip. I didn’t have a lot of meat on my bones and I gasped.
He let go and sighed. “Sorry, I have to remember you’re small.”
“Is that bad?”
“No, you’re delicate and need to be handled with care. I like that—a lot.”
I lowered my eyes nervously, but I couldn’t ignore the bulge in his pants. He was big everywhere. I’d never been with a man ever. I couldn’t imagine being able to handle someone like Ciyrs, but oh I would love to try. He did funny things to me.
He gripped my hip again, but this time kept his fingers loose. We didn’t talk. The silence was comfortable as he led me down a different path.
“The cabin up here is empty. It was Eden’s when she first came, but she didn’t stay long before she mated with Pyra.”
“It happens fast for your species then? Mating I mean?”
“I guess so, besides the king and queen, Pyra was the first to mate. It’s new for us really. We’re all envious of Pyra and hope that by combining our kinds, more of us will find our loves. It’s the most important thing in our lives, especially now that we know it’s possible to mate with humans. Though Eden isn’t anymore.”
“She isn’t what?”
He stopped. “I shouldn’t have said that.”
I grabbed his hand. “I won’t tell.”
“She died, got attacked and I tried to heal her, instead I had to bring her back to life. Apparently doing that turned her into one of us, and she and I are connected too, but only like brother and sister. She’s able to heal now as well.”
I felt an anger I’d never felt before. I didn’t like hearing about him having a connection with another woman. Jealousy clouded my features, and I found my heart pounding and my hands clenched. “Oh.” I didn’t know why I was so pissed, but it was the first time in a long time I’d been angry. He felt me tense up and rubbed my hip.
“What’s wrong?”
I shook my head shutting the anger off. “Nothing. So you can turn humans then?”
“I don’t know. It’s the first time it ever happened, and we don’t know if it was a fluke or something I’ll always be able to do.”
“You’re pretty powerful then.”
“I don’t see it that way. I saved her because my friend was desperate. I always feel like I’m less because I choose not to be a warrior. I don’t like violence believe it or not.” He said and chuckled.
“You’re not less.”
“Thank you for saying that.”
I shrugged. “You’ve got a good heart. I can tell.”
“Are you going to tell me what pissed you off now?”
I thought he’d let it go, but I was wrong. “No.”
“You were upset after I talked about Eden and my connection to her.”
My cheeks heated and I nibbled my lip. “I don’t know why. I didn’t like you talking about her.”
For a minute he didn’t talk. He sped up to the cabin dragging me behind him. He led me up the path and I gasped. It was big and beautiful. I climbed the stairs behind him, and when I went inside I nearly cried. The living area was bigger than my apartment back home, and it smelled clean. If I was honest this cabin was nicer than anything I had ever lived in. I felt ashamed. I didn’t come from wealth or whatever it was the Denynso came from. I was at the bottom of the chain. From the wrong side of the tracks so to speak. Each day was a struggle for me, and I wouldn’t admit the truth to anyone. No one knew my main reason for taking the assignment. I wouldn’t tell them.
“This is it. There are two rooms and a bathroom. The kitchen has been fully stocked, and when you need more food, it can be delivered to you.”
I stood in the middle of the room and the tears came. I couldn’t stop them. I didn’t know what was going on, but I felt overwhelmed and undeserving. I was basically here to use them, and even though they wanted me to write about them it felt wrong. Humans were selfish and feared the unknown. Would I actually be helping? I vowed I would do my best though.
“What’s wrong?”
I turned away and my shoulders shook.
“Are you crying?” he asked, and I heard torment in his voice.
He came behind me and wrapped his arms around me. I was small so his forearms covered my chest. He was warm and comforting. Around him I didn’t have to hide or pretend. I felt I could be me.