“Are you sure we have to get up?” she grumbled.
He chuckled. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”
“I don’t want to, but I have to. My father is expecting us at the bakery shop,” she explained, jumping out of bed.
“What? Your father?” he turned to look at her, surprised.
“Yes, he wants to meet you,” she replied. “Last night, he tried to convince me to stay away from the battle, and I refused. But, we had an enlightening conversation, and he ended up accepting to join us. All I know I learned from him, so you won’t regret having him in your small army,” she added.
“Are you sure this is a good idea? He might think I’m a demon,” he asked, with a frown.
“I told him you were different and asked him to keep his mind open. I’m sure he will have a bit of trouble accepting you at the beginning, but the impression won’t last.”
He shrugged. “Well, I hope you know what you’re doing.”
She smiled. “Trust me on this,” she asked him. “Just don’t let him know what we were doing. That would certainly be more than he can take,” she warned him with an amused tone.
He smiled and nodded.
After a quick bath, she got dressed, and they left. Like the other day, she was wearing pants instead of a dress.
“Won’t your father be upset with those pants?” he asked, curious.
She looked at her clothes and shook her head. “Though most women choose to wear dresses all the time, some, like me, prefer the pants,” she explained. “I do wear dresses now and then, but I have to admit I prefer the pants.”
They reached the bakery, but she used the back door instead of the front one. She didn’t want her father’s customers to see Kael. The villagers would need some time to get used to his presence.
Leaving Kael in the baking room, Rhiannon went looking for her father.
“He’s here, father,” she whispered in his ear.
The old man nodded, and after telling his assistant to take over the sales, he accompanied Rhiannon to the back room.
As expected, her father’s surprise was big.
“Are you sure he’s not a demon?” he mumbled, not sure of what to think.
“Demons are quite different from him, believe me,” she said, smiling. “Kael, this is Peter, my father, and Gwendolyn’s son,” she introduced them.
“It’s a pleasure meeting you, sir,” Kael greeted him, with a respectful tone.
“Rhiannon told me you plan to attack the demons next time they show up,” her father said, in a cold tone.
At least, he wasn’t shouting and screaming.
“Yes, that’s right. I defeated some of the demons a few weeks ago, when I found them attacking Joshua, so I’m certain we can destroy them,” he explained. “But, I also plan on following them to their lair. I was told they seem to multiply faster than you can kill them, so the only way to stop them is killing whatever breeds them.”
“That sounds like a good plan but are you sure it’s viable?” her father asked, uncertain.
“Yes, they are vulnerable to fire, so I’m sure we can destroy them forever,” Kael assured him.
The other man nodded. “Very well, I guess it’s worth a shot. I’ll join you as soon as I finish here.”
“You’ll be more than welcome,” Kael assured him.
They left the bakery and headed to the training camp. The other men were already there waiting for them, and they started immediately.
By the end of the day, they established a meeting point in case the demons showed up that night and called it a day.
“Do you think they will attack tonight?” she asked, as they returned to Gwendolyn’s house. Her father was walking ahead of them.
“I have no idea, but I truly hope so. I want to find their lair as soon as possible. Hopefully, Esther will still be alive, and we’ll be able to rescue her,” he replied, in a stern tone.
“Yes, we might rescue a few other women as well, that would be wonderful,” she said.
“Your mother was taken by them?” he asked, in a low tone.
“No, she was too old for their taste. They killed her instead, as they killed my grandfather, in one of the battles.”
“We’ll destroy them. I won’t rest until we do,” Kael assured her.
“Thank you for all your support, we wouldn’t be able to do this without you,” she said, smiling.
“When I saved Joshua’s life, I vowed to protect him and his family. Giving his mother the medicine she needed was part of it,” he explained. “We don’t usually get involved in other people’s fights, because we are stronger than most species, but in this case, they messed with those I vowed to protect.”
“Then, we’re lucky to have you,” she said, still smiling.
She was happy he had decided to help them, but she wasn’t sure how she felt about his reasons. She knew she was jealous, but she couldn’t help it. She wanted to be the reason why he wanted to fight the demons. It was illogical, of course, but it was the way she felt.
They finally said goodnight, and she went home with her father.
The demons didn’t attack that night or the following nights. That gave them more time to prepare the firebombs and train their attacks, but the wait was getting on everybody’s nerves.
Kael had been able to master his shifting into the fire creature, and that was a significant advantage, but all he could think of was poor Esther, held captive by those monsters, probably enduring unimaginable tortures.
“You look worried,” Rhiannon said, resting her arms on his chest.
“I am, I’m also frustrated and impatient. It’s been a week now, and the demons haven’t attacked,” he grumbled, pulling her closer.
They were still in bed after they had spent a couple of hours making love as if tomorrow didn’t exist. Rhiannon relished every second she spent in his arms, knowing she wouldn’t have many more.
Once the demons were defeated, she was sure Kael would leave, and she would never see him again.
“They will, you can be sure of it,” she appeased him.
“I know, it’s just hard for me to think of poor Esther and all she must be going through in their clutches, and not being able to do anything about it,” he burst out, without realizing the sudden stiffness of the woman in his arms.
“You sound as if you care a lot about her,” she said, in a low tone, trying to keep the ugly beast of jealousy under control without any success.
“And I do, when I saved Joshua’s life, he became my responsibility, one of my people and that bond only became deeper when I helped your grandmother curing her illness,” he explained.
And though his words made perfect sense, she wasn’t convinced. After all, Esther was a beautiful, young woman with a whole life ahead of her, if he managed to free her from the demons.
Kael had never shown so much concern for her, and that was what really hurt her. She knew she didn’t have any right to feel hurt, after all, there were no promises of any sort between them. They had never talked about the future, or about them, and what was happening between them, for that matter.
Holding back a painful moan, she rolled out of bed, needing a moment alone. “We better get ready. Father will meet us at the training camping this morning,” she said, walking behind the screens to wash up and get ready for another hard day.
“Yes, we can’t be late today,” he replied, with an amused tone.
Though Peter had proven to be a worthy warrior, Kael was sure the man didn’t like him much. Perhaps, he had guessed at his relationship with his daughter and wasn’t very happy about it.
Though he could understand the man’s feelings to a certain point, he wasn’t willing to push Rhiannon away from his life just to please her father. He wasn’t ready to let her go, not yet.
“Why don’t you go ahead first? I need a quick bath,” she suggested from behind the screens.
He furrowed his eyebrows, not very pleased. “Are you sure? I wouldn’t mind waiting for you,” he told her.
“It’s better if you don’t. Father doesn’t look very pleased every time he sees us arriving together,” she pointed out, in a low tone.
She heard him put on his clothes. “Very well, if that’s what you want. I’ll see you there, then.”
He didn’t sound very pleased, but she didn’t mind. She needed those valuable minutes alone to get herself together before she was able to face him again. “Thank you. I’ll try not to be late.”
“Alright.”