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So, his fears of this, of envenoming her, had been small.

If she had given me her soul...Although morbid, he could have gently taken her life, and awaited for her to return to him in the same state as when he’d first taken it.

She would not be able to die permanently, forever tied to him. She would not grow old, or wither from sickness or hunger.

I would take it now to save you...but he worried that if he did, she would only return to him in this state. Then he would curse them both, and Nathair didn’t have the will to survive in a life with a female that lay sleeping forever.

His whines never ceasing, he looked around his home.

He took in all the pieces she’d unwittingly left behind. Her bag nestled next to a dead campfire. Her seashells sitting on the ledge of his nest. Her purple dress and pants lying out to dry. Linh’s scent clung to the earth and rock, and was strongest in his bed. The evidence of this woman being here was everywhere, and he knew he’d immediately evict himself once she was gone.

Turning his sight down to her, he brushed his forefinger against her soft cheek.Why?

Why did this have to happen? They were so close; he could feel it. She’d accepted him fully, had accepted his affection and touch. Why could his ill mind not have waited a little longer to break apart? Why did her gift of quiet have to come with such horrible consequences?

You are the heart that beats outside my chest.

And it was dying.

Not now, but she would. In a few days, this female’s body would give up without sustenance.

He’d seen it before in many of his other victims. When he realised what he’d done when slipping out of a rage or fragment, he healed them and watched to see if they’d awaken from his venom. They never did, and he’d slit their throat and eat them to spare them of any pain their passing may cause.

To take their humanity and physical growth as a parting gift, only to spew up their soul.

I don’t want to do that to her.

Hands trembling, his heart beat with agony from the loss already drowning him.

Staring down at her cold, dulled face, he hissed at her.How dare you steal my heart, only to fucking die on me!

He didn’t even remember biting her! Only lancing the Demon before tackling it with its blood in his mouth. Flooding another creature with venom felt euphoric, so he wasn’t even able to sit in the morbid triumph of feeling her warm flesh around his fangs.

Anger, spite, and hatred burned in his chest. At her, at himself, at how sickening his heartache felt. He’d chosen this female to be his damn bride, after years of telling himself he wasn’t supposed to have one! He’d convinced himself that being alone was better, safer, quieter, only to fall for a pretty canary that would no longersing.

I want you,he whimpered, nudging her with his skull in hopes of stirring her, unsure of what to do, how to fix this.I want you within my tail coils at night. I want your warm body caressing me in your hold.He wanted something to protect.

He knew of an answer, but unless Weldir was watching this very second, there was nothing Nathair could do to call him. His voice was lost, his ability to call his creator for aid non-existent. He was alone and had no one he could turn to. No one with magic who could undo his own.

He paused.Her singing lulls me to sleep.He leaned back to stare down at her beautiful face.She’s only partially human.If she was part Anzúli, as were her ancestors, that meant...There are more in her village.

Couldtheyaid him? The bigger question was:wouldthey?

He soaked in her light breathing, the soft features of her face, the way she lay lifeless in his arms.They will help her.Not him, but this little human who was gentle, kind, and radiant. A female who constantly thought of her people’s wellbeing – enough to plead for it from something as despicable as him.

Nathair slipped into the lake slowly, and carefully laid her on the surface. She didn’t even tense up to the cold. When the water was to her neck, he tugged her low enough that it touched her lips.

His venom had left her body asleep, but her eyelids flickered in mild alertness. He covered her mouth and nose, pulling her under, only to bring her back to the surface. The moment she took some form of deeper breath, despite it still being rather shallow, he covered her mouth and nose again.

Nathair dived and bolted for his underwater tunnel.

Stopping halfway, he uncovered her face in an air pocket so she could breathe, then rubbed the side of her face and pushed damp hair from her blueish lips. The water in his lungs became stifling as he adjusted more slowly to breathing through his gills after healing her messed with his system. Once her breaths were strong, he dived again to head to the clearing of his pond, only stopping once more at another air pocket.

She will be okay.

She had to be. He could not take it otherwise.

As the mid-afternoon sun shone down on Nathair’s back, he approached the western village of this northern mountain range. He did so slowly, making sure the people could see the female in his arms without interference.