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There were no forests here, just meadows and hills rolling forever across the horizon. The river his pond was connected to rushed nearby. Grass swayed in the flower-filled wind, causing flurries of pollen, dust, and floating seeds to swirl around him.

He’d seen this village from a distance many times in the last few months, but he’d never approached the tall, wooden-stake wall that encompassed it.

At its base, surrounding the semi-circle village, were metal and wooden spikes sticking out from the ground, hoping to deter hungry predators. Small metal prongs had been hammered into the bottom sections of the stakes, acting as further deterrents for those who wished to climb.

The village itself pressed deeply up against a mountain wall. The stone had been carved smooth purposefully, likely to prevent Demons from climbing their way in from above.Smelted chains criss-crossed the village in an ingenious metal canopy, stopping anything that attempted to fly in from above from landing.

Being this deep in a mountain range, the humans had figured out a way to truly keep monsters at bay. It wasn’t foolproof, as he doubted anything would stop a rather large Demon, but everything they’d done would ensure there were fewer casualties.

He figured they had found a large iron or steel deposit to mine. That, or they traded with the other village to the east of here for it. Either way, one village had the metal, and the other the coal to produce the materials forbothvillages to survive in such harsh, Demon-infested conditions.

A horn blared as he slithered up an incline. It wasn’t the first time he’d heard it, and he doubted it’d be the last.

When the ground levelled out, the village’s wooden doors came into view. Archers, wearing fluffy brown animal-hide armour, nocked their arrows and pointed them at him.

Nathair halted and folded his tail underneath himself to ‘sit’ while he waited for them to decide on what to do. He did nothing as he let the sun warm him and the weak female in his arms. Linh’s heart was steady, but her limpness continued to infuriate as well as dismay him.

She grows paler with every hour.

He doubted she’d eaten or drank anything before their intimacy.The last time she’d ingested anything would have been before she went to sleep.That was two nights ago. Her stomach grumbled, and her lips had produced a thick layer of sticky saliva.

Nathair cupped the side of her face as he held her in his cradle.

For a long while, no human dared to move. He could hear their chatter, their curious questions. Then a man, who was dressed in plain clothing, approached the top of the wall.Nathair met his gaze, and its familiarity to the weak female in his arms was unmistakable.

Even with the distance between them, he noticed the similar colour of their eyes. His skin was a light, fawny brown, his short hair black as night, and he had the same softness to his eyes. The biggest similarity was their nose and ears.

“Linh!” the man shouted, shoving the soldier out of the way as he scrambled to climb down some kind of ladder. “Tahlia. It’s Linh!”

A ring of gasps sounded before chatter increased, and Nathair’s vision clouded when their voices mixed with the ones in his mind.

“Open the gate,” her father shouted. When nothing happened, his bellow was louder, grainier, and far more infuriated. “Open the fucking gate!”

A few grunts followed. Within minutes, a crank began to turn, chains clinked and clanked, and there was aschluckof sliding wood before it thudded against the ground. The large doors creaked as they parted, and her father instantly ran out.

Behind him, two men followed, wielding a sword and a battle axe, and both wore hide armour. Their garments were dark, as if they wished to give the appearance of shadows – which was wise when hunting Demons. It was best not to glimmer, as that could be an attractant even at night.

Nathair choked and was forced to halt his breath when her father approached. He reeked of fear, but none of it appeared to be for himself. Instead, her father braved coming closer to Nathair, as if the human could tell that he had no ill intention.

“Please,” her father begged, holding out his arms. “My name is Kai. I’m her father, and the mayor of this town. Please. Please give me my daughter.”

Nathair didn’t.

Instead, he tilted his head towards the two men behind him, pointing their weapons up at his skull. Nathair gave a low, hissing growl for them to back the fuck up. Kai looked behind him, and the human male almost produced a growl himself.

“Get back, you idiots!” The lean man shoved one of their shoulders while pointing towards the village. He even gave Nathair his back – which was rather moronic. “It’s brought her here. Obviously, it doesn’t intend any harm.”

“You’d be a fool to trust a monster,” one of them stated with a chortle, while doing as he was told. They didn’t go far, but they put space between him and them.

Kai turned to Nathair once more with his arms out. Nathair didn’t give her to her father.

He didn’t want to give her up. This was the female he’d chosen, and the idea of giving her back to humans filled him with pain. Each of his scales lifted in aversion.What if she does not come back out to me?He was putting his trust in them, in her, alongside a hope that she felt something deeply for him.

He had no promises from her.

She would, should, be safe here. If they were able to save her, she would not need him so long as the bandits didn’t come for her. First, they would need to know she was here, and he figured her father and the villagers wouldn’t allow her to be taken a second time.

Nathair’s sight landed on the two soldiers. Were they some of the people or bandits? Were they safe or dangerous to her? With his lack of speech, he could not ask these questions. The choice was taken from him with each breath from her that seemed weaker than the last.