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Nathair broke it apart in many places, then placed the pieces together on the ground.

“Oh. Are you trying to say this is where you’ve been grabbing the firewood from?”

He pointed at her while nodding.

Her eyes trailed over the many nests here, and an uncertain glint reflected in them. “Well, I guess we have plenty of it then.” Once more, she tilted her face up to his. “Did... you have to get rid of them all, or were they already empty?”

Nathair lifted a single finger and dipped it to the left.

“The first one?” He nodded, and her lips curled. “I should have figured. You’re so strong that it’s almost frightening. I bet you killed those Demons just as easily as those bandits.”

His chest swelling and bowing outwards with pride, he didn’t dare attempt to correct her. There had been many Demons here in these tunnels – dozens of them – and it’d taken him a long while to get rid of them. They either died, and he dragged their disgusting bodies out to be washed to sea, he ate them, or they fled to save themselves.

Still, the comment on his strength had his pulse spiking.

I am strong.Physically, emotionally, mentally. Even though he knew his mind to be a little broken, his will was strong from holding back the fragments.

He knew his capabilities, his weaknesses.

He was a formidable Mavka, and she’d chosen a good protector so long as he didn’t lose his lucidity and turn on her. Nathair was surprised he hadn’t already.

Her scent seemed to be soothing the worst of it, as did her voice. Her face may be beautiful, but it did little to keep his horrid human memories at bay, other than shadowing them when he incidentally became lost in his slips of lucidity.

Now that she felt at ease again, she inspected the size of the room while remaining near his light.

The orange glow that matched his orbs gleamed against her skin. Seeing her washed in it, something that was solely his, had a dark emotion twisting around his heart. Somehow, she looked even more alluring in it. It brightened all her features and highlighted her high cheekbones and soft angles.

If he wasn’t careful, he was aware pretty creatures like her could become the light in the darkness for a Mavka like himself – just as his glow chased away the shadows for her in this otherwise dreary alcove.

Wanting to escape such thoughts, he gently slipped his wrist against her hand. Despite her hitch of breath, she didn’t recoil. She seemed to sense he wanted to move them on.

Many other areas matched the alcove he’d just shown her. He’d already rifled through the items belonging to the Demons he’d evicted, taking anything that sparkled or gleamed for himself.

Many ceramic pots lay broken or on their sides from disuse. There were a few human items they’d taken, like fishing rods, swords, and rusted plates. There was even a carriage wheel that was mostly rotten due to the constant moisture in the air.

Linh occasionally shivered under the weight of her cream-coloured hide jacket, but she never complained about the cold. He did notice she came closer to him when wind rushed up the tunnel, but he doubted his low body temperature aided her in any way.

She was the warmer one of the two of them.

She pressed her freezing fingers against his forearm when she grabbed it with both hands, and it felt like shards of ice against his scales. He didn’t complain, instead soaking in the fact that she sought to be closer to him.

“Is that light up ahead?” she asked, her eyes squinting as if that would help her see.

She didn’t look at him for an answer, so he didn’t give one.

The answer was revealed as they came upon brightness. He could have led them further into his cave system and into darkness, but her expression stated she wanted to explorewhythere was light.

Nathair ducked into an opening and lowered his arm, since she no longer needed him. Except he had to quickly shove his hands out to catch her when she tripped the moment he moved his arm away.

Her gasp cut short when he propped her back on her feet, and her cheeks darkened at almost falling face first. That would have resulted in her going off the ledge and into the water below them.

“Thanks,” she grumbled, her cheeks puffing as her lips pursed into a cute pout.

He snorted out a huff to let her know he heard her and didn’t mind catching her. Once she was settled, she stepped closer to the high ledge with her lips parting.

A sharp wind gusted into the wide, open alcove and ruffled her clothes and hair. A large and somewhat deep puddle of water remained unmoving in a recess of rock and sand. A beach spanned between them and the ocean shore hundreds of metres away, where waves crashed and frothed.

The air was heavy with the scent of brine, and salt particles clung to his scales.