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This is the first time I’ve truly seen him in the light.At least, not while she was fretting.

His scales gleamed with oil-slick rainbows more than ever, each one reflecting the sun differently. He was a mass of darkness, nearly black from neck to tail tip, but the white of his rib bones, backs of his hands, the inner parts of his hip bones, and vertebrae were bright in contrast.

Light and shadows danced across his muscles, making them more noticeable than usual. His stomach was defined and tight, as if he had little fat but plenty of strength. His pectoral muscles were defined, and they moulded between each of his ribs and around his exposed sternum that looked to be sinking.

The light-grey fish fins appeared like frills down his sides. They were more rigid down his forearms, as if they had spines, and were currently slicked back.

His belly was a lighter colour than the rest of him, highlighting his navel, and was the same colour as his nipples. His gills were similar, as if the skin there was thinner.

Sharpness ran over the tip of her ear, and her earring clinked against the smooth edge of his claw. The sound startled her when she realised she’d been admiring Nathair, despite him being so different and utterly a monster.

With her cheeks heating, and noticing her nipples had weirdly hardened in response to him, she stepped back to put space between them. Then she turned and tapped her cheeks as if to smack sense into herself.

I totally wasn’t ogling a Duskwalker... again.Her entire head grew hot when she couldn’t even convince herself of that lie.He’s a monster, Linh. And not just any monster, but one other monsters are frightened of.

The Demon from earlier hadfledthe moment Nathair dived for it. It hadn’t dared risking an attack and was overcome within a split second.

It was his tail, she knew that. He was just so fucking big with it, so long, and his body was rippling with muscle.

And she’d been coiledinsideit protectively while he soaked in her warmth. Unable to escape, trapped until he was finished with her. Had he desired it at the time, he could have done whatever he wanted to her, and Linh absolutely wouldn’t have had a say in the matter.

He could stop her screams with nothing but a big hand. He could hold her legs and arms down by wrapping himself around her from neck to feet, rendering her completely incapable of kicking, punching, or doing anything to defend herself.

Linh was then, and still now, utterly at his mercy.

What had he done with all that power? Fed her, made her warm with the fire, kept her safe, and even... made her laugh.

He has all this power to be cruel, and he’s shown me nothing but kindness.Every minute she spent in his quiet and calm presence, her trust for him was growing.

If he was human...She shook her head. She didn’t trust that her thoughts wouldn’t turn dark and complicated.

Her relationship with men was mixed between what she’d been through with Bragg, and the many friendships she’d had in her village. She didn’t even know men could be cruel until the bandits had come to this part of the world.

Maybe dad hid any crimes.She also just... wanted to believe that the people of their village would never have done something so horrific to women.

She was scared of being ignorant and naïve. She was scared that she’d been too sheltered by her loving parents.I don’t want to think of the world as cruel.

Linh faced the Duskwalker again. Seeing him in all his monstrous magnificence, she chose to believe that if Nathair could be good, then humankind could be as benevolent as she’d once thought.

I don’t care what he is.Nathair could have two heads, wings, or six arms. He may be a monster on the outside, but his heart didn’t seem to be.

Not like the villains who had recently dug their nails into her skin.

Nathair tilted his head, always silently conveying something. She figured he was wondering what her expression meant, and why she’d been solemnly staring out at the ocean.

She didn’t know how to answer that, or if she even wanted to.

Instead, she walked a little closer to the water. Just when she was about to reach where the waves lapped at the moist sand, he grabbed her arm and yanked her back.

He held up a single finger and wagged it at her.

“It’s not safe?” she asked, her heart sinking.

He shook his head and lifted two hands. He put his palms together and open and closed them like a set of large, jagged fangs.

“Demons?” she asked, letting out a sigh. She should have figured as much. “But I wanted to feel the waves.”

She gave a little pout, but otherwise stepped away so that she wasn’t as close. Nathair cupped the underside of his chin as his skull scanned the damp shoreline.