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Valerie leapt off a small cliff and into a rushing river of rapids.

Crazy woman!On foot, he followed along the river to see her head pop up. When she didn’t emerge, he shifted to see her from above.

He followed the river, came back around, and yet, he couldn’t find her. The water was shallow enough he could see through it, but he couldn’t spot her.

She had managed to climb out of the water while he was looking elsewhere and fled into the forest. With her scent washed away for the moment, it took him too long to pick it up again. By then, it was light and faded.

Her scent had become old, and he was once again hunting a trail that was difficult to track.

2 weeks later

Geryon followed Valerie’s scent to a tavern. Like most of his kind preferred, he wore a cloak to hide his strange-coloured hair and identity. Dragons who travelled often liked to keep themselves hidden to protect themselves. It wasn’t the humans who worried them, but the odd Witch they could come across.

Usually, Geryon would make quick work killing a Witch if he sniffed one close by, but this time, he didn’t. He was too preoccupied with the one he was already hunting.

When he entered the tavern, he discovered she wasn’t there, but her scent was fresh. She’d spent an extended period inside the establishment.

Obtaining answers about her was more of a hassle than he thought it would be. It was only when he noticed the wanted papers on the wall and the other heavily armed occupants, that he realised it was a place mercenaries often frequented.

Their secrecy had been infuriating.

The only reason he’d gotten any information at all was because it was used to mock him.

A young woman approached to tap him on one of his cheeks, like she had the damn right to! The sultry, devious smirk she gave him showed she wasn’t interested in bedding him, but was up to mischief.

“I would not follow her, if I were you. She made quite the impression when she arrived.”

With his nose crinkled, he leaned down to bring himself to her level. Her eyelids flickered with unease, realising he wasn’t some simpleton.

She shied away from him, as most humans did, at the fierce, deadly gaze his eyes held. “You underestimate a stranger.”

“The pretty woman with the dead eyes has been taken by the Caddel brothers,” she told him. “They were impressed by her, and they are hard to please. If anyone tries to approach her, it will mean certain death.”

His head reared back.Impressed by her. Hard to please?Such words could make him think things he would much rather not believe.She has taken men as her protectors?

Blasted!She really intended to make this as hard as possible.

He wasn’t surprised she managed to find help. She was exceedingly clever, and he knew she could wrap anyone around her pale, nimble fingers. Like a spider with its web, she could weave strings of deceit.

Unfortunately for him, she’d added an element to this hunt – one he didn’t like.

As much as he liked things difficult, he was growing aggravated. There was a limit to what one could take before things stopped becoming fun, and his heart was losing its enthusiasm when his arms ached with a loneliness, begging to hold her again.

Why is she so against this? Where is she heading, and why?

The Caddel brothers. Nice men, if you could call obvious marauders and murderers nice. They were tall, dark, and much older than Valerie. Both were covered in scars, which only added an evil hint to their constant scowls.

They were two strong humans in their late thirties. They didn’t speak often, and what she liked about them the most is that they never asked why she hired them.

It was a beneficial contract. She needed to go east and people to travel with, and they were already heading that way and needed easy money.

It wasn’t hard to convince them. Valerie had gotten into a fight with a man when she’d been sitting down for her evening meal in the tavern.Apparently, she’d stared at this young, roguish human wrong.

What he thought was an invitation to sit with her and attempt to get under her skirt turned into her bending his wrist so far back, she’d heard the bones crack. Then, she slammed his head against the table, all the while still attempting to eat her food, before she kicked him to the ground.

Her actions earned her these two brothers inviting themselves to sit with her. They hadn’t said anything, and she’d gotten the impression they did it to ward other patrons away.

There had been two questions shared between them.