They didn’t want to kill me. At least not yet. And they seemed to value my comfort. The past night only reinforced that message. For whatever reason, my purpose was to be tied up in Dahr’s tent.
He hadn’t tried to ask me about myself, about my town, he hadn’t shown a need or will to extract information from me or even ask me a question other than about my immediate wellbeing during the time we'd spent together. Moreover, he seemed concerned about me and made a show to pull me out of the rain I had so stubbornly remained under.
I didn’t understand this man. I hadn’t fully grasped his business or purpose here and I still didn’t understand why they planned to attack my town. But I was too terrified to ask what that attack consisted of, especially since the warriors of this camp spent their day training.
Unfortunately, I was ashamed to admit that for the first time in my life I had no plan. No higher purpose than to just be… tojust exist in this tent under this blanket and digest myself, if the growls of my stomach were any indication of my future.
I could somehow try to escape and warn the others, though I didn’t know how I would go about that, since Dahr liked to spend the night in his tent, and I didn't have to be a genius to guess they had guards all over the place.
A faerie camp that appeared by the coast, out of nowhere, without being detected meant that they knew very well what they were doing. How to disguise their presence and conceal their attacks, so I doubted I had enough illusionism skills to make myself disappear without being detected.
Maybe if I waited until Dahr went to bed and managed to untie my binding, maybe if I stole one of the leather garments the women around the camp seemed to be wearing and plaited my hair like they did, cover myself in furs and fake going on an errand? By the time they would go back to Dahr to confirm, I would be long gone. Or maybe I could speak to him and ask to be let out of the tent for a little while, enough to gather information on my surroundings and location.
I couldn’t just let them attack, I couldn’t let them kill innocents or hurt thousands of people…
Clinking sounds and hushed voices awoke my curiosity enough to make me remove the cover over my head and look around the tent to spot Dahr and another male carrying what looked like a wooden plank filled with cutlery and plates. They walked slowly and with care, keeping the makeshift table even, which told me that it must have been filled with food.
Of its own accord, my tummy grumbled loud enough to alert them of my awake state, inviting both of them to turn their focus towards me.
“This is Markos,” Dahr motioned towards the other man with his chin and continued dragging the plank towards the bed and indirectly, towards me. “He is Karisha’s mate,” he offeredwithout me asking and providing an answer to the questions that had started surfacing.
Markos was a tall and handsome man with light brown, almost blond hair. He wore a blue tunic and dark pants in the general fashion that was known to me and all the humans, so at odds with the leathery garments the drakes sported.
“Hello,” I said slowly and dipped my chin just slightly.
When the man turned to me and offered me the same easy-going smile his mate did, my heart almost melted, and the deep blue colour of his eyes was a perfect match to his tunic.
“Please thank your mate for her kindness,” I said, referring back to the refused visit I was planning to apologise for if I ever saw the woman again.
“Oh no, this was all Dahr. It pisses him off that you’re not eating so he plans to stand watch and guard you until you do,” he replied with a smile, so sincere that I instantly knew he wasn’t joking when presenting the situation.
Just then, both he and Dahr reached the general area of the bed and placed the wooden plank my side instead of resting it on the mattress, as I had initially assumed. Indirectly letting me know that all this was for me.
Three carafes were situated on the new table, one with water and two, I assumed filled with other liquids. One of them smelled warm and sweet so I guessed tea.
There were also two entire loaves of bread, already cut into slices and various plates with different foods. I had a massive selection at my disposal. From dried meats, grilled chicken slices, boiled potatoes and carrots with butter to biscuits and some sort of baked fruit cake, sausages and cheese, pickled vegetables and various types of dried fruit.
“Did you steal the food of the entire camp?” I felt my eyes widen at the variety and exaggeration of how much I would beable to consume and looked up to see the Dahr’s full attention pointed at me.
“You will eat,” he said plainly, matter of fact.
“I will not!” I replied with immediacy, not because the food didn’t look delicious, but because his attitude was seriously lacking.
Markos’ brows arched only slightly at my tone, as though my raised voice at his… commander?… friend?... colleague?.... had somehow shook him.
“I’ll leave you to it,” he excused himself and made his way out of the tent, leaving me and Dahr to frown at one another in silence.
“As I said,” I broke the silence after realising he had no other plan than just stare at me menacingly. “I will not take anything that comes from you,” I said pointedly.
If this man could have exploded with fury, then this would have been the perfect moment. His lips pressed together, his nostrils flared, and I half expected to see smoke coming out of his nose. His cheeks turned red and started burning with fury, the tension his body was producing evident from the way his thick veins swelled in his forearms.
Yet, he kept his composure and slowly situated himself on the side of the bed. I expected him to shout, to scream or insult me, even to kick me in his anger. Why not? He was a faerie, a savage beast that came out of nowhere with plans to invade our world and steal everything my kind worked so hard for. To claim and conquer everything we believed in and everything we created.
“You can’t plan your escape on an empty stomach…” he spoke in a hush tone, as though wanting his words to be produced only for my benefit.
My heart started thumping in my chest. What if he was one of those supernatural beings with the power to read yourmind or your feelings? What if everything I had thought so far, everything I knew was an open book for him to flick through whenever he wanted?
“How would you know what I want?” I snapped back, pressing my legs together should the need for a defensive kick arrive in the very near future.
