My story.
My salvation.
My destruction.
And I was determined to give him my all.
My soul almost left my body when I heard heavy footsteps stopping just outside the tent and Dahr’s voice reverberating through the dusky scenery.
“Take good care of your mate tonight,” he must have told someone and even though I could not see his face, I heard the burden that strained his voice. Markos must have not said aword about my return, because Dahr did not seem in a hurry to come back to his tent and kept finding excuses to stay outside.
Not wanting to ruin his arrival, I stayed quiet and waited. I waited and admired the tall muscly shape that shadowed the leather fabric of the tent, the heavy tension in his shoulders and the arms that looked to be weighing a ton on each side of him, dragging his body weight from one leg to the next.
He kept urging his warriors on, kept saying his goodbyes to the camp and inviting everyone around to return home for dinner and a final night of enjoyment. And when he finally, finally, listened to his own advice and stepped in, I barely contained myself not to jump into his arms and allowed him enough space to breathe. And take me in. His inky eyes widened and the warrior blinked a few times as he gaped at me, looking as though he was seeing a mirage. Breath left his lungs and filled the air around the tent with hot stains as Dahr took a step towards me, slowly and tentatively, scared that I would vanish into thin air if he made a wrong move.
“Milenora, is that—”
Hearing my name fall from his lips made my heart flutter so desperately that I lost control and launched for him. I had to jump up to press my lips on his, but as soon as I lifted myself on my tiptoes, Dahr lowered to me to seal the kiss, the eagerness of his lips branding me like coals falling over fresh snow.
“Why did you come back?” The warrior broke the kiss only enough to ask the question as his hands clung to me with desperation, pressing me to his chest as though he would never let me go again.
“How could you think I would leave you?” I whispered as I reached up to cup his cheeks. “How could you think I would leave my mate?” Dahr fell to his knees in front of me, desperate and powerless, grabbing onto our connection like a drowning man.
“We will face tomorrow,” I reached to kiss his worry-lined brow. “And we will get through it together,” I promised as I squeezed him tighter.
Neither Dahr nor I could sleep too much, so we ended up holding one another throughout the night. His arms around me felt heavy and tired, while his heartbeat thumped under a shield of worry and surrender. He’d tried to convince me to leave over and over, but each time I refused.
I refused when he bent down on his knees and pleaded with me.
I refused when, still on his knees, he used his tongue to do wicked and delicious things in between my legs and ordered me to leave him, just before he sent me over the edge. And I refused when he spilled himself into me, his body joined with mine and moving in that perfect synchrony.
I was not scared. Not anymore. Not when Dahr might have a chance to control it, not when he’d put himself and his tribe in danger to save me from the captain. He had a job to do, and I had already fulfilled my purpose. I had saved my town. Now, I had to become the offering I was meant to be and hope. The attack had to be real, had to look real enough for the reports going backto the king and the general. No one could know the town was spared. Not the Fire Kingdom command, not the faerie scouts, and not the rest of the camp.
Morning came with the beating of the drums, rhythmically calling the day towards destruction. Hundreds of small echoes sang together around the camp, loud enough to send vibrations through the air and raise war spirits. For all they knew, they were preparing for battle.
“It’s time,” Dahr blinked at me, his obsidian eyes weary. I nodded slowly and leaned in to place a calming kiss on his lips. Then stood and moved to the side of the bed, waiting to be encased into my role. Not a second later, Markos and Karisha made their way in, both looking more sombre than I had ever seen them. I found it curious how people reacted to the announcement of death when someone fell under its dark cape. Some cried —in Karisha’s case — some became sombre like Markos, and some became a shell of their former selves, just like Dahr was now starting to.
There were only a few who embraced it. Only a few that saw it as a hideaway from future pain. And while everyone around me acted as though this was an end to be scared of, I saw it as the end of a celebration. That exquisite moment when the party ends and, even though you had fun, all you want is to go home and sleep.
My party was ending today. And I was ready to rest.
“See you in an hour?” I tried to smile at Dahr, who nodded at me, his gaze still pleading with me to reconsider.
“Even if you think you are helping him, even if you think this will give him the strength he needs to set himself free,” Markos grabbed my arm on the way out and stopped me with a whisper, “he might fail and accidentally kill you, or he might not even remember you after this.”
“That’s fine,” I smiled with confidence. “I’ll remember for the both of us.” I stopped then, trying to be truthful to the possibility. “If he succeeds…” I dipped my head as a final goodbye to the tribe leader.
“I truly hope he does,” he nodded back before he released me.
Walking to Karisha’s tent, I took the opportunity to look around the camp and observe the battle preparations. Some were eating, others were stretching and started toying with weapons and some had already started to pick apart the tents and prepare them for the next travel locations. All of them confident, all of them putting their trust in Grannicus. The descendant of a god. If there was something to believe in, I also chose to believe in him today.
“Whatever he told you Nora, whatever he said…'' Karisha shook her head as she wrapped her arms around me to drop heavy tears on the side of my face. “It is just wishful thinking,” she continued. “He has never managed to contain the wrath of his power without an offering and trust me, he has tried many times.”
“But he has an offering now,” I squeezed Karisha tightly, trying to calm her down. “And I believe in him.” I took a deep breath to encourage both her and myself. “And so should you.”
Once the tribe lady settled her emotions, we started talking about little nothings, to keep our minds occupied. We chatted about skincare and outfits; we talked about the warm weather and how it looks like April is going to be a hotter month.
We did all that while she dressed me in the drake fashion and painted my body with shades of yellow, red and of course, orange, while I admired her work in the mirror and realised that she had been the one to paint all those amazing designs in Dahr’s tent. Without knowing, Karisha’s work had kept me company through all those solitary and frightened nights, beforeshe became my friend. I wanted to tell her all this, to tell her how talented she was, but I did not want to open the topic we had both done our very best to avoid for the past hour. When she finished with me, my entire skin was covered in paint which, due to Karisha’s talent, resembled Dahr’s flames extremely well.
