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Panic sinks in. He’s going to kill me, or worse, and there’s nothing I can do about it. He’s too big, too strong, too fast –
Just like that, the weight above me lessens, the naga pushing up onto his forearms and caging me in against the ground. My heart hammers like it’s trying to find a way out of my chest as I stare up at him, momentarily shocked by the duality between his attack and the concern I see on his features.
The moment he realizes I’m fine, however, his full lips twist up into an infuriating smirk.
“Had to level the playing field, didn’t I?”
I buck my hips, rage sweeping through me and replacing the animalistic fear I’d been feeling seconds ago. The sharp shift throws the naga off-balance, and I slip out from under his arms, swiping another knife sheathed at my hip and brandishing it at him.
Surprise widens his eyes before he recovers, that same cool, predictable smirk on his face once more.
“A fighter. I like that. So why are you all the way out here, little killer? Are you hiding from something?”
I growl, the nickname grating against raw wounds I’d rather keep hidden from this naga. He pushes to his feet slowly, showing me his hands like he’s trying to placate a wild animal. I take a step back as he takes a step forward, maintaining the distance between us.
He cocks his head curiously at me, as though trying to read the thoughts flitting across my face. For the first time in my life, I don’t think I can outsmart this naga, not without my magic.
My flames tingle in the palms of my hand, eager to take care of the threat before me, but for some reason, I stifle them.
Instead, I turn on my heel and dash deeper into the woods, praying that I’m faster than he is for the second time today.
7
SLYTH
To me, it looks less like she turns and runs into the forest and more like she simply disappears. One moment she’s standing there, a snarl on her lips and her knife gleaming in the diffused light, and the next, she’s seemingly leaping into nothingness. It’s as though the forest bent around her, swallowing her whole and leaving not a trace for me to follow.
It wouldn’t be any good to try, either. I can already tell that, even as I approach the place she was just standing to look for a trail. She saw exactly how good I am at tracking, and I saw how good she is at moving through the forest. Maybe with a few days and an army at my command, I could track her down, but not on my own.
Whoever she is, she’s clearly an ally of the forest. She knows it, and it knows her.
I stand in the place where she disappeared and examine the forest around me carefully. It isn’t so much that I hope to find a track with which to hunt her down. Rather, I’m hoping that she’ll decide to show back up on her own.
It doesn’t seem totally impossible, honestly. She was interested in me, at least a little bit. I could almost swear I saw that in her eyes. Especially after I dodged her daggers and her arrow. Maybe she wasn’t as interested in me as I was in her, but she was curious. She wanted to know who I was.
Although not as badly as she wanted to get rid of me, it would seem.
Perhaps it was forward to ask if she was hiding something. I should’ve known that would scare her off, but I couldn’t help myself. After all, what other reason would a human have for behaving the way she has? If she was truly just trying to stay hidden from the atrocities of this territory, she never would have slipped into the village. It’s more than clear that she knows how to fend for herself out here.
All of this just leads me to believe that there’s something she’s after. While that should concern me, all it does is pique my interest. I’m here for something, too, after all. I have my Prince and she has… well, that I don’t know. But I will someday.
“Aren’t you curious, little killer?” I murmur into the woodline, scanning for any signs of movement. I wouldn’t put it past the feral little thing to still be watching me, weighing me. Perhaps even waiting for another opportunity to strike.
“I could answer so many questions bouncing around in that pretty little head…”
My ears strain against the usual sounds of the forest. The sound of something large and wild echoes over the countless smaller signs of life. Probably a batlaz or a worg, but I’d need to hear it again to be sure.
I can’t resist waiting for just a few more seconds. Of course, nothing happens.My little killer doesn’t make a sudden appearance, and despite the fact that I knew she wouldn’t, I can’t help but feel… disappointed.
“I’ll come find you again,” I say finally and then start back towards the market.
Is there any chance of her being relevant to my mission? None that I can think of, much as I would like to. She certainly isn’t working for the King. Even if the King were willing to set aside his own disgust for humans long enough to recognize her talent, she would never stoop to following him. Could she be resisting him? That’s possible, but I don’t see much evidence that she’s involved with any broader organization.
The work of one talented warrior like her is certainly enough to interest me, but my Prince sent me to discover information on a much broader scale. So far, I have none of it.
As I go back through the gates and towards the market, I catch a few stray eyes lingering on me in a way they didn’t before. People saw me running here. Only a few people, to be fair. No one in the market itself. Still, it was a mistake, and if word spreads too far, there’s a small chance I’ll pay a price for it.
It was wrong of me to let my personal interest in a woman overcome my dedication to the mission. I won’t let it happen again.
