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And yet, he wasn't looking at me like he wanted to hurt me. In fact, there seemed to be pain in his eyes.
"What are you?" he asked. Then his shoulders slumped, and he shook his head. "You probably don't understand me." He dropped to a crouch in front of me, the arrow in his hand falling to the ground.
It matched the one embedded in my side.
"I know what you are saying," I said, my voice shaking as I spoke.
He gasped and stumbled backward, falling on his rear. "I… I'm sorry, I just… I thought I would find a rabbit, not… Well, not you."
His eyes met mine, and they gleamed a golden brown, filled with wonder and curiosity.
"Did I hit you?" he asked. I watched the small bulge in his throat as he swallowed hard.
My wing twitched back, revealing the wound in my side. He gasped, his face paling in the light from the torch. His hands moved, as if he wanted to reach out and pull the arrow from my flesh, but then he froze.
"I can help." It came out more like a question than a statement. There was no certainty in him now. The man I'd watched on the archery field was completely different from the one before me. Even if he had been a terrible shot, he'd brushed off the comments other made and keep a confident stance.
"Please." I let the single word out, even though I knew it would be better for him to leave. Before Mother found me, found him.
The Queen of the Harpies was vicious, and I didn't think she'd take lightly to someone wounding me; no matter the treaty between us and Nico.
Yet I needed help, and he was here. I'd never been touched by another, and his hands looked soft and warm.
He approached me slowly, moving from a crouch to his knees. I could feel his eyes skim me like they were a touch, his gaze searing. There weren't many of us left in the world, and so I knew that for him I was a creature of myth and legend.
Right now, I was a creature in pain.
"Please," I said again. His gaze snapped to mine, and he nodded, his hands shaking as he reached out to touch me. I shuddered at the sensation, so different from my own touch, alien and yet welcome. I tried to relax my body, but the arrow was wedged in deep and each breath I took send a shudder of pain through me.
"This will hurt," he said. "I'm sorry, I…"
"Do it," I demanded, adding more force to my words. I needed this to happen now so that he would go away and I could keep him safe from Mother.
He gripped the arrow and tugged. It was lodged deep in my flesh and I could feel the muscle tearing as he wrenched it free. I bit down on my lip, trying so hard not to let a sound escape, but I couldn't trap the low, keening wail. He tossed the arrow to the ground and pressed his hands against the wound to staunch the flow of blood. Before I knew it, he was pulling off his shirt and tearing it into strips to wrap around my body, his hands moving fast and efficient. He cinched it tightly, and only when he was satisfied did he turn his gaze back to my face.
"That should hold for now, but we really should get you to a doctor."
"No," I said, the word strong enough to make him lean back. "I cannot leave this place. I cannot go to your human doctor." I shook my head, the pain making it hard to think, but even then, surely, he realized we weren't the same.
"I…" He sighed and sank back to the ground, all the frantic energy from before leaving his body. "What are you?"
"I am harpy, and you must leave. Before it's too late." I hissed the words at him, wanting him to listen, pleading with my voice. I didn't know if he could see the fear in my eyes, or perhaps he misinterpreted it as fear of him.
But that wasn't it.
The sound of huge wings made me whimper. "Go. Now."
"I don't—"
"Go!" I tried to shove him, but he wasn't in a good position to move. He just stayed there, unaware as his fate was sealed in stone.
Soon, he would die.
Brody
The soundof beating wings filled my ears, and I peered out from the hollow in the tree to see the giant wings of another harpy.
Harpy. Mythical bird woman.What the hell kind of world had I accidentally stepped into?
