Chapter 15
Aheavy weight bore down around his neck. Something that made him scratch at his throat in a lazy haze. At least, he would have scratched at it if there hadn’t been some fabric in the way.
Cracking open his exhausted lids, Thrasik’s eyes rolled as he tried to make sense of the world.
Warmth radiated in front of his chest from a curled up Griselda.
He unfurled his tail and nosed against the top of her head, taking in a deep sniff of her hair and lavishing that delicious honey and jasmine scent.
A hum warbled through him when he noticed her face was blotchy and swollen from crying. An ache seared through his heart.
Had she truly been crying over him or had something else bothered her?
Swallowing and immediately coughing, Thrasik’s claws reached for his throat and removed the meek cloth covering his scales. He rubbed the pads of his fingers along the punctures that apparently held more poison than he initially thought.
Only… there were no wounds. His scales were notched, but no opening even hinted that he had been in mortal danger just hours ago.
The spines along his neck and back stiffened.
Glancing down at Griselda, he pulled her closer with his tail as the stench of the gryphons slammed into his senses.
It burned his nostrils. Burned his tender sore throat.
Surely the scent of their death and decay had traveled on the air with how the wind whirled around.
Raising his blunt snout to the sky, Thrasik took in the clouds. Their dark masses swirled and rushed by. How it hadn’t fully rained yet seemed a miracle as small patters danced along the tips of the high grass.
They had to get away from this mess before something worse showed up and decided to make an easy meal out of the situation.
As if on cue, a brilliant flash of lightning darted across the sky.
Thrasik squinted. From just beyond the outskirts of his vision, a hazy shadow loomed on the edge of the lightning.
His scales puffed, rippling down to the tip of that slender tail.
A sharp inhale burrowed into his lungs. Rounding his shoulders, he delicately wrapped his arms under Griselda’s sleeping body.
His tongue flicked out across her face. A gesture he wasn’t sure he understood the reason for, but one that comforted him after having to break their embrace.
Fear curdled in his gut as he stole another glance to the sky the moment lightning cracked along the clouds again.
That same shadow lurked. The very one they first ran from together in the forest. He could tell by its size, tattered wings, and sharp cry that rippled through the open space.
Thrasik hoped with his entire being that it hadn’t seen them.
That it would be more interested in the feast of dead gryphons than it would a scaled menace and a soft woman.
His lips curled into a snarl as he hunkered back down over her.
My soft, warm, snugly woman.
Griselda stirred, burying her face against his body.
Shoving the fear and possession briefly aside, his chest swirled with a strange sensation as he stared down.
Her deep breaths soothed his own pulling him back to rational senses.
Those white lashes brushed softly side to side as she dreamed.
He wrapped his arms tighter around her, holding her in a firm princess carry.
Something snarled in his gut. A feeling he wasn’t sure of.
His chest felt like it was on fire and silent worry nagged the back of his mind that the poison hadn’t fully left his body.
Looking around for her bag, he found it scattered a little bit away from where they had been laying.
A frown stretched down his maw. Griselda must have been frantic in trying to heal him, not knowing he had a natural resistance to most poisons and some venom.
There was much she didn’t know about him. Grabbing the bag with his tail, he scooped the few fallen items into it and threw the strap over his head. He’d have to sit and talk with her soon. Especially with how possessive he’s began to feel.
He wanted her. More than just to have by his side. His throat burned as his blood roared in his veins. He needed her so intensely that he didn’t know if he would be able to hold out to his promise of waiting until after this journey.
A shrill shriek echoed above, warbling with the sound of thunder as it rumbled in the distance.
Thrasik’s eyes widened. He snarled, hissing and shaking his head. He’d have to think about his emotions another time. Clinging to Griselda, he took off at a speed he only hoped would keep them out of landing distance with the airborne beast.
What he really wanted was to get out of these grasslands.
The grass itself reached up to the middle of his chest if he stood fully on the base of his muscles.
It was something that made him uncomfortable.
His species preferred the open and rocky caverns.
Hell, his entire life he mostly knew the cavernous gorge that his tribe claimed.
A system of interconnected caves with a large basking valley in the middle that the sun warmed up perfectly.
Chilly rain drops pattered against Thrasik’s scales, dripping down his face as he serpentined through the grass.
Blades smacked his head while he used it to keep Griselda further covered.
His breaths came heavy, but not from exhaustion.
The burning in his chest became replaced by a tightness as his nerves tingled.
He genuinely couldn’t risk fucking this up.
He had to get her to safety and out of sight of the beast. He’d already failed and left her to the diseased gryphons, which he was sure would leave a mental scar on Griselda for a while.
She didn’t seem like she’d been exposed to many of the creatures outside of the forest. And if that ended up being true that she was going to be in for quite the ride.
Bursting through the slick grass and into an open field, Thrasik wanted to scream with excitement. Flat plains and rocks speckled the ground in place of damp mud. His scales warbled with joy. It truly was the simple things.
The sky darkened further, almost turning day to night as lightning and thunder danced and rumbled closer. A stiff breeze roared into him and knocked his balance for a moment.
Squinting against the wind, Thrasik observed the horizon line.
Sparse trees peppered the outskirts. Another mountainside appeared to his right a bit further down with a couple boulders poking around similar to the other cave.
To his left was just more open field and some rolling hills.
And at the very center popped up what he assumed to be a stonewall as a sharp spire poked its tip from behind.
Dread itched across his shoulders. If that was Silyre, then he truly had to confess and speak to Griselda sooner than later.
At the speed he could take them without the storm then they’d easily reach Silyre within a day of travel.
Whatever happened then would be up to fate to show why she had his scale.
After that, he fully intended to make her his. Even if it meant taking her to his tribe and ordering she be made his princess. Or queen. It all depended if the elders were still kicking by the time he got back.
Thrasik turned his head to check behind them, watching the darker clouds roll in.
There was no way he’d be able to out run the storm any more.
Ducking down and slithering closer to the ground, he hugged Griselda tighter and sped off toward the mountainside.
Surely there would be another cavern with his luck.
His scales always managed to find a safe place to sleep, after all.
Maybe there he could finally breakdown his own wall and speak his mind to her.
* * *
Thrasik slammed his body against vines covering the entrance to a small cavern. The woody growth groaned and snapped under his weight as he tumbled forward, holding Griselda upward as he slid on his shoulder. Huffing, he gently placed her down near a small indent in the cave wall.
The vine remnants offered enough cover from the rain that he wasn’t concerned with the weather.
However, should another beast be interested in hiding from the rain then he would need to find something to close the entrance off with.
The bad news being that the only options around were boulders too large to move or his body.
The cave was barely big enough to fit the both of them. He was lucky there was the small alcove for Griselda to fit in. Though, he’d have to watch her when she woke up so that she wouldn’t knock her head on the ceiling if she tried to stand. He was already crawling on his hands as it was.
Otherworldly cries howled outside, too close for comfort.
Within an instant, Thrasik coiled his body and tail together and smashed them against the entrance.
He wasn’t going to risk them being found.
The dirt that had smeared across his scales would hopefully mask their smell just enough for whatever creature it was to pass by without a second thought.
His eyes quickly adjusted to the dark as he looked over to watch Griselda. Vivid green eyes stared back at him, wide with fear.
“Tell me, can you see in the dark?” His eyebrows pinched together, questioning her.
“Barely. You’re really fuzzy. Where are we?” Griselda’s voice was strained. She was sprawled on the ground, hands spread wide and fingers digging into the soil.
“In a cave, on the outskirts of Silyre. There’s a bad storm and—” Thrasik’s voice cut as a grimace ripped across his maw.
Something had grazed a sticky clawed hand down his exposed scales.
He held his breath, sucking his scales as close to his body as possible.
The noises outside were disturbing. A mixture of howls, shrieks, and gargled snorts.
He’d never heard such sounds before but could only assume them to be from a plagued beast.