12. Fleeing Treasure
TWELVE
FLEEING TREASURE
Lukys
I will be quick. I do not want to leave her for long.
Unfortunately, I did not prepare much before taking her, and my lack of immediate light in my cave was indication of that enough. She is a human female, not a naga female. She needs more than a female of my kind would—and sooner.
Pausing at the precipice of my cave, I emerge from the darkness to enter the sunlight. It is barely noon.
Leaving for a short while will also give her time to come to terms that her life will be different going forward, and perhaps she will accept her circumstances.
She is frightened of me.
I was too rough when I took her.
Recalling the feel of her in my arms, her smaller form warm against my skin, my tail goes taut once more.
Her scent remains in my nose, pushing at my restraint, and I close my eyes and shake my head, taking a shallow breath of fresh air.
My prick aches and the muscles holding my slit closed hurts. My stem begs to be free.
I saw the way her face fell when her eyes dropped to my middle. The smell of her fear bloomed in the confined space of the cavern, replacing much of her sweet, feminine musk.
I finally had her, could finally touch and smell her at my pleasure, and yet there was only fear.
I may be realistic, perhaps a little selfish, but I am not a monster. I do not want her to fear me more than she already does. I do not want to be like those other nagas everyone hates—primitive and beastly.
I inhale another steadying breath.
I am patient. I can be patient with her.
The other nagas with human brides also had to win theirs. Some of them shared their stories with me. I will win mine.
The hard part is over. She is safe in my cave, even with the few weapons of mine displayed within it.
When I am certain she is not going to immediately flee, I leave my cave behind. Swift as I pass the boulders and traverse through the pine trees along the steep slopes, her ship quickly comes into view through the branches that threaten to slow me down.
I pause at the edge, glancing around for the human males, scenting them in the air. Their bodies often reek with sweat.
I hope, now that Elena is gone from their midst, they will take their ship and leave.
When I do not see them, I slip to the still-open door of hers, wasting no time entering her nest.
The human male’s scents are thicker here, and I discover dirty prints on the floor.
I cock my head to listen for them, only to hear a subtle humming sound instead.
It is a sound coming from the floor and walls and one I have not heard since dealing with the machinery of the soldiers outside Vagan’s nest. Elena’s ship is powered by energy. It is alive.
I should fear it, but I do not.
The males were here but they are gone now.
Journeying deeper, I come to the mirror on the wall and pause at my appearance.
My hair is messy and slick, and as black as the darkest of my scales.
My eyes are gray, which stare back at me mutely.
I cannot remember the last time I saw such a good reflection of myself.
The area around my bulge is pink, the scales hiding my slit from view spread apart.
It is a frightening sight. No wonder the scent of her fear thickened the air.
I shift forward and the mirror slides into the wall. Peeking inside the smaller room, I get a good look at her bathing chamber. I knew this room had something to do with water based on the few times she has come out wet.
I grab the springy white blankets from the walls and use the biggest one to create a sack. Snatching the random assortment of items on the counter, I cradle them in the folds of the makeshift bag.
When I get to her sleeping chamber, her scent is stronger than it has ever been before.
Frozen on the threshold, momentary misgivings fill me. I should not be doing this… This is her nest, her space… If she were a naga female, she would be furious at the intrusion.
But it is within my territory.
I press my hand to the door keeping the room hidden from me and slide it into the wall when it does not automatically open.
A large human bed covered in a puffy white ruffled blanket with two small tables on either side appears.
The walls are white and covered with shelves and drawers.
Most of the shelves are empty except for a few objects that look more decorative than useful.
Some have books. Books that are not aged and crumbling.
Breathing in her scent, smelling her at her purest yet, I reverberate.
I am a lucky male. My bride smells good—like she is meant to be mine.
None of the other females I have encountered smelled like Elena.
Like berries, tree sap, and honey—rich and sweet.
It was how I knew she was the bride I had been waiting for.
Why else would I find her aroma so enticing?
If she was not meant to be mine, then whose?
No one will love her scent more than me.
She might not know me yet, but she will soon. She will understand I only seek to keep her safe. To covet what is so precious.
Grabbing the blanket off her bed, I throw the smaller flufflier ones and other items into it, creating a bigger bag in the process.
Hauling the cushiony material in my arms, I collect the few books I see and the pile of clothes off the floor, adding them to my lot.
She will have all of her belongings. I will retrieve anything she needs; she just has to ask for it.
I do not want to make her transition harder than necessary.
A small bundle of cloth falls from my hand as I stuff the rest of her clothes into the blanket. Reaching down to pick up the scrap, I pinch the black silky material between my claws. My eyes widen as I set down the sack and explore the strange fabric, stretching it with my fingers.
My eyes roll back as I clutch the cloth to my nose. My lips part and my tongue dabs outward, licking at the sweet flavor spread between my fingers. A rough hiss tears out of my throat before I release a heavy groan. My stem pulsates, heating within me.
Adding the material to my bundle, I hasten my pace, realizing I am taking longer than I mean to.
I quickly leave her sleeping space behind to pick up the food in her stores.
But coming upon a rectangular slotted machine with many buttons instead, I skip the food and turn for the few bottles on the wall.
She likes the liquid in these bottles. Breaking open the glass shielding them with my fist, I grab several.
I leave her ship behind and return to my cave.
But before I come to it, the rustling of bushes far to my left catches my attention. Heading downward at an angle, my ears prick as I freeze to listen, waiting to see if it is an animal near my nest or something else.
Then I hear the snap of a twig followed by an audible gasp.
Shaking my head, I set down my bundle and turn toward the noise.
Spearing through the woods in Elena’s direction, I come upon her sprinting and stumbling down my mountain.
Pressing forward, I catch up to her and scoop her into my arms.
She shrieks and flails as I cradle her body to mine, spinning us around to take her back to our nest. Like earlier, it is little effort to move her. She is much smaller than me and nowhere near as strong.
As she continues to shout and thrash, I return to her bundle first, shifting her to my shoulder to free one of my hands.
Gathering her blanket back into a sack, I haul her and her belongings the rest of the way to the cave.
Finding my lantern on the ground outside the cave’s entrance, I take a moment to collect that too.
I hold the light up behind me with my tailtip as I carry my treasure into the shadowy darkness ahead.
Dropping her into the hides of my nest once again, and the sack outside it, I take the lantern and head to the storage rooms in the cave.
There are four caverns in total, with the first being a short way inside the entrance and the last being where my nest is.
The first two are smaller than the last two, and each space is off the main passageway.
The one closest to my nest is where my firepit is.
It is where I keep my food stores and baskets.
The firepit is in the middle while the rest of the room’s contents are gathered in organized arrays along the sides.
It is also the only cavern in my cave that can allow a fire to burn for long periods of time.
There are cracks in the ceiling that suck out the smoke.
I sometimes sleep in here when the nights are especially cold.
Passing the pit, I enter the second cavern.
Spying my blue rope on a plastic crate filled with the most useful items I have looted from the soldiers’ encampment, I collect it. In the crate I have two more lanterns, an array of batteries, humanmade weapons, and several sets of tools. With the rope in my hand, I return to Elena.
This time she is under the bigger table on the right.
I slip past her and loop the rope around one of the steel hooks high above my nest.
“What are you doing?” she asks breathlessly as I make a knot.
“If I cannot trust you to keep yourself safe while I am gone, even when I tell you I will not be gone long”—I shake my head—“then I will make sure you will be kept safe before I leave. I told you the mountain is dangerous to traverse alone, not until you know it, and I caught you racing down it with speed.”
Turning to her, she is silent as I slide the loose rope through my hand.
“I won’t run again. I promise.” She eyes the rope. “Please don’t tie me up.”
She draws away when I move closer. “This will only be for a short time. Until you realize that I am trying to help you and there is nothing to fear from me.”
“You say that, but you’re about to tie me up in your bed.”
“Nesssst,” I correct her. “I do not sleep in a bed. I sleep in a soft pile of hides. Hides that are trophies that I have collected. They are thick and warm, as you can see.”
I lean down to search her wide eyes and pale expression, her barely tempered panic edging them.
“Come out.” I hold my empty hand out to her.
“No.”
I slide my tailtip toward her and wrap it around her lower leg. She gasps and tugs her leg back as I drag her out from under the table. “Stop! No! I won’t run again—I promise!” She kicks.
I gather her against me and, twisting her until her back is to my chest, I secure her with my tail and arms. She tries yanking hers out of my grip as I gently maneuver them behind her back.
Tying the end of the rope around her wrists, I keep it loose enough that she can still move around and outside my nest. I do not want to restrain her to the point it will make her uncomfortable. She should be allowed to move.
I get the knot tight between her wrists and release her. She jerks away to face me, stumbling over the hides, and presses her back against the wall. She strains her arms outward, fighting the binds while keeping her furrowed gaze on me.
She lifts her chin as her fumbling comes to a stop. “I will never be yours. Whatever you do, I will never submit to you.” She spits the words like an oath.
Anger rushes me. “You will stay here while I find you some food.” I turn to leave, clenching my fists.
I want to touch her. I want to press into her and smell her. I do not want to quarrel with her. But here we are… I should have expected this.
“I will not eat anything you bring,” she snaps as I leave the cavern, putting distance between us before I do something I will regret. Her fear taints her scent and I do not like it.
I glance over my shoulder. “Yessss. You will,” I vow in return.
Yes.
You will.