Chapter 10
Night had passed fitfully. One filled with hardly any conversation. It made Thrasik’s scales itch. An entire day of walking took over when he hoped they would stop for sleep.
There was nothing he hated more than uncomfortable silence. The kind the felt like static bouncing between bodies. That stressful sound that made it feel as though the other body didn’t exist.
He glanced over at Griselda. Her face had been glued to a makeshift map for most of the morning.
Those white braids twisted into a haphazard bun.
The delicious pale crescent of her thighs swayed in and out from the slit of her dress as she walked slightly ahead of him. It was beyond tempting and tantalizing.
Thrasik huffed, puffing his scales. Frustration sizzled through his body in a wave to the tip of his tail. As much as he wanted to focus on new ways to devour her, the lack of response from her was becoming concerning.
He understood that she was exiled. But that just meant she was now on a similar path as him! For some reason, she didn’t seem to feel the same.
Her soft footsteps paused, pulling him from thought. A grumble of sorts warbled from her chest. Just as soon as the noise ended, her hands flew straight up and an exasperated groan snorted from her.
Brows raising, Thrasik pulled back on himself and stared as Griselda pitched her satchel against a nearby tree root and flopped herself on the ground. Nerves tickled along his spines. This was a weird behavior compared to her determined silence.
“What are you doing?” The words came out more accusatory than he intended.
For the first time in a while, Griselda’s face turned toward him. The deadpan gaze almost froze him in place.
“Sitting. I’m just tired and my feet hurt.
It’s been a very eventful past few days.
” Only her lips moved. Her eyes felt soulless.
“I didn’t ask for any of this, and would rather have left with a place I knew I could return back to.
It’s not like you’re going to be next to me after we finish this mission. ”
Oh, she had no idea. He was absolutely going to be beside her. Dark tendrils in his mind screamed to wrap around her body and selfishly absorb every ounce.
“Not having a dedicated home isn’t too bad. There’s plenty of options out here to make your own! Or ours, if you’d even consider that,” Thrasik scoffed. At least, he tried. It instead came out as a weird snort.
Griselda’s shoulders stiffened. Her gorgeous green eyes suddenly turned into daggers sharp enough to pierce his hide.
“Easy for you to say. You have weapons built into your body. I can’t even defend myself from the beasts in these woods once it turns dark. I don’t even have anything to defend myself with!” Her nose scrunched, upper lip curling into a snarl.
“You act as though having me here with you isn’t enough.
I would fight an army to keep you safe!” Thrasik threw a clawed hand against his chest, hunching his shoulders over.
“I’ve kept you safe thus far, no? Even those pesky guards don’t stand a chance.
You don’t need to worry when you’re around me. ”
“It’s not that simple.” The woman’s ears ticked downward.
Daggers still sliced into him from her scowl. How carnally his tongue craved to lick that look off her face. A cool breeze winded its way between them. Both stared at each other a moment longer before huffing and turning to face the other direction.
“I’ll get a fire going,” she whispered. “We’ll need to find a place for the night first.”
Thrasik slithered over to her and grabbed her bag, offering a hand. His heart clenched the moment her warm hand met his.
How many times has she willingly touched me?
Swinging her up onto his back, he raised his snout into the air and worked for a specific scent. One that was slightly damp, earthy.
“The maps says there should be a cave up ahead somewhere.” Griselda’s voice was quiet behind him.
“I don’t need a map. You’ll learn to survive off nature.” He picked his words carefully, not wanting to insult her for needing such a device, but also wanted her to realize the potential she could have out in this open world.
A sharp grassy scent filled his senses as his tongue flicked back in. Heading further down their original path, the treeline finally gave away.
A vast field spread before the naga and the elf.
Long blades of yellow and orange grass swayed with the differing gusts of wind.
Far in the distance cliff faces peppered along.
The setting sun cast a fiery glow along the tips of the grass.
Clusters of boulders and rocks larger than Thrasik himself scattered around the field.
A rocky alcove poked out from a few lingering trees to his right.
The scent of a damp cave wafted from that direction.
Griselda readjusted along his back as he carefully maneuvered over to the possible cavern. His mouth watered at the thought of her curled against him on a chilly night like this. A front must have blown in, because even his scales started to chitter and shiver in response.
Poking his head inside to make sure there weren’t any surprise guests, Thrasik reached back for Griselda and ushered her inside.
He didn’t want to be out and exposed any more than they had to now that they were outside of tree cover.
He wasn’t meant for fields, but could survive in one if necessary.
Snaps and clatters caught his attention as Griselda worked on starting a fire at the entrance of the small cavern.
Why would she have something expose their location like this?
Just as he was about to confront her, she grabbed the small kindling and rushed back deeper inside. Thrasik watched in confusion.
He didn’t understand how she was able to hold the flame so delicately, let alone coax it into the bundle of sticks that had been strategically placed prior.
His kind didn’t have a need for flames since they had a form of night vision.
This was something he would have to ask her about at a later time.
Griselda warmed her hands by the fire briefly before digging in her bag and pulling out a thin blanket. In almost the same instant, she wrapped herself in it and threw her side onto the ground with her back to the flames.
Disdain pierced his heart. He didn’t know what he did to upset her, if it was even him or if her mind was still tainted by the prior night at the village.
There was a part of him that wanted to feel bad for not feeling as bad as he probably should since he caused all of this.
But, another part was excited to have her to himself.
The tug to her he felt was unexplainable, and he assumed it was because she had a piece of him.
Despite this, he still wanted to curl around her and breathe in every inch.
Thrasik shook his head. His spines wobbling back and forth with the effort. He shouldn’t be thinking like this during such a tense matter. He needed to focus on helping her and trying to relieve her frustrations.
Sinking in on himself, he buried his snout under his tail and folded his arms. He was, undoubtedly, exhausted and prayed for sleep to come soon.
Regrettably, Thrasik’s ocher eyes stared straight ahead. Sleep hadn’t been kind to him and he maybe received a few hours.
His thoughts kept lingering back to their night at the moonlight pool. How deliciously he savored Griselda on his tongue. How warm her body is. How tremendously he craved to wrap around her, especially now that the fire had died out.
Her shoulder rose and fell with each soft breath. He wanted to caress along her waist. Wrap his claws playfully around her hair and absorb the contrast of its starlight color.
Gods. I just want her.
A shudder wracked through his body. Pressure built along the seam at his groin.
It had been so long since he’d taken a moment to…
take care of himself. He scrunched his eyes shut.
Maybe if he didn’t look at her, didn’t think of her, didn’t breathe her in then the feeling would subside until he had time to himself.
He curled his body tighter against itself and shoved his hands down to his seam, using his palms to try and keep everything closed away.
Another shiver writhed through his scales.
This was going to be another very, very long night.