Chapter 10

With the Duskwalker looming at her back, Linh shoved everything that may be of use into one of the chests that wasn't completely broken.

Okay. So he's laughing with me and playing pranks,she thought, as she shoved in another candle. That's good... right? If I keep on his good side, maybe he won't make me leave? Hopefully I can convince him to be my friend.

Linh was trying her hardest to not upset him, even when she stupidly kicked him for joking with her. My emotions are so all over the place, I don't know what the hell I'm doing anymore. She liked him a lot, but he also freaked her out.

She internally grumbled, while shoving an oil container into the chest.

Most of the items didn't have much rust or water decay, so she figured that the contents of these chests had only been taken from the water recently. The outsides, however, were caked in sediment and barnacles, which likely protected the insides as well as locked them shut without brute strength.

She asked Nathair to help her break open a large ceramic jar that was nearly the size of her torso. She thought it may have been wine, due to its mauve colouring and smell. Unfortunately, she'd accidentally knocked it over immediately after he'd opened it, rendering it useless when it shattered.

Gosh. I am not having a good day.

She'd slipped twice, fell on Nathair, and now broke something delicious. Thankfully, there had been a few smaller jars, and she took two, so she had something to cook with. The calories would do her good, and it was better than eating food with no spices.

Wine stops fermenting.Considering it'd been so airtight that not even seawater had leaked inside, she considered it safe for consumption.

Once Linh's loot was safely packed, she turned to Nathair.

"Is there anything else inside the ship?" She spared it a glance, her gaze roaming over it where it lay decrepit on its side.

He shook his head and picked up the chest to take it to the upper level.

"Actually," she started, fidgeting with her hands. Nathair paused and tilted his head at her, and her shoulders lifted in uncertainty. "I was wondering... is the beach safe? I would really like to go into the sun, and I've never seen the ocean up close before."

She tried not to be horrified by the creepy way his head turned a near one hundred and eighty degrees as he looked over his shoulder. Seeming to think on it, or maybe he was doing his weird senses scan or something, he eventually nodded. He placed the chest down at the bottom of the incline.

He seemed extra cautious about her and her ability to misstep even on a flat surface as they climbed down from the rocks. Linh removed her shoes to leave them behind and toed the sand.

It's warm. She hadn't expected the sand to heat, especially not in the first week of spring. A smile curled her lips.

For the first time, she heard Nathair slither as the tiny grains shifted and even squeaked under his tail. He appeared to put more strength into his slide.

I guess it's too loose for him to cross the sand properly.

"I've always wanted to go to the beach," Linh stated quietly as she walked, feeling the ground, the sun on her back, and the way the salty wind caressed her. "If you go to the highest point of my village, you can just see over the cliff. I've always wondered what a beach looks like, as I was only able to see peeks of cream along the shore."

Linh halted and turned to look at the gigantic cliff wall that had to be a kilometre high. Then she closed her eyes and lifted her face to the sun. She took in its warmth, and the way the light filtered past her eyelids. It felt like heaven against the chilly wind.

"It's so peaceful," she muttered, letting the song of the ocean cascade behind her.

She heard the froth of water, the crashing of waves, the whistle of the wind slicing over it, and even the occasional gurgle.

Her cheeks twitched when a strong hand wrapped beneath her jaw. She didn't flinch, nor recoil, even when she opened her eyes to Nathair. He hadn't steered her, but he didn't need to.

Towering over her with his daunting height, he peered down at her with bright-yellow orbs. He swiped her cheek with a clawed thumb, yet was careful with its glossy black point.

She didn't tear her eyes away from his snake skull and the golden hairline cracks that glittered brightly in the sunlight. Even one of his dark horns had a ring of gold just halfway.

The sight was quite mesmerising.

It looks like his entire face was broken. Most of the fractures appeared just behind his eyeholes, and the right side of his split jawbone had a gold line in the middle, as if it'd been snapped in half. Whatever shattered his skull sure did a good job.

Her heart both swelled in pity for the pain he must have been in, but in relief that he was alive and well.

This is the first time I've truly seen him in the light.At least, not while she was fretting.

His scales gleamed with oil-slick rainbows more than ever, each one reflecting the sun differently. He was a mass of darkness, nearly black from neck to tail tip, but the white of his rib bones, backs of his hands, the inner parts of his hip bones, and vertebrae were bright in contrast.

Light and shadows danced across his muscles, making them more noticeable than usual. His stomach was defined and tight, as if he had little fat but plenty of strength. His pectoral muscles were defined, and they moulded between each of his ribs and around his exposed sternum that looked to be sinking.

The light-grey fish fins appeared like frills down his sides. They were more rigid down his forearms, as if they had spines, and were currently slicked back.

His belly was a lighter colour than the rest of him, highlighting his navel, and was the same colour as his nipples. His gills were similar, as if the skin there was thinner.

Sharpness ran over the tip of her ear, and her earring clinked against the smooth edge of his claw. The sound startled her when she realised she'd been admiring Nathair, despite him being so different and utterly a monster.

With her cheeks heating, and noticing her nipples had weirdly hardened in response to him, she stepped back to put space between them. Then she turned and tapped her cheeks as if to smack sense into herself.

I totally wasn't ogling a Duskwalker... again. Her entire head grew hot when she couldn't even convince herself of that lie. He's a monster, Linh. And not just any monster, but one other monsters are frightened of.

The Demon from earlier had fled the moment Nathair dived for it. It hadn't dared risking an attack and was overcome within a split second.

It was his tail, she knew that. He was just so fucking big with it, so long, and his body was rippling with muscle.

And she'd been coiled inside it protectively while he soaked in her warmth. Unable to escape, trapped until he was finished with her. Had he desired it at the time, he could have done whatever he wanted to her, and Linh absolutely wouldn't have had a say in the matter.

He could stop her screams with nothing but a big hand. He could hold her legs and arms down by wrapping himself around her from neck to feet, rendering her completely incapable of kicking, punching, or doing anything to defend herself.

Linh was then, and still now, utterly at his mercy.

What had he done with all that power? Fed her, made her warm with the fire, kept her safe, and even... made her laugh.

He has all this power to be cruel, and he's shown me nothing but kindness. Every minute she spent in his quiet and calm presence, her trust for him was growing.

If he was human... She shook her head. She didn't trust that her thoughts wouldn't turn dark and complicated.

Her relationship with men was mixed between what she'd been through with Bragg, and the many friendships she'd had in her village. She didn't even know men could be cruel until the bandits had come to this part of the world.

Maybe dad hid any crimes. She also just... wanted to believe that the people of their village would never have done something so horrific to women.

She was scared of being ignorant and na?ve. She was scared that she'd been too sheltered by her loving parents. I don't want to think of the world as cruel.

Linh faced the Duskwalker again. Seeing him in all his monstrous magnificence, she chose to believe that if Nathair could be good, then humankind could be as benevolent as she'd once thought.

I don't care what he is. Nathair could have two heads, wings, or six arms. He may be a monster on the outside, but his heart didn't seem to be.

Not like the villains who had recently dug their nails into her skin.

Nathair tilted his head, always silently conveying something. She figured he was wondering what her expression meant, and why she'd been solemnly staring out at the ocean.

She didn't know how to answer that, or if she even wanted to.

Instead, she walked a little closer to the water. Just when she was about to reach where the waves lapped at the moist sand, he grabbed her arm and yanked her back.

He held up a single finger and wagged it at her.

"It's not safe?" she asked, her heart sinking.

He shook his head and lifted two hands. He put his palms together and open and closed them like a set of large, jagged fangs.

"Demons?" she asked, letting out a sigh. She should have figured as much. "But I wanted to feel the waves."

She gave a little pout, but otherwise stepped away so that she wasn't as close. Nathair cupped the underside of his chin as his skull scanned the damp shoreline.

He put his finger up again and then slithered into the water. Like before, he ducked beneath the waves, but this time moved and scouted back and forth. The large and frightful fins from before lifted from his back and pressed their tips together, making it look like a singular sail fin. Nothing leapt away, even when he seemed to purposefully disturb the sand.

Eventually, he stuck his torso out of the water and waved for her to come closer.

Linh released a quiet squeal of joy. Rather than just getting her feet wet, she retied the bottoms of her pants above her knees and ran into the waves.

"Eek! It's so cold," she shouted with a laugh.

Linh pushed up her sleeves until they were bundled around her elbows, and scooped up a handful of water. She watched as it drained through the gaps in her cupped hands. She sniffed it, taking in its oddly refreshing smell.

As much as she wanted to, she didn't dare run up and down the shore like her heart told her to. She remained where Nathair had already scouted, never going past his depth and the wide curl of his tail.

Waves broke around him as if he was stone, whereas their shoves tried to push her to her arse. He dipped under occasionally, likely to double-check that nothing came to disturb her moment of joy. She got to watch the way his tail pushed up and down, rather than side to side. It occasionally breached the surface in loops, and he truly did look like a giant sea snake as he swam.

He really is magnificent.

A deadly predator. A lethal killer both on land and in water. A creature of nightmares.

She was rather giddy that he was her protector.

I'd like to see anyone take me now, she thought with a laugh.

Linh was aware she was growing rather dependent on that idea. It might be why she'd had little anxiety about being recaptured, or what had happened to her.

Ever since he'd saved her, he'd been frightening enough to chase away those fears.

She needed that so fucking much.

There had been nothing worse than suffering nightmares while currently experiencing one. The relief from it was such a balm to her soul that she wanted to weep.

Before her thoughts could trail back any further, Nathair popped out of the water.

Although she'd been enjoying herself, her feet were frozen.

"I'm going to get out now, okay? It's too cold."

Nathair tilted his head, then straightened it. He patted his stomach.

"Am I hungry?" He nodded, and she shrugged. "Not right now, but I will be when it's time for dinner."

He waved her back, telling her to leave. When she did as she was told, he pointed towards the cave, and she figured he wanted her away from the water completely.

She wasn't going to argue with a Duskwalker.

"Oh, a shell?!" She crouched down to pick up the small clam shell. She ran her fingers over its coarse texture, brushing sand from between its pale-pink ridges.

She found another and picked it up as well. These are so cool. I didn't know they'd wash up on shore. Oh! That one is even bigger. She ran over to a big white one that looked like some kind of critter could have lived inside it. Spikey and twisted, it reminded her of a snail's shell, but with a point.

She didn't know what animal it was from, but took it anyway.

I would love to take this home and show my mum.

Her parents would be so relieved to see her return, and she would like to give them something to show that not all of her days apart from them had been horrid.

A pang radiated around her heart and twisted her stomach into knots. I hope they're okay. She'd thought that many times, and hated that she knew the answer.

They wouldn't be okay.

Clenching her eyes and biting back the sudden strike of her thoughts, she turned once she was close enough to the cave entrance. The sun continued to shine on her, and with her out in the open, no Demon could attack her.

For a long while, all she saw were waves rolling before they crashed. She thumbed the large shell in her hands, gripping onto it for dear life. She'd obtained a new item for herself.

Other than the clothes she wore and the spare set she had in her bag, she had nothing else. Nothing that belonged to her. At least, not anymore.

Her bedroom was filled with everything a young woman could want, but it'd been so long since she'd seen it. She felt so separated from it and from who she'd been since she last slept in her bedroom.

Her reflection would feel wrong if she saw it again.

Linh groaned and palmed her face. I wish these thoughts would stop. She was trying so, so hard to push positivity to the forefront of her mind, but she couldn't seem to stop from spiralling.

Just smile, Linh. Just grin and bear it.

Thankfully, Nathair popped out of the water with his skull already facing her. A fish wiggled in his grasp, and he pointed at it with his chest puffed, obviously prideful that he'd caught it.

She threw her arm into the air with a thumbs up, trying to give him the best version of a celebration despite the distance. Whatever keeps him happy. A happy Duskwalker was surely a good thing.

Nathair slithered out of the water, and droplets sparkled as they dripped off his entire body. He crossed the sand, sluggish as if his weight on land made him slow.

Linh just waited.

A frown marred her features when he looked up at the sun as if to note its location, only to come to an utter standstill most of the way to her. Her brows drew together tighter when he just stared at the sky for quite a few minutes.

He'd frozen, as if he'd gone into some kind of trance.

His orbs turned white, and the fish fell from his grasp to land on the sand. Nathair opened his maw.

"The sun rises again..."he said, instantly making heat rush out of her veins and a crawl of dread trickle down her spine.

The voice was masculine, lacking any depth or bass she had expected from a creature such as him. It sounded human.

"A new day has come," the voice continued, just as Nathair's mouth parted further and his head tilted back more. "The shadows fade, and God's protective light shines upon us again. Herald the light."

"N-Nathair?" Linh stuttered, stepping forward hesitantly.

"He cleanses the world of human sin."He tipped his skull down slowly, and twisted his head to the side in an eerie fashion. "He sends the Demons to cleanse us of evil. Forgive us, oh Lord, we see your deliverance."

Her heart pounded against her ribs as she found what he was saying and his movements unsettling. Even more so when his head snapped into its normal positioning.

"You're scaring me," she admitted.

To make matters worse, it sounded as if he was speaking like a preacher of the past. Humanity had long felt like the old God had turned his back on them. Over three hundred years of watching their kind dwindling into the mere thousands had that effect on people.

"Repent, my children."

Her stomach twisted, and her shaking hands cupped it in an attempt to settle it.

"Repent and stay in his light!"

A harrowing, bone-chilling roar vibrated her entire being, just as Nathair dived. Lying on the ground, he frantically bashed his head against the sand.

With a gasp, she watched in horror as he writhed and hissed. Sand flicked in harsh waves as he dug and clawed at it.

Then a language she'd never heard before came from his maw. The voice was feminine, leading her to believe it may be a woman. She shouted, her voice filled with anger rather than terror.

All the while, Nathair bashed his head against the sand. He twisted it, squirmed, as if trying to bury his skull. His tail swiped in every direction, wrapping around itself in loops and figure eights.

Oh my gosh! What do I do? Did she go over there, or was that stupid and dangerous?

Her eyes crinkled when she thought she could hear whimpers and whines beneath the many hisses he gave. A new man's voice trickled in, the language foreign but different from the first.

How many people has he eaten? And more importantly... how had he eaten people who didn't speak the language of the country they lived in?

I only know a few Vietnamese words. Much of that had been lost over the many generations of her family. But this? These were full sentences, conversations from what she gathered.

Nathair eventually stopped bashing his head the moment it was buried. The voices became muffled after he filled his entire mouth with sand.

He continued to writhe, but it was weakening, just as he reached behind himself and clawed up his own back. He gouged deep, causing purple blood to well and instantly drip down his sides.

Unable to take the sight any longer, Linh ran towards him despite the obvious danger.

She lifted her arm to shield her eyes when sand flung on her and pressed forward. She fell to her knees and started pushing on his back, hoping to startle him back to normal.

"W-wake up!" she shouted, even though his orbs were white and not black like she'd only once seen them – the one time she'd ever heard him snore. "Wake up!"

His massive hand shot up and grabbed her forearm. She winced at the pressure, but he didn't squeeze any harder.

His squirming ceased. Instead, it was replaced by full-body shudders that caused his muscles to visibly leap all the way down his ridged back, then his tail, before making the tip vibrate. Muffled words continued to come from his buried mouth, as more shudders wracked his entire body like seizures.

Then he locked up.

Tears instantly welled in her eyes when she noticed that his whines and whimpers never stopped. He sounds like he's in pain.

Unable to leave due to his grip on her arm, Linh was forced to remain at his side. She didn't know how long she knelt there, if it were an hour or more, but Nathair didn't break from his whines, his tremors. He seemed to bury his skull further and further until all she saw was his hooked ram horns. Even the top of his chest was sinking.

Every time she patted his back comfortingly, his grip on her tightened until she cried out in pain. She stopped, unsure if it was even aiding him.

Sand bubbled up when his nose hole exhaled, clearing the grains away, only for them to slip back inside. Over time, water sloshed around his tail as high tide quickly crept towards them.

Then, finally, his hand lost tension and dropped to the ground. She wished silence fell upon them when he shifted to the side just enough to unbury his head.

Instead, he hacked out sand, wheezing and whimpering, and he wildly huffed as if he'd been sprinting. Noticing grains in his gills, she wiped at them, sure they were uncomfortable.

He didn't react, but she couldn't stop herself from trying to dust him off further as tears fell. Shell-shocked and confused, she trembled as she tried to soothe him from whatever the fuck this just was.

Just a few hours ago, he'd seemed so formidable. Now, he lay there weakly.

He lifted his head just enough to show that he was looking at her. Then, within the blink of an eye, he recoiled from her, making her start and fall back. His orbs shifted to dark orange, and she was beginning to wonder what the colour signified.

Her eyelids flickered when he ducked forward and cupped both sides of her head. He brushed over the top of her head before grabbing her left arm to check it.

"I'm okay!" she shouted, shoving at him before he could continue. She slyly hid her right arm while rolling down her sleeve. "Are youokay? Your back is bleeding."

Nathair lifted his head to look at the sky, as if it hadn't just sent him into a weird trance! He darted his skull towards the cliff, the ground, and the water sloshing around his tail.

She realised then that since they were north facing, they were in the shade. The sun would go down soon.

Without warning, Nathair swiped up the fish and dived his claws into the sand around her body. He lifted her. Her legs and arms kicked in surprise before he secured her into a bridal cradle and bolted for the cave opening.

Along the way, he crouched down to grab the larger shell she'd dropped, like he'd seen it in her hand before he lost his ever-loving shit. He gave it to her, and her heart squeezed that he stopped to obtain it despite everything.

Still unrecovered from earlier, he let out deep huffs of exertion that echoed within the rocky alcove. He shifted her until she was seated with her legs wrapped around his side and his arm locking her in. He swiped up her shoes with his tail tip and shoved them at her.

He must be worried about the Demons. If his blood scent didn't bring them upon them, her human scent would.

"L-leave the chest," she offered when he reached for it, noticing how much he was shaking and how sluggish he was being.

She immediately clamped her lips shut when he bit out a menacing growl. He placed the fish inside it, scooped it up, and shoved it under his armpit. Then he slithered up the boulders carefully.

Did I make him feel weak?She hadn't meant to make him feel that way. She could just understand the need for urgency, and she hadn't wanted to burden him further with the chest.

With both of them coated in sand, he climbed the slight incline of the tunnels. Minutes ticked by, and she counted each one by his large heartbeat resonating from her ear pressed against his chest.

It was fast and pounded heavily.

"Nathair... what happened?" she asked, despite knowing she wouldn't get a response. She nibbled at her bottom lip with stress. "Does that happen often?"

He halted their climb and then sighed. When he knew she stared at his orange orbs, they bobbed up and down in the darkness.

"Is... it normal for Duskwalkers?"

They swiped side to side.

"It's not? So you're the only one who has to deal with... that?"

She felt his shoulder lift, as if he'd shrugged. Then, as if he thought better of it, his orbs bobbed again.

Unsure of what to ask, or how he would even be able to answer the many questions she had, she nodded to show she understood. He pressed on.

Does he normally... hurt himself? He had multiple gashes down his back and shoulders. Gosh. I feel so bad for him. She couldn't imagine going through something so distressing.

When they entered the main area of his home, she noted the familiar trickle of water. The chest thunked and echoed when he placed it down before he slipped Linh to her feet.

Linh put her hands out, trying to orientate herself in the darkness.

Clunking and scraping of wood came from behind, followed by sharp clanks as sparks flickered. Nathair started her fire, providing her with light and the ability to orientate herself.

"Thank you," she stated, her stomach clenching as she fisted her shoes and the shell in her hand.

She appreciated his care, but she felt so awful that he needed to do it for her when he was in pain. The fact he'd had the foresight to aid her meant much.

Don't cry. Don't make it worse. He probably already feels bad enough. She held her tears back, but she was still so shocked and startled that she didn't know what to do other than awkwardly stand there like an idiot.

Her nerves were fried, and her brain was so mushy that she couldn't think of a single thing to say to make him feel better. Should she say sorry that he had to deal with his trances? She didn't want him to think she pitied him.

She didn't want to be pitied for her problems.

Even though flames began to flicker to life, Linh was too chilled by the events to feel warmed by them. Even the light seemed muted against the hard pounding in her veins, but she was relieved when it allowed her to see him by the flames glowing against his scales, his protruding bones, and the whiteness of his skull. His orbs dipped lower, just as clawed fingertips touched the inside of her wrist.

Nathair gingerly lifted her hand. He pushed her sleeve to her elbow, then his palm brushed over the flesh of her arm.

She wondered why he was inspecting her, only to rip away from him when she saw the palm-print bruise marring her. Covering her forearm, she ignored the tiny, distressed wheeze that came from him. His orange orbs darkened in their hue, and it didn't take a genius to figure out the colour reflected his guilt.

"It's fine," she said honestly, hoping her trembling voice held the weight of her sincerity. "It was an accident."

Linh then lifted a reassuring smile to him before needing to avert her gaze as the glowing colour deepened further. She reached for him instead.

"L-let me take a look at your back. We should wash your wounds. There must be sand in them."

Nathair darted back, evading her touch before her palms could land on him. Once more, he gingerly reached for her arm. When she attempted to pull away, he let out a dark growl, causing her back to stiffen. She complied, offering it to him.

Orange light glowed and glittered around her arm when he laid his palm over the top of it. It looked the same as the light magic he placed, and she watched with rapt curiosity as coolness radiated beneath her skin.

When the magic dimmed and then faded, he pulled his touch from her. She let out a surprised gasp when she noticed the bruise was gone, as if he'd never hurt her to begin with.

"I didn't know you could heal," she stated with awe. "Thank you."

She offered him another reassuring smile, this one stronger than before.

Nathair reached out and cupped the side of her head, his thumb brushing over her skin. His palm and fingertips had been smooth and soft, like his flesh lacked any callouses or roughness. Is he saying sorry for hurting me?

Why did that twist her insides further?

"It's fine, Nathair." She had meant what she said: she trusted him. Her bruise was an accident, and she wouldn't judge him for it.

When she leaned into his palm, trying to show him it was okay and all was forgiven, a strangled whimper choked out of him. He twisted, walked on his hands as he headed for the freshwater lake, and dived. Liquid splashed in an arc as his tail flopped in, causing droplets to crash near her bare feet.

The surface rippled, seeming to vibrate, as bubbles popped. By the muted sound she could faintly hear, she thought he may have roared. Tiny waves formed near the middle.

She had assumed he intended to release whatever emotions had overcome him for a long while, but he flung out minutes later.

Orbs glowing with the depth of his guilt, Nathair flopped back out of the water. He didn't return to her, instead moving over to the entrance of the cave like the night before, as though he wanted to block it. He coiled himself up like a snake, as if hiding from her, the world, and how he felt.

By the lack of his glowing orbs, she knew he wasn't watching her. He must have completely hidden himself under the wraps of his tail.

He thought to grab the fish, the shell, the chest, even my shoes. He apologised, rather than shrugging and blaming something he couldn't control. He'd healed her and made amends by communicating the only way he could.

Nathair had proven just how much he didn't want to hurt her and cared for her wellbeing and feelings.

And that he was exceptionally tender-hearted.