9. Serena

Did all of that really happen? Did I really escape a band of murderous dark elves and get rescued by a primordial being made from fire all in one day?

I wake up with a dry mouth and a sore head. I ache for water and food. But I am grateful that the harsh noise of the blizzard seems to have disappeared, along with the rest of the storm.

It is still frigid outside though, and the bitingly cold air manages to seep into the dwelling that Cinis crafted for us last night.

I roll from my side onto my back and blink drowsily at the sight above me.

I am alone in the bed he made. Because Cinis, instead of still being asleep next to me, is hovering in the air above me.

He'd probably catch the moss on fire,I think.

He hovers horizontally, with his arms folded across his chest. He inhales and exhales slowly, and his eyes are closed tightly.

It is clear that he is deeply asleep – I wasn't sure that his kind could sleep – and I sit up then, grateful to be somewhat alone.

I shudder then as memories of the previous night invade my thoughts. Memories of him saving me, memories of me finding shelter in his arms. Shelter from the danger, shelter from the cold.

My face flushes at the memory of his body heat, burning against my skin. My throat goes dry at the memory of how hard and solid his body was against mine.

It is inevitable that I start to dwell on the mental link that popped up between us last night.

Was he reading my thoughts? Was I hearing his?

My entire body is warm and flushed at this point when I remember the way I felt him, solid and heavy and sharp, in my head.

It was an unusual experience and it was uncomfortable, to say the least.

What sane person would want a monster from a different dimension, summoned up by the dark elves, to have access to their brain?

I swallow convulsively as I remember the way he swept through my mind, rifling through my thoughts, and analyzing them.

He could sense, could feel, could probably taste, my every fear and desire. At that moment, Cinis knew more about me than I did.

But it was a double-edged sword, because while he was looking at my thoughts, sensing my desires, my body and brain were flooded with his desires.

His thoughts.

His primal base needs.

I saw how he viewed me. I saw how he wanted me. I saw that he did not understand his own need to have me.

He wanted to take me. He wanted to have his way with me. Like the dark elves would have.

But strangely, the thought of Cinis taking me, ruining me, filling me up with his heat and seed, does not scare me away.

Instead, my body grows hotter, if that is possible, and when I cross my arms over my chest, I brush up against my hardened, tight nipples.

A sudden unexpected wave of anger crashes into me then.

"I can't be thinking about this monster like this," I whisper. "I just needed him for his warmth."

Cinis doesn't stir. I do not think even the souls of the dead, which litter Prazh's air, could wake him.

"You shouldn't be feeling this way about a… a monster!"

I'm angry that he invaded my thoughts. That's how I should be feeling. I don't know why I allowed him to violate me like that.

It is still quiet outside, although when I open the door, a rush of burning cold air forces its way into the little dwelling.

Goosebumps flicker up across my skin and my eyes start watering from the cold immediately.

I know that there are dangerous creatures just beyond the walls of this dwelling.

I also know that I have a duty. I need to bury my friends so that I can keep taking the towers. Because in all those towers, there's a good chance more of those unnatural experiments are being conducted.

I don't know how I'm going to manage it, but I know that I'm not going to enlist the help of a monster to do it. Especially not one willing for the first opportunity to drop my guard so that he can have my way with me.

I only allow myself to let out a pained gasp when I have fully stepped out of the dwelling and wedged shut the stone door behind me.

A cloud of sparkling white air escapes my mouth, and I know then that I am way too underdressed for this weather.

I hope Arcanis never has a moment's rest in his afterlife.

I grit my teeth as I struggle through the cold air. And it is not just cold. It is freezing in a way that reaches down one's throat and crystalizes your lungs. It is the kind of cold that can freeze your fingers and make them fall off.

It is the kind of cold that kills.

I am tempted to turn back to the warmth of the dwelling. I almost want to run back to the unholy heat of Cinis's body.

I make it to the edge of the forest, just a hair out from the towers, when I hear the rustle of something moving through the trees and undergrowth.

It isn't loud, so I try to reassure myself that what I am hearing is the hustle and bustle of the small forest creatures that live on Prazh. I specifically avoided taking the same path so that I wouldn't face the horrors of last night.

I try to keep my movements light and soft anyway because even the small forest creatures of Prazh can be deadly.

And then, in a moment, everything changes.

Not again.

The creature comes at me from the left, and knocks me to the ground, leaving me breathless. I lower my head to see its face and immediately regret it.

This time, I'm staring down at a human head with inhumanly large fangs, whose neck is contorted unnaturally onto a taura's torso.

My head spins and my teeth chatter from the shock and the cold. Pain travels throughout my chest, as the beast's sharp fangs clamp down around both my ankles and I am dragged through the forest.

I let out a shriek of pain and terror, as I reach for anything, a branch or bush, that I can hold onto.

But even if I could, the creature dragging me to my definite doom is much stronger than my thin arms. And I'm not able to pry the rusted, stained dagger from my belt, even if I could get close enough to hurt it.

I am not willing to give up though.

I have spent years training as a warrior and a liberator of prisoners, and I know I have the skills to survive.

If you're very lucky.

Finally finding a strong and sturdy branch as pain radiates through my leg, I wield it against my foe, stunning it momentarily.

The creature's eyes are wild and it looks almost bewildered. It has spent its entire life in a lab, and now it has escaped into the wilds of Prazh, where it will only survive if it becomes as bloodthirsty as the rest of the beings on this continent.

I cannot help but feel sorry for it, as I get to my feet and brandish the branch.

It snarls and lunges at me. I dance backward and dodge the swipes of its claws.

I whack it with the branch, and it yelps angrily. If I get the chance, I need to draw my dagger.

But where can I strike? I know from experience that these are tough-skinned monsters.

A whip of my branch doesn't faze the creature. Instead, it becomes more angry and this time when it leaps at me, there is no more mercy.

I fight as best I can, but the branch ends up snapping into three pieces, and it grabs me by my wrist.

I shriek, kick, scream, and scratch. I do everything I can to make it let go.

But I am not strong enough. And I can't reach my dagger.

A hole opens in my stomach and my chest. A hole filled with regret and sadness and fear. Fear because I know that my death will be painful.

You should have gone back to Cinis. Maybe he would have killed you, but at least you would have been warm and dry.

I keep fighting, even though I've accepted that there's no point. I've been trained not to surrender.

My body sags to the ground when the creature claws me across my face and swipes at my head.

I am still conscious, but the creature is in complete control now. It keeps punching and clawing at me, and eventually, I stop screaming.

This is it. This is the end.

Fat, hot tears roll down my cheeks as I lay in the dirt of the forest floor. More waves of sadness and regret wash over me as I lay there.

Soon my eyes start to flutter closed, and my body starts spasming every few seconds. I need to cough, but I don't have the strength to lift myself. Instead, I start to choke on blood, saliva, and dirt.

I didn't even make it to the towers.