Touch of Flame

Ares was happy he was finally away from Ravina and Malachi. The whole time, despite having prepared himself he felt as if someone twisted a dagger in his heart. He knew he would see Ravina and it wasn’t the ideal way to arrive while looking for Nazneen but he had to do something. It was the most uncomfortable position he had ever been in and the fact that he couldn’t just openly speak to her, ask her everything he wanted to ask just made it much more difficult.

He kept asking in his mind. Are you alright? Are you happy? Comfortable? While worrying about her, and being upset about Nazneen he also had to deal with Malachi’s accusations. He never had to force himself to stay calm. He was so close to sending a bullet through the dragon’s head.

The guards took them to a small house not far away and over the bridge on the other side of the river. Two female servants welcomed them and show them to a room.

“Is King Malachi trying to make up for his mistake?” Nazneen asked as they entered the bedroom.

Ares doubted it. Malachi was keeping them close for his own benefit. He showed no remorse in locking up an innocent person.

“I will be downstairs if you need anything,” the female servant spoke and then left them alone, closing the door behind her.

Nazneen sat down on the large bed with a sigh. Ares could see that her wrists had already healed. He walked to the window and looked outside. He could spot a few guards and his now heightened senses told him there were several others he couldn’t see.

“You really shouldn’t have come here. Things could have ended badly. You might be more than human but you are still part human.”

He looked back at her. He was still human and being sea demon guaranteed nothing. Maybe it would even make things worse if the blood of sea demon didn’t mix well with dragon blood. Or maybe he would be a little lucky if they mixed well.

He hadn’t had those strange heart palpations for a while or lack of breath that could sometime awaken him at night. Could he be getting better?

“Don’t worry. Men are too prideful to show weakness to a man they deem equal. King Malachi will do his best to keep his pride intact. A Dragon king feeling threatened by a single human male won’t look good on him.”

He began to remove his heavy jacket loaded with weapons and hang it on the chair. The uneasy feeling of meeting Ravina still gnawed at him. He could tell from her gaze that she was pained and he really hadn’t wanted to be the cause of it. Perhaps it was for the better. As painful as it was for him, he could do nothing for her so she was better off with Malachi, and believing he moved on would perhaps help her move on as well.

Pulling out his weapons he began to load them. He had endured a lot of pain and struggles in his life, all alone from his early childhood, but this truly hurt. He could feel the lump in his throat and the burning in his eyes. He knew seeing her with another man would be difficult he just didn’t think it would be this difficult.

“What do you think of King Malachi?” He asked Nazneen while preparing his weapons.

She narrowed her eyes as if he asked a suspicious question. “Well, he was just his father’s puppet but females who were not better found him desirable.”

Ares chuckled amused. So she saw herself as better than him therefore he wasn’t desirable to her.

“What is funny?”

“Nothing,” he held back his smile.

Taking his loaded weapons, he went to bed and put them under the pillow. “You think he will attack us?” She asked watching him.

“I don’t know. I just know he has a bad temperament.”

***

Nazneen pushed herself up in bed and lay down on one side. She watched him in silence taking off his belts and vest until he was left with his trousers and shirt. Then he got into bed and lay down on his back.

She was seeing something different in him now. He didn’t have his usually calm demeanor. He seemed distressed and pained and many other things she couldn’t understand. He couldn’t be this tense because she was locked, could he?

“Did something happen before I was brought?” She asked.

“No. We just spoke.” He turned so he lay facing her. “This fight… what is it like?”

A warm fuzzy feeling grew in her chest. Something she never felt before. Today he had come to release her but not just that. He had defended her and he had shown concern and now he was showing it again.

“Don’t worry. It is one on one fight so it won’t be a problem.”

And she was trained not only strong. She went through a period in her life where she tried to be the son her father wanted until she realized she could never be.

Ares watched her for a long moment. “I shouldn’t have let you come here alone,” he said.

Her heart did that strange thing again.

“Whoever wants the throne, is cunning if they planned to dispose of king Tural in this way.”

Nazneen frowned. She hadn’t thought that far. “You think that is what happened?”

“There is no other explanation as to why King Malachi is looking for attackers if King Tural is dead and he is not the one who caused the attack.”

She nodded thoughtfully. It made sense. Someone wanted the throne so badly they would make such a plan.

He sighed and closed his eyes. Nazneen watched him in the dim light, not wanting to sleep. The atmosphere brought back what happened the night before between them and that made her again think of the reason he was holding back.

“You were going to get married,” she whispered.

He shot his eyes open and a frown settled between his eyebrows. “Who told you that?” He demanded to know.

“I can hear from afar,” she reminded.

The tension disappeared from his face.

“What happened?” She asked when he said nothing.

“We went separate ways,” he replied.

“Why?”

The exact same pained look from earlier returned to his eyes. “I… could not give her what she needed.”

She frowned, unsure of what he meant. He had everything to give.

“Did she leave you?”

His eyes glistened in the dim light in a way that made her heart ache strangely.

“I let her go.” His voice was different and he tried to hide the emotion in it.

“Why?!” He didn’t seem like the type to give up on something.

He just pressed his lips into a thin line.

“You can’t decide what a woman needs. Maybe she needed you. Maybe she was content. Did you tell her or did you just leave her?” She could tell he liked her and she doubted the woman didn’t like him.

He smiled sadly. “She knew what she needed. I let her go and she left on her own as well.”

Nazneen couldn’t understand. “But… you didn’t want to let her go.”

“No.” He admitted.

Then why?! Why when he looked so pained?

“You don’t seem like that kind of person,” she said.

“Well, the worst feeling as a man is to know you can’t be reliable. That you can’t protect and provide for your loved ones.” Nazneen could sense the agony behind his statement.

“I think you are reliable,” she told him.

He smiled. “Don’t rely on me too much.” It sounded like a serious warning.

It made her even more sad when he smiled through the pain. She could not imagine herself letting go of him, even if she thought she wasn’t reliable, loving, or anything good. The thought alone pained her and scared her. But he did it. Or maybe he couldn’t do much because the woman wanted to leave him. It was her loss.

“I am sorry,” she whispered.

He looked at her surprised. She was surprised too but seeing someone who always looked strong suddenly this hurt, did something to her. His eyes glistened even more and he swallowed before giving a slight nod.

She guessed he never spoke to someone like this. He grew up without a family, especially missing out on the love of a mother or an aunt, or a sister. Women were the ones to allow room for emotions. He was always among men on ships. Tough men, who shaped him to become tough as well, and now as a man of high position and a captain he couldn’t be the emotional one.

“Why were you locked?” he asked.

Oh no. She didn’t want to tell him yet but he was open with her. She felt like she couldn’t avoid it forever.