Guarded by the Chimera: (Monster Security Agency) by Eden Ember

Author:Eden Ember [Ember, Eden]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-01-17T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 15

Makdan

Joy welled up within me until I thought my monstrous chest would burst. Nora was here - real and beloved, not some phantasm of longing and loss. When her arms wrapped around me without fear or revulsion, the last missing fragments of my fractured spirit finally fused back together. We were reunited beyond hope, two hearts refusing to be sundered by any power, mortal or magics.

All too soon we were forced to part again as the villagers approached. At Nora's urging I faded into the night with Zathael, though every fiber of my being railed against leaving her unprotected. But revealing ourselves now would only bring turmoil and bloodshed. As much as we yearned for openness, patience was still required.

Zathael led me through the night-cloaked peaks with unerring instinct. We needed to get well away before finding shelter. My protective fury still seethed that Nora remained surrounded by those who could turn on her. But she had courage enough for any trial, as she had proven by escaping the demons and finding me again across all odds. That blazing spirit called to my own. We were bound beyond all breaking now.

We slipped into a concealed cave just as dawn's first light crept over the eastern peaks. Zathael stirred the embers of a small fire, shedding a flickering glow over the close gloom. He sank down with a weary grunt and beckoned me to join him. But I could not rest, pacing the confines like a caged beast.

"Peace, brother," Zathael rumbled. "You will return to her soon enough. The day brings less peril."

I forced my agitated strides to stillness, though muscles remained taut. "Forgive my unrest. My heart fears leaving Nora's side, though my mind knows the necessity."

Zathael watched me with placid patience. "Bonds newly awakened stir strong storms within. They will settle with time into deeper waters."

His insight pierced through the tumult still churning within me. I bowed my head in acknowledgement and apology for my rashness. "Your counsel is wise, as ever. I will strive for clarity."

He waved away my contrition. "No need. To feel deeply is never weakness, but wisdom. Hearts unfelt grow hollow and numb." Pain shadowed his crimson eyes. "As too many of our kin have become."

I studied him with newfound empathy. "You understand such bonds, then?"

Zathael's massive shoulders slumped wearily. "Long ago I too knew a light that warmed my spirit's long winter. But it was extinguished." His gaze turned inward, full of distant grief. "She was mortal, vulnerable. When the shaman's curse fell, I could not reach her in time."

My own remembered agony reflected back from those blood-hued mirrors of the soul. I rested a hand gently on his forearm. "I am sorry such joy was so cruelly cut short for you, my friend."

He placed his own huge hand over mine, gratitude shining through his despair. "At least keep hope. Protect and cherish what I could not." A ghost of a smile touched his fanged muzzle. "Your huntress awaits your return."

His words doused my smoldering impatience, leaving only this newfound kinship behind.

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