CONTENT WARNING: Panic attacks
“What… are you… to make me feel like this?” I murmured, my voice lowering even as I lowered my head and lifted one hand. They did not move away as I cupped their cheek - no, they pressed into my gauntlet, another shuddering breath tugging through them.
“I… I could ask you the same…” their chiming voice murmured, caressing my ears.
My lips covered theirs in the next instance, my body moving on its own. My fingers pushed back into their hair as my eyes closed, losing myself in their taste, as my other hand wrapped around their thin waist. I heard the clatter of their staff as I felt delicate fingers clutching around my neck, threading into my short hair.
We parted, begrudgingly, for air, breathing each other's scent in with deep breaths.
“Who are you?” I asked again, my quiet breath ghosting over reddened lips.
“I thought you didn’t like repeating yourself,” they murmured, a little smile teasing their lips. Before I could retort, they relented and said, “Xinyi. That’s my name. I also know you’re holding back… not exactly lying, but you aren’t telling me the full truth.”
I forced myself to release Xinyi, slowly, watching them, a frown tugging down at my lips.
“You did take her from her home… didn’t you?” they pressed, retreating a step.
Shit.
“Yes,” I finally said, straightening as well. “I have orders to deliver her to the Emperor. She is his guest and has been treated as such.”
“Then she ran because…?” Xinyi prompted, crossing their arms and lifting an eyebrow.
“Because she’s a brat and doesn’t seem to understand anything we’ve told her,” I growled, turning away from those accusing.
“Or perhaps because she understands that she doesn’t want to marry your emperor, especially when she’s being forced into it,” Xinyi said, their voice quiet and steady.
“I hope killing the mood is not a habit of yours,” I muttered, turning back to face them. “Now, where is she? We have a lot of ground to make up with her ditching the knights assigned to her.”
Movement from further within the cave caught my ear and I raised my voice for her to hear. “Aleanna and Eyvindr feel pretty terrible… you ditched them after they trusted you to go to the bathroom by yourself. You were cooperating for four days before you decided to run, Elisabeth. I am going to have to punish the Knights for losing you… unless you come back now, without a fuss.”
Elisabeth appeared from around a corner, clutching a blanket around her shoulders. I tilted my head at her, my eyebrow raised.
“Well?”
“You would really punish them… because I ran?” she asked, her voice small as a field mouse.
“As their commanding officer, it is my duty to administer punishment when my Knights fail in their duties,” I said. “I don’t want to punish them, I take no pleasure out of it, but it is part of discipline.”
“If… I go back with you… I have to marry the Emperor…” she replied, pulling the blanket tighter around her shoulders. I noted one of her wrists was slightly swollen and bruising, though she used it gingerly.
Likely sprained, then, and not broken. Good. Broken bones are difficult to heal, even for Aleanna.
“It won’t be that bad,” I said with a shrug. “He won’t let anything bad happen to you, you’ll be taken care of the rest of your life, pampered unlike you’ve ever seen, and allowed freedom you didn’t have back home.”
“But he doesn’t know me,” she said, shrinking back. Movement in the corner of my eye caught my attention and I glanced over, watching Xinyi pick up their staff and move to Elisabeth’s side.
“No, he doesn’t,” I conceded, nodding. “Your mother has refused every invitation to the Imperial Capital, so you two have never met. However, he has expressed interest in getting to know you. Would you allow him the opportunity?”
“What if we don’t like each other?”
“Then I’ll rescue you,” Xinyi said, turning their eyes to meet mine.
“Ah, will you now?” I asked with a slow smile. “Does that mean you’re coming with us?”
“I dislike anyone forcing anything upon another person,” they said, lifting their chin in defiance.
Shit, that’s hot.
“Fine. You can come, too. Now let’s go. My Knights are still searching for you, princess, and I know Eyvindr is worried sick about you.” I motioned for the two of them to start walking back towards the way I’d come.
Xinyi strode to a table and picked up a sling bag, tugging it over their head to hang off their hip. The vision of beauty checked the contents briefly before turning back to us and nodding. Elisabeth bit her lip, but allowed Xinyi to guide her out of the cave. I followed after them, keeping my eyes alert and watching them for any signs of running off.
Yes, I definitely got distracted every now and then by Xinyi’s ass, but that should be expected. It was a perfect size, a good handful, and my fingers itched to test that.
Down, dragon-
“Zeydrick - that was your name, right?” Xinyi asked over their shoulder, glancing at me. I noted a dusted pink over their cheeks. “Your… presence… is a bit strong… can you clamp down on that? I don’t want Elisabeth or myself passing out.”
Shit shit shit-
“Apologies,” I murmured, reining in my aura and locking it down.
Looks like my Knights aren’t the only horny teenagers anymore.
As we exited the tunnel system, I took a magic flare from my belt, imbued it with the release spell, and tossed it up into the air. The magic streaked into the air, leaving a trail of glowing green.
“Wh-what are you doing?” Xinyi hissed, pulling back towards the cave, their knuckles going white on the staff.
“Telling the Knights to return to camp,” I said, raising an eyebrow at their odd behavior. “Come on. The camp’s just an hour or two from here… but we can make it faster if you two ride on my back.”
I crouched down in front of Elisabeth, motioning for her to climb onto my back. She did, cradling her swollen wrist against her chest before I glanced over my shoulder towards Xinyi.
“What are you waiting for? Not changing your mind, are you?”
The cloying scent of fear drifted towards me with the change in the breeze.
“Are you afraid of leaving your caves?” I asked, dropping my voice to as gentle and quiet a tone as I could manage.
“You have no idea what is out there,” Xinyi whispered. Their breath came in short, shuddering gasps, their body beginning to shake.
“Well then, we shouldn’t stay here, should we? Get on.”
When they didn’t move, I took a breath and released it, calming my impatience.
“I’ll protect you,” I murmured, my voice as calm as I could make.
That got their attention. Xinyi jolted, staring at me with wide eyes. Pleading eyes. The look clawed at my insides, turning me to shreds before them.
Fuck.
“A-alright…” they finally said, stepping towards me on shaking legs. When Xinyi climbed onto my back, their body still shivering, I wrapped my arms around the back of my passengers’ knees.
“Hold tight to me,” I ordered, more to Xinyi than to the princess. Somehow, she’d become a secondary concern, shoved to the side by instincts that latched onto my heart.
I waited only a few moments for them to grab on before I took off, my steps sure even in the dim light of the three moons. Compared to the tunnels, this was bright as day.
Murderous intent suddenly bored into my back, prickling the hairs on the back of my neck.
Something was following us - but as I scented the air, all I got was the familiar scent of the forest. Only the sounds of the night reached my sensitive ears. With my senses strained, I could only feel something tracking us.
A protective growl rumbled through my throat and I sped up, leaning forward to keep my balance at the faster pace. Wind rushed by as I leapt over fallen trunks, my boots barely touching the soft loam of the forest.
Whatever was following us, however, made just as little noise. I couldn’t tell what it was or where it was, or how far behind us-
But the bloodlust stayed with us, following faithfully, never losing sight of us. It only slowed when we reached the encampment. I skidded to a stop, spinning and dropping the two passengers as I drew my huge greatsword from my back, ready to face whatever was out there.
As soon as I did, showing my intent to fight, the soldiers around us sprung to life and readied themselves for a fight. That feeling stayed in the forest, then faded deeper into the shadow of the trees.
“Captain?” came a confused voice from behind me. Glancing over my shoulder, briefly, I identified the speaker as Euri. “What’s going on?”
“I felt something chasing us,” I said, my eyes scanning the forest.
“It found me,” came the terror-filled whisper from the ground behind me. Xinyi. My heart clenched, claws digging into my heart at the fear in their melodic voice.
“What is it?” I asked, not taking my eyes from the forest.
“Nightmares. Death.”
“I need more than that, Xinyi,” I hissed out, glancing back at the two on the ground. “Why is it after you?”
“It’s a hunter,” they said with shaking breaths, “a hunter... t-that’s been after me for c-centuries.” Their words came out in gasping, short bursts, and Elisabeth wrapped an arm around their shoulders. Xinyi leaned against her and she whispered something to the frightened beauty, something that seemed to calm Xinyi.
Or at least make it a bit better.
“The hunter…” Xinyi started again, slow and careful, “I lose it every few decades… but it always finds me. That flare you used… it's attracted to magic. The more magic you use, the more it’ll be drawn in. It must have been near and got curious… and then caught my scent.”
“Why is it after you?” I asked again, sheathing my weapon and turning fully to stare down at Xinyi, who sat shuddering on the ground beside Elisabeth.
“Because it has to. It’s always hunted my kind. I don’t know why, I don’t know what it wants, only that it wants me. That I’m the last. That I’m the one that keeps getting away.”
“Your kind?” I asked, narrowing my eyes. I breathed in again, picking apart the scents in the air around me, separating the soldiers and Knight and forest scents. I was left with the scent of flowers and growing things - a typical elf’s scent. But it was odd. Hiding something. I closed the distance with a few short steps. Elisabeth shrank away from me, though she seemed reluctant to leave Xinyi with me.
When I crouched down in front of Xinyi and leaned in, I took in a deep breath again.
Magic. Crackling magic, soothing magic, electrifying magic that danced along the inside of my nostrils, hid beneath the scent of elf. What it was, though, I didn’t know.
I’d never scented anything like Xinyi.
“What are you?” I asked, narrowing my eyes. As I did, my eyes once more traced the circlet around the top of their head of silvery hair. I’d found it odd before, and as I studied it further, I noted the way it seemed to surround something in the center of their forehead. The metal didn’t quite meet, creating half-circles on either side of the center of their forehead.
The Spirit’s voice murmured in my head as I breathed the quiet word like a secret before Xinyi could tell me some lie to cover themself.
“Kirin.”
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