Nidian's eyes fluttered open as the sun struck his face. The sound of rushing water roused him further. He rolled to the side feeling the lush grass beneath him cool his skin. It was a vast change of scenery from where he recalled being the previous night. Twenty or so feet away was a stream of decent depth, its crystal waters ebbing and flowing through a few rocky dams. A subtle breeze making the trees whisper as the morning calls of birds echoed from the distance. He was about to chalk the memories of Kaludir and Illenith up to nothing more than a nightmare when he realized the pain he was still in. Nidian propped himself on one arm and winced as the various injuries dotting his body set his nerves ablaze.

  "Argh...everything hurts.." He groaned as he tried to hold himself fully upright.

  "Well what do you expect after throwing yourself off a ledge like you did?" An amused voice commented from behind with a light laugh.

  Nidian's head spun to see the large blue Demraxite sitting right behind him. She had been silent as mouse, yet would tower over an elephant. She had that massive tail wrapped around her body, the blood and grime all washed away.

  "......" Nidian just stared like a deer in the headlights, unsure of what to say, terrified to make a move. She exhaled, humored by his skittishness.

  "Don't be so stressed out. I'm not going to hurt you. We're a ways away from where you nodded off. No one followed us, you can relax."

  Nidian opened his mouth and moved it around subtly, trying to loose words from his frozen tongue. "I- I'm sorry I'm having a hard time grasping what's going on..."

  His head spun with confusion. She was one of them and yet there they were not even ten feet apart and he was unharmed. They had been nothing but ruthless murder machines....until now. His body lethargically rotated as he forced his aching legs to swivel so he could face her. He stared into her eyes that were patiently waiting for him to continue talking. The familiarity hit him once more. The vibrant purple gaze, and now the strange purple triangle accompanied by a series of curved lines making up a strange insignia nestled below her eyes seemed to ring a bell. He swore he had seen it before.

  "Why did you save me...?" He asked.

  The dragon's tail brushed across the grass as she stretched out to lay down in the greenery, her talons digging into the dirt inches from Nidian who jolted slightly. "How bout first you tell me why you thought turning yourself in was a smart idea?"

  Nidian looked at the talons next to his feet. She didn't skip a beat to remind him she could kill him at any moment. Whether intentional or not it cemented itself in his mind. "To right a wrong. They were going to hurt everyone if I didn't. That's about it..."

  The Demraxite tilted her head and gave a skewed look of suspicion. "Why was that of any concern to you? It was you or them. Nobody could have blamed you. I'd expect any human to save themselves."

  Nidian rubbed at his leg, "Yeah well I'm not any human. And the people of that town did a lot for me. And all I did in return was get one of them killed and endanger countless others. I wasn't going to let the violence continue. Not that you care." He looked away and bit his tongue.

  The dragon's head loomed closer, "You know it's not your fault right?"

  Nidian looked back, leaning away from her as he sniffled from the cold and wiped his face with his sleeve. "And how would you know that?" He started to his feet and shuffled backwards as the pieces fell together to create more confusion. "That aside how do you know my name? How did you know I turned myself in? Why do you look so damn familiar? We've never met!"

  The dragoness felt the tension rise in the air, he was unnerved by her knowledge and certainly still wary of her intent. Nidian knit his brows as he watched the dragoness smile, her canines peaking out from under her lip.

  "You'd think you'd recognize someone who's saved your life what is it? Four times now?"

  Nidian took a few steps back on his burning limbs, leaning forward to keep his balance on the smooth river stones strewn about on the banks. He had to sit on the question. She only saved him once from that other Demr-

  "Ae..?" He quietly guessed without any trace of confidence, felling idiotic for saying it aloud.

  Her smile grew ear to ear and she chuckled.

  "Happy to see me?"

  Nidian shook his head, hesitant to believe he was correct. "How is that possible? You can turn into one of them? O-or are you one of them?"

  Ae's talons took another step forward as she pulled herself closer to him, "Long story for another time. I am one of them, but I'm not like them."

  Nidian this time didn't react as timidly to her movements, instead just hunkering down where he was. "For someone keen on keeping so many secrets this is a rather big one to let me in on... Why are you telling me? Does Torrel know?"

  "Well to start I could tell by the look on your face part of you knew. I figured if I admitted it then you might relax a little. And no he doesn't have a clue. I expect you to keep this between us.

  Nidian swallowed anxiously and sat down sheepishly to give his limbs a break. "Fair.." He shakily exhaled still trying to process the reveal to him. His nerves certainly weren't calming down much. If anything the worry of exposing the secret by accident carried more anxiety.

  She sighed and tipped her snout toward him, "can you stop acting like I'm about to snatch you up?"

  The sheepish Daemorian fidgeted with his hands, "I guess that depends... Are you not mad at me? Balak said-"

  "I don't care what Balak said. No I'm not mad at you. You think I'd be going through all this trouble if I was? What happened to Malles was out of your control, I harbor no ill feeling toward you Nidian."

  The Daemorian boy's body softened up finally, the weight of worry lifting off his chest. Aside from the impending doom from the dragons Ae had been his next biggest fear; the anger he prayed he'd never witness.

  "Is everyone else okay? Is Torrel mad..?"

  Ae nodded softly, "They will be. And no, Torrel's not mad at you either. He is going to need his time to grieve though. Malles was like a son to him and he and I grew rather close."

  Nidian watched the features around her eyes tighten with sadness. A piercing sting of regret within them. She drew a deep breath and looked to the side as the boy broke eye contact.

  "I'm terribly Ae... I can't imagine what you're going through. I should have done something. I don't know what but-"

  "Don't do that to yourself Nidian. It's never easy for me to deal with loss, but I'm no stranger to it. Sometimes things happen, and there isn't anything we can do. Don't try to convince yourself you're at fault. I should have been there. I should have expected Balak's retaliation. If it is anyone's fault it's mine."

  Nidian held his tongue and subtly shook his head in defeat. They shared a moment of silence before Nidian broke the ice. "So... is your name really just Ae?"

  He watched her brow raise and he quickly fumbled through his thoughts to add to the question, "N-Not that there's a problem with it! I just...obviously- you...I have so many questions..." He held his hands up to his head overwhelmed with the torrent of queries. She sat there silently as her lip crept up in amusement. The first time she had picked on him for questioning her name hadn't left his head.

  "Ashdinea."

  Nidian looked up at her and forced a smile, "Ashdinea, that's a very graceful sounding name... I guess I should say thank you for saving me... Again."

  She returned the grin, "Don't mention it. I just wish you'd stop finding a way to get yourself into trouble. Let's get you washed up before something gets infected."

  She stood to her feet, every movement shaking the ground. By the time she stood her shadow cast all the way to the distant trees. To Nidian it was as if it had just turned night. He had to take a moment to register the sheer size of her as he slowly stood. Her head gingerly approached him as he began to hobble toward the water as instructed. The pain radiated in short stabbing pains through his body with every step. He winced as a sudden intensity set in, his knees buckled beneath him. He stumbled to the side only to fall against the cold scaly texture of her nose. He looked over and into Ashdinea's compassionate eyes as she held him in place. The frozen grip of fear and solitude in his chest that had taken root the previous day thawed in that moment. Something fuzzy brushing at the walls of his soul. He found himself leaning into her willingly over attempting to push away and he didn't know why. Radiantly beaming at her while she kept him steady.

  "I gotchya kiddo." She assured him, nosing him forward whilst aiding in his balance toward the trickling waters.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.