Enchantingly Different

Chapter 20

“There’s no way I’m agreeing to any deals with you,” I say a little louder than I meant to. I snap my mouth shut immediately, fully aware that any loud noises in this valley could draw the dragon right to us. My eyes scan the landscape beyond our safe hiding place in the rocks and the monster is gone, the bodies of the men gone with it. A shiver runs through my body at the thought of the beast tearing through their seared flesh. No one deserves that fate, especially not Hector. A lump forms in my throat and my vision blurs a little from the tears filling my eyes, threatening to flow at any second.  

“You may not have a choice if you ever want to get back to your precious castle,” he sneers at me. He creeps around the cave, seemingly looking for something, but I don’t care. I turn my attention to Jules, who’s snuggled into my side and starting to doze off. Her mouth hangs open a little and soft snoring sounds soon start to expel from her lips, making me smile.

A single tear slides down my cheek, no doubt leaving a streak if my face is as dirty as the rest of me. A layer of dirt and ash covers the majority of my body and my fingers catch on the matted mess that is my hair as I try to run my hand through it. I get a brief vision of us two showing up to the castle and chuckle to myself. Would my father even recognise us? Jules looks much the same, but definitely thinner, the normal glow gone from her cheeks and leaving behind a pale and sallow complexion. Her lips, however, are still rosy and puckered up as if she were about to kiss a prince charming in her dreams.

I brush a tendril of hair away from her face and wrap my arm around her to try and keep her warm. The air seems to be cooling down considerably as the night approaches and she is wearing very little clothing. An anger rises into my chest when I try to imagine what she’s been through. What have they been doing to her for all this time? It makes my blood run cold when I think about someone hurting such a pure, beautiful soul.

The goblin earns my attention as he scuffles back into view carrying some sticks. He mutters something to himself as he arranges them on the cave floor and lights them easily, providing us with much needed warmth. I feel brief gratitude until I realize the flawed plan.

“Wouldn’t the fire reveal our location?”

“He sleeps,” he grunts simply, waving a gnarled hand in dismissal.

He must be referring to the dragon, I think to myself.

“You should too,” he adds, looking at me with black, glinting eyes. There’s something in the way he looks at me that twists my stomach.

Resting my head back against the rough wall of the cave, I allow my eyes to close, but my mind rages on. Images fly in front of me of the adventures, love, hardship, and loss I’ve experienced in such a short time. My chest is heavy from one of the biggest losses of all; Shae. I don’t know if or when I will see her again and that thought scares me to my deepest core. She completed me when no one else could. She’s the only one who has ever captured my heart and soul, and she’s the only person I can see myself spending the rest of my life with.

I give myself over to the swimming feeling in my head, my adrenaline finally wearing off and providing a feeling of peacefulness, if only for a short time.

Shae runs her soft fingertips up my bare chest and looks up at me as a beautiful smile spreads across her face. Her hair falls to one side in a veil of golden waves resting on my stomach and her crystal blue eyes sparkle up at me. She really is breathtaking and she’s all mine.

I run my fingers through her luscious locks and smile back.

“Come here,” I order gently, my voice thick with lust, betraying my intentions.