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I sigh deeply, my voice descending into a gritty growl. She looks up at me as we walk, and I can detect that she isn’t afraid. She has that bold look of confidence and self-assuredness I have yet to come across in another being.
She widened her gentle green orbs at me, raising her eyebrows with impatience.
“So?” she said eagerly.
“It’s a deal,” I reply with a half-smirk. “It’s not like I have much of a choice anyway. Being away from you seems to make me melt.”
I gave her a smug wink, and she rolled her eyes, walking ahead of me in her cute little cape, nearly floating over the trail back to her homestead.
This human is greatly amusing, and oh shit, I might even be enjoying my time with her. There is something about this Jenna that is so different from the other women brought to Galmoleth, who were supposedly coy, delicate, and often malleable.
Jenna is anything but, and that makes her utterly appetizing. I contemplate the idea of taking her to bed, how tantalizing it would be to seduce her into giving in to me. It is a worthwhile challenge, but is that really why I’m here?
I long for home, for my lair, my schemes, my fun, and my conniving ways. But Jenna is also fun in an entirely refreshing manner. Coming to the ground continent has been more intriguing than I thought it would be.
I try to keep my mind open but focused as Jenna changes into warmer clothing, which includes a fleece sweater and slacks, a big puffy jacket, and boots. Once she finally emerges into the chilly air, she has her hood pulled up over her head, and I couldn’t believe how it made me feel.
Perhaps she, too, is an enchantress of some kind?
“Ready to go?” she asks.
I shake my head back and forth, doing my best to rid myself of this blooming sensation in my chest.
“I have noticed some ruts in the road,” I remark, moving slightly but not too far away. “We can follow those, and I can use some of my powers of detection to keep going.”
Jenna nods and begins what is likely a long trail into the dark elf city.
We try to stay close so I don't start to weaken. I don’t require food in the same capacity as Jenna, so when she offers it to me, I refuse, citing that she needs it more.
We carried on for the day. The sun was hidden behind a long sheen of gray clouds. We had been silent for almost an hour, with my mind bursting with urges and considerations of getting home, when Jenna turned to me, her reddening nose sticking out from under the hood.
“So, how did you do that back there?”
I pick my head up from gazing at the ruts in the ground.
“Do what?”
Her lips form into a naughty smile.
“Knowing Tobias’s history like that,” she said, her gaze returning to the trail ahead. “Or was it just some fake, easily-led perception shtick?”
“I am a highly skilled sorcerer, as you know,” I say, confident and a bit egotistical. “Included within my abilities is the mastery of mind reading.”
“Mind reading?” she said, scoffing.
“Yes,” I reply. “But it’s less like words on a page and more like catching a whiff of intentions, thoughts, memories, trauma, baggage. I was fortunate enough to find someone like Tobias who isn’t skilled in the art of compartmentalizing.”
Jenna let out an uncharacteristic, low-toned chuckle, and it makes my heart sing in ways I have never felt before.
“I’m glad I was able to impress you,” I conclude.
Jenna suddenly stopped in the road, and once I started to fret that I was coming on too strong, she looked up at me, those green eyes lovely and curious.
“What do I stink of?”
Her question throws me off guard, as does the sight of her beautiful mouth and pretty face gazing up at me, blinking steadily for an authentic answer.
“Um,” I say, scrambling for words. “You are much better at compartmentalizing, darling. You don’t reek. Your walls are as hard as stone.”
