AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You’re pretty beautiful, you know that?” I smile at him to let him know I’m being sincere. Once you get past the alien features, the second pair of eyes, and the horns, his appearance is quite ravishing.
“Please don’t speak out of turn.” He stands up from his position on the bed, to ensure that he is standing above me. “As long as you’re in this cavern, you’re at my mercy. And that means flattery will get you nowhere.”
My heart shudders a little, pondering what kind of test he might put me through should I misbehave again. It’s not that I’d invite that upon myself. But in the desert, where he punishes everything that crosses him, the safety he offers me creates both a sense of danger and protection.
“Your silence is disrespectful,” he says. “Do you understand my power?”
I stammer out a response. “Of course, Peliel. I am sorry. I meant no disrespect.”
“Good. Make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
I feel a tingle down low and realize with shame that I’m aroused.
Another week passes, and I soar through the skies on his back, tightly gripping him. I know that he could throw me off of his shoulders, and I could plummet to my death.
Somehow that makes everything more exciting.
The sky shifts, from green to red to yellow, becoming every color I can conceive of and some I’m unable to comprehend. As we fly, I look out over the worms that soar through the sky alongside us. I wonder how they’re capable of flight, given that they have no visible wings, but there’s something beautiful about their many rows of sharp, viscera-covered teeth.
I smile, grasping tighter onto Peliel’s shoulders as we duck and dive through small tunnels and over cliffs.
Riding atop him in the company of monsters, I think I’m starting to understand his beauty.
He is not subject to anybody’s laws, short of the gods he serves.
I turn my head and see that Warren is flying alongside us, too, her bright green eyes reassuring me.
“Your mother was asking about you.”
“Oh? What was she asking about?”
“Who are you talking to?” Peliel’s deep, booming voice punctuates the air like an explosion.
“Oh,” I say, laughing. “Just the worms.”
“Odd.”
“How is it they manage to fly without wings?”
He looks up at me in confusion. “They don’t,” he snarls.
“She says it’s nearly time.”
“Time for what?”
I feel Peliel’s neck swivel in my clutches, but I tighten my grip.
“Keep listening. All you need to do is heed her call.”
I nod.
Air rushes over his wings, the gray sky beckoning us forward.
“Are you with us again?” Peliel asks. His voice commands my attention.
“What are you talking about?”
He lowers us to the sand, landing in front of an orc camp. Their wood and metal structures stand high over us, built into the sand cliffs, but I know that they will be easily toppled. We descend before their meticulously constructed gate, whose complex design would be difficult for even the most careful elf to replicate.
