"What happened?"
“She didn't like our fighting," he said with a shrug. "She destroyed everything she could because of it. The people were forced to unite against her, but I ultimately took her."
"You're such a hero," she teased.
He gave her a small smile, fingers delicately touching her back. "Nearly died in the process. Gave a whole speech after about what we would be doing with our resources since we were forced to live above land from then on."
"Why did you not rebuild?"
"It's actually really annoying to build underwater," he admitted, to which she smiled at his comical expression. "Honestly, very annoying. The materials are ridiculous to acquire. You have to scour all over the cliffs for the right pieces to move. It takes twice as long as building on land— oh, andthenthere are the creatures. What with no way to communicate with them, they—“ he paused in his rambling with a soft sigh, and she watched that stern brow of frustration soften. "You don't want to know about building materials," he considered.
"I want to know anything you tell me," she countered.
Nadir's hand brushed her back, and he brought her fingers to his lips with the other for the briefest of seconds, almost as though he'd never had someone interested in his ramblings. But he didn't continue to talk about rebuilding.
"It made more sense to simply stay on the beach where we could protect what we'd built and leave the ocean to the beasts."
"How did you nearly die?" she asked, her gaze traveling over the few scars on his skin, none of which she thought were large enough to have come from a sea dragon.
He took her hand and guided it up to his neck, where the barely visible slits were on each side that helped him breathe underwater. His eyes closed when he paused her fingers against the left side. She felt a sink beneath her finger, and her brows furrowed.
"It had me in a bind like the sea serpent had on you,” he explained. “I finally got my knife into her, but she has these really sharp scales down the spine. I actually have one I can show you—when I cut her back, she jerked and sliced into my throat here." His neck moved, and just faintly, she saw the scar that ran from his collar, through the gills, to his jaw. "The hole there is where she got in the worst. Sort of snagged on my skin. For a while, I couldn't breathe out of that side."
Nyssa's eyes were wide as she imagined him bleeding out beneath the waves. "How did you survive that?"
"Drove my sword into her head the moment she circled back around to me."
He made it sound so casual, and yet she was sure there had been more to such a battle.
"I dragged the damned thing's heart to shore after. Lovi did a ritual that night to signify our uniting villages and my place as Commander. Her bones still lay in the middle of the old home."
"That I would like to see," she said with a smile.
He looked like he would laugh. "Dragon bones and a destroyed village," he mocked. "Yes, whywouldn'tour innocent Princess like to see such things?"
She rolled her eyes as she settled her chest against his, propping her forearms on him as she continued to trace his scar with her finger. "This healed much better than it should have."
"The Nitesh likes me," he winked.
"Does she come here?"
"Not often," he admitted. "Usually only during the summer Eyes festival or if Lovi calls."
Nyssa had never been to an Eyes festival. The Eyes were when both moons were full. It happened every cycle, but the summer Eyes were always a special night. It was said Haerland herself came to be on such a night, so the people would celebrate their homeland's birth the entire night. Each race would party in their own unique way. The only race to not have such a tradition was the Promised.
"If I am looking forward to nothing else this year, I am looking forward to finally seeing the festival," she told him.
"It's a week-long celebration at the Village of Dreams," he said. "Maybe we can go there too."
"Sounds dangerous considering I'm an exiled Princess," she bantered.
"I'd like to see them try and take you from me."
The words shouldn't have made her heart skip, but they did, and she found herself drawing a jagged breath and stifling the warmth pooling between her legs. She reached up for his neck, her finger trailing down over the slits in his neck, and his eyes visibly fluttered.
"Do you like that?" she asked, only half teasing as she’d felt his cock twitch against her thigh.
"That's very dangerous," he managed.
