(Starla)
"Commander." Her voice was silky smooth. "I didn’t know we would have a guest today." Her cunning gaze swept towards me before shifting back towards Azkan.
She slid into the seat beside him, the seat that was clearly hers. Her hand possessively rested on his arm.
"Runa." Azkan’s voice lacked emotion. "This is Starla. The human guide who helped Aksel go to sleep."
"The human." Runa’s greyish eyes swept over me, and her lips curved into a smile that didn’t touch her eyes.
I forced myself to meet her gaze and smile. "Good evening. Yes, the same one."
"Oh, we have many opinions about humans. None are very favourable." Her words were striking like thunderbolts. She wasn’t lying; I could tell. She leaned closer to Azkan, her body pressing against his side. "I am sure you can imagine."
She was marking her territory, trying to tell me he was hers.
I felt a flash of something, but I pushed it down. Azkan had made his stance clear. I was here to heal his brother, not form an emotional connection with him. That’s what I was going to do until my body gave out.
"I can imagine," I responded smoothly, not dropping my smile. "I am not here to make friends either; I am here to help Aksel."
Azkan’s jaw twitched; his eyes remained on me, but he didn’t speak.
"How noble of you." Runa’s smile twisted. "And how convenient that you arrived just as every other option had failed. Coincidence or something else?"
"Runa." Azkan’s voice was a low warning. "Enough."
"I am just curious, Azkan." She traced her index finger along his arm. "After all, the last human who came here promised to help too. And we all know how that ended." She rubbed it in like salt in his open wounds.
The table fell silent at her words. I felt the weight of hateful gazes, the suspicion, the unfathomable pain.
Azkan’s jaw tightened, and his words came out with a grunt, "Starla isn’t Jhay."
Jhay, so that was her name. The one who destroyed Aksel.
"No?" Runa’s eyes narrowed. "How can you be sure? Are we trusting humans now?"
"Because Aksel is sleeping." Azkan’s voice was cold. "Because in a very long time he has not been screaming in pain. That’s how I am sure."
Runa’s smile just slightly faltered. Then she recovered, leaning back in her seat, her hand still resting possessively on his arm.
"Well then." Her gaze drifted towards me, and her eyes promised nothing but trouble. "Welcome to the Last Stronghold, little human. Try not to die."
Well, the joke was on her. I already was. That brought a bitter smile to my face.
"Runa is my guide," Azkan finally revealed what I had already assumed.
"Have been for the last 150 years. Our bond is strong," she proudly declared, but was it the truth? I hadn’t seen Azkan touch her even once.
Politely, I smiled and averted my gaze.
The feast continued around me, but I barely tasted the food. I shredded some meat for Doodles and fed him.
Runa stayed glued to Azkan’s side, whispering in his ear, laughing at things I couldn’t hear. She poured his wine. She touched his arm, his shoulder, his chest. She made sure I saw every gesture, every possessive glance.
She was his guide. She had been with him for years and was telling me I had no place here.
I should have felt relieved. I should have been grateful that someone else had claimed his attention, that I didn’t have to navigate the confusing pull I felt toward him.
I had no time to form complicated bonds. It was better this way.
Instead, I felt something else entirely.
A hint of jealousy. Of a dragon beastwoman who had known him for over a century. That was a very long time.
The very thought was insane. It was impossible.
"Starla."
I glanced up and found Yamil standing before me, his eyes cold and assessing. So tall, all of them were like redwoods with horns and legs, always towering over me.
"Commander says you were able to reach Aksel." His voice had no emotion.
I met his gaze. "Yes, I was able to put him to sleep."
"I saw him; he is hardly moving." He leaned closer, placing his jagged hands on either side of my plate. His scarred face was inches from mine. "I don’t know what you did. But I will be watching you, human. One wrong move, and I will gut you like fish myself."
He walked away before I could respond. Tall and proud, very much second in command to this place.
Slowly, I sighed.
Doodles growled softly from beneath the table. I reached down and stroked his fur, grounding myself and holding on.
I knew this would be hard. I knew very well they would hate me.
But I didn’t know about her.
My eyes glanced in their direction. Runa had her head bent toward Azkan, her lips almost brushing his ear. He wasn’t responding; his face was carved from stone as if his thoughts were far away, but he wasn’t pulling away either.
He doesn’t love her. He doesn’t want her were the thoughts that erupted in my brain.
How did I know that? A hunch in my heart.
***
The feast ended hours later.
Beastmen stumbled to their quarters, drunk and giddy. The fires in the fireplace burned low now. I rose to leave, Doodles at my heels, when a voice stopped me.
"Starla."
I turned. Azkan stood by the fireplace, his silhouette sharp against the dying flames. Runa was gone, and the hall was almost empty. A few drunk Beastmen who were staggering on their feet, trying to leave.
"You should know," he said quietly, "That Runa and I have an understanding."
"You already had a guide; I wasn’t aware of that. The system said the names of you both." My voice was sharper than I had intended.
He was silent for a moment. His buffed and scaly arms crossed over his chest. "She is my guide and has been with me for 150 years. She cares for me. But she is un..." He checked himself on time and closed his mouth.
My heart stuttered. Was he trying to say unable?
He turned and stepped closer. Flames danced in his eyes, and I caught the scent of smoke and wine. "I don’t trust you. I don’t trust any human. But something happened when you touched Aksel. Something I can’t explain."
He was close now. Too close. Like a living flame given form, he loomed over me, all crackling heat and ancient stillness. His sharp amethyst gaze felt like it would peel back every secret I possessed without lifting a finger. That was a frightening thought which made my bones rattle but I stood my ground.
"I don’t know what you are, Starla," he said firmly, and I stopped breathing. "But I am going to find out."
With one final glance, he turned and walked away, leaving me standing in the empty hall, my heart pounding.
He was going to find out, and when he did, he was going to hate me even more.