Chapter 44 -Incomprehensible Words

Chapter 44: 44 -Incomprehensible Words

(Moyu’s POV)

The night before...

The two cold-blooded dropped by the female’s side, like they couldn’t wait to close their eyes as well. The snake wrapped his tail around her leg.

Vick held her hand and played with her fingers as if it could calm his nerves. Even though his eyes were closed, he kept running his thumb over the back of her hand and wrist in a rhythmic motion, like she were a fragile dream that could slip away if he didn’t hold on.

’Could they actually be in love with her?’ I wondered as I stood guard, watching the trio sleep. I couldn’t take her away with those black rings around her limbs, but I also didn’t want her to stay with those cold-blooded.

Cold-blooded were incapable of love. They were not like us, warm-blooded. Their hearts were cold, their minds were colder, and their actions were even colder.

They raided our villages, took our females, and did unspeakable things to them. The few survivors returned broken beyond repair, their minds shattered, their bodies scarred. They were never the same after that.

And yet, here I was, hesitating to kill these cold-blooded, even after seeing their cruelty firsthand. If I let them live, who knew what they would do to other females? And she... she was already in their clutches, suffering at their hands.

When Vick told me to distract her, I didn’t think twice about it and actually allowed him to use me.

I remembered his words: ’She hadn’t slept for six days and is in need of rest, or her condition will deteriorate.’

She has been doing it intentionally, becoming a burden on others and forcing them to leave her side. She would seek out the most dangerous places or the most tedious tasks to wear herself down until she couldn’t go on. And when someone tried to help her, she would push them away, or hurt them.

Wasn’t survival the most important goal for all? What kind of sick mind would choose to destroy themself instead? What could drive them to such lengths?

Why choose death over life?

Vick had revealed that staying by her side meant serving her father’s every whim, or dying trying to resist. She would rather be the monster that drove everyone away than someone who needed saving.

Life with her would be short, a torture that would end in tragedy. Vick warned me, ’You might die in the end, but it will be worth it. Even a moment with her is worth more than a lifetime without.’

I didn’t understand it. How could he be so devoted to a female who constantly rejected him, humiliated him, and made him jump through hoops for her attention? And why would I, an eagle of high status, lower myself to the same level?

’I’m working on making a deal with her father,’ Vick had said, not explaining the nature of the deal. ’If I succeed, I will be able to free her from his grip, and we can live together.’

He added, ’He is expecting results, so he won’t interfere for now. But if I fail...he will take her away and squeeze every ounce of use out of us.’

He was giving me a chance to leave and never look back. To return to my life of duty, honor, and glory. A female was a rare gem that needed to be protected and treasured. Not thrown into danger, nor left to fend for herself.

It was the first time I could imagine a life with a female by my side, where I could travel with her. We would visit different villages, help those in need, and stop the cold-blooded from hurting anyone else.

Was it selfish of me to want that? To have my mate follow my path, and not the other way around? It was selfish. Wasn’t it? Males were supposed to stay at home with their mates, taking care of them, and providing for them.

Females were not meant to be dragged into battle and risk their lives. They were precious, the bearers of our future, and the reason we fought to protect our home.

Forty winters I spent doing that, serving my kingdom. I couldn’t betray it now, could I?

I walked out of the cave.

What was one life compared to the whole kingdom? Greater good was more than a phrase, it was a creed I had lived by my entire life.

Her rejection was a blessing in disguise. I could accept it, and move on. A female who could accept cold-blooded so easily didn’t deserve to be saved. She would drag me down to the bottom with her, and I would never see the sky again.

She was ready to cage me if not for the snake’s intervention. Kurus didn’t care about anyone else’s feelings, and he only cared about his own. But it saved me from a life of imprisonment.

They needed me, I realized as I sat on a rock, gazing at the sky. The bird in me craved to fly and be free. To never look back. But the male part of me...

I covered my face with my hands, a groan escaping my throat. She had already rejected me once. Twice. Thrice...

"..."

I lost count. I wanted to see her. I had to see her again. Even if it was for a brief moment, even if she told me to leave again. I stood up and headed back to the cave. She was what I wanted. She was special. To me. She was...

She was not sleeping.

I froze. She was awake, her eyes open. The firelight danced in her eyes, reflecting the flames that burned within her.

The pulse in my throat hammered against the walls like a trapped bird. Heat rose to my cheeks, and spread across my face. I looked away. I felt her gaze on me, and I couldn’t meet it.

The covers around her head were gone, exposing a face that struck me with more force than any primal beast. The scars...they were gone. I never imagined she could look like that. Like a goddess who had descended from the sky, with eyes the color of storm clouds just before lightning struck.

Her hair, untamed from sleep, and for someone who had trained himself to notice every detail, this simple imperfection made her even more beautiful in my eyes. It was as if a hidden treasure had been revealed to me, a secret that only I could see. A beauty hidden from the world, but now, it was mine to behold.

I half expected her to yell at me, or throw the two cold-blooded at my face and say some weird insults. Her choice of words was strange, and sometimes incomprehensible.

’Fuck?’

’Merry go round?’

’What ride?’

Those were a few among many others.

’We all could give her a ride, but how to make it merry? Do we spin her while we do it?’