Touch of Flame

“You are very handsome, Ephraim,” Nazneen said, trying to make Ares jealous at the lunch table. Ephraim paused and looked up, not looking so amused before he forced a smile. “Have you found your breedmate?”

“Fortunately I have,” he replied.

“Oh. She must be lucky. From what clan is she?”

He smiled amused. “She is human.”

Human?

“Are you… together?” She asked.

“Happily.”

She frowned and he continued to eat.

“Well, this man is my breedmate,” She nodded toward Ares. Her statement came with a tone of disgust that she cringed at hearing herself.

Ephraim must have heard it too. He almost stiffened before regaining his composure. “How lucky are you then.” He smiled.

Not so lucky.

They continued to eat their lunch while she was lost in thought, wondering how he was happy with his human breedmate.

“I would like to talk to Ephraim alone,” Nazneen said when they finished eating lunch.

They all paused and Ephraim looked at her in a way she couldn’t understand before glancing at Ares.

Ares forced a smile. “I am sure she has dragon things to ask that I can’t help her with. Do you mind, Ephraim?”

“Not at all.”

They left Ares to have a walk in the garden. “You do feel the breedmate instinct, don’t you?” She began just to make sure what she wanted to ask was relevant to his case.

“I do.”

“And your human breedmate doesn’t.”

“No.”

“Don’t you think it is unfair?”

“It is. I knew from the moment I saw her that she is the one for me but she has to blindly trust her feelings.”

Nazneen came to a halt, almost startled by his answer. It wasn’t what she was asking or what she expected the answer to be. He came to halt with her. “Isn’t it reassuring to just know?”

She frowned. “Not when they don’t feel the same way.”

“So you would rather not know?”

“That is not what I mean!”

He chuckled and she wasn’t sure why, but he made her realize she would rather know.

“What I am trying to say is… if he was a dragon, it wouldn’t have been like this.”

“No. But he is not.”

“Exactly!”

“You think it would be easier if he was a dragon?”

“Wouldn’t it?”

“I am not sure. Life is full of trials. Nothing meaningful in your life truly comes with ease or remains with ease. If he was a dragon, only the trial would be different.”

She took a moment to absorb his words.

“We are all faced with hardships that are within our capacity. Some just have the willpower to overcome them. Your breedmate is such a person. He makes it even look easy but it doesn’t mean that he doesn’t have his own struggles. If you truly want to be successful, you need to step out of your own wants and needs and for a moment see him. Understanding is what brings people together.”

He was talking about her and Ares but also something bigger.

“Since you brought me out here I would like to add one more thing. People don’t know what is in your head or heart. They see your actions and words.” He said simply but she knew what he was implying. “Shall we go back inside?”

She gave a nod and he steered them back. He and Ares went ahead to then discuss other things, most of which she couldn’t understand and then he left at sunset.

“I am going to sleep,” Ares said. “You will have dinner served in the dining room and Eve will help you with anything you need.”

“The sun is just setting,” she said.

“I know. I didn’t have enough sleep last night.”

She nodded.

“Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.” She replied and then he walked away.

Maybe he was upset by her earlier behavior.

*****

Ares rushed through the hall, not planning to sleep. He was going to test the theory of what he was and he needed to do it alone. He could find out that he was something else entirely after all this time and the last thing he needed was to have someone in an emotional state with him when he didn’t know in which state he would be in after finding out.

He took the back route and went out through the back gate. The sky was turning darker each minute as he walked down the small hill to the sand and stones. It was a bit stormy, with dark clouds as if it would rain and the waves made splashing sounds. What exactly would he do? Dive and then drown?

He took off his boots, looking around. No one came to this part of the island so he was just making sure. He undressed and only kept his pants on. The wind was cold and blew his hair back as he walked toward the sea.

When he took a step into the water, the cold made him shiver. He continued to step inside, getting in deeper and deeper until he couldn’t feel the ground beneath his feet and the water almost swallowed him.

He dived, trying to focus on his breathing but he couldn’t breathe under water. When he felt suffocated he swam back up to get some air. He tried again but kept failing. Now he was freezing.

This was insanity. He was no sea demon. he tried to swim back to land when a strong storm broke, making the waves wild. Rain started to pour down. Great, he thought fighting his way through the waves but they refused to let him go.

He was very cold at this point and just wanted to get back, so he kept fighting but all the distance he swam was wasted when one strong wave pushed him all the way back and down.

“Whatever you are, you feel it deep inside.” The words echoed in his mind as his memories were triggered of all the times he drowned. He was a good swimmer but the storms and the waves almost always pushed him back. Fought him with resistance, so now he didn’t fight back.

He dived deeper. If he was going to drown and die this way, he would have already. The sea wouldn’t let him. The waves didn’t mean to kill him. They had been trying to tell him something. Or show him.

He continued to swim deeper and felt the pressure rise, his lungs burning for air and his ears began to hurt. He needed to breathe and he couldn’t take it anymore so he gasped for air.

Water rushed into his mouth and nose and he expected that uncomfortable feeling to follow but… he breathed.

Unable to believe it he took another breathe and there was no pain. His hands swaying in front of him had changed. His nails were sharp and pointy and his fingers were attached with thin skin between them. Scales of teal and aqua blue with silver glitter covered his arms.

The speed at which he traveled increased immensely as his legs joined into a tail. His neck had gills on each side, making him able to breathe, and as he got deeper into the sea, a fin appeared from his back. His eyes became bright and his vision changed so he could see the darkest depths and his stuffed ears now began to hear sounds.

He went through a dark barrier before he arrived at a strange place. Different kinds of strange fishes and sea creatures swam by him but when he saw the first of his kind, he froze. A male with pink scales and a tale casually passed him. As he continued he encountered more and more of them. So that was what he looked like.

He ran his tongue over his teeth when he noticed they had different teeth. Fangs with smaller ones right near them. He forgot about them for a moment, as he observed the place. It was like a beautiful garden except with more colors and strange plants and creatures.

Ares decided to follow one of his kind to see where they were all going. This one was swimming back up to the surface and he followed up to another island. As the man stepped out of the water he slowly changed into his human form, but scales covered his legs like pants. He looked back at him.

“Do you have something to say?” He asked.

“Yes. What are you?”

The man looked at him strangely and walked away. Ares looked around as he stepped out of the water. There were homes built in the area and he saw a few men and women passing by, also having scales clothes, skin, or dress. He wasn’t sure.

Where was he?

He took a few steps, realizing he was naked unlike them. He would have no scales? He would like to…

As he had the thought, scales covered his legs and private part as well. So he could just think it?

He looked ahead, deciding to digest the madness later. He needed to know if this was real and what these people were.