-HER-

We spotted a group of Drakonians in the distance trying to shoot at what looked like a strange creature climbing out of the river. I tried to take a step further to have a better look at what that creature was but then I noticed that Ezekiel had wrapped his fingers tightly around my arm to keep me going forward. I tried to free my arm but I ended up receiving a heated glare from him so I decided to keep it down for now.

"What is that?" I whispered in astonishment, looking at the creature who was chasing the drakonians further northeast.

"That's a Cephylon," he whispered back with his eyes trained at the retreating Drakonians. "Once it gets a hold of you, it will drag you back to its nest and feed you to its younglings,"

"Wow, they sound fun,"

"They're not. Trust me," Ezekiel gritted back, sending me another glare that I chose to ignore. "We need to go back a mile or climb higher to set up a camp because it seems we have gotten very closer to them," He added next, looking back at the horizon where the Drakonians had disappeared.

"There's no use going back," I crossed the option off, leaving the hardest one.

"Do whatever you can but keep out of their eyes," He told me before letting my arm go.

"Where are you going?" I asked him with a frown.

"I need to see where exactly they have their camp and how many of them are there in total," He told me while I followed him further ahead but he soon turned around and added, "And you'd be going back to your wolves,"

"Why did you think I'd do that?" I challenged him, crossing my arms on my chest and holding his gaze adamantly. He set his jaw and glared back at me to send me back but I wasn't going back. I wanted to see the Drakonians.

"Because," He growled, taking a step very closer to me, "I don't want to get you in danger,"

"I wouldn't be getting into danger," I told him. "I want to see the Drakonians,"

"Then who's going to tell the wolves to stay back?"

"Why? I have mind-linked them already," I told him. All he could do in response was increase the intensity of his glare because I was just leaving no room for any kind of compromise. I was going with him and that was it!

"You're testing me more and more each day," He grumbled under his breath before turning on his heels and walking forward. I followed him silently, holding back all the insults that I wanted to throw at him already. We kept walking for a while. It had gotten fairly dark and colder. It was heavily snowing as well. The riverbed was growing more and more dangerous because serval mounters would crawl out of their hiding places to eat us.

The two of us had our swords out to cut anything in hand that would jump in front of us and threaten to eat us. We fought a couple of them before deciding to climb a bit higher and move along the mountain trails to stay out of danger as much as possible but that didn't mean that we didn't see any more monsters.

We met small pixies who wanted to suck our blood and a strange centipede-like-looking creature with sharp teeth. I swear it could have easily swallowed the two of us in one go but Ezekiel cut it in two even before I could properly notice it in the dark crawling out of a small pit that had gone unnoticed by me. Ezekiel seemed to be more familiar with this place than I'd thought.

"Do you come here often?" I had to ask him at one point because he seemed to have memorized every twist and turn of the river and every mountain here like the back of his hand.

"I used to," Was all I got in answer from him. We had to climb a bit higher to avoid more danger from those crawling monsters but it didn't mean that height guaranteed us safety. We met a coulple of creatures who at first sight looked like normal goats but oh, they were the most dangerous of all. As soon as they reach closer to you, they'd transform into these half-humamoid-like creatures with huge talons and sharp teeth, ready to eat you.

Though for some reason, as soon as they saw Ezekiel, they ran in the opposite direction. I think it had less to do with the fact that he was the King of this place and more to do with the fact of him not being too appetizing to them.

I didn't know how long the two of us had been walking but at one point it felt like forever but just when I was bout to run out of patience, Ezekiel stopped abruptly, making me bump into him in the dark.

"How dare they!" Ezekiel growled under his breath. I stepped beside him before looking at what laid in front of us, rather what laid beneath us in the valley. We were at a pretty decent height now and from there we could see the giant camp that the Drakons had set up in the middle of the valley.

Though I had a feeling that that wasn't why Ezekiel looked so mad. No. I think it rather had to do with the fact that there had been a huge tunnel that they seemed to be digging in one of the mountains.

"Why are they digging into the mountain? Are they planning to make a passageway to here from their land?" I asked, looking bewildered.

"No," Ezekiel growled, looking angerier than ever.

"Then why are they destroying the mountain?" I asked, looking back at the mountain to see if I could get an answer to my question. I found none.

"They're mining monk's leaves," He finally answered. It took me a bit to realize that that sounded familiar.

"Monk's leaves?" I breathed, "Is it the same thing that the tribe Woman had asked me to bring?" I asked.

"Yes," He growled with his eyes still fixed at the mountain. I was still completely clueless as to what Monk's leaves really were.

"What are monk's leaves?" I asked him.

"They're leaves of a plant named Ceprum which only grows from the metal Kronese found deep into these mountains," Ezekiel answered me, slowly looking more and more impatient.

"What do they do?"

"They're like elixir. Elixir makes you live forever, Monk's leaves make you live longer," He told me.

"Wow, that woman knew what she exactly wanted," I couldn't help but comment that because I was genuinely impressed by her.

"I will not tolerate this," He growled and tried to reach for his sword. It looked as if he was going to jump right inside the camp and start killing people right away but my sanity still hadn't. been corroded by rage yet. I knew whatever he was going to do would be stupid.

"You cannot just go there, Ezekiel. It would be extremely stupid," I told him.

"They're destroying my land. I wouldn't just sit back and watch them do this," He growled.

"We need to go back tonight and think of something effective and come back here with the whole army," I reasoned. Fortunately for me, he was still listening so he put his sword back but he never took his eyes off the camp. Several of the Drakons were roaming outside, either having a bonfire or doing work around the camp, not caring about the snow.

"Let's go back," I whispered, holding onto his arm. I could feel his whole body charged with so much pent-up anger. I hadn't thought that he'd be so mad over it but this shows the intensity of the things that Drakons are doing and I don't think Ezekiel would let them get away with this so easily.

Hell, I didn't want to let them get away so easily as well but this is not the right moment to act— in the heat of the moment and completely unprepared. He was still standing there glaring at the camp. He didn't move until I tugged him back a couple of times.

"We need to keep an eye on them for a couple of days and watch all their patterns before attacking them," I told Ezekiel while the two of us walked back. He didn't say anything. I doubted if he was even listening to what I was saying.

He simply seemed to be lost in his own thoughts as he slew two monsters who had jumped in his way out of nowhere. The rest of the walk back to our camp was silent. When we reached there, the camp had been set and dinner had been prepared. It was quite late as well.

I didn't realize how hungry and tired I'd been until I sat down to have dinner— which I ate at a record-breaking speed before going back to my tent to write some observations down before retiring for the day. Ezekiel returned to the tent shortly after.

My eyes locked with his as soon as he stepped inside. I just knew it by looking at him that he was going to bring up the stunt that I tried to pull today. Calmly, he zipped the door and turned to face me. With his eyes locked with mine, he stalked towards me grimly.

I tried to ignore him first and go back to what I was doing but the way he was looking at me, I just couldn't ignore the heat in his eyes.

"Celeste," He finally called out for me, sitting in front of me. There was no way for me to avoid him now. I hummed in return, trying to look very busy with my diary.

"Look at me. I am here to talk to you about something serious," He spoke grimly, with a commanding tone.

"What is it?" I asked, sounding casual and clueless but deep down I knew what exactly he was going to talk about.

"Look at me, Celeste, or I will make you look at me,"

"Is that a threat?"

"Not yet," He growled. His eyes darkened as they focused on me, "I want to talk to you about what you tried to do today," He finally spoke up, and instantly the air around us was filled with tension.

"What about it?" I dared to ask. The fire in his eyes increased further as he looked at me heatedly.

"What about it?" He gritted, edging closer to me, "Why did you go near the river?" He demanded as if I owed him a lot of money.

"So that I could see what's in the river that's making your ass itch,"

"Celeste!" He growled so loud that the tent shook. He covered the remaining distance between us until his hot breath was fanning my face, "You don't have any idea what could have happened if you'd touched the water,"

"Then tell me what could have happened if I'd touched the water," I challenged but a growl was what I received in return, "I'd have died?" I questioned.

"Worse," Was his reply. I waited for him to tell me further but he didn't. "What would I have to do to make sure that you don't go to the river again?" He demanded, clutching my face slightly painfully.

"Tell me what's in it,"

"No," He growled, "You'll not go anywhere near the river. No, scratch that. You wouldn't even look in its direction,"

"What if I do?"

"I will fvck you up worse than the women in my harem,"

"I'm not one of them, Ezekiel. What makes you think I will let you put your dick inside me?"

"Who told you I need to put my dick inside you to fvck you up?" He breathed fiercely, "I know a lot more ways to fvck you up than you could imagine, Celeste so do what I say or..."

_

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