My (Monster?) Hero Life

Chapter 249: Pretty Flower, Hidden Thorns

The atmosphere on board the Airship quickly turned awkward as both Grugda and Shadow picked up on the tension emanating from Kace. 'Hm. Looks like. Things were more. Complicated than we. Thought.' Grugda turned his gaze to evaluate the newcomer. 'This is going. To be trouble.' 

Shadow was not impressed when he glanced at the Dryad. In his mind, only Vaskra was a suitable match for his Lord. Of course, it would not be a bad thing if Kace chose someone else and he got to lay claim to her. 'Hm, I'll have to keep an eye on Sophia when we arrive. She might just try to kill him.'

For obvious reasons, both were concerned about what was going on between Kace and Lilly. Depending on how he viewed her, it could definitely throw a wrench into their group dynamic. It was part of the reason that they were glad that Vaskra was not a permanent member of their team. 

Kace's eyes were still glued to Lilly as she reached the boarding ramp. Although she had been rushing on her way over, she still managed to look graceful. Kace even noticed that she managed to turn plenty of heads wherever she passed by. However, they quickly looked away when they realised that she was joining his group.

"You ran off before I could tell you." Lilly smiled radiantly at Kace's questioning look. "My grandfather insisted I join you. Just in case any side effects from your treatment appears."

A soothing smell permeated the air making Kace feel more relaxed. He was glad for the sudden shift as Lilly gently caressed his cheek. If Kace did not feel unnaturally calm right now, he was confident that he would have become flustered. Thus, exposing his confused feelings to everyone present. However, there was someone present that did not look pleased.

"Kace, I think. You should. Go rest for. Now. Allow us three. To get. Acquainted." Grugda sounded unusually assertive in saying this. His eyes never left Lilly for even a second. 

"Alright. It can't hurt for you guys to get to know each other. We'll be spending a lot of time together, after all." Kace shrugged his shoulders, utterly oblivious to the almost open hostility that Grugda was displaying. Truth be told, he was just glad to get a reprieve to allow himself to mentally adjust to Lilly's presence.

As Kace turned away from them and made his way to the cabins, Lilly turned her attention to the one who had instigated the current situation. Grugda held her steady gaze with contempt while Shadow looked completely confused. 'Weren't we meant to be getting to know each other? Then why does it suddenly feel icy.'

"It's nice to meet you. My name's Lilly." The Dryad offered her hand to Grugda, hoping to defuse the sudden tension. Her smile that accompanied the gesture seemed sincere and welcoming.

"Drop it. Do you think. I don't know. What you did? What you are? What you're. Capable of? If you think. I'll let you. Infect me. By touching your. Hand. You can. Forget it." Grugda snarled, completely surprising both Shadow and Lilly.

With those words, Shadow suddenly felt the need to be on guard against their newest addition. Grugda was usually relatively mild and always gave anyone a chance. However, the words he had chosen made Shadow assume that this woman had already blown it with the Eljein. What was more worrying to Shadow, was that apparently, she had done something in this short amount of time without him realising. 

"Oh? What did I do?" Lilly kept her smile plastered on her face while sounding confused. It took quite a bit of effort on her part. She was not used to interacting with anyone outside of the grove. As far as her grandfather had told her, nobody should know about her race outside of the Treant groves.

"Still pretending. Dryad?" Grugda let out a low sounding growl as he said the last word.

Shadow quickly leapt back from the two as a sudden change came over Lilly. It was a natural reaction on his part as his instincts warned him of a severe threat. Lilly's innocent facial features peeled away from her face like the petals of a flower going into full bloom. With what used to be her face now spread out like petals, what was revealed totally terrified Shadow.

"What the fuck is that!" He squealed while forming his scythe as quickly as he could. He would not hesitate to lop her head off. That was far more preferable than letting such a thing stay close to his Lord. 

"That's her. True face. Isn't that right. Dryad?"

"I should kill you here and now!" Lilly's voice had changed from serene, pleasing one to a menacing guttural growl that invoked fear in those who heard it.

Grugda was not phased by it though, as he studied her new look. What used to be her face now looked far different. Her eyeballs floated on vine-like appendages, that were connected to her 'petals' in front of a large circular maw that took up the entire front of her head. Five layers of sharp fangs could be seen as they lined the inside of her head. They were placed in circular layers, making sure that there were no blind spots in where they could pierce whatever they got a grip on.

"This suits you. Better." Grugda commented as he stared directly into her eyes. He easily guessed that there were more than a thousand of those small fangs in her mouth. "Now that. We have seen. Who you really. Are. Let's talk."

Lilly was taken by surprise with his calm but still threatening demeanour. Truth be told, she did not want others to see her this way either. She took charge of her emotions and forced her 'petals' to revert to her face. As they closed up seamlessly to display her usual innocent features, Shadow shivered as he stared into two empty eye sockets that still allowed him to see the maw that they hid. In the next moment, her eyes settled into the holes before staring coldly at Grugda.

"First. No more manipulating. Kace's senses. If you do. I'll reveal your. Secret to him." Grugda's tone was like steel. Unbending.

"Ok." Lilly nodded her head in agreement. There was no point in pretending that she could not control it. Especially since Lilly had no idea how in-depth Grugda's knowledge of her race actually was. She could not afford to cause further friction between them. However, just as it seemed that they would be able to hash out some rules between them peacefully. Lilly was forced to dodge backwards as a scythe split the air where her head used to be.

"You! You dare manipulate my Lord! Right in front of me!" Shadow screamed indignantly. He struggled to keep up with their conversation properly. However, that fact when it was exposed had not escaped his notice. If it were not for Grugda, then he would have remained complacent in front of such a hidden threat.

His mind reeled with thoughts of her manipulating Kace to commit suicide. Or to drive him and his tribe away from Kace. Each one of these thoughts threatened to make Shadow's rage boil over. As far as he was concerned, this overgrown flower could do with some pruning! 

Grugda realised his mistake too late and tried to grab the overprotective goblin. Initially, he wanted Shadow to be present so that he would be aware of the hidden threat. That way, he could use Shadow to keep an eye on the Dryad when he was not around. However, he never thought about how Shadow would react. 

As his hand almost reached him, the goblin sank into the Shadow Realm. 'Shit!' Grugda furiously glanced around. Trying to spot even the smallest detail of Shadow's intent to re-emerge. Lilly, on the other hand, was too shocked to respond appropriately. First, she narrowly avoided being beheaded. Then the perpetrator of the attempted murder disappeared in front of her eyes. 

"Get a grip! He'll be. Coming for. You!"

Grugda's warning pulled her out of her shock. She glanced around nervously as a scented liquid ran down her smooth, green skin. Grugda threw an angry look at her, but she seemed apologetic. This time, she really could not control this scent. This was essentially nervous sweat for her species. Whereas her usual mind-altering scents were smells that she released on demand.

The crew had become alarmed by the sudden display of violence. Immediately halting their work to allow the Airship to take off. Several armed goblins made their way over to break up the fight while an officer type made a beeline for the cabins. It was evident that they intended to summon Kace back up on deck to put a leash on his subordinate.

It was now, during the chaos on the deck, that Shadow chose to strike. He leapt up from being Lilly and swung his scythe towards her head! Unfortunately for him, Lilly's skin was susceptible to any changes in the nearby air currents. Basically, this allowed her to have a small area detection ability. A thorn erupted from the smooth skin at the nape of her neck. It was angled in a way that it struck the flat of the shadowy scythe's blade and deflected its trajectory to pass harmlessly over her head.

"What the FUCK is going on here!" Kace bellowed as he appeared from down below. He looked both furious and confused as he beheld the sight of his 'bodyguard' trying to kill the woman who had taken such good care of him. 

Shadow floundered in his attempt to follow up his assault with the appearance of Kace. His mind raced as he tried to think of a suitable excuse. He was not the best at explaining situations, and now he needed Kace's permission to remove the threat