Touch of Flame

Chapter 169 What am I?

Nazneen watched Ares standing near the rim, enjoying having the sea wind blow his lush hair back. He took a sip of his drink and leaned on the rim, watching over the sea.

She watched him carefully. He was taller than humans. Yes, it could just be that he was a tall human but he was also stronger. Faster. And he didn’t look his age. It could be inherited but for someone who has lived the harsh life of a pirate, she doubted he would look so fine. His men didn’t. And there was the smell she could not ignore. As a dragon female, it was her specialty to smell and pick a good male to breed with. One who would pass on the good strong qualities for survival. One that would protect her and their children and he just smelled right. Perfect.

Her body reacted at the thought of it. Of mating and breeding. She moved closer across the distance as the voices slowly faded away. He turned his head, sensing her presence despite her very quiet steps. He was interesting. Now, how could she confirm that what she believed him to be was true?

“Couldn’t sleep?” He asked.

She shook her head.

He pushed himself to sit up on the rail. “You shouldn’t when drinking,” she said.

“Don’t worry. I have a very high tolerance.” He poured himself some more as the wind now blew his hair forward.

Nazneen went to sit beside him. He took a sip and then offered her the cup. She shook her head, “I don’t drink.”

“Is it a dragon thing?” He asked.

“No. Dragons like to drink. I just don’t.”

“Good for you,” he told her. “It is toxic anyway.” Yet he took another gulp.

“So who gave you the name Ares Steele?” She needed to know more about his background to figure it out.

He looked ahead thoughtful. “I was only called Ares until I became a governor. I was given the name of the captain of the first ship I sailed with. I was only a little boy then and snuck into the ship. I was caught but tried to fight off the men who were much larger.” He smiled at the memory. “They wanted to throw me off the ship and into the sea when the captain stopped them. He said he saw something in me and named me Ares. The spirit of battle. He told me to take that spirit with me because life is just a battlefield.”

Having lived that way he must have met many interesting people and gathered a lot of knowledge and experience.

“The name Steele I gave myself.” He added.

“Why?”

He looked at her, eyes gleaming. “Because the toughest steel is forged in the hottest fire. It is repeatedly struck and pounded and then thrown into the fire again but when it comes out, it is a weapon that can withstand any battle.”

Fire forged him. Interesting.

“Have you ever thought that maybe you are not just human?” She asked.

He narrowed his eyes. “Why do you ask?”

“You smell different.”

“Do I smell… dragon?”

“No.” She frowned.

“Then what?”

“I am not sure, but you don’t smell entirely human. I know there is something more. Have you ever heard of Marozak?” She asked.

“No.”

“Marozak is a sea demon.”

Ares frowned. “And…?”

“He can live in both water and land. When on land, he looks exactly like humans. He can even breed with humans but he can’t stay on land forever. To keep his youth and power he has to go back to the sea and stay there for a while as well.”

Ares took a deep breath and then frowned. “What are you trying to say?”

“Do you feel sick if you stay away from the sea for too long?” She asked.

He became thoughtful.

“Perhaps you already feel a need to get back before you even get sick. You can’t stay away and when near the sea you feel the most alive.”

“You are saying I am a sea demon or half sea demon?” He raised a brow in disbelief but there was a slight doubt in his eyes.

She shrugged. “Try to breathe underwater. Strategically. I don’t know how they do it but maybe you could. Maybe you need to shift somehow. Scales.”

He shook his head with a chuckle. “It is worth trying.” He gulped the rest of his drink down and the jar was now empty. He jumped down from the rail and as if she wasn’t a dragon, he offered his hand.

She took it just for the sake of it and got down.

“A demon sounds sinister, don’t you think?” He asked, still holding her hand.

Well, he had a sinful smile.

“Thank you for the company and the folklore. I shall go to sleep now,” he said and then bent to kiss her hand.

He was drunk but she felt the hot touch of his lips all the way up to her chest.

“Goodnight.” He walked fairly steady as he left. She looked back at the two other jars he emptied and left behind. She decided to take them in. As she arrived at the kitchen she remembered home before she got locked away.

Her home that was never truly a home. These men were more like a family than the family she used to have. How would her people accept her when even her family never did? How would Ares help her and did she even want to go back? She somehow liked it here but she couldn’t stay with humans. It wasn’t safe.

Confused she walked back to her room and before she could enter, she looked ahead at his room. The door was open slightly and she found herself going there. She had done so, almost every night wanting to ask if she could sleep next to him but then changed her mind.

She peeked through the small spring and when she couldn’t see much opened the door further. He had tossed his shoes and his shirt aside and lay in his bed. He looked over, his gaze meetings hers in the dim light. It was as if he expected she would come to him.

She walked over, standing near his bed. He followed her with his gaze. “Can I sleep with you?” She found the courage to ask this time.

He narrowed his eyes. “I may not be a dragon but I assure you I am very much a male,” he warned her. “I can’t promise anything if you get into this bed.”

Nazneen lifted the covers and got into bed with him. “You forget I am a dragon,” she reminded as she lay on her back, her shoulder barely touching his chest.

He smiled and closed his eyes. After a while, she could tell he fell asleep. His colder body against her warm one was soothing and she stiffened when he put his arm around her waist. He breathed into her hair and she closed her eyes sleeping to the calm rhythm of his heartbeat.

***

Ares was drowning again in his dream and then he was floating, and the sea waves spit him out on shore. He regained consciousness with people surrounding him, looking shocked.

“What is he?” They wondered gasping.

He looked at his hands that people were staring at. It had a skin of a blue-green color and shine and his fingers were attached to each other with a thin skin between them. He was horrified.

“Sea monster!” A boy screamed. “He is a monster.” They began calling.

Ares, who was only a little boy then, stood up terrified and tried to run away. People blocked his path, calling him names and cursing him. The children began throwing stones at him when the sea rumbled and wild waves formed.

The people became worried but not enough to leave him until the waves like a wild storm crossed over to land. Everyone ran away except for Ares. He let the waves take him and soon found himself beneath the water again. The sea pulled him down, suffocating him and he struggled and fought to swim to the surface again.

He choked, swallowing the water while his legs kicked violently but to no avail.

“Ares! Ares!”

Two hands on his shoulders shook him awake. Ares opened his eyes and found Nazneen looming over him. “A nightmare,” she whispered.

“Yes. I am fine,” he sighed.

She pulled back and put her head down again. He took a moment to breathe. What kind of dream was that?

“Was it very bad?” She asked.

He turned to her, her honey skin glowing in the dim light. “Tell me more about sea demons.”

“I haven’t seen one myself but I have heard stories from people who have. On land, they are very much humans, but stronger and faster. In water, they are like fish, with scales and a tail. Just like dragons, they heal fast but even faster when they get underwater and shift. They also get their strength from the depth of the sea. I don’t know how it works if you are half-human but maybe if you can shift, you need to do it at least once to inherit those abilities.”

Was he really considering this? Sea demon? It sounded absurd but he couldn’t ignore the things she said. How he longed back to the sea and how he even built his home on a small island, surrounded by water.

He just nodded for now. “Let’s sleep.”

He pulled the blankets over his body and closed his eyes. He knew whatever madness this was, he would have to try.