Chapter 48

Samira
I felt even dumber not knowing who someone like this would be, especially since when the cloak hood was removed, everyone bowed, even the people in their carriages….
They got out to press their foreheads to the dirt with their low kneel.
The troll slipped and fell, then scrambled to bow on hands and knees.
“Flaming one, please-”
There was a lot of fire, but I didn’t see what happened. I did feel the heat though… and it was intense.
“I don’t know or care why you are here, but I recognized your scent. Be thankful you belong to a master.” Said the icy tone of the Flaming One…
I was grabbed by the scruff roughly… Those enormous, calloused hands felt like a man’s, but the face doesn’t match, and the red cloak kind of obscures their shape…
Also this was all so fast!
I gasped awake, seeing I swear a Giant eagle… one called the Flaming One.
That was Eternya…. Probably one of *the* cruelest of Xaxas’s original generals…
Then… I forgot what happened, and I sat there confused remembering Jang’s ordeal, and the premonition I had of Tyson afterwards….
“I heard you wake up. Are you alright?” He asked in a calming, soothing way. He was worried that I would be timid, but I was alright. He was wet from a shower, still dripping until he steamed it off himself with his own heat.
I became caged in the arms of the King, and he did give me comfort. I hugged his neck, and he grumbled a low approving growl…
“Last I checked you didn’t kill all those people.” I said quietly. I was in the arms of a man who could destroy a country for my sake… yet he did not scare me. I was thankful for that.
“No, but even he has changed…. If you choose this path Samira, you *will* see more carnage… You will see the worst of who you heal, and the thing that broke them enough to be mendable in the first place will haunt your dreams.”
“…. But I dreamt of *you and Kaizen killing each other.*.” I said showing submission to my mate by dipping my head. I knew I’d upset him with my request. “I wish you would just pardon him.”
That dream was so chaotic it was all I could remember…. That and a giant bird saved me?
Dreams oftentimes can mean something… or not. Maybe I was overthinking.
“I can’t do that.” He said firmly. He wasn’t as upset as I thought he’d be, but he made it clear the answer was ‘no’ and ‘don’t ask again’…. It wasn’t rude, but he did put up a boundary, and I would respect it.
“I know that too…”
How did I want to word this? “I want to try though…. So long as I don’t get to experience another mass slaughter anytime soon… I think I can manage.” I said wondering was I even capable of that?
…. It’s more than seeing… You become who you heal… *You take their trauma with you, because for a time… you ARE them.*
People who you think are alright can be monsters, and monsters that are tamed…. As a Mender you get to see them do their worst…. However for our people, I will pick up this torch that I’m not ready for.
I’ll just have to get ready….
“Samira.” I cut him off. “You were out three whole days.”
“Even if I can’t be a real mender…or if it taxes me…. There must always be one. There must be someone who can lay hands and heal the masses. There must be someone who can do this so your Council can do their jobs…. And for the commoner and Council alike to have relief if they make the journey here and request it.”
“…Alright.” He said sheepishly. Tyson then sniffed my neck, and his growl was a deep one. I had no idea what it meant, but it felt like it was just affection. “It is. You smell like sugar cookies, lemon tarts, and fresh strawberries…”
“…Soggy hooves…”
“You’re practically edible.” He licked my neck… “Holy shit. You Taste like Sugar Cookies! Nom-Nom-Nom!” he nibbled my mark spot, and I felt his happiness. He enjoyed messing with me!
“STOP!” I whined “I’m musty.” I complained. I must have sweat in my sleep, and that I smell ‘good’ to other races when I’m supposed to be stinky made my mate laugh a hearty boom.
“Awe That’s Weird AND Cool!” He hugged me like a stuffed animal.
“Stop laughing so hard!” I complained.
“Wait…. Allister *always* smells like this…. Is he *always* a musty-busty boy?!” He laughed at his own joke. “Oh my gods, I’m not letting him live this down.”
“I don’t know! Probably! Allister shifts more than I do, and we smell like that after too.”
He laughed harder, but I could fell something was off. He’d linked someone, and the mate connection tipped me off that it was serious.
“What happened?” I asked.
“You *just* got back from your soul mending.” He said with a sigh. “Lupe is a traitor, and Kaizen got Jack the Slasher to kill him, and a few others.”
“That isn’t all of it.” I said firmly.
“The last 8 of their line will be beheaded by me personally.” He didn’t look me in the eyes when he said it, but the fire in them said everything.
“I can’t talk you out of it?” I asked.
“No. You can’t talk me out of this. My brother unraveled a coup that stretches from Oil to FrostMoon.” He hissed. “Their deaths only expedite them to where they belong.”
“Just make sure to punish just the evil my love.” I said caressing his cheek…
I didn’t fear my monster.
That was something for the other monsters to do…
He growled softly. “Am I a monster to you now?” He pulled me closer, so he could whisper. He leaned down… His fangs grazed my earlobe. “Do you not trust me?”
“I trust you Tyson. I love you, you know.” I said kissing him on the forehead. He had to bend almost all the way down for me to do it, but his flame between those horns popped like a campfire.
“It seems I can’t hide how I feel.” He chuckled. “I’m so glad you’re back… Everything is such a mess… Everyone is getting on my nerves.”
“Then let’s go walk in the garden a bit.” I said getting up, and leading him out.
It smelled like coal outside, but I had no idea why.
“Hey wave.” Tyson pointed to an eagle whose wingspan was probably a thousand feet wide…
He was definitely as big as a building.
I waved. “Is that the Flaming One?” I asked….
Why was that familiar.
“Yeah, that’s Eternya, I believe Uncle’s Seventh General. Have you heard of him?”
“He’s the Son of Apolis, the Volcano God and a firebird I think…” He was beautiful… Fire danced off him as he flew south… “I wonder why he visited?”
“I assume to save you. You were gone a while, and probably got into some kind of shenanigans.” Tyson chuckled.