Touch of Flame

As the day came to an end, the trials were put on hold; the remaining ones would be held the following day. The witch had participated in all the tests, and Ares was curious to see how well he did.

He retreated to his room and went through the answers the witch gave in the tests. His name was Sylas, and there was no doubt that he was a clever man. Yet Ares couldn't help but notice that some of his suggestions for solutions were extreme. Almost sadistic.

Most of the other answers were brilliant. Even more impressive, he was good at discussing the flaws in his solution, which was exactly what Ares was looking for. Someone self-aware and analytic.

As he continued to go through the papers, the door to his room creaked open. Nazneen peeked inside and then slowly stepped in. Ares had been so engrossed in his thoughts that he had almost forgotten it was night, and going to his room would imply he had gone to sleep.

Nazneen was still dressed in the same clothes, so she hadn't gone to bed yet. "I will sleep here." She said.

Hmm...

Why not? Just barge into the room and share a bed.

"I don't know what the witch is planning, so I can't leave you out of my sight." She explained.

Is that the only reason?

"Oh, I forgot to change." She looked him up and down. "Borrow me a shirt."

Why bother? Just sleep naked.

He clenched his jaw. Why was he talking to himself like a madman?

He set the papers aside and went in search of a shirt for her. He picked a white shirt and tossed it to her. Nazneen grabbed it and went ahead to change, and Ares decided to do the same. As usual, he kept a few weapons nearby.

The witch clearly desired something, but Ares didn't believe he would attack them, or he would have done so by now. Perhaps it was the sadistic part, and he enjoyed having Nazneen still worry and be scared. Ares would have to find out what the man wanted and ensure Nazneen's safety before his demise.

After dimming the lights, he got into bed, and Nazneen soon joined him. He watched her walk around the bed, only wearing his shirt, before slipping under the covers.

"Good night," he said and closed his eyes.

Nazneen remained quiet and watched him as he tried to sleep.

"Will you be alright with Ravina here?" She asked.

"Hmm..." he said, his eyes still closed.

"It doesn't hurt anymore."

"No. I don't linger on what is not meant to be." He replied.

She frowned. As if it was that easy. She would have believed him if he had told her this when they first met, but now she knew that behind the mission-driven was a man with a big heart. Spending time with Eric and Jonathan, she had learned so much about him that only made her like and respect him so much more.

His men were fiercely loyal to him, and he was protective of them. Was he protective of her? She observed how he did not allow himself to fall into a deep sleep. He stirred at the slightest movement she made.

"Ares?" she whispered.

"Mhmm..."

"Sleep."

How odd that she now suddenly wanted to take care of someone in her life. She never thought she could be like this, even when she found her mate.

Abruptly, he shot upward as if he had seen something bad. Or heard? Nazneen sat up as well and strained her ears, her eyes following Ares' gaze.

Dragons!

Many of them surrounded the building in their beast form.

Suddenly they heard a crashing sound downstairs and Ares jumped out of bed. He grabbed his pistols in a second, and then he went ahead and rummaged through his belongings, pulling out more weapons.

Nazneen was rising out of bed, a bit disorientated when the door to the room was busted open and Ares turned around and shot a dragon right in the head. She was only shocked for a moment before another dragon came flying right through the balcony, breaking the glass and some of the wall.

Shifting, she quickly went ahead to fight him. They broke through the ceiling, and she was quick to find his neck and bite into him viciously. The dragon roared in pain, trying to get away, but Nazneen flew down with him and crushed him into the ground before biting off a large chunk of his neck. Leaving him to his demise, she hurried back into the royal house, worried for the rest. They were under attack.

As she ran inside, she watched the hall, which had now become a battleground. There were roars, furniture, and glass crashing, and pistols being fired. She caught a glimpse of Tenzin, her maids, and Ares's men, but before she could find Ares, she felt attackers closing in on her.

Nazneen clenched her hands into fists, her eyes soaring in on her enemies. She felt the fire in her dragon blood race through her veins and push through her skin, and her claws were out to slaughter.

Clearly, her fight hadn't been enough to scare these idiots off. Now she would set a clear example.

The first attacker pounced on her, hands lifted, and aimed for her head. Nazneen ducked quickly beneath the punch, her senses directing her motions. She responded with a quick uppercut to the attacker's chin, knocking them back.

Two more attackers approached as one staggered away. Nazneen kept her cool, her feet shifting swiftly to position herself for the next attack. One of her enemies attempted to seize her from behind, but she quickly elbowed them in the midriff and spun around, delivering a solid roundhouse kick to their stomach, knocking them to the ground.

The third one sprinted forward in an attempt to knock her to the ground. Nazneen jumped into the air and twisted her body, placing her feet on the attacker's torso and using the energy to push herself backward, flipping through the air and landing elegantly on her feet. The dragon collapsed to the She caught an oncoming strike by twisting her opponent's arm and using their momentum to hurl them into another attacker.

She was fast, but they were many, and she was caught off guard by an arm coming around her neck from behind. Before she could defend herself, another person punched her in the face and kicked her in the stomach. As her head flew to the side, she realized it wasn't a punch. She was hit with some metal that dislocated her jaw.

There was no time for recovery, and soon two men held her down while another landed a kick right into her chest. Nazneen fell back, her ribs crushing into her organs.  She attempted to crawl away despite being out of breath, but someone grabbed her by the hair and pulled her back. She could hear them laugh as they dragged her.

"It is bad to be greedy," they chuckled.