Ava kept her eyes on him, puzzled as he smiled at her after calling her cunning. Why was he smiling? She had no idea, but at least he seemed to have come to terms with her proposal. Both her brother and she had always dreamed of going to Wonderland, but money had always been a constraint, preventing them from fulfilling that dream.
"Come on, Ava, let's head back. It's getting late," Damon mumbled before turning around and walking away. She had to quicken her pace to catch up with him.
"Are you going to drop me off at home?" she asked, but he said nothing, just kept moving. "Master?" she called out. He stopped, and she noticed a frown creeping onto his face.
"Something is not right," he mumbled, but Ava was growing anxious and moved a bit ahead. Gasping, she caught sight of their driver lying lifeless, his legs, hands, eyes, and ears missing. The car was badly crushed.
"Come," Damon grabbed her hand and pulled her back into the forest.
"What happened to him?" she asked, her voice trembling.
"Dragons," Damon replied.
"Dragons?" she murmured, confusion evident in her voice. "But why would they just devour his legs, hands, eyes, and ears?"
"Not eat," he growled. "It's a sign."
"A sign for what?" she questioned, her voice filled with concern.
"Shut up, Ava," Damon growled, his frustration evident. "You ask too many questions. We don't have time to sit around and ask questions."
"Are they after you?" I blurted out, unable to contain my curiosity. Just as the words left my lips, I heard a loud growl. Looking up, I shuddered at the sight of a massive black dragon. Damon swiftly threw me over his shoulder and picked up his pace, increasing his speed. "Oh my God, they're after you!" I exclaimed, my mind racing to comprehend why a dragon would be after him.
Naturally, dragons sought to kill any human they came across, so that must explain their pursuit. But why hadn't this dragon devoured the entire driver's body?
"Such wrong timing," Damon growled, leaping over another branch, narrowly avoiding the flames the dragon sent in our direction.
"Will I die??" I asked, feeling my heart pounding frantically in my chest.
"Probably," Damon chuckled, his laugh sounding out of place given the circumstances. "Lie low over there," he instructed, abruptly stopping and dropping me into a hole. I swiftly moved into the hole, surrounded by trees. Taking cover didn't mean I would stop watching.
Damon turned around just as the dragon descended, causing the ground to shake. But then, to my astonishment, the dragon began to transform its body, morphing into a human form. A woman with blond hair and piercing blue eyes stood before us, completely nude. "I finally found you, the almighty Damon the fifth," she declared.
"I thought you aimed to kill this Damon the fifth," Damon furrowed his brows. "Not my driver." This time, he scowled, while the blonde woman simply snickered.
"Since when do you use humans as drivers?" she mumbled, probing Damon. "Since when do you run from a fight? Oh yes... you were holding a woman, but I don't see her anywhere. Where is she?"
"I don't see why I should show you my woman," Damon smiled, but his words made me flush. His woman? Is that how he sees me? His woman! "Besides, maybe your eyes are beginning to malfunction."
"Could it be that you ran to hide her face from me? For you to protect a woman is a big deal," the blonde woman smirked. "Now this has piqued my interest. I want to see her."
"That will only bring death upon you, Tessa," Damon smirked. "Did father send you on this absurd task? Did you need to use fire to get my attention?"
"You have been marked for death for a long time. It still amazes me why Father wishes for your demise," Tessa cackled. "But no matter how hard I train, it's still risky to win against an abomination like yourself."
"You shouldn't have laid a hand on my driver. He was good at his job."
"Miss, where are you?!" Tessa yelled, but Damon's frown deepened. "This woman must be your weakness. Have I finally found it?"
"Shut up, Tessa!" Damon roared, snatching the paper she was delivering. "Get out of here before I kill you."
"Jeez, you look better when you run." Surprisingly, Tessa approached him and kissed Damon on the lips. He said nothing, didn't react to the kiss, nor did he try to push her away. The kiss lingered for a moment before she whispered, "See you, brother." And with that, she immediately transformed back into a dragon and swiftly vanished.
She called him brother, so why did she kiss him? Do families commonly kiss each other on the lips? Am I overthinking this?
"Ava?" Damon mumbled. "You can come out now." Hearing his voice, I crawled out of my hiding place, covered in dirt. "Are you okay?" He turned towards me, with no hint of worry in his eyes. It has always been difficult to read them anyway.
He gently touched my face and then nodded. "You are okay."
"What just happened?" I asked. "Did that dragon transform into a woman who was your sister, and she kissed you?"
"No," he tucked the paper into his pocket. "You saw wrong."
"So my eyes were deceiving me then?" I furrowed my brows. He simply nodded. "Probably." He started walking. "Hurry up, we are walking back to the city on foot."
I quickened my steps, trying to catch up with him. "That will take days."
"It will."
"Master..."
"Hmm?"
"Are you a dragon?"
"No."
"She called you brother."
"She did."
"And you're not a dragon?"
"I am not."
He seemed reluctant to talk about it, but since I had nothing else to do, I kept asking, "Why is your father interested in your death?"
"I don't have a father."
"But she..."
He interrupted, "She knows nothing."
"Do you like her?"
"No."
"She kissed you."
"So?"
"You didn't frown, which means you like her."
"Hmm," Damon mumbled, still walking. He effortlessly leaped over a fallen tree, and I did the same. "Being kissed by Tessa is not a big deal." Suddenly, he stopped walking. "Are you jealous, by any chance, Ava?"
"What?! Me? No way," I stammered, a blush creeping onto my cheeks. "I just want to know why siblings kiss each other." I averted my gaze from him, feeling slightly embarrassed. I heard him chuckle.
"Okay," he said, turning around and continuing to walk. I exhaled in relief. Why on earth would I be jealous? It's just strange for siblings to kiss each other in that manner. It's incestuous and gross. "But since you're with me now, I think I need to stop doing that. I don't want you thinking I like her."
"Okay," I mumbled, unsure of what else to say. I wasn't even his partner yet, and he was already pushing other girls away.
All of this made me think deeply. If dragons can transform into humans, it means that vampires exist, werewolves exist, and Damon must be one of them to be attracting this much attention.
"Master?"
"Hmm?"
"What are you?" I asked, attempting to catch his attention for just a second before looking away. I caught him smiling, and he remained silent for a good two hours, maybe even more. I didn't have my wristwatch with me to keep track of time.
"What do you think, Ava?" he chuckled softly, although it seemed forced. "I might be a human who's gaining unwanted notoriety. Don't compare me to those animals... I am far greater than that." After that, we didn't say anything to each other, leaving me to ponder and process what he had just told me.
Damon walked me home. When we arrived, he didn't even stop; he just kept walking until he was out of my sight. "Greetings, Mum," I said as I moved towards my room, shutting the door and collapsing onto my bed. My legs hurt, and I was still surprised that we had arrived home so early. I had been expecting a two-day journey.
Staring at the ceiling, I couldn't help but continue thinking about Damon. I wanted to know more about him, his life, his family, and what kind of person he was. I wondered if I was just being nosy.
He always ignited my curiosity.