Ykril woke us up in the middle of the night by a bad dream and as he sat at the corner of the bed, with his back to me and his head buried in his hands, I saw his huge scars on his back. »Could these scars be from wings?« I whispered to myself while I gently stroke over them. He already told me on our date in the tavern that he could hardly remember anything, so he maybe was not aware that he ever had wings. The pictures from my imprisonment shot through my mind like a flashback and I remembered again from where I knew his name and face. Ykril. »My lifesaver« I whispered in surprise
I kissed him gently over his scars while I reached around him and slightly shaky stroked his belly tenderly.
»Come honey – lie down again. I'll take your mind off.«
›What a night‹ I thought to myself when I woke up a few hours later snuggled up to this young, beautiful man.
So he wasn't a human, but an Aasimar. And he really was the one who rescued me from imprisonment and it seemed that he paid for it with his wings and his memory. I stroked him gently through his face. ›When I stay with him, he's in danger. He has already sacrificed too much for me‹ I thought and slipped quietly into some clothes I found on the floor. Before I crept out the door, I turned back to him again, sighed quietly and whispered »I'm really, really sorry«.
»Start packing Sanise. We have to get out of here.« it came hastily from me as I entered our room
»So, how was the night?« she came still sleepy »Nimri came back all excited, but didn't want to say anything«
»Because he still can't talk«
»What are you wearing? Wasn't it a dress when you left yesterday?«
Now I realized that I had put on Ykril's clothes and apparently I forgot a little more. I slipped into my suit and stowed his clothes cleanly in my backpack after I secretly smelled on it again.
We quickly packed up everything and set off. Before we entered the forest I looked back at the city again.
»Why do we have to leave? Was the night this bad?«
»No, it wasn't« I answered her and continued whisperly »not at all«
»Oh – my – God« Sanise yelled »You like that boy« and stared at me expectantly, while Nimri made a sound I've never heard from him
»Everything okay little man?« I asked him, while I held a cave cricket out to him, which he immediately devoured.
»Yes, I do« I sighed softly as I looked towards the city »And that's why we have to leave« I ordered and went on into the forest.
After only a few feet I was attacked by a ghoul out of nowhere and pulled to ground. While Nimri flew into a hedge, Sanise was able to push the ghoul aside with a panicky kick and I was able to pull myself up again with my staff ready. The ghoul stood opposite me and sparkled at me growling with his green glowing eyes. When it stormed off again, I threw a lightning bolt at it, but it didn't seem to bother it and I could barely avoid. »Great. Close combat.« I rumbled, tried to remember what my mother taught me in Kyone veldrin and went into the appropriate fighting pose.
The ghoul stormed towards me again with a loud roar and with a small step to the side and a stroke with the blade on my staff I could at least hurt it.
»Go Nali, finish her off« it came from the side from Sanise, who had collected Nimri
»Just hel…« I shouted incompletely to her when the ghoul pushed me to the ground and tore a large piece of flesh from my shoulder. I bit my tongue to not to scream out loud and saw a small lightning strike going through the ghoul in the corner of my eyes before Sanise jumped on his back to choked him. Nimri tried to peck out its eyes, who was standing up and swaying back and forth trying to get rid of them.
Painfully, I stood up again, ran towards them and rammed the blade of my staff into the area where I thought the ghoul was carrying his heart. It pulled his claws through my face, threw Nimri against a tree and got rid of Sanise by throwing himself on his back.
»Naldela?« I heard a male voice from behind. It sounded like – »Ykril?« I looked back in surprise, neglecting my guard.
»What are you doing here? Stay away!« I shouted in panic when I suddenly felt the ghoul's sharp teeth in my throat and his claws bored into my body. I tried to scream, but I could not make a sound. My vision became darker and blurred and I only noticed the fall to the ground through the forest grass, which I felt in my face. When the ghoul was torn from me, it tore the flesh completely from my throat. I gasped for breath, could only hear dull sounds and before it got completely dark, I weakly noticed how someone took me in his arms.
I opened my eyes in Ykrils arms and gasped deeply for air. All pain had disappeared and Ykril radiated a comforting, soothing warmth, just like last night. When he noticed that I was moving, he looked at me with teary eyes and hastily felt my shoulder and throat. »You are alive« it came awkwardly from him »You are alive« he repeated happily with a shaky voice, kissed me frantically and almost crushed me, which Sanise and Nimri immediately joined. It took a while until they left me and I could finally ask the question.
»What happened?« I asked astonished
»I don't know. He took you in his arms, started crying and muttering something« Sanise started excitedly with waving arms »When we wanted to come to you, he suddenly started to glow brightly and he got luminous wings and« her voice almost rolled over »and then we were blinded and then – you breathed up again.« She spoke so fast that I could hardly follow her and Ykril did not even get a word in. Still lying in his arms, I could see in his eyes that he himself did not seem to know how he had done it. It didn't seem to matter to him either, because his look to me said more than a thousand words. I took his head in my hands, wiped away his tears with my thumbs and kissed him.
