CHAPTER SIXTEEN

As the rain continued to pour down, Kellan stood in the middle of the woods, seething with frustration and fury. The teleportation spell had taken them back to their campsite. Mud and blood coated his body, and his face twisted into a mask of rage. The dragon had slipped through his fingers again, and the burning desire for revenge coursed through his veins.

"This is unacceptable!" he roared, his voice cutting through the storm. "Twice now, they have escaped me! It's like they're mocking me!"

His men, soaked to the bone, exchanged nervous glances, shrinking back from his wrath. They knew better than to speak out against their leader when he was in such a foul mood.

"Could I be losing my touch?" he asked no one. 

Many of their group had died again, and they had to leave before they could take the beast. No creature had bested Kellan before, especially not twice. 

Kellan began cursing again, his broken hand flopping as he paced. He would make them pay. The dragon was supposed to be brought in alive, but now—now, he would hand over the head. 

And that woman! That woman! Curse her!

Every fibre of his being yearned to dominate her. he would most definitely have her, make her understand her place beneath him when he got a hold of her. His fist clenched as he trembled, his knuckles whitening with the force of his rage.

The mere thought of her resistance fueled the fire of his want, igniting a primal desire to control her completely. He imagined her face contorted in fear, desperation and pleasure. He relished the idea of breaking her spirit, of watching her beg- for mercy? For more? His lips twisted into a sinister grin as he thought of the moment of her submission, the feel of her writhing body in his arms. 

As he murmured all his heinous plans for the woman under his breath, one of his men approached cautiously, clutching something tightly in his hands.

"What is it?!" Kellan snapped, his eyes flashing with impatience.

The man gulped and held out the satchel he had retrieved from the woman during their retreat. "I managed to snatch this from the woman while we were fleeing, boss," he stammered, fear evident in his voice.

Kellan's expression shifted from anger to anticipation as he snatched the satchel from the man's grasp. Turning his attention to the satchel, Kellan undid the clasps and pulled it open. His eyes narrowed as he stared at the clutch of eggs nestled inside. 

His men watched in confusion as Kellan's mood changed. He suddenly turned to them, holding the satchel up. "These are the beast's eggs, haha! This is great!" 

"But sir," one of them began cautiously, "what about the dragon? Shouldn't we go after it?"

"Yes, with the spell you cast, it won't be able to move for a while," another said. 

"Do you know how far away from here that is? We can only teleport to places we have been to before, which is why we are back here. Plus, the spell needs to charge again," Kellan murmured, his eyes filled with anticipation. "With these eggs, we won't need to do anything! That dragon will come back for them."

A wicked smile twisted his lips as he closed the satchel again, his mind racing with plans for what he needed to do next. With the eggs in his possession, he held all the leverage he needed to lure the dragon into his trap.

"Check for injuries, and let's heal up. We return to the hideout to regroup," he ordered. 

As his men scrambled to obey, Kellan settled back against a tree, the satchel clutched tightly in his grasp. A grin spread across his face as he lifted one of the eggs from the satchel.

The lightning flashing in the sky illuminated the tiny hatchling in the translucent shell, 'the eggs will be hatching soon,' he thought, looking up at the swirling black sky. Someone rushed over with healing potions and bandages for his hand. As they knelt to attend to him, Kelan thought, 'Even if the spell worked and the beast got affected, it would risk everything for its offspring.' 

A laugh escaped him. With the beast came the woman. He delighted in the challenge she presented, eager to break her spirit and mould her into his perfect submissive bitch. The promise of conquest sent shivers of excitement down his spine.

"And I will be waiting," he murmured under his breath. 

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Yara's mind swam in a haze as she drifted in and out of consciousness. She hated this feeling so much. Sometimes, she heard voices in the distance, distorted and muffled, as if they were coming from underwater. Pain throbbed in her temples, a dull ache that pulsed with each heartbeat.

"...healing nicely, don't you..."

"...should wake up soon."

"the dragon...body..."

She forced her heavy eyelids to open slowly and with a lot of effort. She was in a strange, dark room, the only light coming from the corridor. 

She tried to speak or move, but her body felt heavy and sluggish, protesting with a sharp twinge of pain that made her groan.

The groan drew the attention of those outside, their voices hushing as they approached the bed. Yara's vision blurred, and she felt herself slipping back into unconsciousness before they could reach her line of sight.

When she woke again, a hand was hovering over her face, and panic seized her heart for a moment.

'Kellan? His men?' she thought, heart pounding almost painfully. 

Instinctively, she seized the hand and flipped its owner onto the bed, pinning them down with a knee against their back as she held their wrists in a vice-like grip.

Her eyes widened as she stared at the familiar face of the elf at the market. 

"You again?" Yara demanded, her face filled with confusion and suspicion. "What do you want with me?"

A voice from the doorway scoffed at their antics. "Looks like the lady has a thing for pinning elves down, or maybe that's just you?"

"Shut up!" the elf beneath her shot a glare at the other elf at the door.

Yara turned to look, wincing at the strain it caused to her back.

"What are you doing here? Who sent you?" Yara demanded again. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. Why was she with them? Where was this place?

Farin used that moment of distraction to flip them over. Now, Yara was the one pinned down, though he was careful not to harm her healing back. 

"There we go, stay down." the elf huffed. "Why are you so always ready to fight?" he asked, frowning slightly.

 "Get off me! Answer my questions!" she insisted, her voice strained with desperation as she struggled.

Sylleth glared at her, a hint of disdain in his voice. "How dare you speak to us like that, human," he sneered.

Yara glared back, refusing to be intimidated. 

"I don't answer to you," she spat, glaring harder as she struggled.

Farin's expression hardened. "Show some gratitude, will you? We saved your life," he retorted, his tone tinged with irritation.

Yara tensed as memories of her encounter with Kellan flooded her mind. 

Noticing she had stopped struggling, Farin slowly let go of her hands and got off her. Yara's head pulsed, the pain of losing the dragon eggs still fresh in her heart. Then she remembered the dragon; 'Kellan's spell had done something to it!' 

With a surge of emotion, she attempted to get up from the bed, causing both elves to tense in response.

"Where's the dragon? What happened to it?" Yara demanded, her voice filled with worry.

Both elves were silent, "Well?! Say something!" Yara shouted as she held the wall for support.

"Will you stop yelling?" Sylleth took a step forward, stopping when Farin grabbed his hand.

Yara eyed him suspiciously.

Farin glanced at Sylleth reluctantly, then he turned to her, "The dragon is alive but not well."

"Not well? What do you mean no-" She took a step forward, but a wave of dizziness washed over her, sending her crashing back onto the bed with a soft thud.

"Gods above, do you know how hard it was to heal you so quickly?" The fairer elf (Farin) sighed as he walked over to her, ignoring Sylleth's, "You aren't good with healing in the first place."

"Lay the fuck down. Your lover isn't going anywhere and will be here when you wake up," Farin grumbled as he held out a glowing hand over her face.

"He's not my love-" Yara frowned as she slowly lost consciousness again. 

'Fuck this,' she thought as her eyes closed. 

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 Yara woke up again, and this time, she was alone. She decided to look around the room. She was lying on her stomach on a narrow cot in a dimly lit room. The table beside her cot had many potion bottles and bandages. The air was heavy with the scent of damp earth and herbs, mixing with the faint aroma of wood smoke. The walls were made of rough-hewn stone, and a small window carved into the stone allowed a sliver of moonlight to filter in. 

She could tell that the storm still raged outside; the sound of rain drumming against the windowpanes and thunder rumbling in the distance made that much clear. 

She flinched slightly as lightning flashed through the room. Slowly, she sat up, testing the strain on her back.

'It seems fine now,' she thought as she rolled her shoulders.

She needed to get out of there and figure out what was happening. She didn't know these elves and didn't trust them. They could be healing her for their own profit for all it was worth. She had to find the dragon. They couldn't waste time here.

They needed to go after Kellan and the eggs before he went too far. 

She stood up and waited for her eyes to adjust to the room. A small smile came to her lips as she realised she could stand without holding the cot. The smile slowly disappeared as she looked down and noticed her state of undress. She was only wearing an oversized tunic that was clearly not hers. Where were her weapons?

She sighed as she searched the room for her things, 'what was with magical creatures and taking my clothes off?' she thought as she checked under the cot. There was not much space to keep anything in this room. 

Just as she was about to open the cabinet by her bedside, the door opened, and the two elves from before walked in. 

"Are you kidding me?" the fair elf asked, a scowl covering his beautiful features. 

"Where are my things?" Yara asked.

"Can you not stay where you are kept?" The elf asked, closing the door behind him. 

"No, I'm not a toy. Now give me my things, and let me get out of here." she stared them down.

Farin frowned. The way she talked and her stance sometimes reminded him of-

"Well?" she scattered his train of thoughts with her question. Farin could tell Sylleth was not impressed. He'd have to be the sensible one and stop a fight from starting. 

"Let's try this again. I am Farin, and this grumpy guy is Syl," he was interrupted by her snort of amusement.

"Syl? You know, for someone with such a cute name, you're very irritable," Farin's lip twitched at her words; she was telling the truth.

"Sylleth, if you had shut up and let him speak, you'd know it's Sylleth," Sly growled at her. He watched Sylleth and the girl glare at each other. Their personalities were so similar they were butting heads.

"What's your name?" He asked, nodding at her.

"Why would I tell you that?" she raised an eyebrow at him. 

"Wha- what do you mean why? we just told you our names!" Farin stuttered.

"You did that because you wanted to. I didn't ask you to. Plus, you could have given me fake names to let my guard down," she glared, folding her arms.

"She does have a point," Sylleth said beside him.

"Whose fucking side are you on!" Farin glared, the tip of his ears going red as he tried to keep his temper under control.

Yara watched the two of them argue. So far, they haven't tried to force her to do or say anything, but the whole scenario was too weird. The fact that they saved her couldn't be a coincidence, either.

One thing was for sure: they knew where the dragon was, and she needed the dragon to get out of there. Her skin itched whenever she thought of what Kellan could be doing to the eggs.

"Yara," she sighed and hoped she wouldn't regret this. Both elves paused and looked at her.

"I'm Yara. Can you please give me my clothes and take me to the dragon?" she could tell they were just realising her state of undress.

'Did human bodies not mean much to magical beings, or were they just not accustomed to societal behaviour?' she wondered.

"Your clothes were trashed, and we don't have any female clothing or anything your size at the moment, so that's what you'll be working with for the time being," Farin said, nodding at her oversized tunic.

"She could wear yours. You are pretty much the same thing," Sylleth dodged Farin's fist, smirking.

Farin took a deep breath to calm himself, "As for your lover, he is no-"

"He's not my lover," Yara corrected, frowning.

"Stop. Fucking. Interrupting. Me," he glared, "As for the dragon, he still hasn't shown signs of waking up."

"How long have we been here?" Yara asked, a pit growing in her stomach.

"About a week or two, give or take," Farin said. 

"Fuck!" she cursed, startling the elves. 'Two weeks?! Kellan could be anywhere now! Especially since he uses a teleportation spell,' Yara felt faint. This was bad, this was really, really bad.

Sensing her distress, Farin frowned, "If you really want to, I guess you could see the dragon," he tried to ignore Sylleth's stare.

"Really?" Yara's eyes lit up, "Let's go now," she paused, then added a small "Please?"

"Y'see? That wasn't so bad now, was it?" Farin asked, smiling. Yara couldn't help but be stunned for a moment. He was very beautiful when he wasn't scowling. "Since you asked so nicely, let's go," he waved towards the door.

"Really? Without speaking with Orym?" Sylleth asked as he leaned over to whisper to Farin.

"What? It's just for a few minutes, plus the woman probably won't shut up if we don't," Farin waved off his concern. 

"The woman has ears and a name," Yara said.

"Good for her," Farin turned, "Now let's go before I change my mind," he said.

As she moved to follow, another elf entered the room, a tray in hand. They stopped short at the sight of Farin and Sylleth, their expression slowly changing from surprised to disapproving.

"You two?" the newcomer stared at them and then at Yara, standing barefoot on the cold stone floor. "What are you two up to again? Don't tell me you're bullying my patient?" they asked.

With his sharp features and piercing green eyes, Farin looked mildly annoyed. His lips pressed into a thin line. "We aren't so bored that we will come and play with a human," he grumbled.

"Is that so?" the new elf asked slowly. 

"Yes, stop making it seem like we're acting suspicious!" Farin fidgeted. 

Sylleth, on the other hand, had a more stoic demeanour, his expression not betraying anything.

The redhead newcomer sighed and waved them off, "Gildir is searching for you. Please go to him," they said gently.

Yara's eyes widened in surprise as she watched them leave without arguing, 'this person must be higher ranked than them,' she thought. 

Alone once more, Yara turned her attention to the kind elf by her bedside, her curiosity piqued by their presence. "Who are you?" she asked, eyeing the newcomer.

Now that they had come closer, she could see they were male. 

"You may call me Orym. I'm the healer who has been seeing to your injuries," he said as he placed the tray on the bedside table. 

"Why? What do you people want with us, and why won't you let me see the dragon?" Yara asked, eyeing his movements. She felt so naked without her weapons. 

The healer elf smiled warmly, his brown eyes filled with compassion. "I'm just here to make sure you're comfortable, dear," he said gently. "Now, lie back down. Your back took quite a beating."

Yara frowned as she complied, sinking back onto the bed with a sigh of relief. Despite the worry that still gnawed at her, she felt a sense of calm wash over her in the presence and voice of the healer elf.

'Probably a part of his magic,' she thought, watching him bring a bowl. 

"I've been lying down for god knows how long. I need to leave now," Yara said, but she did not move from the bed. 

"I know. It was clear something big had happened when we found you two. Here you go," he handed her a bowl of warm, meaty broth. Only now did Yara's stomach grumble. 

"Thank you," she took the bowl slowly and sipped. She nearly dropped it at the surprising flavours that filled her mouth. "Easy now," the elf said, smiling. "It's medicinal. You might be feeling better, but you're not fully healed," he adjusted the thin blankets on her absentmindedly. 

"Tell me about the dragon," she demanded, her voice tinged with urgency. Orym paused, seemingly thinking if he should tell her. 

Yara's frown deepened. It must have been something terrible if it took too long to decide. 

"The dragon...it was cursed," he revealed slowly.

Yara's throat tightened, and she choked on the broth, coughing violently. "Easy now," he said soothingly, patting her back. "The dragon is fine, I assure you. Take deep breaths."

Once Yara's coughing subsided, she grabbed his hand and demanded, "I need to see the dragon. Now."

Orym sighed, his gaze filled with sympathy. "I understand your concern, but you must rest and recover first. You can do nothing for the dragon in your current state."

"But you just said he's cursed!" she tried to get up, but he had a surprisingly firm grip on his slim stature, and she needed to remember he wasn't human. 

"He is fine, just saving his energy through sleep. You don't have to worry," Orym tried to assure her. 

"And the eggs..." Yara's voice trailed off, her thoughts jumping from the supposed curse to the urgency of retrieving the stolen dragon eggs.

"The eggs?"Orym frowned, confused. "There were no eggs when we found you. Speaking of which, what happened?" he decided to change the subject.

"You guys were a mess when we found you, not to mention the forest." He inquired gently, sensing Yara's distress.

"A bounty hunter ambushed us," Yara explained. "He took the dragon eggs; I need to get them back."

"Bounty hunter? There aren't many this close to the north. Who is it? Maybe we can help you track them down," Orym offered. 

"Kellan the Deranged," Yara murmured. 

Orym's brows jumped in surprise. "Kellan the Deranged?!" he exclaimed, taken aback. "What did you do to catch his attention?"

Yara let out a weary sigh. "I didn't do anything," she replied, frustration evident in her tone. "He's been hunting us for a while now, and I don't know why."

"I see, this is quite serious," Orym frowned.

Yara took another sip of the broth, this time more cautiously, while Orym pondered the implications of her words.

She could tell what he was thinking. With the amount of time that had passed since the incident, Kellan could be anywhere with the eggs, could have sold them, or worse, used them for artefacts and potions. The possibilities were sick and endless. 

Finally, Yara broke the silence, "Why did you guys attack me in the market?" she asked, eyes searching Orym's face.

Orym's expression softened into a rueful smile. "I apologise for the misunderstanding," he said sincerely.

"We were following a lead and happened to see you in the market that day." Yara frowned. A lead? About what?

"Your bag had traces of dragon essence, so we thought you were involved with the smugglers. It wasn't until later that we realised you were with the dragon as a pair." Orym continued.

Yara shook her head, correcting him, "I'm not the dragon's partner."

Orym looked at her with confusion before nodding understandingly. "My mistake. I apologise for the misunderstanding."

His eyebrows lifted at her words, not the dragon's partner, yet the dragon nearly took their heads off when the elves had tried to get close to them that night. 

"It's fine, so what type of curse is it, and when can I get to see him?" Yara asked, waving off his apology. 

 "The curse is more of a temporary binding spell, nothing too serious," he began, his tone measured. "But it does require careful handling. It's more of a hindrance than a danger."

Yara felt a weight lift from her shoulders at his words. "So, there's a way to lift it?" she pressed.

"Yes, there is," Orym confirmed, offering her a reassuring smile. "The enchantment will fade on its own with time. But if we wish to rush the process, there are remedies we can try: herbal concoctions, spells of dispelling... We'll ensure he wakes up soon, I promise."  he squeezed her hand gently. 

"Thanks," she sighed. "Thanks for helping us."

"It's my duty as a healer," Orym replied, smiling. 

Another thought came to her. "And about Kellan and the eggs... Can you do something?" She asked.

Orym nodded. "I will take this information to the others. We'll see if there are any leads we can follow. I know you want to leave immediately, but you and the dragon are safe here, Yara."

He checked Yara's back one last time before rising from his seat. 

"We'll find the eggs before things go wrong," he assured her as he took her empty bowl and the other things on the tray. He smiled at her once more as he left the room and closed the door behind him.

Yara watched him go, feeling torn.

She sighed as she settled back in the cot, staring up at the rough-hewn stone ceiling. She was grateful for the elves' help in healing her wounds, but she couldn't shake off the question in her mind: Why had they been following her in the first place?

The satchel the bounty hunter had taken contained not only the dragon eggs but also all of her belongings—potions, clothing, money, and even her communication stone. Without those resources, she was literally vulnerable and lost. She had to find Kellan and retrieve the eggs, but she didn't know where to start. 

The elves could help her find the information and resources she needed. They seemed willing to help, but Yara couldn't help but wonder what their motives truly were. Could she trust them? Or were they using her for their purposes?

With a heavy sigh, Yara closed her eyes, trying to push away the doubts and fears in her mind. For now, even though she hated it, all she could do was rest and wait, hoping that the dragon would wake up soon and the elves would come through for her.

'I hope the babies don't hatch soon.'