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Chapter XLIV - A Desperate Deal

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The third, and final, "person" Athena thought of who could help, was Heart of the Flame.

She followed the trail of missing livestock. Farm to farm, cottage to cottage. Blood led the way.

Eventually, Athena met one farmer, in a town not too far away from her own seaside village, that said he had seen a monstrous creature dragging his prized bull away from the farm. But by the time he had grabbed his gun from the closet, the monster was gone, and all that remained was the trail of blood leading into the forest.

Athena trekked along the trail; her shoes gathered bloody stains from the forest floor. They led to the entrance of a wide cave.

If only I'd brought me knife, Athena thought to herself. At the very least, I can transform into a cat, and then maybe I can defend myself a bit.

The girl flipped into the air, tucking her arms and legs beneath herself. Landing on all fours, Milly entered the cave. A tiny bit of light shone through above, giving her just enough vision to make out the rest of the cave.

She sniffed, pressing her wet nose dusting the leaf-ridden floor. The scent of blood—a ripe, fishy, fleshy smell—urged her onward. Finally, one single bone. It protruded out of the ground. Milly stopped, lurching back.

Not too far ahead of the bone, was a carcass. A full-grown bull, with his eyes gouged out. All that remained was his ribcage and a few flaps of skin over the tougher parts of his body. His skull had been removed from the rest of his body and tossed to the side.

Milly hissed, rearing back at the sight. Her fur pricked up on her back. She sniffed out for the culprit, but couldn't find the scent.

But soon, that rich, sumptuous, taunting voice: "You are either extremely brave for coming here—or extremely stupid."

Whipping her tail back-and-forth, Milly turned in the direction of the sound. Her clothes were at the entrance of the cave, so she sprinted to them, transformed into Athena, and sprinted back. Her shoulders heaving, the girl spoke, "I am neither brave nor stupid. I'm only here to ask for a favor—or, a deal rather."

Athena could not see as well when she was human, but she made out the silky, milk-white form of Heart of the Flame nonetheless. She hung from the top of the cave, in human form, holding on to one of the stalactites tightly. "A trade, you say?" Her voice suddenly had more color to it.

"Yes," Athena heaved. "You were right all along." She sighed. "I know that Claudius banished you but… he's not well enough to enforce anything at the moment, so… I want you to come to the castle." The girl winced, stepping back, as she waited quietly for a response.

Heart of the Flame remained silent for a few moments, before she uncurled herself from around the stalactite, and jumped down. She prowled around Athena, her bare form practically touching Athena's clothed one. Athena stood still, her fists clenched around her dress, while Heart of the Flame circled her like a predator circling its prey.

"You have put yourself in an extremely vulnerable position, Miss Athena," Heart of the Flame said, cackling, a small flame issuing out of her mouth.

"Yes, I know," Athena said, "but my love for Sir Claudius outweighs my fear of you."

Heart of the Flame lifted a brow, then snorted. "You humans don't know the meaning of love. All you believe in are fancy dreams and petty such-like. Only dragons can experience true love."

"I know you think that, Heart of the Flame, but still I am here, trying to protect my one true love."

Rolling her eyes, Heart of the Flame replied: "See, this is what I mean: There is no such thing as 'one true love,' dear. Even for humans with such a tiny lifespan, there is no such bond strong enough to maintain for two whole lifetimes. Someone always gives in to temptation. And Sir Claudius is a dragon! It is only natural that he defies you, that he searches for other mates, that he lies to you—"

Athena sniffled, her head bowing.

"He has already begun searching for another mate, hasn't he? Or, perhaps he's lied to you?" Heart of the Flame moved in closer, hunting for the answer she wanted.

"Well," Athena said, lifting her wet eyes, "I did learn that he… had been keeping secrets from me. I thought that we told each other everything, but it was not so."

"See, this is what I mean. It is best to move on, Miss Athena. Love one of your kind instead, who might remain constant for a lifetime—instead of a dragon, who most certainly will not. Men are such fickle things. At least dragons are comfortable with multiple mates—want to have multiple mates. Men will just lie to you and pretend that they don't have mistresses."

Athena stopped her sniffling, a glow radiating in her blue eyes. "Well, my love for him is greater than… all of that. I don't care that he kept secrets from me. I don't—care that he is on the search for another mate." She drew back, biting her lip. The words she had just spoken tasted like bile in her mouth. "All I care about… is that he heals."

Heart of the Flame's smile grew, sinking into her face, curling into a sneaky grin. "So… he has already begun his final transformation?"

The girl's head dipped, then she nodded.

Heart of the Flame's eye twitched. Her smile fell. A pale hand reached out in the darkness, but she drew it back, shaking her head and stopping herself. "I warned you this would happen, Miss Athena," she spoke, her voice harsh and cruel.

"Yes, I know. But… he wanted so badly to live out his days as at least half-a-man… and he wanted to live them out with me."

Heart of the Flame chewed on the inside of her lip, then squinted her eyes. "So what of this deal you are offering?"

The cave seemed to whirl about Athena, knocking her down. But she picked herself back up. "I've already tried to lessen the curse's blow. I brought in my mother—who had actually already known he was a dragon through her connections with the púcaí—"

Heart of the Flame twisted her head to the side but did not question this strange circumstance further.

"But she was not afraid of him. So I brought in another one of Claudius's old friends who did not know he was a dragon and… his fear lasted momentarily, so that healed him before he fell again." Athena wrung her hands together and spoke the dreaded words: "He won't budge, not even to go and light forest fires. Now there is no other choice. I want you… to mate with Sir Claudius."

Heart of the Flame's skin turned even paler than normal before she grounded herself. "But," she almost laughed, sticking a finger out, "let us recall the last time I wanted to mate with him. How he almost killed me! Sir Claudius wants nothing to do with me."

"I don't care!" Athena shouted suddenly, her bloodshot eyes stained with tears. "If you have to force yourself upon him—which will be easy to do in his weakened state—do so! I don't care as long as the deed is done."

Echoes from the shout bounced around the walls of the cave. Rocks rattled, a few dropping from up above.

"Well, you are desperate, aren't you?" Heart of the Flame cackled, but there was a softness in her eyes that had not been there before. She couldn't help but feel her heart reaching out for the young, stupid, yet brave girl in front of her.

"I never wanted it to come to this, but he must remain alive. I can't live without him, Heart of the Flame," Athena said. "If you—mate with him, you can have it all. The castle, my wardrobe, Claudius, all of it. I'll never see him again if you don't want me to. I'll do anything as long as you mate with him. Just so that he's alive and well and doing what he loves." She shut her eyes, and a single tear fell to the ground, crunching on top of the leaves.

"And just what does he love to do?"

Athena's face brightened as a stream of light came out from the top of the cave. "More than anything, he loves to read. As long as he sits in his little chair in front of the fireplace," she sniffled, wiping a tear, "he will be content. As long as he has a quill and parchment, he will be content. Make sure he has those things," Athena instructed, boring into Heart of the Flame's eyes.

The older, paler woman sighed. "Now, Miss Athena, you know I would not care at all if you wanted to have a little… courtship with him in his human form." She elongated her neck, sticking up tall.

"You wouldn't?" Athena gasped.

"Not at all. After I mate with him, he's all yours." Heart of the Flame tossed a hand in the air.

"Are you sure you won't want anything else?" Athena inquired, gaping.

"Not at all. As long as I have my new clan, and I am free from this dreaded curse, all will be well with me."

"So, do we have a deal?"

The dragon nodded, her silvery-blue eyes lighting up the caverns.