~ 105: A Place With More Foes Than Companions - Part 4 ~

'Don't!' I screamed with such great passion like never before, like as if my life depended on it.

He turned his face towards the second door and side-stepped a little to peek in through the small oval window fixed in it.

'When did you get here?' he demanded of me through the open shields.

'I-I-I-,' I stuttered not knowing what to say.

I didn't know if it was a slip of my tongue or mind or was it because I didn't want to see bloodshed anymore from his hands, in which case I could leave, or if it was that I was trying to save a life that loved the king, unlike me, and I didn't want him tainting hands with such a person's blood.

'How long have you been here?' came his next question.

I was quiet like I didn't exist there. But I could feel him searching for me in his mind. I held my breath as though even that would give me away as I backed away from his crawling talons.

'Come here,' he growled so softly that I didn't dare to move.