The mild but familiar stench of rotting flesh made Kiran squint and gingerly open her eyes. She felt sluggish and sleepy, as if she had just woken up from a long and much needed nap. Instead of a cozy pillow or a comfortable bed, however, she woke up to the maroon scarf covering the crook of Noorh's neck.
Kiran gasped and quickly leaned away, her cheeks flushed scarlet at the thought of sleeping on a man's chest. Noorh didn't seem to mind it though. In fact, he sat unperturbed and unmoving in front of her as if he himself had fallen into a deep slumber.
"Noorh?" Kiran asked, her hands tentatively touching his shoulders. His head was bowed low, almost as if he had fallen asleep due to extreme exhaustion. "Noorh, wake up," she said, gently shaking his shoulders. "Noorh," she called out again before gingerly tipping his chin upward to take a closer look at his condition.
To her horror, Noorh's face had turned ashen. His skin was ice cold and his lips was a shade
"I…was looking for a snake bite," Kiran shyly defended. Noorh remained curiously staring at her. "So you tried to undress me?" he repeated. "I wanted to help you!" Kiran shyly defended, her cheeks scarlet. "It was not out of any lustful desire for you or your body. And technically, you're not naked…yet…" she mumbled, looking away. Noorh raised a brow at her, biting back a smirk. He understood what she meant but he enjoyed seeing her flustered. It was a pleasant stark contrast from her lifeless form not too long ago. "How are you?" he asked. She stared confused at him. "Me?" "You passed out," Noorh explained. More like died, really, but he couldn't bring himself to be blunt about it. Something inside him feared that telling her how her heart stopped beating could make her disappear from his lap. Was she even aware that she was perched intimately on his lap? "I did!" Kiran exclaimed, remembering what had happened. "I was so shock
It took a lot to shatter the mask of composure that Noorh developed over the past ten years. He remained calm in the midst of witnessing the chaos in Lahnthea. He remained in control when people looked down on him at the royal court. He kept his cool when he battled one giant monster after another to succeed in his mission.But facing the approaching flock of winged serpents was enough to make his eyes grow wide with terror. He had seen how easily they could ravage a village, pluck its screaming villagers off the ground like ripe fruits from a tree, and greedily devour them in one swoop. They were scarier than the giant serpent guardian despite their smaller size because they attacked in groups that no gifted warrior could single-handedly survive through.Noorh's heart raced as he quickly threw the cloak around him and Kiran. He then raised his hand in front of him, his dark eyes suddenly burning several shades of blue as cold sweat slid down his spine.Kiran fe
The first time Kiran learned that she couldn't carry a tune was in kindergarten, when the teacher taught them a song that the class was supposed to sing in a school program in front of parents. She was the first one to memorize the lyrics of the song but no matter how much she tried to sing the notes, it always sounded off. A teacher had to give Kiran private lessons just so she wouldn't embarrass herself too much. In the end, the loud singing of her cheerful and proud classmates covered up her shamed and silenced voice.It was a relief that her parents weren't in the audience. They were both busy with earning money for their financially challenged family. Her mom arrived at school to pick her up after the program had ended. They then bought cake to celebrate her first stage performance before heading home.Kiran avoided singing in front of people after that. And in group presentations in primary school where she had to sing, she either mouthed the words to pretend like she was singin
Noorh cursed under his breath as Kiran intercepted the gaping mouth of the winged serpent in front of him. He quickly snapped his fingers, eyeing the twig that he wasn't able to break off. A magic circle erupted around the twig before it burst into bluish purple flames.Thick dark smoke shot up from the tip of the flame like a fountain as Noorh grabbed Kiran. He slammed her against his chest and trapped her there with his left arm. He then waved his right hand in front of them, summoning another huge magic circle. But instead of gathering white clouds toward his palm, it gathered the thick dark smoke from the burning twig. It created a thick black wall that shielded them from the angry winged serpent."Hold on to me," he shouted, already moving his outstretched hand to the side and aiming for the nests.Kiran obediently wrapped her arms around Noorh's neck. She then felt him turn their bodies toward the path they needed to take to descend the mountain. To her surprise, the dark smoke
Kiran woke up to strong gusts of wind blowing across the side of her face. She squinted her eyes and groaned as she felt the stiffness in her back in the curled up position that she was in."Are you awake?" a familiar voice muttered against her ear.It sent pleasant chills down her spine, jolting her awake. She leaned away from the chest had apparently been curled up against and stared wide-eyed at Noorh's face, which was right in front of her. She was speechless as her eyes once again admired his striking dark eyes."How are you feeling?" Noorh asked, noting the flushness of her cheeks. "Do you have a fever?" He raised his hand to touch Kiran's forehead."I'm fine," Kiran quickly said, blocking his hand and realizing how loudly her heart was beating inside her chest. "I just…" Her eyes strayed to the horizon behind Noorh's shoulder and gasped. "A-are we flying?" she gasped, noticing the bluish purple forest and the blue sky behind them. She immedi
A white light suddenly flickered somewhere below Kiran, jolting her from her thoughts. She glanced down and found the pouch that Noorh tied around her wrist glowing with a bright white light. Kiran curiously opened the pouch and found a large crystal rock inside it."Wow," Kiran gasped. "Who needs flashlights when you have this?"She then wondered if she could take one home and sell it since she wasn't able to grab magic moss from the mountain. A glowing crystal that didn't need batteries or electricity to run would be a huge hit back on Earth.Kiran closed the pouch and examined the ground. The bright white light showed her details that she hadn't noticed before, like how the grass at her feet had the same blade-like leaves as the ones from her world. The main difference was the color. Instead of green, it was a dark shade of blue…probably even indigo…or somewhere close to black.She raised the pouch a bit higher so she could examine the tr
"Hold on!" Noorh snapped, pulling the reigns to control Aledir's movements as they plummeted into the unknown. "Calm down, Aledir!"But Aledir only shrieked in pain. Kiran squeezed her eyes shut as fear petrified her. She pressed herself against Noorh's chest as she held her breath in preparation for their imminent death.Noorh pressed his free hand on the side of Aledir's body, summoning another magic circle that dissolved into Aledir's skin.It slowly eased Aledir's panic, bringing him back to his senses. His wings finally spread itself open and flapped slowly but powerfully to stop their descent. After swerving a few more times, he finally gained his balance and floated steadily in mid-air."Good boy," Noorh breathed, sweat dripping down his forehead. "Just calm down. Everything's fine," he said, more to himself than to Aledir or Kiran. He was breathing heavily from the ordeal. Casting the teleportation spell took a toll on his energy reserves. Casting
"NOORH!" Kiran frantically shouted as Noorh slumped lifelessly over her shoulder. "No, Noorh don't die on me-Noorh!" She felt him shift to the left and lean dangerously over the landscape that Aledir was gliding over. Kiran grabbed his arms and tightly wrapped it around her waist. She then crouched forward until her face touched Aledir's ice cold skin, hoping to save Noorh from falling to his death. "Land, Aledir! Land somewhere now!"Aledir shrieked in panic, worriedly turning his head around to check Noorh's condition."Just land!" Kiran insisted.Aledir finally heeded to her instructions and swooped down a nearby forest.Kiran didn't know exactly how Aledir navigated to the ground. She was focused on keeping Noorh's body on top of her so that he wouldn't fall off of Aledir's back. Kiran held her breath as Aledir softly landed on a patch of grass. It wasn't until she was sure that Aledir was stable that she realized how she had been trembling and holding her breath.Aledir squeaked