Heavy boots scruffed against the solid cave floor as two massive chimeras filed behind Augustus into the room. They were dressed in the dull-colored robes most of the chimeras wore; their blonde hair and their scales glittered in Aquila’s light, casting glimmers of blue and green light against the walk. They were built like tanks with similar faces, and I thought they must be brothers. Aquila, Faustus, and I stayed seated as they moved to stand near the table. Ani hissed at them as they walked by, and his tail poofed.

“Hayden, this is Nero,” Aquila gestured to the chimera with blue scales, “and his brother, Drusus,” then the green-scaled one.

“Nero, Drusus, this is Hayden.” Unsure of how I should be acting–like a spoiled rich kid? Like a normal person? I raised my hand in a casual wave. They returned my wave with an acknowledging nod. The one that said, ‘I acknowledge that you exist, but I don’t actually want to interact with you.’

My hand dropped to my lap, though they weren’t paying me attention anyway. And, at my feet, Ani was still growling.

“The one over there is an ex-knight, Faust. He was hired by Hayden’s father to deliver him safely.”

Aquila moved to stand behind my chair, grabbing the back. Her flames licked gently against my neck, more akin to the soothing heat of a fireplace than the burning heat of a stove. “Hayden here is the son of an old acquaintance of mine. He wishes to become a chimera.”

Immediately, they strode around the table to evaluate me, Aquila taking a sharp step back to accommodate their presence. I sat in my chair, frozen and feeling like I was back in gym class, waiting for everyone else to get picked before me. In this case, though, there was no one else to pick.

From my feet, there was another growl followed by sudden movements from my side as Ani struck out at one of the brothers. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Nero, then Drusus shrug, seeming to say ‘whatever.’ I shifted to look up from my lap to find reassurance in Faustus or Aquila, attempting to catch their avoiding eyes. The movement must have made my earrings catch the light because Drusus grabbed my face with bruising force, reaching his spare hand to run his thumb over my earring as he held me in place. I flinched and pressed my feet against Ani, fearing he’d rip out the earring if Ani attacked him. Ani seemed to get the message and stayed growling at my feet, back arched.

Fausts made an aborted motion to interfere, Augustus stopping him before he could. Behind me, Aquila observed silently.

“You won’t be needing these where you’re going,” he said, his voice dripping with greed.

“They’re fake. Made by a budding mage friend of mine.” I lied.

He leaned in to get a closer look. “Don’t look fake to me. What do you think, Nero?”

Before Nero could join his brother in taking a look, Aquila finally stepped in. “Drusus. Hayden is a family friend, and I will not tolerate theft or any other untoward actions toward him,“ she said sharply. “ Is that clear?”

Visibly reluctant, Drusus dropped his hand.

“Was only taking a look, is all.” His greedy eyes lingered on my ears, and I seriously debated handing them over to Faustus before we left.

“And that’s all you’ll be doing.”

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Drusus grimaced, but Aquila seemed to hold enough power over him for him to stop.

Deciding to act like a sheepish and scared rich kid who had never left his hometown before and was nervous around strangers, I asked, “Umm…. Faust can come with me, right? Since he’s my bodyguard and everything….”

Nero chucked, his voice a dark, evil thing that sent goosebumps up my spine. He patted me on the head with a condescending hand and said, “Don’t worry, boy. We’ll keep you safe from any miscreants.”

Other miscreants, I think you meant.

Drusus explained to Faust, “It’s not really safe for any non-chimera candidates to come with us, see. The mage doesn’t like it.”

Sure.

Faustus protested, “I don’t get paid if he doesn’t return.”

Nero and Drusus laughed, outstretching their claws. Nero moved to sling an arm over my shoulder, his scales rubbing painfully against my skin. Goosebumps and raised hairs followed in the patch of his touch, and I nearly shivered. “You won’t get paid if you’re dead.” That was a clear threat if I’d ever heard one. “Don’t worry; we won’t let anything happen to the young master.” His breath smelled of rotting fish, and I had to swallow a gag.

“I understand.” Faust shot me what I thought was supposed to be a comforting false smile, but it just came across as false. “You’ll be in good hands.”

I wouldn't have believed him even if I were a spoiled merchant’s son. I plastered on my best fake smile and turned to Nero’s face, which was still inches from mine. It required almost all of my willpower not to let my disgust show on my face. “Thank you in advance.”

My smile had some effect on him as the weight of his arm on my shoulders suddenly vanished.

“The next shipment heads out tomorrow morning, around dawn,” Drusus said, facing Aquila. “We’ll bring him out a few hours before then to ensure he makes it safely onto the ship. Others will take it from there.”

“Thank you.” Her words were gracious, her tone everything but.

Nero shot me a toothy grin, showing off his fangs. “Until then, young master.”

I widened the smile still plastered to my face. “See you tomorrow.”

Augustus moved to show them the way out. “We can show ourselves out,” Drusus said.

“No need to strain yourself.” Nero agreed. Augustus let them leave without complaint, watching them with unreadable eyes.

Once he was sure they were out of earshot, Augustus cursed. Aquila didn’t bother reprimanding him, a frown crossing her face. She moved around to my side, bending down until she was at eye level, my head following her movements.

“I was unaware of their attitude towards humans. If they have acted like this before, no one has alerted me.”

From across the room, Augustus scoffed. “You only would have been alerted if they acted like this to a chimera. Most wouldn’t care if they saw it happening to a human.”

Aquila sucked her breath in through her teeth as she stood. “We were all human once.”

“I know..”

It really was incredibly lucky that Augustus had been the one we’d encountered in the woods. And not one of the many who hated humans.

Faustus moved around the table to stand on my other side. I leaned against the chair to look up at him, wincing as I discovered new cuts on the back of my neck. “Are you okay?”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “I’m fine.” They hadn’t done anything or said anything particularly worrying or unexpected. Still, my thoughts didn’t dispel the terror that had taken root in my bones.

Over my head, Faust and Aquila exchanged ‘I don’t believe him’ glances.

Realizing my lies weren’t working on me, much less them, I amended, “There’s nothing we can do about it for now. I have to destroy the gem and get my hands on those books.” I pictured the bookshelves lining the walls in my study. The only thing that mattered was getting home.

No one protested because they knew I was right. This was bigger than my minor discomfort.

“They can’t just kill you. Even they wouldn’t dare to move against Aquila yet.” Augustus said confidently. “Especially since they think you have a personal connection with her.”

Some tension bled from my shoulders at the confidence in his statement. “Thank you.”

“It’s the truth.”

Faust placed a calming hand on my shoulder. “We’ll stay as close as we can.”

I’d felt exposed earlier, as Nero and Drusus were evaluating me, and I felt exposed in a different way now. Vulnerable in ways I hadn’t allowed myself to feel since middle school. Aquila, Faust, and even Augustus remained comforting presences, and unused to that kind of attention, my face warmed.

There was a difference, I could tell, between how people treated each other here and how they had back home. Concern felt much more real here, and the attention from others felt encompassing and warm in a way that even time with my family did not. Perhaps back home, I’d lived behind a wall of written words and had no such barriers here. Or perhaps there were more differences between connections in a story and reality than I’d realized.

I felt unjudged, but a very large part of me rebelled at the idea they would think of me as vulnerable.

I stood up, turning away from them. “Thank you,” I said sincerely, “but I’ll be fine.” And really, I would be. So long as I could get back home, I’d do anything. If that meant facing two chimeras with serious serial killer vibes, then so be it.