The Untold Forest by Elisa Menz (ebook offline reader TXT) 📕

“Hakken...?” She croaked while rubbing her eyes. How long did I sleep? Maeve blinked, adjusting to the brightness while her surroundings took shape. A modest, round cave, lit up by the sunlight coming from a small opening on the wall. She laid on a bed of fresh green leaves, completely alone. Or so she believed because as soon as she sat, a violent roar scared her half to death.

Letting out a scream, Maeve whirled and jumped out of bed to face a young woman firmly tied up with vines against a boulder. Crouched on the ground, she snarled and screamed at her.

Her rapid breathing took a while to slow down, and when she calmed enough to think again, Maeve studied the woman in front of her. A young half-breed, strong and healthy, even though scrawny and covered with dirt. The red and white war paint on her face identified her as a mountain half-breed.

After witnessing the strange behavior of the dying warrior back at the village, Maeve wondered about the nature of their violence. Hakken, Regn, and the others never displayed this kind of pointless aggressiveness. Were the mountain half-breeds affected by some foreign force? This was a chance to learn something important, and since the woman was restrained, she squared her shoulders and stayed put.

Maeve kept an eye on her while she thrashed and screamed. The half-breed woman fought with her bonds and tried to claw at her with raw and raving anger.  She resembled a deranged beast.

But every once in a while, her body would go slack, and barely audible whimpers would replace her snarls before starting to shake and be filled with anger once more.

“What is happening to you?” She sensed the same emotions coming from her in waves; anger, fear, regret. But mostly fear.

She didn’t dare go near her. “I wish you would let me help you.” Without making a sound, a pair of cool arms wrapped around her waist, sending her heart into a frenzy once more.

A cascade of silver hair slid over her shoulder as a mellow voice breathed in her ear. “Good morning, precious.” Maeve shoved the man away, jumping to land dangerously close to the restrained warrior. Before the half-breed tore her eyes off her face, the snake-like man pulled her from harm.

“Careful now, my love. I’m afraid she is not doing all too well.”

Maeve staggered away from his grip and circled the cave, trying to find an opening to escape, or at least stand as far as possible from both of them. “Who are you? Why did you bring me here?”

“Oh, how discourteous of me! Allow me to introduce myself.” The man curtsy and rose with a flamboyant wave. “My name is Astika of the Naga, and I’m your husband.”

Maeve couldn’t sense any kind of malevolence coming from him, nor did he appear to be joking. All things considered, he was the most polite person she had met so far.

But he was clearly out of his mind.

“Listen, Astika... I am glad to meet you, but I’m not your wife, and you need to take me back to my friends.”

“To that dangerous place? No, no, no, my love. I can’t risk your good health.  Not you, and not my other bride, even though she still wants to eat me alive,” he grinned.

Maeve blinked, confused. “Do you mean her? Your bride?”

“Oh, please, darling, do not allow jealousy to upset you. The day before, Astika was walking around, looking for his new brides, when a great army sneaked into the burning village... I reckon it wasn’t burning at the time...” The naga trailed off before shrugging and continuing with his story.

“Everyone screamed, fought, and killed. So rude! Astika found this beautiful creature away from the others, wriggling with pain.” He sent a heavy-hearted glance towards the half-breed.

“Is she wounded?” Maeve inspected her, finding no sign of damage on her body.

“No, not wounded. She was in pain, scrubbing the nasty red dust from her skin. But the dust kept crawling back. It took Astika a lot of effort to make her sleep.”

Maeve pondered on this additional information, supporting her suspicions. The red dust was not only responsible for their extraordinary strength and healing capabilities. It seemed to control their will as well.

After what she witnessed and experienced in the village, the possibility the mountain half-breeds had not gone to war willingly was no longer inconceivable. Maeve moved to face the naga. She had no time to waste. “Astika, I need to leave. Now.”

With a broad, charming smile on his face, Astika walked to her side and leaned over to lift her chin. “My lovely does not understand. Astika must look after his brides. We wait for the night to travel to my palace, yes?”

Before she argued back, the small opening in the cave wall crumbled under the pressure of two mighty hands. Her captor jumped in front of her, shielding her from whoever was trying and succeeding in breaking the rocks. Maeve crouched and covered her head to avoid the pebbles and the dust.

The light poured through the now huge opening, causing Astika to squirm. “Ugh! You, my lord, should learn how to make a more subtle entrance.” The dust settled after a few seconds. Maeve coughed, peeking from behind Astika to the newcomer. Not in her wildest dreams could she have imagined a more breathtaking creature.

The imposing male took a couple of steady steps amidst the rubble. His body resembled that of a stag, far taller and wider, and the torso of a man rested on his front legs.

Is he a centaur? Maeve wondered. But no, centaurs didn’t have antlers. Magnificent antlers of blinding white pearl shone under the sun. The skirt of his tail was different too. Instead of hair, bright feathers cascaded to the ground in a myriad of colors. The fur on his body was black with blue highlights, and those same highlights outlined the muscles of his torso.

The man’s face was the most beautiful she had ever laid eyes