She gave him a small smile.

“But wouldn’t it be safer if both of you were there to protect me?” She quickly turned her head to the Mavka.

“You’ve already done it once. You would do it again, wouldn’t you?”

He held her a little tighter. She is mine to protect.

“Yes, I will help protect Reia human person.”

“He speaks your name?” He nearly growled, his eyes swirling with red, before green, and then back to remain crimson.

Anger. Possessiveness. Jealousy. All these emotions were unpleasant and unwanted.

“The point, Orpheus.” She grabbed one of his horns and started shaking his head. It was the first time she’d ever touched them and he wished she’d do it more often.

“Wouldn’t it be the safest if you had someone else looking

out for me? It’s two birds, one stone. I get to see the Demon village, and you get to help him.”

“But I don’t want to help him.”

He was rather angry he was here.

“That’s not very nice.”

“I am Mavka,” he chuckled mockingly. “When have we been known to be nice?”

“You are usually,” she argued, shoving at his chest to get away from his arms. “I thought you wanted to make me happy.”

“Yes, always, but I will not take you there yet.”

“But you took the other human there.”

“That was different.”

He’d been stupid, and him taking that woman there had begun the path of him losing her.

“Fine,” she snapped before folding her arms across her chest. “Then go without me, but I want you to help him.”

“But I already told you I don’t want to help him, and I don’t want to leave you alone here since you don’t know how to stay inside.”

“What if I promise I will?”

He shook his head. “It is a long journey, and I do not trust that you will.”

“You don’t trust me?” She waved her hands to the side, gesturing towards the ground with all her fingers pointing downwards. “I promised to stay and here I am, keeping my promise.”

“I trusted you in this, to stay,” he answered. He’d been worried the entire time, but he’d chosen to have faith in her, only to discover she’d gotten injured. “But you are never where you are supposed to be.”

She was always outside when he told her not to be when he wasn’t around. She was always near the salt circle when he’d told her to stay away from it. She’d even gotten between him and this very Mavka when he’d warned her to move.

“You will come outside even if you promise not to. You will

—” Before he could finish speaking, she walked past him to go up the steps with heavy footsteps.

Her fists were clenched beside her, her back rigid in posture with her teeth gritted. Even her lips were pressed tight together.

He’d never seen these things from her before.

“Reia?”

He turned to watch her, beginning to stand to follow. He flinched back when she stared at him straight in his glowing orbs, and then slammed the door shut.

Is she upset with me? He felt like she was upset with him.

He swiftly turned his head to the Mavka and snapped his jaws at him to make a sharp clipping sound.

“This is your fault.”

“What did I do wrong? I am not the one who said no.” He titled his head at him. “I already asked her to come to the Demon village with me.”

“You did what?!” he roared with his orbs flashing red.

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With the sound of crackling from the remaining embers of the fire that had been lit to warm Reia, Orpheus paced in the living room area. The dull light did little to illuminate the house since most of the candles had been extinguished.

She was asleep now, bathed, fed, safe, but Orpheus was restless.

She will not speak to me. Ever since she’d stormed inside earlier, Reia refused to talk to him unless absolutely necessary.

When he came inside to place the deer on the table for her, she didn’t thank him, didn’t smile, didn’t even look towards him. All she said was that she’d throw what she didn’t want outside for them to eat when she was done.

Then she’d grabbed a blade, and Orpheus had left to make sure he and the Mavka were far enough away inside the salt circle that the scent of its blood wasn’t too overwhelming.

He’d had to distract the Mavka, whose snout kept turning towards the house, by grabbing him around his nose so all he could smell was him. Orpheus had better control over his will power as long as he wasn’t too close to the source.

Orpheus told him to hold his breath when the door was opening and to wait until she was finished dumping what she didn’t want. She needed to leave the protections of the

house, and he’d been worried she would come to harm if he hadn’t been able to control him.

Then Orpheus let him have it all. He didn’t need it like the injured Mavka did.

When everything was eaten and the Mavka had calmed from his eating frenzy – Orpheus watched him attack the barrier for Reia but did nothing because he knew she was protected within, although it did make his hackles rise – he’d called out to her about the beehive.

She told him to place it on the table inside like he had with the deer. He’d begun to grow concerned because she was glaring at him, her lips thinned, and her eyebrows drawn together tightly. Reia hadn’t glared at him since the beginning.