Rhuul's Flame by Nulli Para Ora

mouth, and each time the monster breathed, its body pressed into hers. A powerful horror infused him when he saw her hair. The green strands hung down the side of her body, her flames extinguished. His hands trembled as he crawled into the small space and pulled her free. Her eyes were closed, her breathing labored. “Avalea?” She didn’t move.
    He shook her gently, trying his best to shake the hollow feeling growing in his chest and the sickness in his gut. “Come on, Lea. Open your eyes … please.” She winced and parted her lids. The moment he saw her eyes he cradled her closer.
    “Put me down, Rhuul.”
    Her voice was weak, but he held her tight. “You’re hurt. I can’t put you down here.”
    “No, put me down on the ground. I need to heal.” Her voice was quiet and strained, sending jets of cold through his blood.
    He remembered the way she knelt on the ground at the Corri compound. Moving as carefully as he could, he climbed away from the twitching body of the injured monstrosity. When they were clear, he lowered her to the ground and watched as the blood stopped pouring from her mouth. When she tried to sit up, he helped her. “Lea?”
    “I’m fine, Rhuul.”
    He pulled her close and hugged her tight. He felt her melt into him, and his pulse quickened. He was more than a little surprised when vines rose up from the ground and snared him. “What the hell are you doing?”
    She stood and moved toward the keening creature. “I told you to stay away.”
    “That thing was going to eat you. I saved your life!” He pulled at the vines, but he couldn’t move his arms enough to slice through them, so he settled on sawing his way out. “Get away from that thing!”
    “She wasn’t going to hurt me. You have no respect for life at all.” She placed her palms on the chest of the animal. As soon as she made contact, its cries ceased. “This is a calciphex. They are friendly to my tribe. Sometimes calciphex have problems with their young. When they do, they seek us out to heal them. That’s why she brought me here.”
    “If they’re so friendly, why did you tell me to get away?” He watched as the calciphex got to its feet and lifted its wings. It trained its eyes on him and took in a deep breath before exhaling a torrent of flames. In the space of a breath, Avalea was in front of him, her arms wide.
    No flames passed her body. He worked harder to free himself, filled with the need to save her from danger once again, but she never screamed, never showed any signs of discomfort. It was as if she absorbed the flames into herself. “That’s why.” When she turned around, she was the beauty he’d seen minutes before, her hair and eyes aflame. “You’re not Omala. The calciphex would try to kill you, and rightly so, I might add. Now stay back.”
    He watched the creature lift her into its clutches, carrying her gently, like a precious treasure. They landed on a ledge not too far away from him. He could see Avalea as she hugged a sickly calciphex fledgling close. He looked on in awe as it recovered in her arms and flapped around the roost.
    The vines around him disappeared, and she climbed over toward him. “Careful, Lea. Let me come get you.”
    “No, you stay over there. She’s calm now, but that’s her nest. If you get too close, she’ll incinerate you.”
    Seeing her teetering on the edge of a mountain was unsettling, and he paced a short circuit until she was within reach. He extended his arm out to her and when she took his hand, he pulled her close, staring into her eyes. “Never do that again.”
    “If you had listened, this wouldn’t have happened.” She looked at him with narrowed eyes and pursed lips. He wanted to be angry. He wanted to yell at her, but all he felt was relief to see her well. What is it about her?
    He watched her in silence for long moments. He couldn’t fight the feeling inside, nor the voice urging him to move closer. It was pure instinct that drove him to lean in