Infatuation of a Merman

Chapter 14-Tightening the Noose

He brought out a parchment from within his coat pocket. "Now, I only need you to sign and place a drop of blood here, here and here."

I tentatively took the parchment from his hand and briefly read it over. It took a while to keep my thoughts from straying to Kiraize's words, but eventually I understood the gist of the contract. It was a document stating that I agreed to not press charges, and in return they would compensate me with 500k ketha. It was a decent amount of money. And as one who didn't want to deal with the court again, it was a good deal.

So I signed the parchment with the pen he provided and placed a drop of blood for further identification. The man smiled as he retrieved his copy of the deal and let me keep mine.

Then, they brought us to the exit of the lamia den. Kiraize ghosted my steps the entire time, silently following close behind like a specter. But for once his presence made me feel safe, especially if what he said was true.

A trickle of sunlight signaled the end of the tunnel of the lamia den. The sight of Julian pacing greeted my eyes upon exiting. His anxious steps played a quick and erratic beat on the ground, while his face was as pale as fresh snow. Then, he looked our way. When his eyes caught my figure, he halted his pacing and some color entered his cheeks.

"Nyx!" Julian jogged over. "Are you okay? Did the Cerberus hurt you anywhere?"

He reached his hand out, and I automatically took a step back. My back touched Kiraize, but I didn't move away.

Julian stopped, before recovering his hand. "Sorry, I was just worried about your condition."

"I'm good." I lied. But physically I was fine, so it was more of a half-truth. "I'm going home."

"I'll accompany you," Julian announced.

We started walking when Kiraize wrote something down.

'Where is the cat?'

I stared long and hard at the sentence, trying to piece together why Kiraize would care about a cat.

'The silver haired one,' he elaborated.

It clicked. He was talking about Pietra. It was then that I finally noticed that she wasn't nearby. Vaguely, some incensed, vengeful part of myself contemplated abandoning her. If she wasn't with Gabriella or home within a day since she left, she would be punished as per her slave contract. So it wasn't like I needed to supervise her. But if she were to walk home, it would take quite a while.

Sadly, the option of abandoning her ceased to exist as she rounded the corner. Her steps were lazy and head slightly drooped, as if she were too tired to hold herself up. A deep red flush covered her face while her breaths came out in short pants. It was quite a surprise to see her so exhausted. Her beastman status gave her superior physical capabilities compared to normal humans.

Pietra must have seen my astonishment, because she hid her panting and scowled.

"Julian runs really fast," she said, as if justifying her exhaustion.

She moved toward Julian. But he took the exact same number of steps away from her. Instead, he looked in my direction.

"Let's go," he said, walking toward the exit.

I nodded, just wanting to leave. I had enough excitement for today.

***

Running multiple situations through my mind, I wondered if there was a nice way of telling someone to get out of my house.

Julian lounged on the couch with his legs crossed. It was a sight I was familiar with, but for once I did not welcome it.

With my hands on my lap, I sat on the couch across from him. Kiraize had decided to explore the house or some other activity that caused him to leave my side. And I had to squash that scared part of myself that wanted Kiraize sitting beside me, as if the closer he was, the safer I was.