The Demon Lord And His Hero

Gaia floated out of the chair. "Grifan, you can't be thinking of-"

"Don't let anyone come in." The look he sent her was a warning.

Gaia turned to glare at the sleeping Syryn and then at her brother. Brows turning down in distaste, she exited the room, slamming the door behind her.

Grifan frowned at the rude behaviour of his sister. Still, he was grateful to her for letting him know about the hidden treasure in the palace. Everyone knew there was a human amongst them but not all of them were aware of just what a delicacy the human was.

He curled his tail and lowered himself so that his arms were folded over the edge of the clamshell bed. Grifan touched the healing cut on Syryn's forehead.

"So fragile," he murmured. "Wake up, Syryn."

He smiled when he saw the human's eyes flutter open.

"Hello," he greeted the wary mage.

"Why are you in my room?" Syryn asked the stranger.

"I came to see you." Grifan's hazel eyes pointedly latched onto the wound on his head. "How did that happen, Syryn?"

The mage absent-mindedly touched his forehead. "I think I bumped my head against something." He didn't want to tell a stranger that he had clawed his own forehead.

The merman accepted Syryn's white lie. A change of plans was then made. "Come with me, Syryn. I'll take you to a healer," the merman said in a hypnotic tone.

It seemed like a good idea. Follow Grifan to the healer. But a deeper part of Syryn's consciousness detected a subtle dose of compulsion laced in the merman's words. The moment he realised that, the spell was broken.

"Okay," Syryn forced himself to say despite what he knew. He couldn't let the merman know that he was resisting the compulsion.

Grifan uncurled his tail and floated above Syryn. Taking the mage's hand in his, he led the mage out of the room.

"Ah, Revi and Enka," Grifan greeted the two figures that were heading their way.

Silver blue, Drevin, smiled insincerely at his half brother. "Fan-ia, going somewhere?"

Grifan was younger than Drevin by only a few months but the silver-blue mage liked to remind him who was older. He added the suffix to his name the way elder brothers were wont to do when addressing their younger siblings.

"Lai'Revi," Grifan respectfully replied. "I am taking our honoured guest to a healer."

Enkansh had been watching Syryn from the moment his gaze fell upon the human. He had noticed the wound faster than Drevin had despite the mage's attempt at covering it with his hair. The siren smirked at Syryn with a wickedness that sent a rush of adrenaline coursing through his body. His fight or flight reflexes kicked in. Syryn's chest blossomed with a warmth that spread through his body, imbibing him with a sharp self-awareness that he was powerful.

"Syryn."

The mage broke eye contact with Enkansh to look at the merman who had called his name.

"Did you hurt yourself?" Drevin asked.

"It was an accident," Syryn replied.

"You're more foolish than I thought," Drevin said as he got closer to the mage. He pushed back the loose strands of hair that fell sideways over Syryn's forehead. It exposed the small crescent-shaped gouges that matched the size of his fingernails.

"Is this a human custom that we don't know about?" Drevin asked the siren.

Enkansh made an annoyed chirruping sound. "I don't know. Do you study the customs of the fish you eat?"

"That's not a good comparison," Syryn dryly said to the siren. "And just because humans don't eat sirens, it doesn't mean I'm opposed to sampling some fishman parts." The mage was being impulsive but the words were hot on his tongue, begging to be released. He just had to say them. Something inside him was unwilling to be relegated to the role of prey.

Rather than being put out, the siren looked pleased. Drevin had a thoughtful look on his face while Grifan appeared surprised. Arhak stared at the opposite wall as though he was deaf and mute.

"Syryn, I'll give you some free advice," Grifan said to him. "Look at the sharp teeth he has." The gold merman used his forefinger to tug up the siren's upper lip just a fraction. It revealed shark-like canines that were used to tear into flesh. "You see that?"

Syryn nodded.

"Good. He will eat you if you provoke him."

Enkansh rolled his eyes. "No, I won't." The siren could sense that Syryn wasn't what he seemed to be. He had only gotten a glimpse of the tip of the iceberg.

"That aside, a healer won't be necessary," Drevin said to the younger brother who professed he was taking the human to a healer while heading in a direction that didn't lead to the apothecary. Gaia had dropped him a hint about Grifan's intentions and it had brought Drevin scurrying to Syryn's room.

"Lai'Revi, we can't allow his wound to get infected."

"Fan-ia, I've got a poultice that will disinfect and heal his minor scratches."

The gold merman smiled at his half brother. "You're right. I overreacted."

No longer paying mind to his half brother, Drevin devoted his attention to Syryn. "Enkansh and I were heading to the jellyfish stables. Do you want to accompany us?" The silver-blue merman asked. Syryn was shorter than him so that when he looked up, he could see a thin layer of soft silvery-blue scales below Drevin's jaw.

"You have jellyfish stables?" Syryn knew what a jellyfish was but strangely couldn't recall what it looked like.

"Yes. We rear jellyfish for their poison, their meat, and the big ones as mounts to ride atop when you're feeling lazy to swim."

That was that. Syryn needed a jellyfish.

"Take me with you." The interest in his eyes fed Drevin's enthusiasm. The prince loved jellyfish farming though none of his family members could understand why. Syryn looked so excited by the prospect of seeing jellyfish that it put a smile on the silver-blue mer's face.