(Amaia)
"5 gold coins," the man with a crooked tooth says as I dump the head on his wooden counter.
"5? Do you know how long it took for me to kill it? Even the brain is intact." I cross my arms and try to argue with him.
The sun mercilessly burns my arms. The heat is killing today and my injured shoulder sends jolts of pain through me. And don't get me started on the stench.
His ugly smile widens, and the dirty hands shift to inspect the decapitated head once again.
"The Enforcers would love to see and ask questions, pretty thing." He winks at me and I want to scratch his dirty face. "6 is my last offer. Take or leave."
Bastard.
No one wants to make enemies with the Enforcers, they hold celebrity status in this dying world.
I had places to be and my stomach was growling.
"Fine," I extend my hand, and he places 6 gold coins in my palm.
Curling it up, I pocket the coins in the small pouch that dangles from my belt.
The next destination is the Palace of Huradis.
"Miss, anything. My family and I haven't eaten in days." A small boy about the age of 6 clings to my breeches. His dirt and snout-streaked face is a picture of innocence and poverty.
My heart melts and I forget the rumbling of my stomach. Slowly smiling at the boy, I remove my pouch and hand it to him.
His face brightens with so many emotions as he lets go of my leg.
"Thank you, thank you." He skips off.
With satisfaction, I watch him for a few seconds and then head off towards my destination.
The guards halt me as I approach the palace gates. Their crisp and clean uniforms are in contradiction to the people on the streets.
"State your business, lassie."
"I want to meet with King Huradis for the Orion Trials," I say and they size me up before bursting out laughing.
"Yeah! You will most likely fit in his harem."
My blood boils over in my veins but I stay quiet, letting them have their laugh.
"Can you inform him? I know the trials are open. I just need his signature," I ask, a tad irritated.
I never understood why such a man has been tasked with selecting human candidates.
"Follow me." The bulky one with a head so large as if a watermelon had been fitted on it instructs.
The door opens and we pass through corridors decorated with candelabras, exotic paintings and weapons.
He leads me to a special chamber, throwing open the golden door with red accents and designs.
I enter, carefully.
Isn't he supposed to take permission?
What welcomes me leaves me not only stunned but also a tad embarrassed. It's like walking inside an orgy, with limbs tangled and bodies writhing against each other draped in minimal silk and gold ornaments.
Heat creeps into my cheeks as I watch entangled bodies making love to each other and in the centre of them all sits King Huradis.
The door closes behind me.
Gold-streaked black hair with beads woven at the ends that dance on his ripped shoulders. Enchanting sage-shaded eyes with gold flecks dancing in them, they slowly lift to watch me.
Exotic, alluring and striking.
The man is a masterpiece and I understand what the hype is all about.
His smooth lips curl into a smile as one of his wives swipes her tongue along his long, corded neck.
The soft music from the harp and harmonica vibrates the air, thrilling the rhythm with which the bodies curl and dance around him.
Enchanted and mesmerised. I can't peel my eyes off the man, and he knows it.
There is magic in the air, I can feel it, sense it on my skin. My body begins to turn hot just by watching them.
He picks up a gold chalice with gems embedded in it. Using slow torturous movements, the man sips from the rim.
"Come closer, Black Beauty." He ushers me with his hand and I feel this pull I can't fight.
My feet move on their own as I find myself moving towards him.
Others make way for me, letting me pass.
Once I am within his reach, he lazily extends his hand and grasps my wrist, slowly pulling me into his lap.
My bottom hits his naked thigh, and the smell of musk and booze hits me in abundance, mingled with the scent of lust and sex.
He watches me, extending his hand, the fingers touch my face, slowly as if caressing it.
Heady, my head feels dizzy and yet I can't take my eyes off him.
Others dance around him, some lie on his feet, and a few touch his body.
"What's your name, darling?" He asks in the sweetest of whispers. Sugar and spice seemed to have combined on his tongue.
"...Amaia." I gasp as his hand crawls around my waist and squeezes.
"Why are you here? Amaia," He asks, his fingers inches towards my lips.
Sweet, why was his voice so sweet and his lips so tempting?
Why was I here? I think deeply and then remember.
"I want to join the Orion Academy. Let me be one of the recruits this year."
He cocks a brow at my request.
"Such a pretty little thing should remain by my side instead of going to fight monsters. That's a scary place to be." He extends the chalice towards me, letting the cold rim of the metallic container touch my lips. "Take a sip, feel at ease."
He tilts it letting the red liquid pour down my throat. It's sweet and tangy at the same time, refreshing too after the sweltering heat of the outside.
"What a pretty little darling you are. Why not stay with me and I will show you a world of pleasures." He caresses my thigh, his hand slowly slipping up and resting between my legs.
That smile of his is so enchanting like watching the morning frost melt away under the soft rays of the sun.
I find myself nodding again as he offers me another sip and I take it. The liquid runs down my throat causing an uneasy sensation down into my gut.
Something is wrong; I have never felt this way before.
Is this an illusion?
His handsome face with features carved from a sharp object looms near me. Those supple lips hover above mine, before he claims them.
Soft and sensual, he presses them onto mine with a feverish need. A burn goes through me when his hand intertwines with my hair and holds me to him.
I feel like melting into his arms, this sensation and yet at the back of my mind a small voice screams.
The door is thrown open and someone meanders inside.
The air shifts, becoming charged with electric currents that carry their way to me.
The scent of old books and fresh pine hits me like an avalanche. Contrasting scents and yet mingled and balanced into one. Clean and timeless.
Instantly I break free and turn only to be left dazzled by the man standing in the doorway with a golden halo surrounding him.
The golden halo which has a sacred meaning…
To say I have seen a man like him before would be a false statement.
I gawk at him, without blinking. Every neuron in my body seems to have become hypercharged, the synapses must have tripled in size as my pupils dilate and I take him in.
My lungs burn from the effort of trying to breathe in his scent. Every fucking pore on my body seems to have become alive as sweat pours out of me.
I tremble but couldn't take my eyes off of him and then he speaks, a single crease decorating his forehead. His voice rumbles out, clashing against my heart.
"I am here for the girl who killed the Barzaker."