Monster Hunter Conquest Collection #1 by Mandoline Creme Page B

an odd, deep
timbre for such a young face. “I didn't mean to surprise you.”
    Siena
didn't respond at first, her fingers clutching the hilt of her sword
as she eyed the man up and down, trying to assess his intent. He was
taller than her, which was no surprise, as she was rather short. The
angular turn of his jaw gave him a sharp visage, which his high
forehead and tightly wound back hair didn't help. The strands were
hanging over one shoulder in a ponytail, the length extending down to
his hip, the color a rich ebony. Dressed in loose robes of opal, she
could see no obvious weapons, and his long fingered hands were
extended palm up as if to further that assumption.
    “ ...Who
are you, is this your fire?” She finally asked, hard eyes
narrowed, though she let her grip fall from her blade.
    He
stepped closer, moving with an odd grace she had seen in no one
before. “Ah, you can call me Vylanthe. That is, indeed, my
fire. Who are you, though?” His head tilted, hair shifting
gently.
    While
she was still uneasy, she untensed her shoulders and relaxed her
hands, trying to offer a small smile to the dark haired man. She
noted there was something about his eyes that was throwing her off,
but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. “Sorry, I should
have introduced myself first. I'm Siena Rovan, a member of the
Monster Hunters Guild.”
    Her
last words were spoken with pride, and her smile became genuine.
    Vylanthe
seemed to hold still a moment, before he drew forward until he was
only a few feet way. “Oh, Monster Hunters? Interesting, and
what were you doing out here, then?”
    The
girl adjusted her stance, rocking her hip to the side and clasping
her waist, shoulders rising in a shrug as she released a dramatic
huff of air. “Well, to be honest, I was stalking something that
I was told was in this area. I stumbled on your fire it seems
instead, though.”
    The
tall man inclined his head, a curl of a grin inching along his face.
For a moment, she thought his lips were oddly wide. His voice burned
low as an ember. “I see. What were you hunting, sweet girl?”
    The
way he referred to her made her flinch, and she didn't hide her scowl
as she folded her arms in displeasure. “I'm no 'girl,' thanks.
I'm a Hunter, and you should respect that. There are dangerous things
around, and it's my job to get rid of them.”
    He
clicked his tongue and chuckled, but his postured seemed to relax as
he drawled his words. “Your job, well, that's an interesting
way to view it. I'll be honest, I don't think you look too dangerous,
and you never answered me. What are you hunting?”
    Siena
furrowed her brow, turning on a heel to face away from the man. He
was clearly rude, she felt, and wasting her time now. “I'm very
dangerous, all have you know. I'm brave enough to hunt a dragon,
after all. If it was here, well, it'd be dead by now, and you'd be
thanking me for saving your life.” Smirking, she closed her
eyes to let that hang in the air, feeling she must have impressed him
now with her obvious arrogance.
    When
he responded, his voice was low and hot, whispers of ash and steamy
air.
    “ Oh,
child, but 'it' is here.”
    The
blonde felt the foreboding tone, the heavy air, even before she could
make herself turn enough to flash a stare full of shock and anxiety
over her shoulder. The sight before her took the voice from her
throat.
    The
man who had called himself Vylanthe was gone, and in his place was a
beast as large as a barn, and black as pitch. Its scales caught the
light of the fire, reflecting red and gold on their shiny surface.
Hulking, reptilian, the slim snout was leveled at her, its gaze
intense and petrifying as it focused on her. The orbs were acid
yellow, and when she was faintly surprised she couldn't see herself
in their wide surfaces, she realized what it was about the man's eyes
she had found odd.
    They
didn't catch the light, they absorbed it, almost flat as stone.
    When
it spread its wings, the sky was blocked by