The Last Goddess

Chapter One Hundred Fifty-Four: Jealous

Aryan

The pouty expression on Samara's face made me bite my tongue. I never had the urge to laugh so hard as I witnessed the way she dragged her feet while we followed Thea through downtown Pneuma. If I didn't know her to be a generally welcoming person, I might think she didn't care for Thea.

Is it because she attacked me? I wondered.

"Hey," I spoke low, drawing her attention. "What's wrong with you?"

Samara's brows pulled together ever so slightly. Her cheeks reddened a bit, and I could feel a hint of embarrassment roll off her. "I don't know what you mean."

"What are you pissed at Thea for?" I countered with a raised brow and teasing smirk. "She was just playing around. It was a thing we used to do." I shrugged.

"You used to randomly make out?" she mumbled under her breath, but I still caught it. Or rather, she caught me by surprise.

Wait... I thought back to Thea tackling me. I completely forgot she did that! I wanted to slam my face against my palm. I barely even registered that as a kiss. Thea was always trying to pull something in the past. I didn't even consider it something to be bothered by. She liked to pull the occasional prank.

"What? No." I scoffed. "Thea always used to do dumb shit. That wasn't a..." I trailed off, recalling the flare of jealousy that went through Samara when she spelled Thea off me.

Swiftly, I put myself in front of Samara. She stopped, glancing up at me with her jade-green eyes in surprise. Samara rose up on her tiptoes for a moment to look past my shoulder—I presume to see how far ahead our guide was. She seemed even more puzzled as she said, "We are going to lose sight of her if we do not—"

"Are you jealous?" The words flowed out so naturally in anticipation.

Her mouth dropped and her eyes widened a touch. "Of course not." Samara refused to look at me.

I tilted her head up, forcing her to look at me and chuckled. "Gods, you are, aren't you?"

A part of me was kind of thrilled by the prospect. Even if Samara denied it 'til the end of time, something about that was strangely endearing. However, she didn't even try to refute me. In fact, she didn't say anything for a solid minute. I tried to feel her emotions, but they were muted.

She hooked her fingers around the wrist that held her in place. Gently, she pulled my hand away. Her touch was so light it tickled my skin. I leaned a little closer.

"Don't be." I said with a lopsided grin. "Thea's an old comrade. She's a chimera too." I mentioned, knowing that would catch her attention.

Samara blinked as she recognized the term. "Like Ngozi?"

"Mhmm." I nodded, pulling away. "But a different kind. She's half-dragon and half-human."

My green-eyed goddess appeared thoughtful. "I see... So that's why her scales looked peculiar."

"HEY!" Thea said obnoxiously from the distance. "HURRY UP!"

I flipped her off and she grinned, returning the kindness as she waited for us up ahead. "I swear, I'm gonna smack that girl upside her head if she draws attention to us one more time." I watched, but no one seemed to care about Thea's antics. Maybe they were used to it.

I wonder how long she's stuck around here. As I mulled it over, I found myself both proud and irritated that Thea was so stable now. She used to be a wild thing. I was the only one that could reign her in back then.

"So, how do you know her?" Samara asked, drawing my focus once more.

"Oh, that." I placed both hands on top of my head, stretching a bit. "We used to train together back in Firefall. Or rather, I took her under my wing. Neri didn't care if you were a chimera. A dragon was a dragon in her eyes. But Thea wasn't a pure dragon, so she was often shunned and considered weaker than the others." I paused, recalling my recent dreams. "She used to get into all kinds of trouble." I smirked, remembering some of her shenanigans. "And she always said she was going to get the jump on me one day. It was annoying."

"But I finally succeeded!" Thea's expression lit up with amusement as she punched me in the arm.

I smacked the back of her head.

"Owwwwww!!" she glared at me, but there were no hard feelings behind it as we approached a white brick house. "Did you have to hit me that hard, Aryan?"

"I don't know. Do you have to yell every five seconds?" I snapped back. "Besides, you've gotten a little lax, haven't you?"

Thea's mouth twisted up after my mini scolding. "Whatever. My bad." She grumbled, opening the door, and walking in. "Ari! I'm home!"

Samara giggled at our interaction—at least she was starting to lighten up a bit. Though, if she thinks our previous conversation was over, she was sorely mistaken—but when I silently rebuked her encouragement to Thea's nonsense, she tried to snuff it out, but it came out puffy.

Meanwhile, from around the corner of the narrow hallway we entered, popped the head of woman. All I could make out was the woman's round lenses and her light brown hair that was placed on top of her head in a large bun. She blinked in surprise several times before we could see all of her. She wore a very dirty apron that held a variety of stains as her hands wielded a mortar and pestle, respectively.

"Thea," she watched us wearily. "Who are these guests you brought home?"

The chimera walked over to the woman and gave her a peck on the lips. "Babe, look!" Thea gestured enthusiastically. "This is my old friend, Aryan, and his companion, Samara."

"Hold on a second." Ari's callused hands froze when she heard Samara's name. The mortal took a step towards her, and I narrowed my gaze sharply. "Aren't you the one everyone's looking for? That cursed one?"

I growled, but Thea beat me to it. "Ari, we need to help them! I sorta... maybe... blew their incognito cover..."

We followed Thea's partner to the kitchen. After a moment of thought, she finally put down her concoction, dusting off her hands as she said suspiciously, "And how exactly did you do that?"

"By kinda... sorta... tackling Aryan in the center of town and causing a loud scene." The chimera refused to look the human in the eye for a second. "But I had to! When was I ever gonna get the chance to sneak up on Aryan again!?"

Ari glanced over at Samara. She seemed more curious than anything else. In fact, this may be one of the most levelheaded mortals I've ever seen. There was no expression of fright, and no stance indicating she would take off. She was simply evaluating.

"What are you doing?" Samara questioned Ari as she wandered around the kitchen.

"I'm a healer. So, I'm make medicine. I often get called on in town when someone is ailing." she replied, a spark of interest in her eyes.

"Are you making a poultice?" Samara continued.

Ari seemed stunned. "How did you know that?"

"The mustard seed and flour gave you away." Samara suggested, gesturing to her counter and tools. "Can I help?"

Ari stared at Thea in awe for a moment before clearing her throat. "Well, if you know how." She smiled. "I don't see why not. I supposed... they can stay... for now."

Thea elbowed her girlfriend teasingly. "Were you actually gonna say no?"

The mortal rolled her eyes playfully before suggesting, "Perhaps you should catch up with Aryan. Don't worry," Ari acknowledged me. "We won't be going any place. I've got too many orders to fill. Besides, it looks like I may finally have a capable assistant."

I watched Samara as she happily hummed away—already putting together the next step of the poultice. "Fine, but stay out of sight if you can, Samara."

My companion nodded, contently. Before I could say anything more, Thea yanked my arm, trying to move me, but I wouldn't budge.

"Let's go!" she grinned mischievously. "I know exactly what we're gonna do."