Chapter 153: Chapter 153

DAHLIA:

“Dahlia!”

I gasped as my eyes opened wildly. Did I really hear that correctly? It sounded like Tristan’s voice…

I cupped my throbbing forehead. Of course it couldn’t be him… It was only a dream…

“Samalah, you had a nightmare again,” I heard a youngish voice speak beside me. It was followed by a hug against my side.

I smiled. By now, I was so used to Efiro’s hugs that it didn’t feel strange to me at all. Rather, this little one’s affection was making me look forward to the day I would meet my own child in my arms…

It has been less than a day when we entered Camdress, and the first thing that Thesla had done for me was to locate the house of the healer in the small, tight-knit community.

“What is it,” I heard an old man’s voice speak behind a wooden door.

“Sir Morland, sorry for troubling you at this hour… I brought a guest.”

I wasn’t expecting it, but the healer before me was also a dragon…

And here I was thinking that Camdress was an old-fashioned village. It turned out though that they were more liberal here than in the Capital.

Later on, I came to learn that Camdress was a village who welcomed creatures of all sorts regardless of clans and races. It was a great relief especially since Samalah’s features were obviously that of a hybrid.

“Lady, how long has it been since you discovered that you are of child?”

“Some weeks ago... Almost a month,” I said. I was nervous as hell as Sir Morland checked my baby’s condition. “A few days ago, I-I bled a lot and had almost lost him… Is the child alright?...”

Sir Morland’s fatherly face was very serious. “Hmm, I think the child is smaller than usual. His energy is also very weak,” he said as he ran a magical rod against my belly.

“Don’t fret so much, however… I think it was only because you had been under a lot of stress. If you rest a lot and eat right, your baby will grow properly and become stronger, I’m sure.”

“Thank you,” I said as I burst out crying. It was such a relief to hear that my child will be alright after what we have gone through.

Perhaps it was because Tristan was watching over the two of us now from the Animal Spirit World…

“Is Samalah’s baby going to be a boy or a girl,” Efiro asked. He refused when Sir Morland ask that he leave the examination room during my consultation. He said that my baby needed a guard, and he will be just that.

I finally conceded when he pleaded with tears in his eyes to let him stay.

“It’s too early to tell, little one,” Sir Morland remarked.

“Which kind of baby do you want, Efiro,” I asked as I sat and fixed my clothes after Sir Morland’s examination.

“Umm, I wish it’s a girl that looks like Samalah. I think she will really be beautiful!”

“You think so?”

“I know so,” Efiro said, giving me a hug as I stood gently from the examination bed.

“How about you, do you want a boy or a girl,” he asked back.

“Hmm, I hope it’s a boy, but a girl would be fine as well as long as the baby is healthy…”

Whether my baby is born a boy or a girl, I hope the child takes on Tristan’s looks… My baby would be the only remnant left by my precious mate… The mate who still tried to rescue me even after knowing that I was the reason why his mother lost her life…

It turned out that Efiro and his father, Thesla, were regulars at this place. The father and son eagerly welcomed me into a house they rented and normally stayed in when they were in town.

Sir Morland told me I needed plenty of rest and ample nutrition, and Thesla said their house could help me get those.

“This house belongs to Efiro’s mother. You can stay here as long as you like at least until your baby is born,” Thesla said.

“No… I couldn’t possibly burden you for that long,” I said, really embarrassed but at the same time touched by his kindness.

“It’s alright. If Karessa was alive, I’m sure she would have insisted that you stay here.”

“Karessa - is she…”

“My wife, yes… She died two years ago when the slave traders came here…”

“Slave traders?...”

“Well, it might not be apparent to you, Miss Samalah, but Camdress is not like any other town. This was actually supposed to be a werewolf-only town. It is currently part of the Kingdom of Talandor, which imposes a law against hybrids, but as you may have guessed, this town does not really believe in that rule… In fact, this whole town is totally in opposition of it, and we are on the midst of a resistance…”

“A-A resistance?”

Thesla nodded. “We are going to petition to the king to free us from the law against hybrids. We cannot possibly live with hatred for other races. My Karessa and I are proofs of that. She was a werewolf while I am a dragon, and our race never became a hindrance for our love…”

My eyes must have rounded up in surprise that Thesla began to laugh softly. “I think I could guess what you are thinking, so let me answer it for you… Yes, Efiro is a hybrid. He is both a werewolf and a dragon, and this village welcomes hybrids of all sorts… In fact, this whole village is teeming with creatures from every clan.”

A village that welcomes hybrids! If the real Samalah could only hear this, I think she would really be overjoyed.

“Is that the reason why you helped me? Because you knew I was a hybrid?...”

Thesla smiled. “Seeing you in the woods, I could only guess that you had been in a tight spot yourself... Did it have something to do with your race?”

“Uh, well…” Although Thesla and his son were wonderful people, I don’t know if it was safe for me to tell them what had actually happened back in the woods. The fact that I am carrying a spirit stone is still a dangerous thing even in an open village like Camdress.

“It’s alright, Miss Samalah. All of us have pasts that we do not wish to go back too… Please take your time to think about my offer of you staying. Efiro and I would soon leave to travel, and we might not be here again in another three months. You can use this house comfortably while you think of a plan for you and your baby.”

“T-Thank you,” I said, bowing down in real gratitude to this man before me.

“Yes, Miss Samalah. I really want to see your baby too,” Efiro said as he joined us in the kitchen table.

“Alright… I’ll think about it.”

I have stayed with Efiro and Thesla since then. I have my own room, but little Efiro would sneak in at night to come sleep beside me. It was a good thing for he always soothed me when I have nightmares…

Tonight was the third night in a row that I was roused in my sleep by Tristan’s voice in my dream.

Why was I seeing him? Was he in pain? Was he suffering in the afterlife?

‘Eva, have you still not seen Tristan in the Animal Spirit World?’

Eva shook her head against me. After switching bodies with Samalah, the barrier between Eva and I thickened. Although I could sense and see her, we could not converse. We can only make signs to understand each other’s thoughts…

I knew Eva was trying desperately to see Arthur and Albus in the Animal Spirit World. If there was one entity beside me who missed our mate, it would undoubtedly be my wolf, who looked like she would die anytime of a heartbreak since Tristan died…

Just then, I heard a blood-curling scream.

“Dahlia!”

My heart stopped. I heard Tristan’s voice again, and this time, I was positive that it didn’t come from inside my head!