Operation Honey Trap vs The Emperor of the Apocalypse-Chapter 213: Into My Arms

[Suggested song for this Chapter – Into My Arms, Nick Cave]

Miro stayed right where he was, scenting the air with his flickering tongue, his head held high as though in greeting.

Delphi blinked a few more times and came to the best guess that the familiar profile of the lone man on the horse... was Alton.

She could finally let go of the desperate need to stay awake in order to stay alive.

Her head slumped down onto Miro’s scaly neck, and she closed her tired eyes for a brief moment of respite; the first she had had since she handed herself in at the Deloraine Barracks.

Miro used his nose to hold Delphi in place on his back until Alton could reach them.

"Delphi!" he shouted, leaping from his horse on the fly and running over to her.

His heart was in his mouth as he saw her lying slumped like that with Miro holding her up. Was she alive? Was she injured?

He pulled her down from the dragon’s back, taking her into his arms and running with her into the shade of a nearby tree, where he sat down, cradling her, and desperately ran his eyes over her body.

At a quick glance there were no obvious signs of injury, and she was breathing deeply. His racing heart slowed slightly, as his desperate panic eased.

"Delphi? Delphi?" he spoke more quietly this time, but she didn’t stir in his arms.

She was shivering violently, so he quickly rose and carried her across to his horse so he could pull some warm clothes from his pack.

It was hard going with one hand while carrying her, but he wasn’t willing to put her down yet, not even for a second.

He carried her back to the patch of scrub, but this time only for privacy. Some sunlight would do her good as she warmed back up.

"I’m going to dress you in something cosy, babygirl, don’t worry, you’ll be warm as toast in a minute."

He went to strip off her sodden outfit and he felt his anger flare as he took it in properly for the first time.

A tiny black bustier top that she was spilling out of, and a belt that held up a belly dancer-style skirt that only just covered her ass and girly bits, a garter around one thigh. As he undid the belt he was disgusted to see she wore no underwear, and he felt his rage at his Uncle building.

What had he done to her? Had he raped her in the short time she had been back at the palace? How broken would she be when she awoke?

Just because her body wasn’t broken didn’t mean that her mind was undamaged.

He struggled to contain his burning anger. His outrage was of no use to Delphi, and right now she needed him. He needed to focus on her and helping her recover from whatever horrific experience she had just been through.

Though there was no helping the flames of jealousy that licked at his mind and refused to be tamed by rational thought.

He removed the outfit that the Emperor had put her in, which was barely fit for a prostitute to wear on the job, throwing it as far as he could fling it, and drying her down gently with a soft t-shirt. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

He re-dressed her in her military uniform, adding a sweatshirt for good measure, though the day was warm enough. Then he curled her into his arms, wrapping her in a bear hug so he could give her as much of his body heat as possible. As he held her, he rocked her gently.

"I’ve got you, babygirl. Stop shivering now. I’ve got you, you’re okay, you’re safe now," he crooned.

"Why did you have to go and do a stupid thing like that?" he whispered in her ear. "Do you know how many years off my life this stunt of yours has taken? I haven’t slept for a moment since I realised you were missing."

He stroked her cheek gently, leaning down and kissing it.

"Why couldn’t you just trust me? We could have worked on a plan together to save the Clan. Did you think I would leave them all to die?"

He was hurt by her independence when he wanted her to rely on him.

"How can I let you out of my sight for a minute after this? Let me protect you, Delphi, please," he pleaded with the sleeping girl. "That’s my job."

"Look at how you were dressed. What has that evil bastard done to you? You’re not invincible you know, Delphi. There’s only so much punishment one person can take!" his voice hitched.

"You have no idea how scared I was while you were gone. I was terrified that he would kill you... And there are things worse than death that I know my Uncle is capable of. You think you know him, but you don’t know the depths of his depravity, Delphi."

He didn’t know why he felt the need to reason with a sleeping woman, but the words he’d wanted to say to her for these past few days came tumbling out without thought or control.

"And he would have subjected you to the worst he can muster after you defied him like you did. He probably already started that process," his mind was filled with all of the terrible possibilities that his woman might have been subjected to already.

She must have been subjected to something pretty awful to be passed out in his arms now. There’s no way that escape and swim on Miro alone had done this to her.

His beautiful, strong, wilful, stubborn girl...

There was no time for them to dally here. He needed to get her up to Woolnorth and onto a boat to King Island as soon as possible.

The Emperor would tear the Island apart looking for her.

The best case scenario was that she had been seen swimming into the harbour and was presumed to have drowned or been eaten by tubiàn.

Knowing his Uncle, he would leave no stone unturned.

Alton picked Delphi up and carried her over to his dragon, Maback.

Miro appeared in front of him, standing between him and Maback, clearly laying claim to the honour of carrying Delphi.

"Alright Miro, but you’ll be carrying me as well," he looked the arrogant dragon in the eye.

The beast generally answered to no one but Delphi.

Miro closed and opened his eyes slowly, like a king admonishing his subject, but he lay down flat on the road to allow Alton to climb onto his back, with Delphi still curled in his arms.

"Maback, take the pack from the horse, will you?" he called to his dragon.

There was no way the horse would be able to keep up with the dragons, and they needed to go as fast as these tubiàn could manage.

"Alright babygirl, you sleep in my arms for as long as you need to," Alton said to Delphi, as Miro rose to his feet and set off down the gravel road.