Chapter 183: Jacques
"A turn on the dance floor sounds wonderful," Ashlynn said, extending a hand and allowing the reptilian man to lead her away. As they moved, the invisible bubble followed them with people moving quickly to get out of their way as they walked across the great hall toward the dance floor.
"I can tell your aura is powerful," Ashlynn said, resting a hand lightly on the man’s well muscled arm. "Do you have a fearsome reputation in the arena for people to avoid you like this? Or is it something else?"
"Eh?" he said, raising a scaled brow ridge in surprise. "I thought you were jus’ puttin’ up wit’ my thorny nature, yet here you stand like it’s nothin’ at all. How you find dat comfortable, cher?"
"Putting up with it?" Ashlynn asked, genuinely confused by the notion. To her, she felt almost as safe and secure in the presence of the reptilian man as she did when she was with Thane or any of Nyrielle’s other progeny.
It wasn’t just the aura of power and barely restrained violence that he radiated. People like Ritchel and to a lesser extent, Hauke, were capable of unleashing such a threatening presence that it was clear they had powers far beyond physical skill to wield against anyone who opposed them.
Even Owain, for all of the brutal violence he directed against Ashlynn, couldn’t compare to the Eldritch sorcerers she’d encountered for presenting a feeling of imminent danger. Only a few highly placed members of the Church gave Ashlynn a feeling that came close to what she felt from men like the one escorting her to the dance floor.
"I don’t feel any discomfort from you," Ashlynn said honestly, following his lead and allowing him to place a scaly hand on her waist as he guided her onto the dance floor. "If anything, the feeling you give me is like I’ve been surrounded by competent guards with their spears facing outward. Others might have something to fear if they approach too close, but..."
"But you know I wouldn’t harm you, cher," he said, flashing a genuine smile. Some might have seen the row of wickedly sharp teeth revealed in that grin as a threat, as if he could open his jaw wide at any moment to devour her, but to Ashlynn it somehow gave her the feeling of the grinning face of a loyal guard dog.
"Is this a unique sorcery of your clan?" Ashlynn asked, tracing her hand down the embroidery on his chest as they danced. The feeling he gave her went far too deep for someone whose name she didn’t even know, yet she couldn’t resist the comforting pull of his presence. "Are you bewitching me?"