Xavier was taken aback by the female's words agreeing to marry him. He had meant it as a cruel joke to her begging for her life, but to think she'd actually agreed to it. He was beyond surprised.
There was no way any female would willingly agree to marry someone from the Snake Clan. Especially someone with his powers. He'd gotten more than his fair share of rejection and disgust from others.
Even now he could smell the familiar scent of fear coming from the female. And yet she agreed to his proposal. Unless…
Xavier's mouth twitched. How cunning. He should've seen through that firm agreement. She was just saying those words to save herself. He bet she'd feigned ignorance the moment they returned to the city safely.
What a joke. He was the one trying to play a joke here, but the entire thing had been turned on him. Guess he could go through with this to see where it went.
"You better keep your word." Xavier finally said. "Otherwise, I'll throw you back out into the forest and let the monsters get you."
As he spoke, he clenched his left hand into a fist, releasing his power. Black balls devoured the heads of every Wanderer he had seen and soon bodies were dropping like flies.
He didn't bother checking his handy work, knowing he'd gotten all of them. Instead, he kept his focus on the female, placing his glove back on as he walked over to her.
The female let out a squeak of terror from his display of power and Xavier couldn't help, but give her a small, cruel smile. At least her fear of him would keep Xavier entertained.
He paused, feeling something dark gnawing at his mind. Xavier sighed and muttered to himself, How annoying…
It seemed he had used too much of his power and was going to have to head to the Guide Center to have his mind cleared when they got back to the city. That was going to be a pain in the neck for him.
But it's better than going crazy and becoming a Wanderer. Xavier mused to himself. He mentally shook his head and turned his attention back to the female.
"We're going to need to keep moving before anything dangerous gets attracted by all this blood." Xavier stated, moving to undo the vines wrapped around the female's hands and feet.
He undid the vines on her feet first before moving to her hands. She sat there quietly as he moved, her body tense from him being so close. As to be expected.
When he got to her hands, he noticed the vines were quite loose making him frown. Those Wanderers would have never made the vines this loose. Did that mean she was attempting to get out of them herself before he arrived?
Well, it wasn't like she'd get far anyway. They'd probably kill her if she attempted to run from them. He finished undoing the vines and straightened up.
"Let's get going." Xavier stated, walking towards the camp.
"Wait!" The female cried out. He turned to face her and she blushed as she mumbled "I… I don't think I can walk… My legs won't listen to me."
Xavier sighed, properly gazing at the female for the first time. She was covered in dirt and blood and had cuts and bruises all over her body. A sign she must've been running from something.
Xavier turned around and continued walking to the camp. The female kept calling out to him, begging him not to leave her there, but he tuned her out.
He quickly raided their supplies and walked back over to her muttering, "Stop with all that noise. You're going to attract trouble."
The female instantly went quiet and her body stiffened up at the warning. Xaver took this chance to pick her up and throw her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
"What the-" The female exclaimed in shock as she grabbed the collar of his coat. "What are you doing?!"
"Keep it down." Xavier winced at her shout in his ears. "I'm just carrying you since your legs are useless. Be grateful."
"Oh…" The female murmured, settling down and releasing his collar.
As she did so, her fingers grazed against his skin. He flinched slightly at the touch, only to pause a second later when the dark cloud in his mind inched away.
That's not possible… Xavier turned to stare at the female in shock. She's a guide?! But how? The cities would never allow one out this far and alone…
Females, especially those with guiding abilities, were incredibly rare and treated like treasure. Cities almost never let them leave the safety of the barriers unless it was of utmost importance.
And even then, never without some of the strongest escorts.
But then again, it did explain why the Wanderers had left her alone for the most part. They were probably planning to use her abilities. Still, it was surprising he never figured it out from her scent.
Xavier turned his head to gaze at her before taking a sniff. So, that's why. Those wolves were smart…
Seemed they had used their own scent to cover her, so others wouldn't find them. Well, they covered it partly. One could still make out her scent if you were purposely trying to make out scents.
"Hey!" The female suddenly cried out, placing a hand over his face to push it away. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Why didn't you tell me you were a guide?" Xavier asked instead of answering her question.
The female furrowed her eyebrows. "A what?"
"A guide." Xavier stated. "You do know what that is right?"
There was no way this female didn't know what a guide was. It was the most basic of all knowledge. Even cubs knew what they were.
"I…" The female went quiet, biting her lip. She then turned away from him and muttered, "I don't know anything about this world okay."