Courting

His revulsion faded when he saw her face, peering from under folded batlike wings. Maia like himself, yet lesser; half-starved and wild, seeming little more than beast--until her eyes’ fell fire wakened. His heart stirred; she could be more than this.

Matter-of-factly he slit the throat of the child he’d brought; fresh blood’s scent overcame her fear, drew her close. At last, as she drank, he reached out to stroke her matted hair; she licked coppery juice from his fingers.

He would bring her proudly before the Iron Throne. “She followed me home, my Lord—may I keep her?”