Her words stung and like a serpent he slowly coiled around and stepped towards her. His fair skin, smooth from the smoke of his potion brewing, shimmered in the blue light.<br/><br/>“So sure are you, that your cool words would find comfort on an hour such as this?” His voice slithered as his dark eyes pierced at her with an agony and deception.<br/><br/>Stepping closer, his face only a breath from hers he admired her beauty. The frown lines cracked as he continued, “Such beauty to be caught within the eyes of one so cold. Why must these matters concern you so?”<br/><br/>A smile cracked across his darkened lips like the dawn on the day of a tornado. It had been so long since he had stood in the presence of a female. It shook him as he gazed upon her, “If it pleases you… you could stay with me before your journey.”<br/><br/>His hand emerged from his robes and reached for her hair. His heart shook as it drew nearer and longed to run his withered fingers through it.<br/><br/>“I could teach you many things child,” he said with a smooth reptilian tone.<br/>