Everyone's a Catgirl! Ch. 337: Is the Bar Tender Here? (Patreon)

Melly circled the rim of her water glass with the tip of her finger, anxiously looking between her companions and the door to the Twin Tails.

Ananya touched Melly’s arm and gave her a start. “Melly? Are you listening?”

“I’m sorry, Ananya.” Melly sighed and shook her head. “I’m just worried.”

Mehar snickered lightly into her glass of wine. “I’m sure he’s fine.”

“What did you say held him back?” Ananya asked.

“I didn’t see myself, but I think he went to talk to Valiqa,” Melly said.

“Then really, Melly, he’ll be fine. Valiqa’s tried ‘recruiting’ everyone since the king’s fall. Elias is her newest target.” Mehar’s earrings caught the sunlight from a nearby window as she took a drink. Her eyes slid to their corners, and then she sputtered a cough inside her glass. Face paling, she set her glass down and caught her breath. 

“What…?” Melly followed Mehar’s glance to find Elias standing in the doorway, peering over the few patrons dispersed between six different tables. “Goddess above,” she breathed.

Elias was covered in blood. The left sleeve of his tunic was soaked with it, and additional red streaks stained his chest. His expression was impossible to read, but that didn’t matter. Melly shot to her feet and rushed to his side.

“What happened? Are you wounded? In any pain?” Melly took his left hand and lifted it, gently shifting the sleeve in search of open skin or tattered fabric.

“Melly—” Elias began.

“Who did this?” Melly’s heart raced inside her ears, and her stomach tied in knots. The sight of blood had never bothered her—even as a kitten, she’d tended to her friends’ cuts and scrapes without a second thought.

It was guilt that clutched her chest and made her dizzy. I shouldn’t have left him alone. 

“Calm yourself, Melly. You worry for nothing,” Elias murmured. His warm smile returned as he looked back at the group staring at them in silence. “I suggest we discuss this outside.”

Melly took a deep breath—the blood’s metallic scent overwhelmed her nostrils—and nodded numbly. “Alright.” Elias held onto her hand and led her into the sun.

“Now. One question at a time,” Elias said.

“You aren’t hurt?” Melly repeated once they were alone.

“No.”

Melly looked at her hand in his. Why did she feel so afraid? “What happened?”

“Valiqa hoped to persuade me to her cause. When she could not, she attacked me.” Elias’s tone hardened. “I defended myself. For Valiqa, that meant the end of her life.”

“You…” Melly pulled her hand from his and met his gaze. “You killed her?”

“I disarmed her once and gave her the chance to leave me in peace. Then she attacked me a second time. Melly, one of us was not leaving the First Shell alive.”

“Did she attack you out in the open?” Melly asked, eyes widening.

“She did. There were no guards or other fighters to aid me. Nihal witnessed her fall, but did nothing to assist either of us.”

Rājadhānī is broken. It was a fact that had haunted Melly since King Magni was overthrown. She’d hoped that destroying the walls would bring them all together; restore the peace Naeemah wanted. Instead, innocents were dying, and disloyal catgirls were attacking the new man in broad daylight. And there was no one to help them.

“What did Valiqa hope to gain from killing you?” Melly whispered.

“I can only guess at her intentions. However, if she’d succeeded, Valiqa and her clan would try to persuade my successor. And if Queen Naeemah put the captain to death for her actions, Valiqa would be a martyr for many.” Elias looked at his bloody sleeve and frowned. “As it stands, anyone who witnessed our battle has likely lost trust in me. Naeemah certainly has.”

“Queen Naeemah knows?”

“I brought Valiqa to her. All life deserves a proper burial, and I am unfamiliar with your customs.” Elias returned his attention to Melly, and his ears bowed forward. “Are you afraid of me, Melly?”

“No,” Melly replied honestly. “I think Valiqa didn’t give you a choice. I’m just…sad.”

“You mourn for Valiqa?”

Melly shook her head and blinked the tears away from her eyes. “I mourn for Rājadhānī.” She sniffed and caught the only tear to escape on the back of her hand. 

“Melly—”

“It’s alright.” She inhaled a shaking breath and forced a smile. “Come home with me. I’ll wash your equipment for you.”

“Melly…” Elias sighed. “Show me what mixtures you prefer and let me clean it.” His expression softened. “This is my mess to care for, not yours.”

There was so much weight behind his words that it was hard to tell if he meant Rājadhānī or the tunic. “I want to help,” Melly said.

“Then we can fix it together,” Elias replied, searching her face.

Unsure what to say, Melly nodded, then turned and led them back to her house. She could tell Ananya and Mehar what had happened later. Can I tell them the truth? Elias was right. No matter the reason, a new man killing a catgirl wouldn’t sit well with the majority of Rājadhānī. Especially the Third Shell. They were finally free from the King’s Tax and the sinner’s cages—a man who turned to murder would only bring their fear back to the surface. 

It was a short walk from the Twin Tails, but Melly found herself lost inside her thoughts the entire time. Elias walked quietly beside her, nearly forgotten as she puzzled through the right story to share should anyone ask. 

Melly moved to the sink, distracted by her worries as she stopped up the drain and opened the flow of cold water. “We need to soak your clothes in here for a while.”

Elias hummed behind her, followed by the shuffling of fabric.

Would they understand if we said Valiqa was once an Ejderha? Melly thought, splashing her hand beneath the stream to ensure it was as cold as possible. It was a lie that would be hard to disprove, and citizens in every Shell had called for the Ejderha to be caged, executed, or worse. Magni’s elite enacted his law, but so many of them were corrupt in their dealings—accepting bribes, harassing girls who got in their way, or caging them for minor transactions.

A sudden warmth pressed against her back. Melly froze. A clump of bloodied fabric appeared over her shoulder as Elias dropped it into the water.

“What has you so preoccupied?” Elias whispered into her ear.

He stepped back. Melly turned to face him, and her breath caught in her throat. She’d expected him to change into his [Civilian Mode] attire, but he hadn’t. Sculpted muscles rose and fell with his breathing, only partially covered by the length of white hair trailing over his right shoulder. Intricate black tattoos swirled around the same shoulder and his upper bicep, ending just above his elbow. The chiseled lines of his abdomen glistened with sweat. Her eyes followed the deep curves of his hipbones to the small indent on his navel, to the two golden piercings in his nipples.

“Didn’t those hurt?” Melly said without thinking. 

“The tattoos or the piercings?”

A flush of embarrassment soon followed, and she covered her mouth. “Sorry. What a silly question.”

Elias grinned, and Melly’s heart sped. Her fingers tingled, itching to feel his warmth. “Clan Khopyé viewed piercings and tattoos as a show of strength.” His grin widened. “These weren’t the ones that hurt.”

Then where…? Melly’s blush flooded her neck. He didn’t! Elias laughed.

“I did not mean to make you uncomfortable.” Elias stepped around her and slid his left hand into the sink. “I wish to keep my [Civilian Mode] clothing clean.” He coaxed the water up his arm with his right hand, scrubbing the dried blood from his skin.

Melly watched the muscles in his forearm and bicep tense and relax. Her hand raised, seemingly with a mind of its own. Elias finished his work, then studied her curiously. 

Why am I so afraid?

She reached out and brushed his arm with her fingertips, watching his face for a reaction. He raised a brow, but didn’t pull away. Her breathing quickened as she traced the curves of his bicep to his shoulder, then let her hand wander over the peaks and valleys of his back.

“Can I tell you something, Elias?” Melly whispered. Her voice barely sounded like her own.

“Anything.”

Melly bit her lip, walking her fingers down his spine and memorizing the patterns of goosebumps that rose in her wake. “I’ve never kissed someone.”

“I find that impossible,” Elias murmured. “You have Isla. Unless magic brought her into the world?”

His skin was so warm and so smooth. Melly didn’t want to stop exploring him. But she had to. Rājadhānī needed her, and another pregnancy would slow her down. She let her hand fall to her side and looked at her feet. “Magni was…” Aggressive, uncompassionate, selfish. “…Efficient with his companions.” 

Delicate fingers traced Melly’s jaw down to her chin, lifting her eyes to meet his. “Would you like to kiss someone?”

She blinked rapidly, her gaze constantly veering to whatever was beside her and back to him. She finally answered, “Yes.”

He bent down until his forehead touched hers. “Will you touch me again?”

“Elias, I-I can’t have another kitten.”

His breathy laugh warmed her cheeks. “That was not what I asked for.”

Melly’s pulse raced as she tentatively raised her hands and let her fingers graze his abdomen. Elias tilted her chin higher, and his lips caressed hers. A tiny gasp slipped from her throat, and she shaped her hands to his waist.

Elias pressed his mouth to hers, sealing their kiss. It was so…tender. His lips were impossibly soft. He moved his hand to cup her cheek, and she pressed her bare abdomen against his. The tip of his tongue lined the seam of her lips as he wrapped his tail around her thigh. She parted her lips and reciprocated with her own tail around his calf.

Despite her inexperience, Elias gently explored her mouth, coaxing her to do the same. Melly came alive inside his kiss. He tasted like the citadel’s wine and the desert heat. He spelled his desires on her tongue, and she traced hers into his skin. 

All of her troubles seemed to fade away inside his embrace.

Emboldened, Melly stroked her thumbs over the small golden bars. His moan purred in his throat and vibrated against her tongue. He curled his free hand around her back, thumbing the base of her tail and eliciting a groan in return.

Their kiss deepened, and both of their hands moved with more urgency. She could feel the hunger in his touch and rising beneath the thin layers of fabric that separated them. Her resolve on a second kitten wavered as she imagined what else he could give her.

“Melly!” A fist slamming against the door made Melly nearly jump out of her skin. She broke their kiss. Mehar. “Melly? Are you alright?”

Heat flushed Melly’s face and body. She looked up at Elias, finding her thoughts etched into his gaze. We could ignore her. We could keep going.

“I will have that beast of a woman—”

“Jaya,” Ananya’s meek voice corrected.

“I will have Jaya break this door down! Tell us you’re safe with that man!”

Elias nibbled Melly’s lower lip, and her heart skipped. “This will not be our last,” he whispered.

“Good,” Melly murmured against his lips.

Elias released her with another intoxicating laugh, and she watched as his muscles vanished behind his [Civilian Mode] attire. Then she rushed to the door to greet Ananya and Mehar.

Maybe not all in Rājadhānī was lost.