Terena shifted, groaning against the pain trying to keep her rooted to the ground.
“Tell him I’m all right!” she bellowed.
Daris glanced back at her, then turned back to the hole. He held a hand to his mouth and called out, “You hear that? I’ll get her back to him. I’ll get her back to you, Croak!”
“All right,” Jason’s disembodied voice called down. A second later, the rope hanging down was pulled up.
Daris walked back and hunched down at her side. He frowned, moving to her right. He put his arm under her shoulders again and she whimpered, holding her injured arm close to her chest.
“Easy now,” he said in a low voice and she shivered. He lifted her up as if she was as light as air and shifted to tuck her closer.
His face was close to hers now. Heat stung her cheeks as he looked down at her.
“Good?” he asked, his voice a caress.
She nodded. Didn’t trust herself to speak.
“Aren’t you supposed to be a god?” Daris chided. “You seem to get hurt often. And easily.”
She gave him a sour look.
Daris’s lips twitched. He turned to look around, and Terena watched him out of the corner of her eye. The strong column of his neck was inches from her lips. The thought kicked up a corner of her mouth.
“Right,” he said. “This way.”
He began walking further into the cavern, further from the lightfiltering down. The deeper they went, the darker the cave became, and he cursed. “This isn’t going to work. I can’t see.”
He paused, looking around.
Terena shifted. “Put me down,” she said. He turned his eyes back to her.
“I can?—”
“We need a light, which we don’t have,” she said and hissed as another sharp pain shot through her arm when she moved. “I’ll be fine to walk, but we need you free to feel where we’re going and, you know, in case there’s anything in here wanting to eat us.”
“Like a giant snake?” he asked. She could feel the smile on his lips. Something hot moved in her chest that was definitely not pain.
“Exactly,” Terena snapped. “Put me down.”
Daris held her for a few seconds more. Long enough she arched an eyebrow at him. He set her down gently, still holding his arm around her back as she steadied herself.
“I’m good now.”
He dragged his arm away, letting his hand slide down to her lower back. Terena shivered at the trail of tingles his fingers left behind. Arching her back, she moved a half hop away.
Terena let out a low noise as her leg protested. Daris’s arm shot back out to steady her, but she batted at it with her left hand, mewling when the motion only jostled her bad shoulder.
“Just… go. I’ll be right behind you.”
Daris stood at her side a moment before he started walking. Using his right hand to feel along the rock wall, his left hand stretched back to Terena. He glanced back at her, then switched positions, holding his right hand back to her. He waggled his fingers and she huffed, giving him her hand.
“What happened up there?” she asked after a few minutes of silence. His hand gripped hers tight when she put weight on her bad leg.
“Rivermen,” he ground out. He glanced back at her before turning back. “When you fell in the river, we’d already cut down the ones on our side. Michael grabbed up your bow and took care of the oneson the other side while Rydon, Jason, and I chased after you. Rydon wanted to jump in, but you’d gotten to the branch. Thought we could grab you then, but right when we got to you…”
Terena squeezed his hand twice. “And?”
He was silent for a few moments. “We got to the bridge in time to grab you, but the current’s fast near the edge and when you went past me, I thought we’d lost you.” He was silent again before he added in a gruff voice, “Then wedidlose you.”
