His face was damp, coated in dirt and days-old blood. They threw him inside an animal-skinned tent against the hard desert ground. He grunted and curled into a ball as the tall one kicked him in the gut with his hard-black boots.
“Don’t hurt the man too much. He’s got a pretty face. The queen might want him for herself.” Another man with black paint and cruel eyes gazed upon the figure lying helplessly on the ground.
Tor.
He looked like he’d been dragged for miles, beaten, and starving.
“Oh, Tor,” I called to him. I ran as fast as I could, then fell to my knees before him.
“I’m so sorry, Tor.” Tears flowed down my cheeks as I reached out to push his brown hair back behind his ear, to see his face.
He groaned, his hands trying to get free from the confining rope. His eyes opened, and with barely any strength, he rose. He was trying to fight, even now when all seemed lost to him.
I told him to just stay down, to wait, I was going to come for him, except he couldn’t hear me, couldn’t see me.
He made it to his feet, swaying a little like he was having trouble balancing, then peeked through the tent flaps toward the sounds of men drinking and eating their fill by a fire.
“No, Tor. Don’t. I’m coming. I promise, I’m going to save you.” I sobbed, still on my knees, scrambling to get to him just as he moved like the wind out of the tent and ran.
He didn’t make it far.
A Dramen with a gun hit him with its wooden handle on the head and Tor collapsed to the ground.
“Nooo!”
I woke up covered in sweat and the blankets thrown off the bed. My shoulders shook from the pain in my heart as I cried. My whimpers echoed around the stone walls. I was filled with the sense of being truly alone. Whether it was a nightmare or something else, it didn’t matter. I knew Tor was with the Dramens and he suffered while I was here, serving wine and admiring pretty dresses while sipping tea with the queen.
My tears turned to anger. I was hurt by his omissions about who he was and that he was engaged. I was angry because he gave himself up so I could run here.
A scream of rage filled my lungs, as the tears kept coming. I wanted to thrash, to throw something, to punch something. Then it hit me. I remembered I was not completely alone. I could fight someone. I threw on some clothes I’d attempted to clean yesterday in the bathtub that were hanging dry on my wardrobe.
Rune might not even be up at this hour with the moon still shining through my window, but I needed to get out. I needed to make myself useful . . . do something . . . anything. I couldn’t sit around while Tor suffered.
The halls were quiet. I grabbed a play wooden sword that had been set out for me to train with and stomped to the waterfall to practice.
Chapter Seventeen
I’d been outside for about an hour, practicing the sword positions Rune had shown me. Then I did the exercises Tor taught me to strengthen my body. I still lacked muscle tone. My physique was beginning to fill out since I ate real food consistently, but it wasn’t enough.
Every tissue I built on was sore. I’d done everything to push each muscle group to the limit, pouring my anger and hopelessness into the movements. Just when I wanted to stop, I pictured Tor’s battered body in the nightmare.
When the sun rose over the mountains to the east, I finally took my break on the bank of the river. Collapsing on my backside, I pooled water in my hands to drink. The chilled water was fresh, and my body needed it.
Once satisfied with being hydrated, I pulled off my shoes and stuck my sore feet in the cool water. My breathing was heavy, and I knew once Rune found me, it was only going to get worse. I welcomed that thought today. I wanted to train, I wanted to learn, and I wanted to pass out so deeply tonight that I wouldn’t have another nightmare of Tor.
While listening to the water falling into the river, I missed what suddenly made rocks fall from the middle of the stone wall next to the falls. Jumping up quickly, I looked around for anything that had caused the stone to break in the one area. Nothing in sight. All the creatures Dris told me were in this land flashed through my mind. What if it was a werewolf, a dragon, or something dangerous?
I slowly backed away, realizing I shouldn’t have come here alone at this hour. There was nothing here, and the rocks that had fallen were somewhere below the surface, too deep for me to examine. Not that I wanted to.
I saw movement behind the waterfall—something black. It looked like stones, but what if it wasn’t? My stomach turned queasy, and my muscles tensed with adrenaline in case I needed to run or fight.
“What are you doing here?” A harsh voice bit into my scared state of mind.
Rune. I never thought there would be a day where I would be happy to see him. Beyond happy, I wrapped my arms around his muscular and clearly shocked body. I’d been so terrified in the moment of possibly being attacked by a creature, I turned from one enemy and ran into the arms of another. Once I realized what I did, I jumped back from a wide-eyed Rune.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that. There was just something here, and I was happy I wasn’t alone.” Heat warmed my cheeks with embarrassment.
Rune’s eyes hardened, and his slacked jaw turned to granite beneath the light shadow of facial hair and skin. Without a word, he walked to the river with a hand steady on the hilt of his black sword.
