“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Seniia. Could you be any more annoying?”
My lips twitch upward in a brief smile before it’s replaced by a wave of fear. My smile vanishes.
Were they sent here to retrieve me? Llyr knows we’re close, so who better to send if they want to lure me back to the Arc? Did he offer them lucrative deals, whisper promises of power, or even threaten violence to sway them to his side?
The thought of the two of them betraying my trust the way Reü did leaves me with a hollow, empty feeling. My heart sinks like a stone into the pit of my stomach. One thing is certain: I can’t bring myself to harm either of them, no matter their intentions.
It takes all my willpower to resist running straight toward them. Instead, I quietly slip my boots off and step into the cold river, trustingit to hide my trail. If I’m lucky, they’ll trace me up to the top of the mountain where I spent the night, and by then I’ll be far ahead of them.
Silent tears run down my cheeks as I walk, and I don’t even bother wiping them away. Seniia and Vilder felt like the closest thing to a family I’ve ever had, and the absence of their laughter and constant banter has left a gaping hole in my heart.
I pause. Could it be that they traveled all this way because they want to help me? No. Although I would’ve done that for either of them in a heartbeat, I doubt that’s the case. They are Accepted. It would ruin their training at best and make them outlaws at worst. There is no way they would risk their futures for me.
Reaching the narrow dirt road, barely wide enough for a horse cart, I pray this is the main road into Chì. Increasingly lightheaded, I’m happy to pull my boots back on and have even ground below my feet.
AS THE DAY CONTINUES, THE weight of my exhaustion settles in, making even the smallest movement monumental, but I keep pushing forward, even as night approaches.
It’s the third night of the dark moons, and although the soul stars don’t provide any actual light, the road is easy enough to navigate in the dark. Besides, I need to get as far away from Seniia and Vilder as possible, and that means walking through the night if I have to.
When I finally stop, it isn’t a decision, but a collapse, my body giving out. The throbbing ache of my wound has intensified, and the burning sensation in my eyes and the overall discomfort in my body indicate that I’m succumbing to a fever.
Noticing a cave structure to my right, I pull myself into its cool, damp interior with a final surge of effort. For a while, all I can do islie there on my back, the silence of the night punctuated only by the rhythmic drip, drip, drip of water.
Get up, Laïna. Get up and tend to your wound.
I manage a seat, and to my delight, there’s a small firepit and even some pieces of wood strewn around the cave floor. It’s not much, but it’ll have to do.
Fire going, I lift my tunic with trembling hands. Even the barest brush of my fingers over the infected wound sends an agonizing white-hot pain through my body, stealing my breath. Should I have used fire to seal it like I did to Llyr’s wound? Maybe. Although I doubt I could have inflicted such burning pain on myself.
Removing my makeshift bandages, a wave of nausea washes over me at the cloying smell of rotting flesh, thick and suffocating. Scooching closer to the light of the fire, I inspect the wound in the dim light. Its edges are still a deep black that continues to spread, and the spindly black veins now cover most of my abdomen, stopping about an inch from my heart.
You should have cut away the infected parts when you had the chance.
Biting down on a piece of wood, I clean the wound, wrap it, and then lie down next to the fire. Huddling in my woolen cloak, trembling uncontrollably despite the warmth of the flames, I’m well aware the cool night air isn’t the sole cause of my shivers.
It doesn’t take long before the fever has me in its relentless hold. Whimpering, I writhe in agony, every ragged breath a knife twisting in my side.
On and on it goes, the torment preventing any chance of sleep.
At some point, I’m thinking I cannot possibly take any more, and then I finally succumb to the darkness, plunging into a deep feverish slumber.
I’m drifting, fading in and out of awareness as the bells pass by. I notice the rosy dawn of a new day, but the next time I glance out, it’sdark, the silent skies graced by five thin slivers of the crescent moons, and then I’m gone again.
Amidst this hazy state, I faintly perceive a flurry of frantic voices, but I’m too lost in lucid fever dreams to care. And then, as yet another day breaks, my fever breaks with it. Grateful for the cessation of physical torment, I surrender myself to a deep, dreamless sleep.
chapter twenty-six
ROLLING OVER ONTO MY SIDE with a groan, I squint at the strong sunlight. Didn’t I fall asleep inside a cave? I blink at the clear blue sky above.
“Thank Briah, she’s waking!” a female voice says. It’s the same one I was running from.
I let out another groan. Is it truly possible for one person to have this amount of bad luck?
“Laïna, it’s me. Seniia.” She squats down in front of me, concern on her face. Her powder-pink hair is matted with dust, and her blue-green eyes are filled with worry.
“We were so sure we had lost you, but then, thank the gods, Gray finally managed to track you.” She gestures toward the large wolf curled up at Vilder’s feet. Vilder gives me a curt nod and a small smile.
“I’m sorry we were so late,” he says. “But Gray says your scent is hard to track. That it’s... slippery, somehow.” He cocks his head at me. “And now that I’m close to you, I have to agree with her.”
