“Avery, you are here for a reason! You cannot give up!” Savine shouted. He reached out and grabbed her by the shoulder. Rage boiled up in his throat. He would not allow her to stop living. She did not resist his grasp.
“Just kill me. Then this nightmare will end,” she said, looking at him with those deep brown eyes.
“Never,” Savine said. He lifted Avery from the sleeping bag and started packing it into her backpack. The backpack was tight, but he adjusted it like he saw her do. His sword was snugly pressed against his body, wedged between his leather armor and the awkwardly fitting backpack. He picked Avery up and cradled her to his chest. She did not fight him. She had no fight in her.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Carrying you down. Just as I did before,” Savine said. She did not resist, only made herself small and sniffled against the leather on his chest. A conspicuous line of wetness streaked down the armor.
How could one person cry so much? He’d never seen anything like it. Not even when Lilith faced unavoidable execution had she cried. Not even when the sword was raised against her. No, she’d stayed stoic to the bitter end. And he? Maybe he should have been more like Avery in that moment, letting all the pent-up rage, fear, and agony pour out of him in liquid streams.
As he climbed down the steep mountain, he wished that he was like the shifter fae with the ability to take on another form. He kept his eyes searching for any threats and his ears listening for unfamiliar sounds.
Avery stayed curled next to his body. Her exposed skin gave him that same warm, tingling sensation. It wasn’t unpleasant, just unusual. Close contact was something he avoided, even with those most dear to him. It brought up too many memories that he didn’t want to revisit. But right now? She needed him, and he would help her down the mountain.
When they were back at the encampment, he would put emotional distance between them again. There was no use in getting close to her. Not when he planned to use her for his own gains. Butthere was the matter of her safety… An idea had popped into his head last night, and she was going to hate it.
As they entered the purple boulder field, he spoke to her. “Well, at least you get to see more of Aeritis as you wished! And you’ll be forming a better opinion of the folk!” His optimistic tone sounded harsher than he planned. It was forced, and if she was awake, she would know that.
“Fuck Aeritis,” Avery replied in a harsh voice. Savine flinched at her words. He hadn’t been sure if she was awake, but her stillness hadn’t been because of sleep. “And put me down. If I have to be here, I don’t need to be carried like a toddler.”
“About time. You were killing my arms,” Savine said with a sarcastic grunt.
“Give me a break. You probably liked it. You’re getting what you wanted. Yourgiftfrom your precious deity. Whoever the fuck she is—I hate her.”
Savine’s eyes widened at this response. Nobody ever cursed Althea directly. Sure, they all gave out the occasional “Goddess damn you,” but never a direct insult to the Premier Goddess. He couldn’t help but look around for retribution from Althea. Nothing happened, and Avery led the way down the trail. Relief welled up in him. At least Avery was showing some fight in her.
Savine let Avery lead, setting a slower pace than he liked. But this wasn’t the time to push her. He knew he would let her take this slow, steady pace. It could clear her head and help her prepare for her new reality.
With Savine’s keen sense of hearing, he heard flapping wings. Giant, bat-like wings.
“Avery! Come here now!” His tone was commanding as he unstrapped Avery’s backpack and removed his sword. She turned and looked at him, puzzled.
“Do you know how to use a dagger?” he asked as he removed one of his own from his belt. The blade was sharp and made of Goldoth-forged ore. The hilt was made from elk bone.
“No. Why?”
“We’ll be under attack in less than a minute. Fae called the Hylax are on their way. I can hear their wings in the distance. There are at least three of them. If one tries to take you, fight with all you have in you. Stab upwards with the dagger. Otherwise, you will get your wish from earlier. You will be killed, but not before you are tortured until you beg for death. Do you understand?”
All the color drained from Avery’s face as she stared back at Savine. “Yes,” she whispered.
At that moment, the wings of four armed Hylaxes came into view. They landed near Savine and grinned, showing brown teeth below their snout noses and enormous round eyes. Their skin was the greenish-brown of mud. They tucked their wings behind them, ready for conflict. They were smaller than Savine, but what they lacked in size they made up in numbers and brutality. Each was armed with curved blades made of flint. They wore strips of old, soiled cloth around their waist, exposing large pot bellies.
“Well, what do we have here? The rebel leader of Latiah in the flesh? Is that little morsel behind you ahuman?” the leader hissed.
“Touch her and you die,” Savine said. His words were tinged with power and rage.
“It’s too bad that we take no commands from rebels. Otherwise we may be frightened,” the Hylax said in a taunting voice. The Hylax made his attack, raising his curved sword above his head as he chargedat Savine. Savine engaged him in the fight. His sword sparked as it hit the polished stone weapon. “Get the girl!” the Hylax yelled.
The other three made their move toward Avery. She ran down the mountainside, quick as a rabbit outrunning a pack of ravenous wolves. As they rushed at her, Savine threw his essence at them. The three Hylax were entombed in a tangle of thorny brambles. The other Hylax charged Savine a second time. Their swords struck. Savine pushed his might against the Hylax, who released some of his own essence. An acrid scent filled the air, burning Savine’s sensitive nose and eyes. Without a moment’s hesitation, he shifted his sword and pierced the Hylax into his round stomach. A rotten stench filled the air as rancid-green blood and slime poured out of the creature. Gurgled sounds came from his throat as he slumped to the ground.
Savine turned his attention to the other three Hylaxes. One was nearly out of the bramble of thorns. He drew in his essence and pointed toward the Hylax. A necklace of briars squeezed around the Hylax’s throat. Its eyes bulged, and its skin turned a sour green as it struggled with the suffocating thorns. Savine watched as the sharp thorns sliced through the Hylax’s shaking form before it became still.
Another Hylax broke through the bramble prison and lifted its sword to attack Savine. Savine struck the Hylax in the throat, decapitating it in one blow. Foul-smelling, green blood spurted out of the Hylax, spraying across Savine’s face and leathers.
He didn’t wait for it to fall to the ground before he looked for the last Hylax. It had escaped and flew toward Avery. It swooped its clawed feet at her, lifting her off the ground by her shoulders. Avery screamed, piercing the mountains with her terror. He ran toward her and sent his essence out, lifting the ground up to Avery as she gained her footing. The abrupt change in the landscape made the Hylax stumble toward the ground, where he landed on Avery. Savine ran toward them, swordat the ready. As he reached the Hylax, he found its body slumped over Avery. He rolled the body off her. The dagger was buried into the Hylax’s chest. The putrid blood coated Avery’s clothing.
Avery panted furiously. Her body shook with adrenaline and fear. She tried standing. As she lifted her body, she threw up all over the corpse of the Hylax. Savine held back her hair as she vomited again and again. Finally she looked up at him, Hylax blood staining her skin and clothing.
