He sounds almost…concerned.
“Thane.” My voice comes out a whisper as he lifts me up and carries me in his arms. I try speaking again, but my tongue feels heavy and thick in my mouth. I look up at Thane’s face and notice that darkness has started seeping in at the edges of my vision.
“Hold on, Zaira,” Thane encourages.
I hear a door creak open, and Algar’s voice booms as he calls for someone.
“Rynthea! Has anyone seen Rynthea?”
The dizziness transitions to blurriness. My eyelids droop, and my heartbeat reduces to a terribly slow rhythm.
“Zaira, look at me. I need you to keep your eyes open.” Thane’s deep voice echoes in my head. He repeats himself with a firmer tone, but I can’t fulfill his request.
I close my eyes and let the darkness consume me.
Chapter 14
The sound of crowing roosters pulls me out of sleep.
Wincing, I roll onto my side as sunlight stretches over half of my face. Oh gods. Why does my head feel so heavy? I try moving again but hiss through my teeth and flop onto my back.
“What the…” Hot, fiery prickles course through my right arm. I give it a look to find it wrapped in bandages. Confusion plagues me. I have no clue as to why I’m bandaged…
Until it hits me.
The men chasing us through Ruvain.
Dulan dying.
The fires the arrows started and that Thane made worse.
The nausea.
The dizziness.
I catch movement in my peripheral vision and gasp when I spot Thane standing in the corner of the room. His mask is lowered and arms folded as he leans against the wall—a shadow in daylight. I don’t even want to know how long he’s been standing there, all quiet and lurking.
“Thane.” I blink at him before taking in the unfamiliar details of the room. A fire gently crackles in the hearth. The walls surrounding us are made of deep-brown wood. Beige curtains hang on either side of the two windows to my right, where rays of sunlight stream in through the gaps. Dust motes float in the filtered light, and there is a sweet berry fragrance wafting in the air.
It’s all so cozy and comforting.
“Why are you standing there?” I ask.
“Waiting for you to wake up,” he answers.
“If it wasn’t so creepy, I would think it’s sweet. How long was I out?”
“Three hours that we’ll never get back,” he deadpans.
My mind circles back to Analla.
The stones.
“At least it wasn’t three days,” I reply as he uncrosses his arms and steps away from the wall. “It’s not my fault I needed time to recover from who knows what.”
“The cerwen.”
“Thewhat?” I wheeze. “Cerwen? But that’s only used for—”
