"Rhydian?" she breathed.
The elf crouched on the ground beside her, his hand on the bulb and somehow, miraculously, touching it. The light grew brighter. Like a beacon in this darkness as it burned through the shadows, going from green to a brilliant, aching white that illuminated everything around them.
More of those strange creatures covered the walls. They were just ten feet from her, not far at all. They all hissed, their pincers and legs flailing as they raced away from the burning light that only an elf could conjure.
"How are you here?" she asked, practically begging him for information but also knowing that more people were joining him. More trolls.
More elves.
Countless people she could now see, and one that she recognized. The troll who had stood with her in the clearing when she had first jumped down into the bridal games. The young, pretty troll who had strolled into the trees as though she had never been there before.
"We were waiting for you to get stronger," Rhydian said. "Now that you are bound to him, you can use his magic as well as your own."
"Bound?" She glanced down at her bloody hand still on his shoulder. "Is that what I did?"
"Rose, now is not the time to worry about that. Your friend is paralyzed, and we need to get him to a safer place than this. These creatures will continue to hunt you, and they are hungry."
She glanced at the edge of the light, seeing a teeming mass of them all gathering. The glinting of their armored bodies looked like a rolling sea in the cavern. "I don't see a way out of this."
"That is why I'm here." Rhydian reached his free hand out for her to take. "To guide you, as I always have."
Her breath came in short, little, uncomfortable pants, but she knew this was the moment for her to take life by the horns. She was stronger than she had ever given herself credit for, and she was not going to hide from this.
So she placed her hand in the elf's outstretched one and felt him. Real and firm and strong, here in the world that was not of her own imagining.
"You said you were dead," she whispered.
He squeezed her fingers in his. "I am, Rose. You still haven't realized that your power is not in disappearing. It's in seeing those who have passed. You see the dead, Rose. And now the dead are here to save you."
Twenty-Nine
Gunnar
Gunnar was awake for all of it. He'd felt the creature right when it had first climbed onto him, but it had been too late. The stinger had already pressed into his belly and instantly paralyzed him. He'd been so full of fear, certain that Rose was going to die along with him, that he hadn't kept her safe after all.
But she'd surprised him. She’d fought the creature, banishing it with the light just as he would have. Except... she was talking to someone who wasn't there.
Gunnar had felt something break inside him when he’d heard her speaking. He’d known she wasn't talking to him, which could only mean he had lost her. She'd gone back to that place in her mind that was so far away from where he could reach. She'd disappeared again after being with him for such a long time.
But then she'd sliced into his shoulder and started speaking in the black tongue. He knew she didn't speak that language. He'd never thought to teach her because none of the trolls were ever going to use it with her, anyway. She couldn't make all the sounds with her human throat, so what was the point? But thishad been flawless. Like she'd been learning for years how to speak his language, and these had been words that bound.
Everything was so far beyond his understanding right now. He had no idea what she was doing, who she was touching, or how there was suddenly white light flooding the cavern. And still, he couldn't fucking move.
His body was limp, useless, and all he wanted was to ask for clarification of what was going on. His eyes were shut, but even he could see the white light that burned through his eyelids.
Nothing made light like that in this cave. He would know. He'd grown up in this mountain and he would have chosen that brighter light if he had been able to. But nothing could do that. Nothing at all.
It took nearly an hour for him to be able to open his eyes, even longer for his limbs to come back.
Once he could see, however, he watched a masterpiece in motion. Her body was graceful as she lifted the bulb he'd given her, the color of it changed and so much brighter. Every time one of the creatures reared up, she would brandish that light in its face. Keeping him safe.
Keeping him alive.
It took far too long for him to regain at least minor control over his body, and she was exhausted. He could see the deep furrows beneath her eyes, the black and blue coloring that had spread around them, and the general hunch of her body that suggested she needed to rest.
Rolling onto his side, he grunted as he forced himself upright. She nearly dropped the bulb as she rushed to his side.
"Gunnar!" Rose reached for him, grabbing his shoulder and helping him sit upright. "Go slow. You've been poisoned."
