35. Kiera
Chapter 35
Kiera
K alix has to help Ruen back to the meeting point with Theos, and the second Theos catches sight of the three of us—all of us bloodied, though only Ruen and I are trembling like we might collapse—he rushes forward.
“What happened?” he demands as Kalix lets Ruen drop to his knees. Ruen grunts and hunches over, placing one palm flat as he vomits into the grass.
I eye the ground like it, too, might open up to release Void creatures that are better left in their own dimension. No step is safe until we leave this place.
“We found Maeryn,” I say, glancing down at the animal in my hands, cupping her against my breast. Wincing, I realize that the front of my tunic is wet with blood. Her red fur hides it well, but she’s wounded. A long line that splits her flesh up her stomach and chest and over her face. It even dissects one eye—similar to Ruen’s scar—but this time, I have the dreaded knowing that it won’t be so easy to skip damaging her sight.
“And a fight,” Theos says in response as he goes to Ruen’s side now that he’s done throwing up and helps him to roll back over.
Ruen’s face is still that same gray color and sweat coats his forehead as he gasps, panting for breath despite the fact that Kalix half-carried him here. Theos focuses his attention on the bloodied shoulder, ripping Ruen’s tunic open further to prod at the opening of the wound.
“Shit!” Ruen hisses out the curse and tries to yank himself away from Theos’ touch. The golden Darkhaven merely ignores him and presses him back into the ground with one hand as he continues his inspection.
“The skin around it is turning dark,” Theos says. “He needs to go back to the Academy. If Maeryn can, we need to have her?—”
“She’s wounded too,” I say with a shake of my head as I cut him off.
Theos lifts his head and glances over at me, noting the animal in my arms. His lips curve upward. “A rabbit?” Before I can respond, he merely huffs out a quiet laugh and returns to prodding Ruen’s shoulder.
A horn sounds in the distance, the sound piercing over the tops of the trees and sending birds fluttering from their perches into the sky. The fake sky—because everything around us is just that, a mockery of reality. My shoulders sag in relief in spite of that. That horn can only mean one thing.
The Hunt is over.
“Come on,” Theos urges.
I glance back in time to see him looping one of Ruen’s arms over his shoulders before gesturing for Kalix who moves forward, his face oddly blank as he moves under Ruen’s other arm, following Theos’ request.
The three of them help Ruen to his feet, and together we make our way back to the assembled area where this whole day started. It takes longer than I remember to make it back. By the time we arrive back at the place where we’d first started, the pseudo-sun that hangs overhead is dropping behind the tree line. A chill creeps into the air, stealing away what little warmth that sunlight had offered.
I cross my arms over my chest and keep Maeryn tucked against me, inside my tunic. My heart aches for the others I hadn’t managed to save, for the girl-boar that we’d watched die at the hands of her own classmates. I don’t even care to see who won Azai’s prize.
Instead, the four of us just slump to the ground and bow our heads as we wait for the Gods to end this farce of a ceremony and deliver us back to Ortus—at least when we’re there, they maintain a semblance of civility. Unlike here, in these mock Hinterlands, where bloodthirst is the currency for their entertainment.
Closing my eyes and bowing my head towards my knees, I rock back and forth. Images of the glittering spikes of black teeth stabbing through the ground replay over and over in my head. Soza and Maral’s open mouths, dripping with blood as their organs and bones were crushed in the grip of some unseen monster that none of us even knew was there.
The wind picks up, swirling around and around. When the trees fall away and the fog rolls in to reveal the true Void , I close my eyes and hold still.
No more, I silently plead as time stretches to imperceptible limits. The strands of my hair flutter against my neck and back. I focus on the small animal inside my tunic, curled up and trusting. Her heart beats faster than normal, a galloping pace that worries me before I recall that the smaller an animal, the faster its heart naturally beats.
I don’t know how long I sit there, arms closed around both Maeryn and myself as I wait for the trip through the Void to be over. It isn’t until a hand lands on my shoulder that I realize we’re back. Jerking, I lift my head and raise my eyes. Expecting to see Kalix or Theos or even Ruen, I’m surprised when I see the God Queen.
Unlike the morning, when I look around, I find that the Darkhavens and I are not in the assembly hall. We’ve been delivered to Makeda’s chambers. The scent of trees and ocean water have a surprisingly calming quality—assuring me that we’re no longer in the Void nor the fake Hinterlands.
“Come,” Danai says, her voice soft and lyrical. “Bring your friend out so that she may be released from the spell.”
Bile sits in the back of my throat as I get to shaky feet and cup my hand beneath Maeryn’s small form. I want to hurl insults and curses at the God Queen. She did this, after all. They all had. The sad smile Danai gives me when I withdraw Maeryn’s little rabbit body from the neck of my tunic, halts my vicious tongue though. Glancing around her, I spy Ruen lying in the same bed I’d woken up in the night before. His tunic has been removed to reveal the blackened hole in his shoulder and the veins of inky darkness stretching out from it.
Makeda hovers at his side, her hands moving up and down and back and forth in quick motions as she churns something in a stone bowl. “What’s wrong with him?” My question comes out on a croak.
Danai’s finger brushes my arm and I jolt, curling my side away from her as I keep Maeryn close to me. Danai’s eyes go wide as she pauses and lets her hand drop away.
“He was wounded by a weapon dipped in a poison meant to damage a person’s nerves,” she answers. “Do not worry, we can help.”
“Why?” I glare at her. “Why help now? It’s because of you that he’s like that.” I nod down to the rabbit in my arms. “And her.”
The God Queen swallows and turns away. “I know you must hate us, Kiera.”
“Hate you?” I narrow my eyes on her back. “Hatred is a paltry emotion for what I feel towards the Gods,” I tell her. “Hatred requires love and I have never once loved you. I despise you and all that you have done.”
“As much as you despise Ariadne?” Danai shocks me by asking, pivoting so that the outline of her face is visible with the candlelight in the room softening her features even more.
From somewhere to the right, a figure emerges carrying a bowl of water. I twist sharply, inhaling when I spy Niall. His eyes, hollow and sunken, meet mine.
I glance down at Maeryn and then back to my friend. My eyes burn, but I force the tears back as I take a step away from Danai—letting her question hang unanswered behind me.
“Niall.” His name comes out hoarsely but the second I say it, his shoulders seem to sag and he bows towards me.
I hurry forward and wrap him in one arm—awkwardly trying to hold Maeryn and keep the bowl of water he’s holding from digging into my abdomen.
“I’m glad you’re okay,” I whisper. It’s been so long since I’ve seen him that knowing he’s still alive and unharmed is a balm on my aching soul.
“I am,” he says with a nod. “But I worry for Mistress Maeryn.” His lips quiver slightly before he sinks his teeth into the bottom one halting it for a breath.
“She’ll be fine,” I assure him, bringing the small rabbit's body around where it rests in my palm and against my forearm. “I just need to free her from the spell.”
“I will do that.” This time Danai doesn’t give me a chance to refuse her. She slips between Niall and me, disrupting the reunion as she plucks Maeryn’s body from my arm.
With a snarl, I reach for her, but it’s Niall’s cry of disbelief that stops me. A rock formation on the wall across from the ocean window and table there moves inward and to the side. Kalix and Theos appear, their arms laden with twin trunks. Blankets, bottles of various liquids, plants, and an assortment of other things are visible from the open tops.
“Bring those over here,” Makeda orders as Theos and Kalix move past us toward where Ruen lies on the bed, groaning in pain as Makeda puts the bowl down.
“All will be well.” Danai interrupts my focus and returns my attention to her as she cradles Maeryn’s body against her own. Niall chooses that moment to hurry forth, bringing the bowl of water he’s holding over to Makeda and the Darkhavens.
My head pounding, I take a step away from Danai and look down at Maeryn. “What do you need from me to break the spell?” I demand.
“I will make the sacrifice,” Danai replies. “All I need for you to do is rest now.”