Chapter 52 - Cammon
Cammon
LII
A feeling of completeness swept through me when the final thread of our bond settled into place, both halves of it now strong. Unbreakable. The thick tethers stretched between us, tying us together until one of us drew our last breath.
I should have been terrified of such a connection, but from the moment I’d suggested it, I’d known it was the only thing I wanted.
Glory and me together. Fighting. Facing whatever challenges arose.
I thought of her under the mountain, the way she’d opened up to me, trusted me enough to show me all her vulnerabilities.
I needed to give her a chance to see the same side of me.
Something we’d have plenty of time to enjoy now.
Whatever the future held for either of us, my place was right here next to this woman.
With every draw from Glory’s neck, my strength returned and my wounds sealed. I’d known it would be quick, but the speed with which I felt almost like my usual self was unbelievable. The injuries were still there, my energy not fully back, but I wasn’t dying. Not today.
Glory’s hands weakened around mine, and when her scream pierced the air, I ripped myself away from her throat and the rhapsodic taste of her blood. I watched in horror as she collapsed against my chest.
I caught her before she could fall into the mud and stared down at her body, at the bruises and cuts that had burst into being as she’d let me and this new facet of our bond in. My heart rate, only just slowing, sped up again, and my vision narrowed to sharp pinpricks focused solely on her.
“Fuck. Glory, fuck.”
I’d known she might experience some pain, but I’d had no idea it would be this bad. Bond of love, bond of body—from this point forward, our pains would always be shared. I hadn’t realized what that would mean for her right now.
“I’ve got you, Buttons. Hold on.”
She was barely conscious, her eyelashes fluttering in her effort to stay awake. She needed blood to recover, but I needed all my strength to get us to safety.
As I looked around, I had no idea where that might be—until I caught sight of Evaniel’s flag beyond the trees. The ship. It had sailed, leaving us behind, but if I was fast enough, we could reach it.
A big if, but for Glory’s sake, I had to try.
I summoned every ounce of my refreshed power, but once I hauled Glory’s dead weight into my arms, I felt it ebb.
My barely healed wings wobbled when I stretched them out behind me, and on my first attempt to launch into the air, we crashed into the mud, my arms tight around Glory to avoid crushing her beneath me.
My lungs rasped with ragged breaths, but I kept my eye on that mast as I again hurled myself into the sky.
This time my wings caught, a juddering flight that kept us barely a few metres above the ground. Each beat of my damaged limbs took us a little higher, a little farther, with increased effort.
The rest of the ship came into view, cutting through the smooth waters as though the storm had never happened. I spotted the crew moving around the deck, spotted the captain at the helm. They were maybe two hundred metres out, and bit by bit, I was closing the distance.
We would make it. We would—
Black spots danced in my vision, the muscles in my arms gave out, and in my scramble to keep hold of Glory as we fell, I slammed my shoulder into the low cliff that lined the sea.
I used the rocks to shove myself into the air once more, giving me a few extra feet and a short burst of speed.
My left shoulder spasmed, my wing lost its steady beat, and we veered in the sky, off balance over the freezing water.
I tightened my grip on Glory, curled in my wings, and forced one final, powerful beat, letting the wind carry us the remaining distance.
With a rattling crash, we hit the wooden deck, my body coiled around Glory’s, my hand behind her head to keep her safe. My shoulders heaved with desperate gasps for air and sweat spilled from every pore, but we’d made it.
Alive.
With the amulet.
A choked cry of relief rushed from my lips, and I tucked my face into Glory’s neck.
Footsteps struck the deck, and I raised my head to see who had approached, staying protectively wrapped around my unconscious mage.
But this was no enemy, no threat. Just the ship captain staring at us with a mixture of surprise and alarm.
“You’re the ones we were sent to fetch?” he asked.
I nodded, unable to speak.
He cleared his throat. “Close call, especially with this one running off the way she did.”
Anger swelled in my muscles, and red swam across my vision as I debated whether I should dismember him or simply throw him overboard.
As though he heard my thoughts, his face reddened. “I won’t mention it to His Majesty.” He looked us over, took in the blood, the wounds, the woman beneath me. “Does she need help?”
I snarled, disliking the idea of anyone touching her aside from me, and he blanched and took a step back.
“Right, well, I imagine you’d like a place to dry off and clean up?
We had cabins prepared for you.” When my narrowed eyes, he cleared his throat again.
“Perhaps one will do. Mine, in fact. Yes, that would probably be best. If you’ll follow me. ”
I dragged myself to my feet, gathered Glory against my chest, and staggered after him. Everything was pain and exhaustion, but underlying the discomfort was a hum of elation.
“We made it, Buttons,” I whispered against her temple. “I told you we would.”