Chapter 27 Ro
Ro
Iwanted to fill these haunted woods with the cries of my anger and confusion. Rattle the world for all it had inflicted upon me. Just days ago I was home, chatting with Tio around the fire, walking through rows of tents filled with happy families, sparring with Rav.
Every time my foot connected with the ground, I doubted its realness. The world I had known had been so thoroughly and swiftly ripped out from under me that I wondered how I could trust it now, even with my feet firmly upon it.
My stress had piqued ever since Alba emerged from the thicket of trees outside our camp lying about an attack and hadn’t come down since.
First, there was crossing the current of the Splits, then lying our way to Hava City where an ambush had laid in wait, all to be dragged to the castle of the man I despised most where I’d been forced to do his bidding under threat.
When I’d thought it couldn’t get any worse, I’d had to slog through a forest that wanted to run away from itself, nearly drowned in a quarry, discovered jacked up magic wielders that shouldn’t exist, watched a stabbed Alba get hauled off, and now forced a man that I injured to bring me into a den of my enemies.
Oh yeah, and the dark magic that’d destroyed an entire kingdom, that’s currently wreaking havoc, comes from a sentient lake that I willingly stride toward.
Dae had every reason to want me dead. He’d even had opportunity. At the very least, he could have left me behind. Why did he help me? I could practically hear Rav’s ridiculing voice in my head warning me not to let my guard down, but things were becoming increasingly complicated.
Not to mention I was tired. And sore. And not feeling well since my body was barely recovering from being pushed to the brink.
This trip would surely kill me. If I somehow made it back, I’d convince Radhak that we’d need to leave.
Not just retreat into Highcrest, but sail the oceans to the furthest point on the map.
There would be no safe life here, and no armies strong enough to stand against an ancient angry magic bent on destruction.
And the heat. I could have done without the unrelenting heat. I debated sending a desperate, albeit irreverent prayer to Galenna the Moon Goddess for a gust of her wind.
“Drink,” Dae muttered, extending the half-drained waterskin in my direction without looking while his body wrenched with every movement.
He’d been right to stop me from draining the whole thing before. I’d known better too, but logic flew out the window when I woke with a single desire: water.
For the first hour of our walk, I fought the heavy bloat in my stomach that wanted to purge the water I’d deliriously gulped down. Dae was clearly well versed in these types of scenarios because my stomach finally settled a few minutes back.
“Thanks,” I said, feeling strange over accepting the offer. He was supposed to be my prisoner, wasn’t he? Had I become someone who takes a prisoner? No, not a prisoner. Hostage, maybe? Neither aligned with my core values, regardless of what I called it.
He might still have some sort of plan, a trap for me that lay ahead. I wouldn’t rule it out, but his words lingered. You’re not my enemy. If someone had shot me in the leg, then forced me to walk on it, they’d become my arch nemesis for life.
“Why are you helping me?” I asked after taking a long swig, unable to hold in the question any longer. I no longer held up my weapon, and kept pace beside him.
“Does it look like I had much choice?” He cracked a teasing smile, glancing sidelong at me. I noted how beautiful his smile was—not his smile, his teeth. They were nice teeth. And white, that’s what made them attractive—not attractive, healthy. Just healthy teeth was what I was appreciating.
I squeezed my eyes shut momentarily to focus. “You had the perfect opportunity. You could have left me there, but you didn’t.”
“You and your friend should never have come here. Whatever idiotic reason you have was made from sheer ignorance. If you’d known about the lake, would you have ventured this far?”
“Gods no,” I replied honestly. Part of me still considered turning around and hauling ass back to camp. But I wouldn’t leave Alba, even if she’d caused this horrendous mess.
“So you’ll take her with you and leave, yes?”
It sounded like that might be the only reason he’d help me, if it meant he’d be rid of me. “That’s the plan,” I lied.
“Good. Staying would mean death. I don’t think you deserve to die.
Though, if I lose too much blood or infection takes me out, I might change my mind.
” He flashed a wicked-looking grin. He kept those healthy teeth behind closed lips, yet I still found myself staring.
Still noticed the scruff of his facial hair hugging the planes of his face, the way the skin beside his eyes crinkled, realized how dazzling he was without that stern line between his brows.
Well damn. I couldn’t blame my stupor on his teeth this time.
Despite his momentary amusement, his skin was still dotted with sweat I knew wasn’t just from the heat. “Here.” I offered his own waterskin back to him. I hadn’t seen him take a single sip since I awoke. “You should have some.” A weird truce had somehow formed between us.
“I had plenty. That’s for you.” He kept looking ahead, his body still limping with every step.
My throat dried despite having just drank. I felt…guilty. “But the waterskin was full when you gave it to me.”
“I didn’t drink from that, I had it straight from the source.”
“While I was passed out?”
“Yes.”
I hadn’t asked how long I’d been out for.
The sun’s placement hadn’t seemed drastically different, though, so I couldn’t imagine it had been long.
Unless it had been an entire day and he didn’t bother to tell me.
“Where did you find water?” It’d been nearly impossible to find on our trip up here.
The quarry had been the first natural source we’d found.
“There’s a river that splits into a few streams. You just need to know where to look.”
“How long was I out for?” A leading question to help me assess how close water was from the road for when Alba and I made it back.
“Maybe twenty minutes.”
“You managed to hobble to and from a hidden stream in the forest on a busted leg in twenty minutes?” Well, that was excellent news. Super close, then.
“Yes, only ‘cause I knew where to go.” He nearly chuckled until his step faltered, causing him to stumble.
Without thinking, I fixed myself to his side, ducking under his arm to offer support. Braxius was thrust off my shoulder and soared above.
Dae stabilized. “Thanks.” He hissed through his teeth.
“Don’t mention it.” Seriously. The concept of thanking me for helping with an injury I inflicted seemed preposterous and only fed my guilt.
“I should probably know the name of the woman who’s going to have to drag me to the outpost, don’t you think?” he asked, attempting to maintain that easy charm, but I could see his struggle.
“Do I get to know yours?” My hands were still secured to his waist, and his arm remained draped over my shoulder for support.
“I already told you,” he said, confused.
“Wait, you were serious? Named after a god?” I scoffed, but a smile worked its way onto my lips.
His laugh was soft, as if his energy was finally starting to drain. “Yes. What’s so wrong with that?”
“Nothing, nothing.” I tried to mask how humorous I found it, but clearly failed.
He did one of those huffy laughs. “Well?”
Weighing my options, I couldn’t find a downside to telling him. Sure, he could still kill me, or his friends could. Either way, knowing my name wouldn’t stop that from happening, so I didn’t see the harm.
“Ro.”
There was silence for a beat before he said, “And you made fun of my name.”
“Hey!” I gently nudged his ribs with my shoulder.
How he managed a laugh in his condition, I couldn’t fathom. The velvety depth of it caressed my skin. The scent of him hit me at that same moment—notes of saffron mingled with musk.
I was in unknown territory, in a litany of ways. The roles I played usually revolved around me being unseen, unknown. Swift and silent, in and out before anyone was the wiser. Or, blending in so well, I became nearly invisible, like a guest at the castle.
This was so dangerously out of my depths. “What will happen once we reach your outpost?” I asked, squashing the lighthearted mood.
“I’ve been trying to figure that out.” His voice sounded weighed down. How had he thought this upcoming interaction would go? Had he changed his mind about it during our time together?
He continued, “I’ll have to try and convince them that your friend is a liability. We were sent to retrieve food, and she is certainly not that. I don’t hold much faith that they’ll listen, though, if they found out she wields. My guess is they’ll want to use her as a bargaining chip.”
“For what?”
“To lessen their punishment for failing to bring back game. They should know that their fates are already sealed. From the moment my team was sent after they didn’t return, their graves were already marked.
I assume they thought she’d traveled this far north to join The Order, but in her weakened condition they spotted an opportunity. ”
“Why would it matter if she wields?” A heavy sense of dread settled over me.
“So they can drain her magic and give it to another.”
Drain. Not replicate, not share, drain. I recalled a time Mira explained that’d nearly happened to her, when we’d been sitting by a campfire and she’d recanted the events that unfolded after we’d run into each other at the castle—literally.
Suddenly, it clicked. This was the group responsible for stealing magic wielders. The Order, he’d called it. Had we not stopped that ship, it would have happened to Melody, too. I suddenly felt queasy. “What happens to someone when they’re drained?”
“They die.”
“Gods, what kind of people are you running with?! Why are they so brutal?!”
“I told you. Power.”