Chapter 29
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 this had 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."
"Yes, I know," he ground out.
Gently he took the lantern bulb from her and reached to place it on the ground near them. At least that would give them enough light to keep the small area they were in safe. She had tucked it against her body, and that gave the creatures behind her too much of an opening.
Her gaze softened when she looked at where he'd put it. Then she asked, "What are they?"
"We call them the black sunder. They are..." He cleared his throat as it was a little too thick to speak still. "Pests. Horrible, annoying pests."
"It was going to eat you."
"I felt it. I was awake the whole time." He glanced over the swarms of them. "We must have stumbled onto one of their breeding grounds. They aren't usually quite so aggressive."
"It looked like it was exactly as aggressive as it usually was. That creature knew how to hunt you and eat you." She shuddered. "You don't know what it looked like, Gunnar. If I had woken only a little while later..."
He knew. He knew he would have been devoured whole by a swarm of them, and she would have been next. Paralyzed. Listening to the sounds of them gorging on his viscera.
It was a terrible way to go, and a mistake of his own making. If he had been more careful, perhaps he would have recognized the signs.
Gunnar tried to roll into a crouch, pausing only when she placed her hand on his chest. "Wait, just... wait. Rhydian says you need to regain your strength. Walking out of this alcove isn't going to be easy. He said there are many above us."
He frowned. "Rhydian?"
"How silly of me." Rose waved a hand behind her, as if there was supposed to be something there. "Rhydian, meet Gunnar. Gunnar, Rhydian. He's the elf that I met while I was in the labyrinth. From that other realm in my head, the one I like to disappear to?"
Oh.
She'd lost her mind. She'd been down here too long in the dark and she'd completely lost her head.
"Rose," he said quietly. "There isn't anyone there."
She frowned and glanced over her shoulder.
Then she seemed to be listening to someone.
Like she had when she had spoken the black tongue, and he still didn't have an explanation for all of that either.
She muttered a few words, but he had turned his attention back to the black sunder that were swarming ever closer.
He feared that soon enough they would ignore the threat of the light.
"All right," Rose said, and then put a hand on his knee for his attention.
That certainly got it. He stared at where she touched him, her fingers warm, relaxed, spread wide as though she didn't have a single fear in the world of what he would do to her. He couldn't stop staring at that touch and marveling at how far they had come in such a short amount of time.
She trusted him. By some miracle, this beautiful, wonderful woman had learned how to trust him.
"All right, I'm not sure that he'll agree to that," she muttered before turning to him. "Rhydian said now that we're bound, you should be able to access my magic as well. Give it a try."
"You said your magic is in disappearing. I don't need to soul walk right now, Rose."
"Apparently that's not my magic at all." She tilted her head to the side, clearly listening to whatever lived in her head, before her attention returned to him. "Rhydian said to use your illusions, but to focus not on what you want to see, but on what I am seeing instead."
"That's impossible."
"Not now that we're bound. Just give it a try. For me?"
With those big eyes blinking up at him, long lashes framing the prettiest pale eyes he'd ever seen, he couldn't deny her anything. Sighing, he gave her a curt nod.
Why not? Magic was meant to be used after all.
Conjuring an illusion was easy. It took little for him to focus and want to build something there. He just wasn't very good at making complete figures. There were a lot of details that went into making a person seem realistic.
Then he could feel her magic too. Vibrant and brilliant, so bright it was almost hard to look at. And with a little tug, he could cast an illusion in its entirety.
A man stood behind her. Or, sort of a man. He was taller and leaner than anyone Gunnar had ever seen. More delicate in his build than a troll or a human would be. His eyes were too far apart, his nose and mouth far too thin, and he had ridiculously long ears.
An elf. An honest to gods elf stood in front of him.
Gunnar was a little speechless. He had no idea what to say to someone who had to be dead.
There were no elves left. There hadn't been elves for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.
There wasn't a chance that this person was real, but he knew he wasn't using his magic to lift that elf's hand and wave at himself.
"Rhydian," the man said, pressing his hand to his chest. "A pleasure to meet you, Gunnar. I have heard much about you.”
He thought he might have made some kind of sound. A scoff, or a snort, something unbefitting of a troll meeting his literal maker.
Eyes wide, he looked to see Rose was staring up at him with a pleased expression. Something in that look grounded him. This was strange. Impossible, even. But she was here in it with him, so he hadn't lost his mind and it wasn't a hallucination from the poison.
Still, he couldn't stop himself from leaning a little closer to her and whispering, "So he's actually there?"
"I'm still getting used to it myself."
"Hm." He took a deep breath, testing to see if his lungs were still working the right way before nodding. "All right. We go then. Rhydian, you had concerns?"
"There are many of the black sunder above you. I can hear their clicking, but I can also look at them if you'd like." Rhydian flexed his hands. "I was able to touch the bulb, but I am uncertain that I will be able to do so again. It was strange to be able to feel something again."
"Outside of the realm in my head," Rose corrected.
The elf nodded. "Yes, well, that was an odd circumstance. You were not quite ready to see dead people around you, and so you created a place in your own mind where it was safe to see me. Disassociation at its finest, I suspect. Or perhaps a realm between realms where souls linger."
This was all so far beyond Gunnar's understanding. He did not know what it would take to conjure an elf into this place, but apparently that was something Rose was capable of. And now that they were bound...
Oh shit.
He looked down at his shoulder and then at her hand. "You bound us together."
"Yes, the troll crone did say that." Rose lifted her palm so he could see the bright red streak of blood. "It doesn't hurt."
"I'm sure it doesn't, but you bound us. Do you understand what that means?" He stared at her, hopeless. This was worse than the bridal games. It was worse than any other situation they could have found themselves in.
Rose blinked up at him. "I have spoken with both Astrid and Maia, you know. I know what it means."
His brain sort of stopped working for a bit there.
All he could think was that she understood what she had done, but she couldn't understand what she had done.
If she had, she wouldn't have done it. Binding was more than just a friendship, like they had. And yes, she had kissed him, though he hadn’t planned to push her further than that.
But a binding required more than just kissing. More than just touching, even. It was a soul deep need that grew deeper and deeper with each passing moment. It wasn't something that could... could…
"Does that sound like a good plan to you?" Rose asked, snapping him out of his thoughts.
He had no idea what she had been talking about. He'd been so focused on the binding that whatever plan they had already conjured up together was not one he had heard.
"Say it again," he said gruffly, ignoring the look on the elf's face, which was far too amused for his liking.
"Rhydian will head out before us and he will make sure that there aren't any black sunder above our heads.
If there are, then we will know it and be able to prepare accordingly.
I will toss this bulb out into the main chamber and we'll have to hurry to get to it before they start rushing us.
Which they could at any point." She planted her hands on her hips and looked him over. "Can you do all that?"
"I have been in worse conditions in far more dangerous situations. I will follow if you lead." Even though it grated on him to even say that.
"Rhydian says he knows the way out of the cave, so he can guide us."
The elf in question stepped forward, clearing his throat. "He can see me, Rose."
She blushed a deep, dark red. "Sorry, I forgot."
This time it was the elf who spoke directly to Gunnar, and that was still very strange to be addressing the same creature who had once breathed life into Gunnar's kind. Who knew, Rhydian himself might have been the one to make Gunnar's line.
"I already have a few guesses on which direction to go.
But I will rush ahead of you. There are few perks to being dead, and this is one of them.
I am not limited to the same paths you are, as I can walk through the stone.
I will find you a safe place where these creatures cannot follow you, and then we will consider how to get you out of this place. "
"Good enough. I'm not going to refuse a gift simply because of what you are." Gunnar moved to a crouch, his limbs so slow and sluggish it was hard to think around them. "Let's go before I collapse again."
Rose threw the lantern. Likely a little sooner than any of them were ready for, but she did it and off they all had to go.
Gunnar lumbered after her, lurching forward as he forced his legs to move.
He could hear the sound of the black sunder churning forward.
A sea of black carapaces already heading for them, but they still paused at the edge of the light.
Unfortunately, he could already see a few of them were toeing closer. Testing to see if the brightness would actually hurt them. It wouldn't, and they would soon realize that.
"Go," Gunnar urged, nudging her forward with his shoulder as his hands weren't entirely working.
They rushed into the darkness, their light burning through the shadows.
He couldn't see Rhydian anymore. His magic had already disappeared the moment they’d started moving forward.
But Rose could. She kept pointing in different directions, and off they went.
Weaving through the caverns farther and farther in a direction he feared was only leading them deeper into the heart of the mountain.
But then a bright green river caught his attention. The water was not the same as it was where he lived in Trollveggen, but the color didn’t matter.
"Black sunder can't swim," he gasped, his vision already blurry. "We go there."
Rose turned course, racing toward the water and sloshing through it. Tiny emerald sparkles clung to her pants that had only just dried, like moss growing up the stalks of her thighs. She helped him across, and the two of them collapsed on the other side.
Gunnar breathed hard, his limbs already growing heavy now that he'd pushed it too far.
The venom still lingered in his body and would soon paralyze him once again.
But they were safe. No matter that he could hear the snapping jaws and hisses that came from the creatures on the other side of the river.
She was safe.
So he could rest.