Chapter Twenty-Nine
Cadence
I was falling.
One moment, I was standing in the middle of the arena. In the next, darkness was creeping in, making my body feel weightless.
A flicker of awareness tickled the back of my thoughts, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t grasp the thread tethering me to reality.
My body ached with exhaustion, and my mind had shut down, protecting me from the pain.
Sounds dulled, became distant. Like echoes from underwater; shouts, maybe a scream. The thunder of boots; Ryker’s voice? It all melted into one long, humming vibration.
“Hold on, Cadence.” Strong arms encircled me, and my cheek was pressed against a hard surface.
The world around me blurred. The edges drifted in and out of focus as different shapes flitted across my vision.
But I couldn’t make them out.
Not fully.
A shadow with wings, perhaps?
Someone touched my face, or maybe it was the wind. It was impossible to tell.
“If she dies, you will follow. Do you understand?” The voice was rough, but familiar. “Say it.”
“I understand.” The tender voice of a woman filled my ears, and I sighed in contentment.
Something danced at the corner of my vision. Then came the gentle sound of bells, or perhaps laughter, distant and eerie. I blinked, or at least I thought I did, and the ground beneath me turned to mist.
What the hell was happening?
Without warning, pain as I had never experienced before had each nerve ending lighting up, searing my flesh and setting me ablaze. It started in my shoulder before it raced throughout every corner of my body.
I screamed, or at least I think I did.
Everything became garbled.
Sweat beaded on my forehead, and it became difficult to breathe. I inhaled sharply, my lungs expanding, but only the tiniest trickle of air got through.
“Stay with me, Cadence.”
That voice again.
Was it Ryker? Or someone else? The Morrígan? No, this one didn’t demand. It pleaded.
I was drifting. Floating.
Time folded in on itself.
I was a girl with scraped knees, chasing light through tall grass.
Then I was a woman holding a sword, drenched in blood and screaming my fury to the heavens.
The world twisted again.
Then I was nothing at all.
A raven’s feather fluttered past my cheek.
A branch curled around my ankle.
The arena split apart like fractured glass.
I tried to speak, but only a breath escaped. My name hovered on someone’s lips, and warmth brushed against my chest. A heartbeat that wasn’t mine.
“Cadence, dear, I’m going to extract the venom now. You have to hold on. I need you to fight just a little longer. Can you do that for me?”
Her voice was smooth as velvet, but a hardened edge lurked beneath the surface. I wanted to answer her, to tell her yes, I could fight, but my tongue felt thick and useless in my mouth.
The pain in my shoulder exploded again, white-hot and vicious. This time, I know I screamed because the sound tore from my throat like a living entity. My back arched off whatever surface I was lying on, and those muscular arms held me down.
Images of my brother flashed before my eyes, tall and handsome. He was smiling down at me, surrounded by trees and the soft light of the sun peeking through the canopy.
Then his features changed. Twisted into something monstrous and cruel. He moved closer, his jaw elongated, and rows of razor-sharp teeth pushed through his gums.
“Callum?” What was he doing here? He shouldn’t be here.
Before I could plead with him to flee, a jolt of agony coursed through me.
I turned to my side and retched. Bile coated my tongue, and my muscles clenched as my body worked to expel the contents of my stomach.
“I’ve got you, Cadence,” the male voice said.
A palm ran over my hair, gentle and reassuring.
My gaze flicked back to where Callum still stood, just on the periphery of my vision. Rage flickered in his eyes, and my brows furrowed in confusion.
My brother stepped closer, but before he could reach me, a giant snake came out of nowhere, crushing him beneath the weight of its enormous body.
Another scream.
My hand reached out, trying to latch onto my brother.
But he was gone.
“Hold her down,” the woman said, right before calloused hands pressed against my chest.
It hurt. It really fucking hurt.
Something wet traced down my cheek, and I blinked. Gentle kisses followed its path, and that rough, male voice sounded again, softer this time.
“I’m sorry, Cadence. It’s almost over. Only a little longer, I promise.”
The pain in my shoulder intensified, and I bit down on a scream, tasting copper. My vision sharpened for a moment, long enough to glimpse white-blond hair and knowing steel-grey eyes watching me.
My gaze darted to the woman working on my injuries. Her hands were steady, but whatever she was doing felt like she was carving me open with molten iron.
“Almost there,” she said, her voice strained.
“Work faster.” The words were barely more than a growl.
The light above me pulsed, too bright, too close. I was sinking again, pulled back into the thick, black water of my mind.
Something tugged me upward. A hand gripping mine.
“She’s slipping away, I can feel it. I do not make idle threats, woman. Save her, or die beside her, now fucking choose!”
Fingers clutched my wrist, firm, warm, and real. “Stay with me, Cadence. Fuck… just stay with me.”
I wanted to. Gods, I wanted to. But I was tired. So tired. Exhaustion sank into my bones, whispering promises of peace if I just let go.
The woman muttered under her breath. An incantation? A curse?
She pressed her palms flat over my wound. Light flared through my body like lightning in slow motion. I arched off the ground, or maybe I only imagined it.
My heart stuttered.
“Now!” she said, her tone urgent.
Something wet and burning hot cascaded over my shoulder. The scent of herbs filled my nostrils, bitter and earthy.
A searing pain exploded from the site, rattling through every nerve ending. My scream never made it past my lips. It vibrated behind my teeth, swallowed by the void.
Then…
Silence.
Weightlessness.
“There.” Relief flooded the woman’s voice. “The poison is out.”
The crushing weight on my chest lifted, and air rushed into my lungs, sweet and clean.
A flicker of warmth, then someone breathing my name like a prayer.
“Cadence…”
Then everything disappeared, and I sank into darkness.