Chapter 15 #2
I had no idea what he was talking about. This was far from a bit of water. But given the lack of options, I scrambled to obey. Twisting in his hold, I wrapped my arms around his neck even as his arms shook in his attempt to keep himself from crushing me.
“Good…” His chest rumbled, and his attention returned to the shore.
Instead of their normal chocolate-brown color, his eyes were now a light caramel honey.
The water still pulled at us, and I could feel Miles’s grip slipping as we continued moving closer and closer to the edge of our refuge, but—unless it was my imagination—it seemed to have let up—only slightly.
As I pressed my cheek against his chest, I felt a faint vibration through his body—something steady and calm, almost rhythmic. Our rock shelter seemed stronger, his stance steadier, even as the current fought against us.
Miles was muttering something under his breath, and a faint glow seemed to flicker beneath the water’s surface around his feet, like veins of golden light threading through the stones beneath us.
“Hold on tight,” he said again, his voice sharper now, as though he were steeling himself.
“What are you doing?” I asked, but my voice barely carried over the water’s roar.
“I’m trying,” he ground out. “I can… I need to…”
The vibration beneath us grew heavier, but then a sharp crack split the air, and Miles’s focus shattered. His eyes widened, and the golden glow vanished as the current surged again.
“Hold on!” Miles’s voice broke with panic as the boulders shook. The momentary reprieve was gone, and we were swept back into the water’s relentless grip.
I clung to him with all my strength, and he did his best to fight, but, at that moment, something shifted in the air—something unnatural.
An unearthly howl broke through the chaos, cutting into the sound of rushing water. Miles’s concentration broke as his strokes faltered, and he looked toward the sound.
We were overwhelmed once more before either of us could breathe, and again, I felt myself slipping beneath the surface.
A warm breath washed over my face, prodding me back into awareness as a tender touch pressed against my cheek.
“Bianca,” the voice called for me. “Wake up.”
My lungs screamed for air, and I rolled to my side, desperate to release the pressure threatening to suffocate me.
“Come on,” Miles said, rubbing circles over my back. My nose was running, and I was sure I was crying. It must have been a terrible sight. But Miles didn’t seem to care.
“You’ll be okay,” he said, his voice clipped.
There was something different in his tone—in the way he touched me—that made the stone in my stomach settle further.
He was angry.
Once I could breathe normally again and my coughing subsided, he sat me up. His fingers shook as he gripped my shoulders.
“What were you thinking ?” His eyes were piercing as he peered into my face. Water dripped from my hair, falling off my chin, and he lifted his hands to cup my cheeks. “Why would you do that?”
“Um…” My pulse stuttered and my mouth went dry. “I—” I began. I’d never seen this more aggressive side of him—except for maybe that time he was beating up his teammate. But not toward me. “You wanted the flower—”
“I don’t give a fuck about the flower,” he replied, mouth thinning. “Not if it meant anything happening to you. You could have died .”
“I… I thought I could reach,” I admitted, and my skin flushed. I lowered my gaze, licking my lips, before I whispered, “I thought you might stay if you had it.”
There was a short pause, a hesitant motion of his thumbs over my cheekbone, before he finally let out a shuddering breath.
“Never, ever, do that again,” he said. He held his hand against the back of my neck as he pressed his forehead against mine.
My neck still felt hot with a radiating heat that moved to my eyes. “I’m sorry…”
“I’m sorry too.” Miles sighed. “I never should have given you reason to worry. We both can take the blame for this one.”
“O-okay.” It wasn’t true, but if that’s what he wanted to think—sure.
“We’ll never find our way back tonight,” he added. His touch moved to my hips as he leaned back and looked toward the pink-red sky. “We’ve gone too far.”
“How—” I began, shivering. My clothes were damp and cold against my skin; with the lowering temperatures, we were sure to freeze. “How far do you think we’ve gone?”
“I’m not sure,” he said. He frowned, looking upstream, as he began to rub his hands down my arms. “We were washed downstream for a while—and might have fallen down a waterfall. Or something like that.”
I curled my fingers in my lap. “Something like that?”
I felt him nod against me. “And then we were dragged for a while before I could finally pull us out of the water.”
I blinked and looked around, properly taking in our surroundings for the first time.
The waters were calm, so any waterfall we’d fallen off was already far away. Our surroundings were peaceful. If we weren’t in mortal peril and hopelessly lost, it might actually be a pleasant location.
“It shouldn’t be too dark tonight,” Miles said, still holding me against him. “We’re three days from the full moon, and the moonrise is soon after dark. But we need to make a plan and get warm.”
“A plan…” This pulled at my attention, and I put my hand over his chest, pushing back until I could meet his eyes.
He looked terrible, although his hair still seemed to be in that controlled, messy style he usually wore. I was beginning to suspect that the entire look was au naturel . But it was his eyes and his face that got to me.
There was a gash over his chin, curving upward and to the right over his dimple until it stopped in the middle of his cheek, and his left jaw was already turning a nasty purple. I lightly traced my fingers over the unmarred edge of the wound, and he flinched.
“Bianca?” he asked, covering my hand with his.
“You might scar,” I whispered. My shirt was already torn, and I moved to my knees and pulled off a piece of the cloth before holding the fabric to his face. My own body ached, but it was nothing in comparison.
“I don’t care.” He moved his hands down my arms. His worried gaze passed over me. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I replied, trying not to give in to my guilt. This was all my fault. How could he be so worried about me at a time like this?
I reached for him, an indescribable urge washing over me, needing to check him for further injuries—nothing else, other than Miles being okay, would be able to settle the knots twisting in my stomach—but he released me then, moving to his feet with a stiff slowness.
“I didn’t like the sound of that thing earlier. I don’t know what it might be. We need to find someplace to stay tonight.” He stood, a resolute figure in beaten clothes, as he looked upstream. “Let’s find shelter.”
I rolled to my feet and wrapped my arms over my stomach. The temperature was dropping, and it was growing darker. We really did need to find someplace safe. But…
“What about the others?” I asked, following his gaze. “Won’t they be looking for us?”
“Probably. But it will probably take a while, and they won’t be able to get too far in the middle of the night, not even Titus,” he added, squeezing my hand.
“Let’s get going before it’s too dark. I have some supplies, but they’re wet.
We’ll come back here in the morning and follow the river back.
Maybe we will even meet up with them before lunch. ”
He seemed so sure, and it made perfect sense. We had, after all, a pretty obvious trail to follow.
But in that case, what was this sinking stone in my stomach?
We’d been walking for a good hour before the smell of the air changed, and I shivered and grabbed the back of Miles’s shirt. He stopped in front of me, looking back, as I said, “I t-think there’s s-something nearby.”
Hopefully it was a shelter. My teeth were rattling, and our bodies had to be nearly frostbitten. Plus, even though the moonlight helped, it was still far darker than I’d liked.
He’d stopped once, when I’d begun to steadily shake, and tried to unsuccessfully make a torch. But even though there was the beginning of a spark, the matches were too damp to be useful.
“What?” He glanced back at me over his shoulder. The bleeding on his face had stopped, but the sight of his injury caused my heart to ache. Still, that seemed to be the last thing on Miles’s mind. “How do you know?”
I bit my lip, unable to explain with words how the darkness—no matter how much it affected me—seemed to sharpen my senses, at least in this type of environment.
This wasn’t a perfect navigation tool—I’d tripped over Finn’s big head not long ago—but it was better than stumbling around blindly while trying to find someplace to stay.
I also didn’t know anything for sure. Only a vague sense that something was near, an odd prickle at the base of my spine, urged me forward.
But I had to believe. Following this feeling kept me alive so long ago.
“C-come on,” I said instead. I grabbed his hand and took the lead.
“But…” Miles began but then paused, hand tightening over mine. “Okay then.”
It was harder to do while touching someone—his warm hand was incredibly distracting—but I pressed forward, following my senses before we finally arrived… somewhere unexpected.
“Oh…” I released Miles’s hand and touched the flat, wall-like surface. In the near darkness, the stone seemed to go on forever.
This was new. What’d happened to my tranquil grottos and mossy beds?
“Oh,” Miles echoed, although he seemed slightly more enthused. He stopped beside me, placing the palm of his hand against the surface, and when he spoke, it was without an ounce of sarcasm. “Good job.”
I glanced at him—I’d led us into a dead end.
But he didn’t seem disappointed. Instead, he grinned. However, the moment was ruined by his muffled curse as he pressed his hand to his cheek.
Well, at least he had seemed happy, even if only for a second.