54. Yours To Protect
Chapter 54
Yours To Protect
Raven
Present Day
M y head lulled against the man’s chest as he continued to carry me. Finally after enough time had passed my shock wavered and self-preservation pierced through.
“Where are you taking me?” I shouted up at him. “I thought you were an ally.”
Felix’s hold tightened on me. “No, I am a pawn. But that is no matter, I am taking you to safety. Off of this island.”
A door whipping open drew my attention and hundreds of men ran through wearing combat gear. I flinched, assuming the worst, but the lead man nodded his head.
“One floor down,” Felix advised. “Allow them safe passage.”
The men continued on, marching past us.
“What is going on?” I asked again. My daughter had both broken me apart and built me back in a way I couldn’t explain.
Another reason to live. To survive. To escape. To fight.
“We are making our way to the ships. From there you will make passage to Grypheem.”
“I need to go to Violencia. To where she’s taking my daughter.” This time I didn’t fight him, I allowed him to continue carrying me up one more flight of stairs.
“You will,” Felix promised. “But first you need to gain allies. Allies that will ensure your safety. This isn’t just about you, Raven. This is about our home, our friends, our family. The cruel injustices of our corrupt country need to change and you can be that change.”
But I couldn’t understand how, and I voiced as much to the man as he stepped out of the stairwell.
“You don’t understand yet, but you will. I promise.” He walked us through an open door and next thing I knew, we were outside. The rain beating down on us, hitting my face and nearly blinding me.
The rain. I hadn’t realized how much I could miss something I had taken for granted before.
“You’re a guard here. Then you must know The Host.” I pivoted my questions, my eyes flicking around as I took in the sand, the ocean’s waves, the beach. It was all lit in the eerie glow of the moon above.
The beach and ocean and sand were all things I had only ever seen in books, in pictures. They had not done justice to the real deal, but I couldn’t enjoy it, I simply allowed it to sink into me. The knowledge that the world can be beautiful even amongst the pain and suffering .
“I do,” Felix confirmed, walking us up a dock and hopping onto one of the ships. Still I didn’t fight. I didn’t want to truly admit it, but I couldn’t even if I wanted to. My body no longer agreeing with what I wanted. It was tired, used, exhausted.
“Is it Julian? Is the host Julian?”
“No.” Felix made his way to a door on the ship, and I attempted to take in more of my surroundings, but my eyes were growing tired, my vision blurry. “He is The Host and Julian is Julian.”
I couldn’t fathom what he meant, and I didn’t have time to truly question it before he was placing me into another man’s arms.
“Yours to protect.”
A feeling of warmth, familiarity, and comfort rolled across me as the new arms squeezed me tightly. “Raven,” the voice sobbed.
I tried to focus on the face, on who was holding me, but I couldn’t. Instead, I allowed their strength to fill up my empty heart.
“What’s wrong with her? Why isn’t she moving?” The arms tightened, I was moved again, this time onto a comfortable surface–must be a bed.
“Infection, injuries, concussion. She is alive but she needs medical attention. And she is in shock. I don’t think she is fully here right now.” The words faded in and out as I burrowed further into the blankets that wrapped around me.
“Raven, you have to listen, you’re going to be okay. It’s me, it’s Julian. I am going to keep you safe.”
“Julie?” The name stabbed at my psyche, both a recent and distant memory. It ebbed and flowed as my eyes fluttered shut. On its own my hand lifted, my pinky outstretched. I couldn’t understand why, but the bed began to shake. “Sparrow, we need to find Sparrow .”
“Oh god. Raven, I’m so sorry. We will .” I felt a slight warmth wrap around my pinky.
It was an instant relief. We were going to find Sparrow. He was promising me.
What I thought were blankets before were actually arms that wrapped around me, and they shook as the man attached to them sobbed, as he buried his face into my hair, as he clutched me tight to him.
I couldn’t do much but accept the salve as he twisted our bodies into one. He was soothing my soul in a way I hadn’t thought possible.
“Julie, I missed you,” I murmured as the heavy weight of my injuries submerged me fully into their darkness.