Chapter 63 Devora
Devora
Iwas burning alive.
Flames erupted on the entire left side of my body. My leg, my arm, my neck. I could feel the skin bubbling, nerve endings igniting. My knees buckled as a scream tore from my throat, then choked on my own breath when ash filled my mouth.
This was death. I had to be dying. Nothing could ever hurt this bad, like my flesh was peeling from bone, and fire was eating every inch of me. Pieces of my red hair fell in clumps to the ground, burning away until it was nothing but soot and smoke.
And then it stopped.
I was lying flat on my back, panting so hard, I could barely catch my breath. The rain hit my seared skin like acid. I couldn’t stop shaking. My teeth chattered, and my vision kept going in and out from the white-hot, blinding pain.
Hands instantly reached for me, but the second they touched my left arm, I let out another scream.
When the ringing in my ears finally dimmed, voices trickled in.
“What just happened?”
“Was she burned?”
Then his voice, low and pained. “Devora, darling, can you hear me?”
I let out a whimper and pried my eyes open. The world spun around me, the stars twirling above the mountain as rain pounded into the earth. Nox’s large body hovered over me and blocked the droplets from hitting my skin.
Without taking his eyes off me, he quickly said, “Everett, get me a pain serum. Now.”
A few moments later, another body appeared at my head. Nox took a glass vial from Everett and tore off the stopper, letting a warm yellow liquid ooze onto his hands. When he touched my left arm, I flinched and tried to pull away.
“I know it hurts, but this will help,” he pleaded. “Please, Devora. Let me take your pain away.”
I swallowed hard, then nodded with another whimper. Nox carefully reached for my left hand and kissed my trembling knuckles. “I’m here, darling. I’m here,” he whispered over and over as he began gently rubbing the healing oil on my arm.
I arched my back and let out another cry. It was too much. Every raindrop, every gust of wind, every brush of a cloak felt like daggers driving into my flesh.
“Do we have anything to help her sleep?” Nox urged.
“I—I don’t know. Let me look.” The image of Everett rifling through our bag of supplies blurred around the edges. Finally, he pulled something out. “This says it’s a sleeping draught.”
“Give it to me.” Nox took the bottle and brought it to my lips. “Here, Devora. Take this.”
I let my lips sag open, the taste of raindrops and my own tears seeping onto my tongue. The liquid he poured down my throat was warm. My mind immediately grew dim and foggy, and I was distantly aware that the potion was working, that I was being dragged into a peaceful oblivion.
If this pain was what waited for me, part of me hoped I wouldn’t wake up.
The world came back to me in pieces. First was the feel of my chest rising and falling with steady breaths, each exhale like a quiet burst of wind.
Then the sensation of cloth spread over my legs.
Fabric rustled against my inner thighs as I shifted, and rocks dug into my shoulder blades.
Then warm hands were on my right side, light fingertips resting on my arm.
I slowly opened my eyes to find myself lying in a cave. A fire flickered in a small pit far on the other side, several logs now dwindling nearly to the ground. The sound of flames crackling made my shoulder jerk involuntarily from the memory.
I struggled to sit up, gingerly lifting myself with my right arm as I took in the sight of my left arm and leg encased in bandages.
A strong herbal scent filled my nostrils.
The burns had dulled to a slight throb instead of the excruciating pain from earlier, and I knew I had our supply of healing serums to thank for that.
Nox stirred at my side when I moved, but didn’t wake. He’d fallen asleep leaning against the cave wall with his hand balanced protectively on my uninjured arm. A wave of tenderness poured through me, making my chest ache.
I watched him, my eyes tracing the waves of his unruly hair, the strong jawline, the handsome face that appeared far younger in his sleep.
Unburdened and restful. Until his nose twitched and his hand tightened around my arm, a crease appearing in his forehead.
With an uneven breath, his eyes fluttered open, instantly finding mine in the dim light of the cave.
“Devora?” he croaked, leaning forward. “Here, let me help.”
His hand came to my back, carefully helping me move into a seated position. I grunted at the slight shift of my bandages against raw flesh, but it was tolerable. Nothing compared to before.
“How do you feel?” he asked. “Does it hurt?”
“A little, but it’s better. How long has it been?”
His shoulders dropped as he sagged back against the wall, but his hand never left me. “A few hours. We found this cave near the mountain pass and set up for the night to let you heal. It’s a network of caves—the other two are down the tunnel.” He motioned toward a path beyond the dying fire.
I gazed down at my left arm, still scared of the phantom flames I saw when I closed my eyes.
“Did something happen, Devora?” he asked softly. “Before Arowyn and I appeared?”
“No. Nothing.” I shook my head, just as confused as I was hours ago.
“Everett and I were waiting for you, that’s all.
We didn’t see anybody, but maybe someone was hiding nearby and—and cast a spell, or something.
I thought everything was going well, actually.
We felt the mountain shake when the charm was set, but it was like the second I heard the explosion…
” I shivered against the memory of the sudden all-consuming blaze. “Everything burned.”
Nox closed his eyes, and his head dropped against the stone wall. The faint wrinkles around his forehead and mouth were more pronounced than ever, and the puffiness around his eyes…had he been crying?
I furrowed my brow. Something was wrong. Something besides my stint as a human torch.
“Nox, what’s wrong?”
He slowly opened his eyes, and they took a second to focus on me, as if he were searching for something else. “Scarven was there. Down in the tunnels, when the explosive went off. I saw him just before Arowyn strode us out.”
My mouth fell open. “He was there? Why? But—wait, that’s a good thing, isn’t it?
Did it kill him?” My mind raced, my injuries forgotten in the light of this victory.
We’d never dreamed Scarven would actually be here for the shipment.
If he’d been down there during the blast, I could only hope that meant he was gone for—
“And so was Vera.”
I blinked. “Vera was…” My voice caught. His words slammed into me, my heart sinking at the look on his face.
I brought a shaking hand to my lips. “You saw her? Are you sure?”
He nodded stiffly. “It was her. She turned to look at me before—” Cutting himself off, he gripped his head in his hands. His fingers flickered between flesh and talon, and when I saw blood dripping from where he clawed his scalp, I lurched to my knees to stop him.
Pain shot up my left leg, but I ignored it. I grabbed both of his forearms. “Nox, please,” I begged. “You’re hurting yourself.”
“I killed her, Devora,” he rasped, eyes glowing silver. “I killed my sister.”
I shook my head. “No, you didn’t. You didn’t.
Nox, look at me. She might’ve gotten out.
Do you really think she and Scarven would’ve gone down there if he didn’t have multiple backup plans?
” I tightened my grasp on his arms, even when the raw flesh on my left hand screamed at me.
“She’s powerful, Nox. You can’t let yourself believe she’s gone. You have to have faith.”
His eyes dimmed, fading back into their normal navy-blue. He took a ragged breath. “What if I can’t? What if she didn’t get out? How am I supposed to live with myself?”
My heart cracked wide open. I’d never seen him this unsure of himself. I wanted to be there for him. I wanted to be his rock, his support, his anchor when the storms were too fierce for even a dragon Shifter to navigate.
But I didn’t know how to make this better.
Wincing, I lowered myself back to his side, placing an arm behind his back. He instantly leaned his head on my good shoulder. I felt a single tear drip onto my arm, and my vision wavered with my own.
“It’s going to be okay, Nox. I’m here. I love you. She’s going to be okay.” I kept repeating the words as I stroked his head, running my fingers through his hair and down his neck.
I didn’t know if it was true. I didn’t know if Vera had gotten out of those caves. The explosion was fast and powerful, and if she wasn’t quick enough…
But I had to believe it. I had to have hope, for Nox’s sake. Otherwise…this would break him.
His temple rested on my shoulder, and I could tell when sleep finally took him.
His breaths evened out as his full weight pressed down on me, soft snores filling the cave.
I kept gently kissing the top of his head, my fingers wandering through his hair until I drifted off into my own restless dream.
Flames burst from the darkness, dancing and darting around the pitch-black space. I tried to run before they could engulf me, but my feet were rooted to the ground. A scream ripped from me as the fire jumped to my feet.
The pain was numb at first, like my mind was trying to catch up to my body, but then it ruptured. Both searing and cutting at the same time, making my skin bubble as the scent of burning flesh ignited in my nose.
But then, there was a different sort of pain.
A sharp sting broke through the blaze. This was concentrated. Focused. Precise. Not like the chaotic inferno that encompassed every inch of me.
My eyes slammed open as I gasped, nearly choking on my own tongue. My right leg—it felt like someone was cutting me open—
Nox had fallen into my lap in his sleep, but he bolted awake when I jerked my leg. I let out a whimper and pawed at my leathers.
“What are you doing? What’s wrong?” He glanced in confusion between my face and my hands clawing at the fabric.
“Get them off, get them off!” I cried. There was nothing there, but I could feel the tip of a dagger sinking into me, carving out my flesh.
Without question, he shifted a finger into a talon and used the tip to shred through the leg of my pants.
I slapped a hand over my mouth to muffle my shriek.
On the bare skin of my upper thigh were jagged, bloody letters. It was like an invisible knife was slicing them into me, one by one, and I watched in horror as the last letter dug in deep, sending rivulets of blood down my leg.
A single word shone up at us, red blood glinting in the firelight.
Mine