43. Chapter Forty-Three
43
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
ELODIE
T hrough the pounding in my head, I tried to make sense of the quaggy ground below me. The way cold was seeping into my skin and how my body felt like it had been run over by a truck.
Maybe that’s why I’m on the ground.
Seconds; that’s all the time my mind had granted me, before the memory of The Darkness resurfaced, bringing with it the sharp slice of pain blazing across my back. Reminding me exactly why I was now lying in the cold mud.
How many more moments would I have like this? Where my subconscious gave me those precious few moments before reality came calling.
And the reality was always shit.
It no longer felt as if the air around me was being churned by the sadistic influence of a floating blob, but it did feel like my brain was. Yet I felt empty, hollow. Like the essence of myself had turned to smoke.
Pain radiated through me as the world beyond my closed eyes lightened, the mumble of voices began to sharpen, and my mind fought its way out of the fog it had descended into. Activity buzzed in every direction as shouts of muffled instruction were bandied over my head. I didn’t try too hard to listen as I lay there, open wound festering in the filth squelching beneath me.
Getting up wasn’t an option, and a low groan was all I could manage from my exhausted body.
At least when I was passed out, it didn’t hurt.
The thudding of footfalls around me didn’t help, but before I could gather my thoughts enough to tell them all the noise was doing nothing for my head, someone dropped to the floor by my side, a warm hand pushing the hair from my face.
“Come on, Killer. Wake up.” A shadow shaded my face from the brightness above, but I kept my eyes shut. The ground was starting to feel like a great place to sleep away the agony that coursed through me.
“I know you can hear me, and I know you’re awake. You can’t nap in the mud.”
“I can,” I mumbled, my throat working hard through the rawness that scraped down it.
A lilting laugh washed over me, and I found a slither of relief in the sound.
“Ok, you’re right, you can . But you probably shouldn’t. Who knows how many of those soldiers shit themselves before your big bad self came along and saved them.”
Alouette’s light eyes twinkled as mine flew open. Her freckled face smeared with mud and sweat, and gods knew what else. Fiery hair falling loose from the braid she kept it in.
Kneeling in the mud next to me, she slipped her hand into one of mine, squeezing it gently. The unforgiving temperature was making itself known as I began to shiver, trying to find the energy to sit up. Between the pain that was almost overwhelming and the hollow inside my chest, I wasn’t sure I had the strength.
“It’s gone.” It wasn’t question. There was no way I’d be lying here if The Darkness was still hovering above.
She nodded again, squeezing harder before letting go, and her eyes widened a fraction as she spoke quietly to me. “You need to get up.”
I looked past her to the pairs of black boots that formed a barrier around us; between them, I could see other soldiers hurrying around. Squinting slightly at the sun that now shone as if nothing had happened, I saw the shield that faintly shimmered above us, whole .
Pushing out a breath, I reached deep for any resolve I could find, preparing for everything to feel a million times worse the moment I sat up. Alouette was right—I couldn’t stay in the mud.
Gritting my teeth, I pulled myself up right, Alouette catching my elbow to stop me falling back. Head swimming, my vision blurred as bright spots danced across my eyes.
My body protested all movement as they pulled at the gashed across back, a hot trickle of blood ran down my back, dripping into the shredded fabric gathered near my waist. Breathing deep, I willed my magik to help, and for a heart-stopping moment, I wondered if it was gone. If when I had sent it to Bastian, I had severed its tie to me.
Dots were still forming in my vision as the thought almost consumed me, only to be swamped by a fresh wave of the pain that made thinking on anything else almost impossible.
No, it was my magik, my power.
I couldn’t just throw it away. It was tired, spent and exhausted like my body, but it was there. That flame of energy that burned within me had reduced to a spark, but I knew what it could do if I stoked it. Opening myself to its embers, it eagerly embraced me, pulsing under my skin just enough to push away the worst of the pain, enough for me to stagger to my feet.
Alouette was at my side, standing close so I could use her if I needed, and the soldiers rearranged themselves around us. They were drained, too, but they all stood tall, hands loosely at their sides and a myriad of weapons strapped to them. I caught more than a few curious looks cast my way.
Light now illuminated the torn ground completely turned to sludge, churned under the boots that stomped through it. The arctic air chilled the wet mud that coated my back, the wound there shoulder stinging with its rawness.
Shouted of orders rang through the clamour, and uniformed men and women, began filing into the lines of armoured trucks spread out around us in a haphazard way.
Not much point parking in neat lines when there was a smoky menace trying to kill us all .
Some were propped up on a friend, others dragging their own feet slowly. There were still a few passed out in the mud being nudged by a black boot here and there. I spotted some dressed in the uniform I’d come to recognise as those who worked in the palace traipsing behind the soldiers, faces marked with exhaustion as they made their way to the transport. Full trucks roared to life and raced away in the direction of the palace, mud spraying from their wheels in arcs.
Swaying on my feet, my eyes lingered on the palace. Its huge marble walls sparkling under the sun now that the sky was no longer made of shadows.
Had Marcellus and Kaius got there in time? I don’t think anyone had been too badly hurt here, but they were mostly soldiers; they were trained for this sort of stuff. The people in the palace, not so much.
Had they managed to get people to safety? Had they got to safety? It was probably stupid to worry, since they had magik and were infinitely more skilled than I ever would be—of course they were ok.
The red streaks that ran through the stones, were just visible from this distance, uncomfortably similar to the red-tinged mud at my feet that I was avoiding looking down at. Raising my hand to the gash on my shoulder, I felt the raw edge of skin that had been flayed open and the mud that now coated it.
“Come on. Let’s get that looked at.” Alouette nodded towards my shoulder, and I dropped my hand, fingers covered with mud and blood which I wiped on the leg of my trousers. It didn’t matter. I was already a mess.
Remembering the words that she had spoken to get me up, I knew I needed to get it cleaned as soon as I could. I didn’t need an infection along with the other shit I had going on. I probably needed stitches, too, but I’d cross that bridge when I came to it.
I hope that the bridge comes with painkillers, because this hurts like a bitch.
Drifting louder on the wind came Bastian’s demanding voice, and I groaned as his frustratingly handsome face emerged through the parting crowd of soldiers, storming his way over to us. Golden ringlets now in disarray, his clothes were streaked with mud like everyone else, green eyes blazing as he stopped in front of us. Bastian was close enough that the urge to take a step back was strong, but I held my ground. Pain dampened my will to deal with whatever shit he had planned for me, and I could process little other than I had no desire to be around him.
“Where the fuck do you think you’re going, Princess?”
“She needs to see the healer.” The feline lilt to Alouette’s voice had a bite to every word, but I didn’t take my eyes off the inferno that stood before me, as my body protested being upright.
Bastian’s eyes trailed to the blood that stained my top, his jaw clenching. The hot, sticky liquid plastering the fabric to my skin. “Then take her to the infirmary.”
“I think that was already the plan,” I ground out, unwilling to back down from the asshole despite having one hand on Alouette to stop from falling on my ass.
Keeping my eyes locked on his, wisps of magik swirled within me the way it always did when I was around him. It was feeble, still regaining its strength, and I knew I was in no shape to go up against him, but the fire burning in his eyes made me itch to take him down. To blast his stupid face away from mine until he landed in the dirt far away from me.
I winced as tendrils brushed against the wounds inflicted on my skin, and it was enough to break the silent battle between us. Bastian’s eyes flicked to my shoulder again before he walked away without another word.
“Old Roger, you’re driving,” Alouette called to the scowling man I’d last seen standing outside my room, who nodded before climbing into the driving seat of the armoured truck that was closest to us.
“Why can’t we do that magik jump thing?” Ignoring the curious looks from the soldiers closest to us, I accepted her help as I gingerly stepped up into the back of the large truck. Sinking onto one of the hard seats that ran down the side of the vehicle, an identical row opposite, I tried not to think about the warmth that slid down into my waistband from the movement as the gashes screamed in protest.
“Magik jump thing?” I hadn’t even realised I’d closed my eyes until they flew open at the sound.
The edge to her voice had gone, and a smile played on her lips as she leaned over and buckled a belt across my lap, positioning my tired body so that the metal railing that lined the wall pressed into my side rather than the full width of my back.
“You know what I mean. You got here the same way I did.” It was tiring forming so many words, and my field of sight was slowly narrowing as I fought to keep my mind above the dark that was reaching for it.
The rest of the group took their seats around me, weapons rattling as they were adjusted, and then we were swaying as Old Roger pulled the truck away. Even that slight movement sent agony ricocheting down my spine.
“Can’t travel within the wards.” One of the soldiers who I guessed was opposite me grunted, but I could no longer make anything out. “Keeps us all safe.”
Were my eyes even open anymore?
Marcellus did.
“Mm, he did, didn’t he?” Alouette’s voice was alight with the mischief that I’d come to realise rarely left her as she replied to words I thought I’d kept to myself. I let myself fall into the dark that promised a reprieve for my tired soul.
As the truck drove onwards, I fell in and out of consciousness. Every jolt had me gritting my teeth in agony until it grew too much, and I blacked out again.
My mind was heavy, my limbs lead weights. I could barely stop my head from lolling against my shoulder, and every breath felt laboured.
It threatened to pull me down, drag me easily into the despair that had been all too real only moments ago. Yet this time, it wouldn’t be some dark shadow pulling it from me; it would be myself.
Like a dark seed taking root.
Only maybe it wasn’t just now taking root, maybe it had been there all along and was ready to grow. Roots were taking hold, those first shoots reaching upwards screaming for a glimpse of the sun.
Maybe it was the remnant of The Darkness, or maybe it was all the fucked-up things I had gone through. Either way, the pain that coursed through me was making it a million times harder to push away from that headspace.
The faint thread of magik that awoke when I reached for it responded eagerly, but even that effort was trying, and though it helped to take the edge off, I wasn’t sure it was worth the energy.
The groans of stretching bodies filled the truck, preparing to exit as we came to a stop. Slowly, I shuffled from the chair, glad I could make out the fuzzy outlines of those who had travelled with us.
Alouette was beside me as a soldier held his hand out to help me down. I took it gratefully, my body weak from both the magik use and blood loss as I struggled to keep my feet under me.
He stayed close as the others moved around us, one hand firm on my elbow ensuring my face remained out of the mud for now. Alouette walked ahead, a phone to her ear and commands flowing from her mouth as easy as breathing. I didn’t think I had seen this part of the palace before, but considering I’d mostly been confined to my room, that didn’t mean much.
I could find no energy to give the now blue sky my attention, though I could feel it, taunting in its calmness. Letting the soldier guide me forward, streaks of pain pulled at me as I tried to remember if I had seen anyone else being struck by The Darkness.
Had I been the only one it had attacked? The thought was both comforting and disturbing. Could a black cloud really have enough conscience to target someone?
That made it twice now.
Don’t think too closely on that.
I needed sleep, I needed to lie down and go far, far away until none of this was real. The floor was starting to look like a good option the longer I denied my heavy eyelids. Alouette stopped, clicking her phone off before tucking it into one of her many pockets, mud and what I suspected was my blood splattered over her.
“I need sleep,” I slurred.
“No, Killer, you need to be healed first.”
I groaned at both her continued use of that nickname and the fact she was insisting I stay awake longer.
“Can they knock me out while they stitch me up?” I wasn’t worried about the pain, I just really needed to shut my mind off for a while, take a nice little nap. I needed to let my magik renew; I refused to believe I had lost its vastness permanently.
“Stitch you up?” the soldier next to me asked, but I had no energy to reply.
“Sometimes I forget you were stuck with the humans for so long.” Alouette laughed. “There will be no stitching , though by the looks of that, you’ll have a nice scar.”
She laughed again at my confused face before winking. “Don’t worry, Elodie, scars are sexy. Isn’t that right, Lev?”
“Erm…” The soldier next to me— Lev, I presumed —mumbled something as a whisper of wind played through my hair and my heart fluttered as my attention was drawn to an entrance into the palace.
A huge frame that belonged unmistakably to Marcellus, stepped through the door, and his heavy boots crunched against the gravel. Piercing blue eyes that awakened my mind zeroed in on me; he was close enough I could see the ash that was smudged across his arms and face.
Every soldier straightened the moment his feet touched the floor, but he ignored them all. My stomach knotted tighter the closer he got, and my magik raised its sleepy head in anticipation as another gust of wind pulled lightly at my hair. He was barely a metre from me now, an energy pulsing from him as his gaze travelled up and down my body, taking in the ruined mess my clothes were in, wet with both mud and the blood that was still slowly trickling from my wounds every so often.
As he stopped in front of me, I felt my whole world had paused. I sucked in a breath waiting for this monolith of a man to do something, react in some way. All sound had reduced to the loud thumping of my heart as I tilted my head up at him, and our eyes connected.
His gaze hardened into globes of ice, and his jaw clenched tightly, the muscle ticking as he took in the slashes down my back. He was so tall, I didn’t need to turn for him to see over my shoulder.
A rush of dizziness flooded my brain as the noise of the world filled my head again, and I stumbled as I tried to blink away the heaviness clouding my mind. Lev’s hand shot out to keep me upright, and his hand found my shoulder the same moment a larger, much more forceful grip landed on my hips.
The contact sent heat racing through me, chasing at the chill in the air and jumbling my thoughts more than they already were. Marcellus’ hands flexed tightly, and his face—which was now so close to my own—moved barely a fraction in Lev’s direction before the soldier wrenched his hand away as though it had been burnt, muttering something as he moved away.
Swaying again as the incessant pain began to feel too much, even the distraction of Marcellus not enough to keep it at bay, my eyes closed as an arm banded carefully across my back. A second slid behind my knees before I was lifted from the ground.
A whimper left me as one of the cuts was pulled, and he carefully arranged me against him to cause the least amount of pain. Part of me was dying of embarrassment that I was being carried like a baby and on the verge of passing out, when everyone else seemed fine.
A bigger part of me was too busy steadily inhaling his crisp, clean scent, now laced with something reminiscent of those moments after a lightning storm and marvelling at how every breath soothed an ache inside me to care. I nuzzled into him without shame, fully intending on blaming it on the delirium of blood loss if anyone decided to bring it up, feeling his chest rumble beneath me as my tired magik did its own tiny happy dance.
The light behind my closed eyes darkened, and I knew we had moved inside, the coolness of the stones chilling my skin, and I pressed myself closer to him in response—the heat that radiated from him, the rumble of his chest a comfort I didn’t expect. The steady rhythm of his steps rocked me gently as we continued through the palace, but he held me carefully enough that the movement didn’t disturb my wounds, though I could feel fabric sticking to my skin uncomfortably.
“You’re going to get blood on you,” I managed to murmur into his chest.
“Believe me, Little One, that’s not what matters right now.”