Chapter 5 Azahara
Azahara
Azahara sensed a subtle pulling sensation, prompting her to emit a soft groan of discomfort.
“Shh, you can sleep a little longer.” Kaed’s words reached her in a whisper, the warmth that had enveloped her moments ago now dissipating.
The sudden cold air sent a shiver down her spine, and she grumbled something unintelligible under her breath.
His weak attempt to stifle his laugh was admirable, and he continued to carry on with his task.
She assumed he was preparing for their departure, although she wasn’t entirely sure. Going back to sleep now was impossible, so she slowly let the world leak into her vision.
After a moment to reorient herself, she sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She also ran her thumb along the edges of her lips, checking for any drool around her mouth.
Checking their surroundings, she spotted Kaed busily stowing their belongings in the bags on Moondancer’s back. Sensing her gaze, he turned, and their eyes met. “I didn’t intend to wake you,” he said, his eyebrows furrowing in an apologetic expression.
She shook her head. “The last thing you need to do is apologize in any way.”
Running her fingers through her hair as if using them as a makeshift brush, she averted her gaze before posing her question. “Did I... say anything, or was it just screams?” She knew deep down that there was only one response she longed to hear, yet she steeled herself for the inevitable reality.
“You—well, you did say something but I’m not sure if it made sense.” He clicked the bag closed and paused, his hand resting on the horse. “You said ‘A million times, no.’ Then you just screamed ‘no’, over and over.”
Embarrassment surged through her like a thick, suffocating mudslide, making it difficult to breathe.
She pulled her knees up to her chest and held herself tightly.
“I think I’ll pass on sleeping for eternity now,” she muttered, burying her face in her knees.
Soft curses like “What the hell” and “Get yourself together” slipped through her lips.
“Everyone has nightmares, Aza.” She didn’t move, but her heart jumped at the nickname. “Don’t beat yourself up about it.”
Her head lifted, and she glared at him. “You had to cradle me like a child for me to get some sleep—” she remarked with a hint of sarcasm.
A hearty laugh came from him, and she forced out a rough groan.
He crossed the distance between them and knelt beside her. His hand came to rest at her elbow. “You won’t hear me complaining.”
She pressed her lips together and scowled, her cheeks burning with a blush that crossed ear to ear.
He hummed, and she waited for him to say what he had at the tip of his tongue. Though when he did speak, she knew it hadn’t been what he wanted to say. “Let’s get moving. I think we can get out of Kasca today.”
Giving his hand to her, she took it and used his strength to stand. She wanted to push to ask what he would say but refrained.
“Kaed, I just want to say—” She was about to launch into a ramble about her lack of awareness regarding her dreams, when the hand holding hers yanked her abruptly into his chest.
“Stop.” His hand tightened around the back of her neck, holding her firmly against him. She could not break free from his grip, even if she had wanted to. With both hands, she clutched his shirt tightly at his stomach.
Azahara strained her ears, but the silence enveloped her, amplifying the sense of foreboding.
A shroud of darkness weighed on her shoulders, making them feel heavy, reminiscent of the unease when extinguishing the last candle in a room and traversing the darkness toward the bedroom.
The sensation of something lurking at her heels, even though there had been nothing there a moment ago, added to her growing uneasiness.
He held onto her as if afraid something would snatch her, and slowly walked them toward Moondancer. The horse clicked its hooves against the dirt, indicating a similar feeling of unease.
In those moments, as they approached Moondancer, the silence became all-encompassing.
No critters scurried along the mossy ground, nor did woodpeckers tap away at the trunks of the massive trees.
The only audible sounds were their breathing and the rapid beating of their hearts, growing louder with each passing moment.
The whistling of an arrow pierced the silence. Kaed forcefully threw Azahara against Moondancer, using his body as a shield.
“No!” Her voice sounded raspy as if she hadn’t spoken for days. Her arms instinctively wrapped around him; her hands spread as if hoping to ward off the impending blow.
There was no time to waste as the sound of the arrow sliced into the tree, barely inches away from Moondancer. Without hesitation, he swiftly pulled Azahara from her grip and lifted her onto the horse.
She situated herself quickly and grabbed the reins. Kaed leaped atop, and in a swift transition, Azahara handed the leather straps to him, and he called Moondancer into motion.
The sudden jolt caused her almost to topple off, but Kaed’s quick reaction kept her from making the fall. “I got you,” he said with confidence, and she knew he did.
As if they were back in the open meadow, running from the Gorruk, Moondancer quickly created distance. Something felt different about this. She couldn’t hear the roaring creatures as they hunted them. There was silence in the wake of each arrow that sang past them.
Azahara cursed as another arrow shot at them. This one was closer than the last, slicing through her shirt.
“They are missing on purpose,” Kaed called out.
Each one fired, coming an inch closer. As if they were warning shots—but why keep firing? They were making their way, trying to escape. Did it make sense to keep firing at them if not to wound them?
Frustration laced his tone as he spoke. “There’s no way we can go any faster. The terrain is too dangerous for Moondancer.”
Frantically, she scanned the surroundings, searching for the source of the arrows. Yet, she couldn’t see anyone. But the absence of visible enemies didn’t mean they weren’t there. Their presence felt like a disease: oppressive and pervasive, lurking beyond sight.
“Hand me my bag,” she called out to Kaed, and he did without hesitation. Her bag had been placed in the sacks on the back of Moondancer that morning, and she felt a surge of gratitude that he had once again considered her needs before all else.
She swiftly retrieved one of her blades from the bag and secured it around her arm and neck.
“Take the reins,” Kaed whispered against her neck, and she obediently grasped them.
He moved away slightly, arming himself with his bow and arrows.
Her eyes caught a glimpse of him as he drew back an arrow, aiming in the direction from which the onslaught was coming.
“We are leaving!” Kaed yelled out. “There is no need for further assault.” They had no idea how close they were. The morning fog was creeping in, casting another set of blinders for them to overcome.
It had been a moment since an arrow had been shot, and briefly, she thought it was over.
Until she heard Kaed curse and the sound of his arrow being released.
The metal of the arrows collided, and thunder echoed through the forest. It was like nails on a chalkboard, and it caused her to grit her teeth.
Kaed swiftly prepared another arrow, but before he could release it, the familiar whistle of another arrow reached her ears.
She saw it clear as day… the trajectory, where it would end up… how it would pierce straight into his chest as he cocked back another arrow to fire, to protect them. To protect her.
One heartbeat, that’s all it took for her to shove with such force against him, sending him backward off the massive horse.
She cried out in pain as the arrow grazed across her arm, slicing through her skin and muscle, drawing blood. Pulling roughly on Moondancer’s reigns, she reared her backward. She heaved Moondancer forward, clicking her heels against her side. Stopping was stupid, but she wasn’t going to leave Kaed.
Her eyes locked with his as he struggled to rise to his feet.
She knew she couldn’t lift him as he had done for her.
Just as they were about to stop, the thunderous sound of approaching hooves echoed.
Before she could even turn around to see what was about to unfold, strong arms, devoid of familiarity or warmth, seized her as a figure leaped from a dark horse and forcefully wrestled her off Moondancer.
“Azahara!” Kaed’s voice echoed through the air, its intensity rivaling the roar of a lion.
They collided with the ground, the impact jarring her body, and a cry of pain escaped her lips. Her shoulder absorbed most of the force. Fortunately, it wasn’t the same shoulder that was already injured.
With no time to grumble in her aches, she squirmed away from her assailant. Rushing through the bushes and trying to put distance between the heavy footsteps behind her that followed.
Each time she could, she would grab hold of a tree and change directions. She was hopping over downed trunks, pushing through thorn bushes, and stepping through creeks of water. Hating to leave Kaed, she had to hope Moondancer would prioritize him and get them both out of there.
She could swear she ran for acres, the way her throat burned, and her body screamed in agony. At that point, she had to stop. Her legs felt like jelly.
Her breathing was raspy, and she put her hand over her mouth to try and mask the sound. Her knees trembling, hands sweating, and her heart rate above its norm, she fell to a knee. The only thing she could do was keep herself from lying down by pressing her fingers into the bark of the tree.
The sun in this part of the forest was minimal. She’d run closer to the mountains than she had wanted. The cold air that cascaded off its cliffside flowed freely through the thinning woods.
Goosebumps lay across her arms as a shiver crawled down her spine. It was quiet again—only her muffled breathing contesting with the sound of the wind.
A twig broke, and she shot her head in its direction.
A set of gray, hollowed-out eyes stared at her. Her entire body shook uncontrollably. The balls of white swayed back and forth ever so slightly, as if dancing to taunt their prey. She realized what they were being attacked by: the Vaeragi, warriors from the mountains, and highly territorial.
Why did they attack us…? The question burned within her, an insatiable desire for answers.
Azahara dared not remove her gaze from those eyes for fear of the what-if that may come of her doing so. Her own burning in protest, but she held strong.
The thought crossed her mind to attack first. While the Vaeragi were much more prominent in size, descendants to the giants that roamed the world before the great divide, she had agility that could aid her. She could disarm it and kill it.
It was possible that they thought her too small to deal any real damage, and while Azahara was terrified at that moment, she wouldn’t go down without a fight.
No, I won’t… Although she had every right to do so, she just watched. Her heart told her it was not the time to attack.
An eternity passed, or seconds, when she heard hooves against the ground, rushing quickly in her direction.
“Aza!? Aza!?” She blinked, and when she opened, those gray eyes were closer. Quickly getting to her feet, she spun in a circle, searching for him.
“Kaed! I’m here!” Hurry, please.
In mere moments, he was there, Moondancer stopping beside her.
His hand came down quickly to grab her, and she took it without hesitation.
The upper body strength he had was incredible as he pulled her behind with ease.
As they came to a stop, he pulled around his bow and cocked it back, the arrow aimed down sight towards the gray eyes of her—what, Watcher?
“No, Kaed! Don’t shoot!” Her hand pressed down on his bow, and he let out an angered groan.
They quickly got moving then, her arms wrapping around him tightly to not fall from the jolt of speed they climbed to.
“Aza, are you okay?! Talk to me.” He was quick to check on her.
“Yes. I—” Her teeth chattered, and she took a deep steading breath. The adrenaline and fear still ran through her. She felt his hand grab her forearm, and she could hear him curse under his breath. “I’m okay. Fuck, why did they attack us?!”
Kaed didn’t respond immediately, his silence indicating deep contemplation. They wouldn’t strike without feeling threatened or encroached upon, and neither situation applied to them. Could it be that their encounter with Gorruk had triggered this aggression?
“I don’t know, but once we clear the forest, we can re-evaluate where we are.” He was angry, his tone spiking with rage.
She dropped her head and placed it against his back.
By the Mother, what a mess…