5 Kora
Kora
Is she awake yet?”
Slick, tar-like dread washed over Kora as her eyelids scraped open like sandpaper. A hacking cough followed, and dust blew from her lips, soil tumbling from her dry skin. Pale, shaking hands hovered over her, the fingers dusted brown as a gentle green light bathed her body.
Thirsty. She was so thirsty.
“Blake.” Footsteps neared, Barron’s voice cracking like a cannon boom. “We need to speed this along.”
Oh gods.
That mop of raven hair leaned over, and Blake’s sharp features contorted as his green eyes burned, droplets of sweat dampening strands of his hair. Kora gasped, resulting in another coughing fit that seared her lungs.
The sight of him. Her heart ached viciously, and she internally damned herself for seeking signs of a fresh wedding band upon his hand.
“I . . . it’s too much. She was under for too long. I’ve never desiccated someone for more than a few days. I can’t replenish her.” Blake strained, his throat bobbing as his arms shook, his jaw grounding so much his teeth cracked, and Kora moaned from the agony of her bones scraping.
“Blake . . .” she wheezed.
“Nonsense,” Barron snapped, appearing over Blake’s shoulder. Kora’s gut twisted, and warmth leaked down her legs as his thunderous eyes came into view, followed by his sharp smile. “She’s looking better already. Get her up, I want to see how her power’s doing.”
As her muscles stretched and spasmed, her joints cracking and adjusting, Blake shifted Kora’s limp body until her burning, torn back scraped the rough of a tree trunk.
He carefully placed her head back, his cool palm brushing the side of her face, causing a river of pain to flash from her temple to her neck.
Kora tried her best to glare at him, but her skin was too dry, her muscles too weak, her organs too shrivelled.
She almost wished to return to the void.
To feel the strength of her muscles once again, even if it hadn’t been real.
She inhaled shakily, catching whiffs of damp soil, moss, and leather.
Not a hint of fresh, salted air. The Emerald Forest was dark and threatening, unlike Thanos’ sparkling green and brown mirage.
“Raiden!”
Silence answered.
“Raiden! I’m here! Please!” Kora strained, firstly away from the treacherous leech next to her, but secondly from sheer, devastating desperation to call to Raiden. She had no idea how this strange connection between them worked.
“Answer me, you giant Galenite!”
In her efforts, Kora hacked another cough, her skull crushing her aching mind as dried strands of hair unstuck from her neck. Blake gently peeled them away, splotches of crusted mud tumbling down her body. His gaze followed it, darkening the lower it went.
Fuck this.
“How . . .” she gasped, struggling to inhale air, as if her lungs were full of cobwebs. “Long . . . has it . . .” Her dry tongue scraped the roof of her mouth as her teeth slowly reformed.
“Thirty-six days,” Blake answered gravelly.
Thirty. Six. Days. Raiden hadn’t found her.
Had he even heard her call? Had he been searching, or had they all abandoned her?
The damp, distant panic Kora had kept at bay within the void surged and she hissed at Blake’s response.
Gone was his power-hungry gleam, his delirious obsession and brooding nature.
A husk of a male stared back at her, pale and gaunt, embodying the lie he had told, about his past.
Karma was a bitch.
“A glorious month for the empire,” Barron chimed, rocking on his heels.
Kora swivelled, her neck cracking as she surveyed the familiar clearing.
Fragments of Thanos’ in-between danced amongst the trees, her eyes tricking her to believe his stone chair existed by the singular beam of light, instead of a collection of boulders.
To her left, a row of death lined the passageway back to the Citadel. A black stain upon nature.
Barron approached his guards, devilishly smiling as his magic pooled around him, splotches of shadowed tar trailing behind his footsteps.
His attire was all-black and tightly fitted.
The Talmon Empire insignia had vanished, and instead he donned a wispy black crown that wove through the strands of his long hair.
A single guard stepped forward, his black-and-malachite armour causing Kora to gag as he held a pendant swinging from a dark chain.
Her talisman.
No, no, no!
Kora attempted to scramble back, and her hand closed around Blake’s accidentally, jolting her body.
Curling his fingers around hers, his dull eyes sparked as energy travelled from his clammy skin.
She sucked in a clear breath, able to fully open her eyes from the bolt of power from Blake, as Barron neared, dangling her talisman with glee.
Its colour had faded, returning to its original midnight blue, and the eight-pointed shape had folded in, reverting to a teardrop encased in columns.
Blake remained crouched beside her as he tentatively placed a hand on her shoulder, as if he were trying to support her. As if he cared. Kora hissed again, baring her fresh set of teeth at him. Her skin crawled at Blake’s touch, revulsion spearing through her.
His clothes hung from his frame, his dark shirt dishevelled, loosely tucked into his breeches. Threads unravelled from the tassel looping around the golden cutlass sword Kora had gifted him. The metal had lost its hue, the gold diminished, and the blade duller.
Almighty Thanos, he looked as dead as she felt.
Good.
“Now, my pet,” Barron swung the talisman inches away from Kora’s face. “Are you ready to join us? To take your place in the new world, by my side. Or do I need to use this on you?”
The intricate metal pendant still took her breath away—more so than being a corpse for over a month. The blended hues of the sea dazzled her, and she instinctively leant forward, drawn to the talisman as it twirled from Barron’s icy grip.
“Kora,” Blake whispered harshly, his stare flaring in warning. The last time she’d seen the talisman, it had sucked her power dry, nestled against the bosom of her former best friend.
“Where’s Bree?” she forced out, her lips still numb and mumbling around her teeth.
Blake stilled, his hands falling limp to his side as he pushed away from the tree supporting Kora’s shredded back, shaking his head. She didn’t want to admire the way his grown-out hair tumbled around his handsome face, dancing around his ears, before connecting to his stubbled jaw.
No. She didn’t love him—not anymore. Her shattered heart scraped her ribcage, the individual pieces flaying her from within for even remotely admiring him.
“Lady Hydrafort has taken a temporary leave of absence from public duties.” Barron’s weathered face crinkled with the slightest frown.
“Is she dead?” Kora swallowed.
“No,” Blake answered, as he retreated behind his father. “She’s still very much alive.” A deep exhale followed, as he wrung his wrists. A shadow lingered behind him, weaving around his shoulders, fluttering through the ends of his hair, tickling his neck.
“Having marital issues already?” Kora gibed. “Couldn’t stick out the lies with her? Or was I an exception?”
Blake ran a hand through his grown lengths, the strands glistening like the dark of the void. “We’re not married.”
“Yet,” Barron added, that sick smile still on his face. “But it abhors me that you’d think I’d kill a noble.” He shook his head, his matching dark hair falling across his back like oil. Identical in every way, yet not enough for Kora to have noticed the first time.
“You have no issue killing everyone else,” Kora bit back, flexing her feet as her muscles slowly hydrated. She ground her fresh teeth at the small skip in her heart at how her future with Blake had been destroyed.
“Ah, there she is,” Barron crooned. “See, didn’t take her long to revive, my son. Now,” Barron clapped his hands, the talisman dangling between. “Tell me, Kora pet. Will you join me, or will I have to use this pesky charm on you?”
“How many are dead?” Kora diverted. “How many innocents have you already slaughtered in a month?”
Blake flinched, his once-dazzling eyes dropping to the ground, their tone lifeless and muted. In comparison, Barron oozed life, his complexion positively glowing and golden. It sickened her.
“The new world requires sacrifices. As per the prophecy,” Barron’s tone frosted. “Their souls will be gifted to the rift, and my power will ignite the tear in these lands as the new vessel of divinity.”
Kora scoffed. “Sounds like bullshit to me. The gods still exist, they see all.” Surely Thanos knew about this? If he was still aware of Hallow’s Day, then he must be aware of Barron’s plans. What would stop him enough from interfering? Could he even interfere?
“Enough!” Barron’s power spooled, dripping from his form and latching onto the mossy plain, staining everything it touched. Killing it.
Kora dared to yawn in response, her legs stretching as life sizzled in her veins once again.
“You know your power was never recorded by the Devanian scholars?” Blake’s gaze narrowed at the mention of scholars.
“Makes me curious. Certainly doesn’t fit into any of the factions. Perhaps you’re a new kind of witch?”
Barron seethed, spittle flying from his mouth. “How dare you associate me with that scum!” He bolted forward, smashing the talisman into the side of Kora’s face, her cheek smarting with sharp pain. “Time to make your sacrifice, pet.”
Blake stuttered as the talisman remained cold and lifeless. No water materialised, and the core of the pendent didn’t shine. Barron froze, his dark eyes raking over Kora’s dishevelled state, tracing every curve, limb and scar peeking through her torn, filthy clothes.