19. Dravik #2
I look up, surprised to find one of Dagny’s mates walking beside me. The purple one. Roark, I think? “She is tired, but she is a fighter. She will be okay.”
He nods, scratching his thick beard, seemingly lost in thought. “Do you truly think this journey will accomplish anything?”
“I don’t know,” I answer truthfully. “But I trust my mate and her instincts. The serafyn knows things the rest of us never will, things we could never understand even if we did. The core is where this world ends and begins, so it’s not a far stretch to imagine that’s where we need to go to save it. ”
Roark nods, but he’s still frowning. “That, or it’s where the serafyn needs to go to end it.”
“I’ve thought of that, too.” I try not to let the worry eat me alive. “I’m just holding out hope that both things are possible.”
“For all our sakes, I will hope for that, too.”
Roark and I fall into a tense silence, neither wanting to speak our worries aloud for fear they may come true.
Eventually, when we are all too exhausted to take another step, and some of the soldiers actually start dropping to the ground, Vhalthor stops the march.
“We will break here for a while,” he orders. “Rest a bit, regain our strength, then keep moving to the core.”
Vhalthor makes his way through the camp, kneeling beside each soldier, healing small wounds and checking in with a few quiet words before moving to the next.
His patience and care surprise me. I'd written him off as nothing more than a bloodthirsty maniac chasing a glorious death because he was bored with his throne.
But watching him now, I can see he actually cares about his soldiers. He may not admit it to himself, but I have a feeling the real reason he came on this journey was to protect them and his kingdom.
Dagny and her mates settle into a small alcove a short distance from Vhalthor’s party, and I find a similar place to do the same. Rhune and Nyx follow me. Meanwhile, Cin stands farther down the tunnel, staring into the dark.
Now that we have a little privacy, I turn my attention to Willow. She’s awake now—if barely. When I ask her if anything hurts, she denies it. However, when I pry off her borrowed leather boots, I find several large blisters on her feet.
Rhune’s expression twists with grief at the sight. Truly, it looks like he will burst into tears over a few blisters. “Oh Gods… My poor, sweet Willow.” His hands shudder as he holds them above her skin, like he’s worried that if he touches her, she will break into pieces. “How did this happen?”
“The boots,” she says with an embarrassed smile. “It happens to me all the time with new shoes.”
Rhune’s expression turns murderous. He looks at the boots lying off to the side, his lip curling in a snarl as if they’ve personally attacked his mate. Before anyone can stop him, he’s lunging, tearing at the boots with his teeth and claws.
He’s lost his damn mind.
Nyx reacts first, tearing the footwear from his hands before he can do any more damage. “What is wrong with you? She needs these!”
“They hurt her,” Rhune snarls. “I will hurt them back.”
Nyx pinches the bridge of his nose. “You’re delirious. You need rest.”
“I will rest when the threat is dealt with.”
“You mean the boots?” His voice rises with exasperation. “The gods-damned boots?”
“Yes!”
Nyx reaches forward, flicking Rhune between the eyes. “Get yourself together!”
“Ow! That was uncalled for!”
“Everything okay over here?” Vhalthor asks, his voice impossibly deep and rumbling with authority. He’s gazing at Rhune and Nyx like he’s debating whether he will have to step in to break up a fight between younglings.
“Everything’s fine,” I grumble. “They’re always like this. They just need to get it out of their system.”
“If you say so.” His gaze moves to where Cin stands, and I catch a glimmer of intrigue before his expression settles back into his usual stony mask. “Do you think it’s true?” he asks me after a while.
“What, exactly?”
“About your soul brother,” he says. “About him being possessed by the Welwig.”
I shrug a shoulder, a prickle of unease traveling up my spine. “It makes sense, given all I’ve witnessed.”
“Astounding,” he says. “We’ve always heard stories of strange things happening in the north, but this is… beyond imagination. I admit, when Dagny first told me, I laughed in her face.”
“What convinced you to join us? And don’t give me that bullshit about being bored. You are not a callous ruler. I saw the way you tended to your men.”
He breathes a laugh. “You caught me. The truth is… I wanted it to be true. I wanted there to be a way to save this world, to save my kingdom. So I came to see for myself. Once I laid eyes on your mate, I knew… I knew Dagny was telling the truth. About all of it.”
“And you still think this is a suicide mission?”
He just laughs. “Don’t you?” He spreads his arms wide.
“Don’t you feel it? How small and insignificant are we to this world?
To the universe? We don’t stand a chance.
Still, I have to try. For my men. For my kingdom.
If we are all truly going to die, I want to be able to go into the abyss knowing I tried. ”
I turn away from him, watching Rhune and Nyx argue. “I believe in my mate. I trust in her that there is a chance—no matter how small. And I will fight for that chance. I will fight with everything I have in order to keep our bond.”
That laugh again. “You and I are more alike than I thought, Dravik.” With that, he turns and heads back to his soldiers, leaving me to stew.
I don’t have long to do that, though. Willow looks up at me, giving me a sleepy smile that eases all my earlier irritation. Without a word, I settle down next to her on our makeshift bed, leaving enough room for Rhune and Nyx.
“How are your wounds?” I ask, already reaching for her. She doesn’t complain, and when I begin massaging the tired muscles of her feet, her groan makes my heart pound in my ears.
“God, that feels good,” she mumbles, her eyes drifting closed. “You would have made a great masseuse in a different life…”
I do not know what this masseuse is, but the way she says it makes pride swell in my chest. My fingers continue working, and she lets out another series of sounds, causing my cock to twitch to life.
Not here. Not now. Must hold it together.
With great effort, I remove my hands from Willow, helping her into a more comfortable position between us. She needs rest, and if we stayed like we were for much longer, my control would have snapped. It is already so woefully thin around her. I need no further temptations.
“Rest, my heart.” I slide my hand gently over her back. “Rest. We have a very long way yet to travel, and you need your strength.”
Willow nods, pressing her face deeper into Rhune’s chest. Within moments, her breathing evens out, her body goes limp, and I know sleep has claimed her.
Nyx folds a wing over Rhune and Willow, acting as a makeshift blanket to keep her extra warm. Then he and Rhune follow our mate into the dark.
Just before I rest my head, I spare a glance toward Cin. He’s now sitting at the edge of the shadowed tunnel, crouched with his hands pressed to his ears. He doesn’t move. He doesn’t appear to be breathing. If our bond weren’t alive and thrumming, I’d have to run over and check that he was alive.
He’s not dead, but he’s also not here. Cin is gone, and I don’t know what to do to get him back.
Pushing my worries to the back of my mind, I lay my head down and force my eyes shut, begging sleep to claim me, too.
“Everyone get up! NOW!”
I bolt up straight, my hands reaching out in the dark, searching blindly for my mate. My heart thuds loud in my ears, but it's not enough to drown out the chorus of monstrous screams echoing through the cavern.
Danger. Find Willow. Run.
My thoughts run wild as I swipe through the shadows, my hands colliding with Rhune’s sturdy shoulder. Without me needing to ask, he guides my hand to Willow’s head, letting me feel she’s really here.
She’s okay, he shouts through our bond. We need to move!
The three of us jump to our feet, finding Vhalthor’s soldiers standing at attention, weapons raised and eyes scanning the shadows, preparing for a fight.
Cin is the only one who seems unaffected by it all.
He’s standing off to the side, frozen in place and staring into the dark, like it’s whispering its secrets to him.
The screams grow louder, drowning out all thought, filling my veins with terror.
We might all die before our journey even starts…