Chapter 6
Chapter six
“Dammit, Kaelith.”
She spun, scanning the space for any sign of where he might’ve gone.
It was Five-Day. Most of the village would already be tucked away in that secret gathering she wasn’t allowed to attend. Which meant, if she moved fast, she might catch him before anyone realized he was missing.
Her eyes landed on the peg by the door. Her cloak was gone.
At least the bastard had the sense to cover himself.
She pivoted toward the exit, pushing aside the flap and stepping into the evening chill. Above her, the narrow shaft of sky at the top of the crevasse burned silver-blue. Below, the lower levels of the village stretched downward in tangled pathways and suspended platforms. Empty now—eerily so.
“Up,” she exhaled.
If he knew the village was locked away in the library—or temple, or whatever the hell they called it—he wouldn’t risk moving down where someone might catch him. No. He’d go up.
Toward escape.
Without me.
The thought landed hard, bitter behind her ribs. But she shoved it aside. Why would he wait for her? They were just trapped in the same place, not bound by anything more.
Jaw flexing, she took the ladder nearest the door, fingers wrapping around the worn rope rungs as she hauled herself upward.
If he was here, she’d find him.
And if he wasn’t…
She climbed faster.
Moving quickly, her eyes scanned for signs—a half-scuffed footprint in the dust, a broken sprig of underbrush where none should’ve been, the faintest whiff of resin and sweat clinging to a trail only she could follow.
“Slow.” She crouched beside a warped set of prints at the edge of a moss-covered ledge. “The injury’s still messing with him…”
But then the trail veered, split, and disappeared. She froze, nostrils flaring.
“Shit,” she hissed, doubling back the way she came.
It shouldn't have taken this much effort. Her sight alone could spot a dropped needle in twilight. Her nose could track a deer through rain.
He’s good, she thought, lips spreading into a grin. But I’m better.
Branches scraped her shoulders as she darted through the thinning trees above the highest tier of the village. The path narrowed again. It was only uneven stone ledges now, half-swallowed by overgrowth. Her heart beat faster.
There!
Kaelith stood just ahead, his back to her, framed in mountain shadow.
A boulder taller than both of them combined blocked the mouth of a narrow cave. Etched symbols pulsed across the stone face—some carved deep, others scratched shallow like they were added later, newer.
He didn’t turn, though he must have known she was close. He always knew.
Slowing, her spine straightened even as her boots remained near-silent over the loose rock.
“Took you long enough,” he said, continuing to face forward.
“As if provoking a giant snake wasn’t enough,” Rynna muttered. “You mind telling me what this latest attempt at suicide is all about?”
Kaelith scoffed, looking toward the mountain’s ridge where the last edge of sunlight bled out behind stone.
“They’ll be busy for at least another hour.” The hood slipped from his head, dark hair falling neatly down his back.
He wasn’t wrong.
“You know they’ll kill me too if you’re found someplace off-limits.” She jerked her chin toward the boulder. “And this”—she swept a hand toward the carved rock face—“definitely qualifies.”
“I’m only caught if you tell on me.” He turned, facing her fully now. “And you won’t.”
Her eyes closed as she struggled not to strangle him.
But. Again. He wasn’t wrong.
It’s just self-preservation, she told herself. If he went down, she went down with him.
“Fine.” Her arms dropped, boots crunching as she stepped forward to join him.
His scent threaded into her lungs, earthy, like dew on leaves at dawn, thick with shadows and something harder to name.
“What is all this, anyway?” She looked at the strange markings etched across the boulder’s surface.
Her fingertips reached for one of the symbols. But the moment her skin met stone, a bite of cold leapt into her fingers. Jerking back, she rubbed her palms together.
Beside her, Kaelith tapped two fingers against his chin, eyes never leaving the symbols.“I haven’t the faintest,” he said softly, then bumped his hip lightly against hers. “But if I had to guess…maybe don’t touch the ancient mystery rock.” A sliver of a smirk tugged at his mouth.
Stepping back half a step, she tamped down the warmth his touch stirred.
“You risked both our lives on a random mystery rock?”
But…his trail hadn’t wandered. He’d known exactly where he was headed.
“I don’t buy it. You didn’t stumble across this place.”
His brow furrowed, and he cut her a glance from the corner of his eye. “You can’t feel it?”
She clamped her lips shut, the muscle in her cheek twitching.
“No awareness of the Source. No elemental tethers, either.” His teeth closed lightly around the inside of his lip, the motion small, absent. “Clothing that doesn’t match any region on the continent. And endurance that should require Source power, or at least elemental anchoring.”
He turned to face her fully. “And then there’s the very interesting way you reacted to my blood.”
Rynna froze as Kaelith’s hand lifted and pushed a loose strand of hair away from her face. The braid he’d tied three days ago was starting to unravel.
“Who are you, Rynna?” His fingers lingered along her cheek. “And why—despite every instinct I’ve honed to recognize and manage a threat—does the idea of hurting you, of leaving you, feel like it might break something I can’t afford to lose?”
Her pulse jumped loud in her ears. And her hand lifted, hesitating between batting his away and drawing it closer.
Then—crack.
A snap of wood sounded behind them.
“Who’s—” she started, barely catching sight of the bolt of darkness whistling overhead.
She ducked as it crashed into the rock face above the cave, but the ledge was already collapsing.
Kaelith slammed into her. Her feet left the ground, spine jarring as she hit a nearby patch of gravel. His weight followed, crushing the air from her lungs, shielding her.
Stone thundered around them. Dust rose. Rynna blinked against it, vision blurring just as a rock, the size of her head, tumbled through the air straight for them.
“Kae—!”
He twisted, eyes flashing over his shoulder, but there was no time for them both to dodge. His body coiled over hers, braced. And the impact landed with a thud, driving a grunt from deep within him. Then his arms collapsed around her as he dropped fully.
“Kaelith!” she gasped, hands scrambling under his arms, lugging them both through the grit. He didn’t respond, head slumping onto her shoulder as she dragged them back inch by inch, scooting on her butt across the uneven ground.
“Don’t you dare fucking die on me!”
Dust hung thick in the air, refusing to settle as stones clattered down the slope.
“Don’t be dead.” She adjusted Kaelith’s body, winding her arms under his shoulders as the words tumbled out over and over. “Don’t be dead.”
Then she hauled his limp form behind a jagged boulder just wide enough to shield them from the direction the strike had come from. Pressing trembling fingers to his throat, the sound of falling stone still crashed down around them.
There. A faint beat beneath the pale skin.
“Thank the stars.”
Relief surged as her palms moved over him, checking his ribs, his head.
He could have died. The thought nearly blinded her, curling her hands into fists before she forced the rising anger down.
Focus.
She hesitated at his neck, fingertips sifting through his hair, sliding gently beneath the base of his skull to check the alignment. Too much pressure and she could do damage. Not enough, and she’d miss something critical.
Destroy them. The darkness within her fanned the building rage as fangs cut through her aching gums.
He groaned, leg twitching.
“Back’s not broken either. Good.” Her eyes squeezed shut, trying to stay calm as the bloodlust grew.
But he could have died. The darkness snarled, pressure building beneath her fingernails until the claws broke through the skin, black and taloned.
Blood pounded in her ears.
It was too late. She needed to break someone apart, devour them. Her vision was going dark, tainted red. Her nails scraped the stone beside his ribs, unintentional, and far too close. She drew her hand back fast, crouching lower.
No. Not him. Her forehead pressed into his shoulder.
Not him.
“Don’t move.” Her cheek grazed his. Word barely audible. Barely human. “Do not move until I get back. Your back or neck could be seriously fucked.”
“What?” he groaned. “Where—?”
“I’m going to manage the fucking threat,” she growled, sitting back on her heels.
Kaelith’s brow furrowed. He blinked hard, then opened his eyes again. They tracked sluggishly until they found her face. And widened. Just a fraction.
She knew what he saw.
Fangs bared. Eyes gone black. Claws tipped and twitching.
But he didn’t flinch.
“Kill them for me, would you?” The sigh passed his lips before his eyes closed again.
“I do not need to be carried, pet.”
Kaelith’s tongue flicked out, tracing along the curve of her neck, tasting the blood that still streaked down her skin. Not hers. It was from one of the men she’d killed.
His arm was slung over her shoulders, most of his body sagging against her back as she half-dragged him through the shadows.
“If you wanted your hands on me…” he murmured hot against her skin.
“Dammit, Kae.”
She dropped him, stepping away before he could react.
He grunted, surprise flashing across his face even as his body twisted, landing in a crouch, one hand catching the ground to balance.
“Now is not the time for your—” Heat bloomed low in her abdomen, traitorous and infuriating, but she pushed it down.
Footsteps. Close.
“Shit.” Rynna’s faced the sound. Mira’s dwelling was just up the path, and there weren’t many who walked it this late.
“She’s coming.” She grabbed Kaelith by the collar, yanking him back to his feet. “Let me do the talking.”