Chapter 30 #2
Salah pulled out the rest of the weapons packs one by one.
Matthias came over and started pulling from the other side of the mound. The bags not carrying weapons were filled with supplies: tent materials and a few small provisions. We each got one extra change of clothes. All of the items had been pre-packed and sent over last night.
Poor Soren. He’d only have one shirt for the rest of this little adventure, considering the one he came in was now wrapped around my leg.
Not the end of the world if he has to go shirtless some days.
I tried to help with unloading the bags, but Farren and Matthias both told me I had to sit down because of my injury.
I ended up sorting out tent supplies from the new piles they created, refusing to be useless.
Adriel and Soren came over in rotation to get some supplies from me and set up the four tents.
“Did anyone tell you the meaning of that necklace yet?” Matthias asked after dropping a duffel full of pegs and ropes beside me.
I dipped my chin to see the scepter pendant lying just askew from my birthmark.
“Yeah. Apparently, it was my grandmother’s.”
Matthias had that naturally angelic baby face, but he looked shockingly grown up when he gave a lopsided grin.
“Yeah, but before that,” he said, crouching on one knee and unpacking the bag. “Did they tell you where it came from? How Lenore got it?”
When I shrugged and shook my head, Matthias perked up, a grin spreading with his eyes lighting up.
“It’s Pietre's Sceptre,” Matthias said, his attention fully on me. “One of the original Twelve. Legend says the gemstones were gifted to his widow by one of the soldiers who executed him. It’s the same twelve gemstones that can be found in the cave we swam through.”
Matthias’s slender fingers reached for the charm. When they brushed against the skin on my chest, they left a trail of fiery bumps in their wake.
The heat from behind me reached a whole other level of scorching and carried the scent of smoke and minty tangerine, snuffing out the blaze on my chest instantly.
“If you don’t want to lose those fingers in the most excruciating manner possible,” Soren’s growl landed just before a heavy hand dropped to my shoulder. “You need to take ten steps back in the next five seconds.”
Matthias breathed out a laugh and let the necklace fall back against my chest.
“Alright,” he said and raised both hands. “Easy there, Papi.”
Soren turned his glare on me. The grip on my shoulder tightened.
“I thought I told you to stay away from him,” he nearly barked.
“I don’t care what you told me!” I snapped, squirming under his hold.
“You can’t control who I talk to.” My lips drew into a tight pucker.
I’d almost forgotten he was the enemy. I’d gotten so wrapped up in how gentle he was earlier.
Good thing he had a habit of constantly reminding me that he was a controlling scumbag.
Soren crouched, lowering himself until his eyes were level with mine. His black irises swam, silver flecks struggling to surface—only to be pulled back under and suffocated.
“Then I’ll determine whether he gets to take another breath or has my hand through his chest, ripping his heart out right in front of you.”
What the hell is wrong with him? And what the hell is wrong with me?!
How could I have ever let my guard down around this monster? I shouldn’t have gotten on that zip-line with him in the first place.
My eyes widened so much that the skin around them stung from the air. “You’re ins—”
“Elle!” Salah jogged over, and Soren stood and walked off as if he hadn’t just threatened to murder his friend.
“Farren and I are going to the river to get some fish, berries, and greens for dinner. Come with us. You can chill on one of the rocks if you want.”
I stole a glance at Soren—now driving a stake into the ground with his palm—and nodded to Salah. The last thing I wanted was to stay here with Mr. Moodswap Murderton.
The three of us grabbed our clean sets of clothes. Salah had the brilliant idea to wash off in the stream, and I couldn’t think of anything I wanted more after sitting in damp clothes on dirt-caked rocks with insects crawling all over me for the past few hours.
I heard the river before I saw it rushing through the trees. It was really more of a creek, with smooth stones poking above the bubbling water.
Farren and Salah foraged near a grove while I tied strong reeds into nets for fishing. According to Farren, Adriel and Matthias had gone hunting for meat. I scowled at my injured thigh—I could’ve proven myself with a bow if not for my own clumsiness.
“What about Marigold and Soren?” I asked and regretted it instantly.
Farren snorted. “Probably don’t want to know,” she muttered. “Not really an image I like to dwell on. Ugh. I bet she makes the worst noises.”
Salah turned from picking small green berries, her eyes wide and innocent.
“Marigold is sorting the wares,” she said. “Soren’s setting up surveillance.”
“Surveillance?” I asked. “I thought we were in a training facility.”
Farren cackled, throwing her head back. “It’s the training grounds, not a facility. Somewhat safe—but still very much open to the wild. Mods and other Tower weapons can’t get in, but our barriers won’t stop hungry animals.”
After about two hours of foraging, we moved on to fishing. I stood in the water and tried to catch a few, but I’d never been a passive person.
According to Salah, my aggressiveness was scaring the fish. She caught three. Farren got one.
Whatever. Give me a bow, and I’ll shoot so many fish that it’ll be coming out of everyone’s ears.
Guess I’m just the kind of girl who’s bearable from afar, but get too close, and you’ll get burned (or frightened out of my net).
“That should be plenty,” Farren finally said. “Let’s wash off and take them back to clean ‘em and eat ‘em!”
She was already peeling off her shirt and tossing it to a dry rock. I looked away before she could undo her bra.
Though Salah and Farren teased me about being shy in front of other girls, they didn’t push too hard.
They let me wait until after they’d headed back to take my own quick river-bath.
I didn’t consider myself modest, but I was a private person.
I’d learned young not to show off the rest of the mark that marred my skin all the way down to my waist. Considering how precious the mark was to the guild, Farren and Salah would have ogled me nonstop if I took my shirt off in front of them.
Fortunately, they respected my need to bathe alone and sauntered off back to camp without me after drilling me to make sure I knew how to get back alone.
The stream flowed shallow in most places (which I appreciated, considering I’d nearly died in water a few hours ago). But about fifty meters down, there was a spot where I could crouch low enough to cover my shoulders if I stood at the center of the riverbed.
I set the towel on a nearby rock and slipped into the water up to my shoulders, undressing while submerged. I scrubbed my clothes and Soren’s torn shirt against the stones and laid them out on sun-warmed rocks beneath the canopy’s filtered light.
I tried to wash quickly without irritating the wound on my leg. Though no one was in sight, I kept hearing twigs snapping and rustling brush.
Stupid pervert-squirrels.
I planned my moves, then shot up from the water and wrapped the threadbare towel around myself. But when I turned toward shore, I screamed.
“You really want everyone to find us, don’t you?”
Marigold stood with her back against a tree trunk, arms pretzeled, mouth curved in an amused grin.
“W–were you…watching me?” I managed to stutter.
“Ew, no! Gross.” She pulled a face, then stood upright. “I came to wash off and didn’t want to share the water with you.”
“Sure. Whatever,” I said as I made my way out of the river. I’d picked up my shirt and was pulling it over my head when I noticed she was still standing there, studying me.
“What now?” I asked
“Stay away from my brother.”
“Err…okay.” I let the towel slip farther and tried to wrestle my way into the tight-fitting T-shirt. “Bit difficult considering we’re on the same team.”
“I’m telling you this for your own good,” Marigold said, eyes lighting up.
“He’s messing with you because his innermost being is literally created to prey on girls he can drain the life out of.
You’re just a meal to him. A very tasty one considering what you are.
If you mess with him, you’re gonna get eviscerated. ”
I cleared my throat and kept working the shirt over the towel. Huffing from the effort of finally yanking it into place against my damp skin, I found my voice again.
“You don’t need to worry about me, Marigold,” I said. I wished I could’ve made it sound as snarky as she would’ve. “I’m a big girl. Besides, I have only one person on my mind.”
I meant Azazel and his death, but I knew exactly what she’d assume.
Marigold’s reaction was just as satisfying as I’d hoped it would be. Her jaw flexed. The color drained from her icy blue irises.
“I’d stay away from Soren too, if I were you,” she snarled. “That one’s a bit personal—but still for your own good. If I don’t claw your throat out, he’ll make you wish I had. He’s not human like you. Even a succubus like me can barely handle him.”
Right. She was a succubus, like Matthias was an incubus. Could she hypnotize me as well? She definitely qualified as a soul-sucking parasite.
I tried to resist the bait and focused on wriggling into a pair of shorts that looked just as tight and torturous as the shirt. In my most casual tone, I asked without even looking at her, “What is he then? If he’s not human or like you and Matthias.”
Marigold’s face shifted—scrunched and widened all at once. She stepped away from the tree, arms dropping to her sides. Her smile spread slowly, like she’d been waiting her whole life to tell me this.
“He’s a nephilim. The child of a Fallen and a human.
He could kill every single one of us without breaking a sweat.
Every fiber of his being aches to destroy anything human in this world.
And if a nephilim corrupts a Daughter of the Scepter, he puts the entire Resurrection plan in jeopardy.
” She tilted her head. “You’re not just any Daughter, either.
You’re the last one. And you wouldn’t physically survive being with someone like him.
He’ll drain the very life from your bones after breaking them into pieces.
Then he’d end up destroying any chance of us saving the world from the Dark One.
” She ended her tirade with a smirk as if she’d landed a blow I couldn’t come back from, as if I had any clue what she was babbling on about.
I finally managed to get my shorts on and slung the towel around my neck, taking a long breath.
“Mmm,” I nodded. Then a laugh escaped me just as a bird cawed overhead.
“Wait—what do you mean by corrupted? And why are you telling me this?” My voice sharpened. “You’re afraid it’ll actually happen?” I laughed again. “You’re afraid he’ll ‘corrupt’ me?”
Hell, I was afraid it would actually happen. I didn’t doubt a word she’d said. I’d read about nephilim in a few old texts. They were mysterious, half-mythical giants who could terrorize entire armies.
Sounded like Soren.
The worst part was that they were the product of the Fallen raping human women, and they were known to be equally vicious in how they treated others for the sake of their own sexual gratification, especially those they found attractive.
Marigold’s look of amusement soured into a snarl. She crossed her arms again.
“He can’t be with you, Eliana,” she hissed. “It would ruin everything we’ve all been working for. It would destroy both of you. And if you can’t stay away, I’ll make you.”
“You don’t have to worry about that,” I assured her as I scooped up my wet clothes. “I’m not gonna steal your man. I might steal your dinner, though, so take all the time you need with your bath.”
Then I turned in what I hoped was the direction I’d come from earlier and stomped off triumphantly toward camp. Marigold’s assumption replayed in my head like victory music.
At least I’d finally won a battle with the mean girl.
Too bad no one else had been around to see it.
And too bad my arch-nemesis just turned out to be one of the most powerful dark creatures in the universe with a penchant for destroying those he seduced.
That's me.
I'm seduced.
Day Four, y’all.