Chapter 34
You Always Save Me
“Soren! Eliana!” Farren’s shouting came from above.
Soren dropped his hands from me and jerked away, but I couldn’t breathe, let alone change positions or get up and walk. It had nothing to do with my injuries and everything to do with the kiss that had just launched my world into oblivion.
Could that even be called a kiss? Soren had just stolen something. I didn’t know exactly what it was, but I knew it couldn’t be replaced. He’d snatched it away without my permission and now held it deep in the palm of his hand. And I knew there was no chance of him ever returning it.
I couldn’t see his expression in the shadows, but I could only hope he was somewhat as affected as I was. Probably not, though. Meanwhile, I had chunks carved out of me thanks to his wicked tongue and was left wide-eyed and panting for air.
Would he have kept going if Farren hadn’t interrupted? Would I have let him.
Though I wished I could sit there and fantasize about what it would have looked like if he had kept going, seeing Soren on his feet, stepping back to try to get a better view of the opening twenty feet up, was a bit distracting.
“Are you standing up right now?!” I balked at Soren. I’d just pulled shrapnel from his gut, and the dude had almost bled to death.
“Eliana?!” Farren’s voice called down again from above. “Are you alright?”
I ignored her and tried to stand up for the sole purpose of smacking Soren because of so many reasons, but putting pressure on my ankle sent a jolt of pain up my leg. I cried out and crumpled. Soren’s arm flung out to catch me.
“Are you seriously standing right now, Soren?” I hissed at him, still angry even though he did save me from toppling. His arm was still around me, pulling me close enough to feel every breath.
He’d had his lips on mine only moments ago.
I shook my head to clear it. “You acted like you were dying earlier.”
And now I felt like I would—die, that is. My internal temperature approached solar flare status as he smirked down at me.
“I was,” he replied, warm breath caressing my cheek and heating my mouth. “You saved me. You always save me.”
Thump. Thump. THUMP.
“Eliana! Stop ignoring me!” Farren screeched.
“Are they down there?” Salah called from further away.
“Sorry,” I called back up, too breathlessly. I slapped Soren’s arm out of anger, but he didn’t let me go. Instead, he looped one of my arms over his shoulder. “Soren and I are both down here,” I said to Farren. Then whispering to Soren, “What are you doing?”
“She’s hurt her ankle,” Soren called up. “Toss a rope, and I’ll climb us both out.”
As soon as the rope dropped in front of us, he got me onto his back and scrambled up with unreasonable speed until Farren and Salah were able to hoist me out of the pit with a few grunts and snorts.
Merm appeared shortly after with Zuri, who healed my ankle back from triple its normal size and whatever I'd wrenched in my back. Then we were all ushered back to camp, where two actual carriages with live horses were waiting to take us to the entrance of NTG.
Merm floated in front of the horses, the ground around him bending laws of physics that I still wasn’t sure existed. I mean, I didn’t know Earth existed all that long ago.
“Okay, folks! I know you’re tired, and though you all have a ways to go before you are truly a team that can work together and not end up destroying the world, you have managed to perform well enough to go back to the dormitory.”
Cheers and sighs erupted from most of us. I looked to Soren, only to see him talking to Marigold, all hushed and too huddled up. He appeared bored but was still way too close. She smiled and batted those thick lashes up at him.
White, hot rage surged through me. I clenched my fists at my sides and turned back to focus on Merm. The asshole just tongued the back of my throat and immediately went back to her.
Fuck them both.
“And seeing as tonight is The Feast of Forever,” Merm continued, “You all should get back to your rooms and start getting ready. Hup, hup. Don your finest and come ready to party.”
Everyone cheered this time, except me.
I just blinked, completely unaware again as Adriel and Matthias tossed crude comments back and forth about what the ladies were going to be wearing tonight and how much wine they’d drink to “get ‘em loose”.
Retch.
Salah and Farren explained to me on the ride back that The Feast of Forever was a celebration of what the Anointed did for the world over three thousand years ago by sacrificing himself so that all of creation could be “cured of the curse”, setting in motion the events that would lead to the eventual defeat of the Dark One.
I was only happy Adriel wasn’t in our car to make fun of the way my eyes kept bouncing around in confusion at the mention of things like blood sacrifice and spotless lamb, as if offering people up on an altar should be considered the norm, much less something to celebrate.
The guild apparently liked to commemorate the Anointed’s sacrifice with a huge feast and fancy dresses. It sounded surprisingly appealing after two weeks of rotating between two sets of clothes and eating on the forest floor.
“Wait,” I interrupted Salah’s overly detailed description of some romance drama that played out last year between three people I’ve never met. “If the Anointed was sacrificed, doesn’t that mean he’s dead?”
Farren and Salah nodded.
I blinked.
“Um,” I looked at both of them, and even to the other carriage a few yards back, where the boys were all laughing with Marigold.
Well, Soren wasn’t laughing, but he wasn’t scowling either, so close enough.
I sighed as I turned back to my friends.
I couldn’t believe they were actually going to make me ask this.
“How am I supposed to find someone who’s dead, and why would it matter? ”
“You’re not only going to find him, you’re going to trigger the Resurrection,” Salah said with a tilt of her head to the left.
“Re-sur-rec-tion,” I enunciated slowly. I’d heard that word before. My spine straightened, and my eyes flew open as I looked between the two of them. “You mean…you think I’m really going to bring him back from the dead?!”
Again, double nodding.
It was during the longest shower I’d ever taken that I heard the announcement:
“All residents, please make your way to the Cafeteria for our celebration of The Feast of Forever.”
A white box greeted me from my bed when I walked out of the attached bathroom into my dorm room.
Someone must have slipped into my room while I was in the shower.
A soft unease stirred in my gut as I opened the box.
I half-expected a severed body part with another threatening sketch and cryptic message.
Inside was a long gown and a not-so-cryptic note. The gown had winged sleeves of crushed velvet that matched the skirt, which kissed the floor when my heels were flat. The bodice was a gorgeous gold, with red thread wound throughout in an intricate pattern.
The note had been penned with impeccable cursive:
It is the dress I wore to my first celebration of The Feast of Forever.
I hope you like it.
- Winifred
After slipping into the gown, I spun around in front of the full-length mirror in the corner of the room and blushed at my own smile.
Astrid would have retched if she saw me in this.
She’d have something to say about the colors clashing or the unflattering shape, but I thought it was the most gorgeous thing I’d ever worn.
It felt meaningful. This gown had meant something to someone, and they wanted me to have it.
That, and I genuinely liked the medieval vibe that sang of old, Ancient stories of dragons and knights. I looked like the princess for once.
Knocks on the door from several hands interrupted my fashion show.
“Hurry up, Princess!” Farren jeered.
I smiled to myself and quickly stuffed the note into the drawer of my nightstand before shuffling over to greet my friends. Tonight, I was a princess with friends!
Farren grabbed my arm as soon as I opened the door.
Salah reached for my other one.
My friends were dressed just as brilliantly as I felt, in flowing dresses from a similar era of style.
Salah’s stretched up to the collar, wrapping around her neck. The sheer sleeves cuffing her wrists shimmered in the hall lights. Her brown skin matched the golds and warm yellows of her gown perfectly.
Farren’s dress squeezed much tighter around her form with a corset drawn so strictly that the low bustline barely held her in. The dark black and bright silver of the gown highlighted her pale skin so that I could imagine this was exactly what the fabled Snow White must have looked like.
“We gotta get there before the first course starts!” Salah announced. “I don’t want to miss the baba ghanouj!”
“Let me at least put some shoes on,” I squeaked and slipped on some black flats.
“What happened to your face?!” Farren demanded with narrowed eyes. She let go of me so she could pop both fists on her hip.
“What do you mean?” I whipped back inside my room and checked the mirror, only to see that my face looked the same way it always did.
That was the problem, apparently.
Salah whined pathetically, but they both shoved their way into my dorm with me and plopped me down into the chair before the vanity table before getting to work. With food on the line, they worked in a fury to apply some color to patches all over my face and whip my hair into a half-do.
Then, when I’d managed to hit their standard of ready, we skipped hand in hand to the party.
I didn’t care one bit for all the time it took to get ready, never had.
Still, it was nice to dress up again like this.
Considering Astrid used to force it on me at least a few times a week to boost our socials, I missed the normalcy of my old painted life.
Plus, I looked damn hot.
The cafeteria had been transformed into an entirely different room.
The long rectangular tables had been replaced by smaller round ones covered in white cloth that reached the floor.
Five chandeliers, each with about fifty candles, hung from the ceiling, casting a soft glow.
An ample open space had been cleared in the center for dancing, and violin music wafted from a small performance space at the far end of the room.
Every table overflowed with foods that somehow looked even more delicious than usual, presented with perfect elegance. The air was rich with the scent of wine, savory dishes, and a strangely perfect blend of perfumes, colognes, and oils.
Riaan and Zuri sat at the table closest to the door with other kids their age. They were among the youngest group in attendance tonight. I spotted Ezra and Winifred at a table farther in, with Veda nearby.
When Veda saw me, she came rushing over, wearing a billowy blouse and loose, embroidered gold pants.
“Eliana,” she said with a grin and pulled me into an immediate hug.
Salah and Farren hurried to claim seats across the room as Veda slapped me hard on the back.
“Glad you’re finally back from boot camp!” She leaned in to whisper, “I have a book for you after supper.” Then she stepped back and whistled far too loudly. “Wow, girl. You clean up nice. What do you think, Soren?”