58. Lina
Lina
I tumble down and down and down, slamming into jagged rocks and sliding against slick stones, gritty with dirt. I don’t know how far I fall or how many stones I hit on my way, but when my body slams against the final rock, I know nothing but pain.
It lances its way through every limb.
Finally , a voice hisses.
My eyes fly open, but I can see little beyond blackness. Even here, in darkness so thick it’s like a living thing, there are shadows. They shift and slither. Dim, faded gray in the dark.
Then, in the distance, two tiny green lights flicker in and then out.
Despite the immense pain, I force my body upright, panting and shivering.
I’m going to die. Here, in this dark place. Here, alone and cold and afraid.
Am I already dying?
Forgive me, Astella. I tried. I tried to make it back to you.
I still don’t know where she is. Is she here? Is she out in the world, fighting to survive?
Please be okay. Please fight. For me. For us.
For a world that doesn’t have to be like this.
I mourn us one last time. I mourn the hope I held so dearly. I believed it. I believed I could make it out of this place, but instead I found tricks and games and comfort that was fleeting. A facade. I knew it. It knew it all along, and yet, they almost got to me.
He almost got to me. He almost made me believe he could be good. He made me believe there was something worth fighting for, not only out in the world, but even down here in this hell hole.
One last trick.
I won’t fall for it again.
I squeeze the beads of my bracelet. Lucca. I miss you too. I’m sorry I— I betrayed him. I swallow. I wouldn’t forgive me if I was him.
There is no justice in this place, just like Haze told me.
There is only death.
And so, into death’s claws will I flee.
Sharp pain shoots up from my ankle and my back, but I’m able to move gingerly through it. And so, I walk forward.
That overwhelming power I’d felt before sits on my chest, making it hard to breathe. It smells like horse manure and decay. Like I haven’t fallen into the cave where the drakai live—I’ve fallen straight into their stomachs. A grave filled with bones and remnants of lives stolen.
Is that what I feel so deeply? The echo of souls lost here?
I breath in, despite the discomfort of the unpleasant smell.
I limp forward, waiting for my turn to die. Expecting the crunch of jaws, the slice of my skin splitting open.
Warm air rushes at me, blowing my hair back. My brain stutters.
Come closer, pretty one. I’d like a taste.
Something rattles. The growl of an ancient beast.
I whimper. If there was ever a time I was supposed to be brave, now would be it. “Who are you?”
The grumble continues but bounces, almost like a laugh.
I am the one who will end your existence. Are you ready to face death?
“Yes,” I whisper. “I’m ready.”
The air around me stills.
I wait.
The stillness is even more unnerving than the inhuman threats.
What is she? a distant voice whispers.
“Mine.”
I suck in a breath. I spin, trying to find the new source of the voice. “Who’s there?” I ask. It must be a drakai, right? I’m unsure, though. It sounded different. It didn’t have that same inhuman hum.
It’s so dark I can’t see anything. I step forward, but I don’t know if I’m going closer to a drakai or farther.
I don’t want to fear anymore. I don’t want to wonder.
I just want it all to end so I can rest.
But it seems this world has more torment intended for me because alongside a powerful roar comes a set of powerful arms that grab my body.
Suddenly, I am flying. Up, down, or around, I don’t know, but air is moving and so is my body, and he is here. Warm, gentle arms are around my waist, and soon the air flees from my lungs, and shattering pain shoots through my legs. I cry out and my body slams to the ground.
I groan through tears.
His arms carefully pull me up. “Are you okay?”
I cough and finally, mercifully, air returns to my aching lungs. “Haze?” I choke out.
“Stay behind me,” he says. His voice sounds so kind, so full of concern. How? How does he not hate me? I tried to kill him. I condemned him to death in this pit of despair.
“I thought—Is there a way out?”
He doesn’t answer that question. Perfect.
Rhythmic thudding shakes the ground. “He’s coming for you,” Haze says.
I still can’t see more than a faded silhouette in the darkness. “Who?”
“Rygnar. Green draken, real asshole.”
“Huh,” I squeak out. “Why don’t you just let him have me? Why—What are we even doing?”
I still can’t see him, but I sure can feel him when he shifts to face me. His body inches from mine. “I’ve never been good at knowing when a battle is lost. I will keep fighting until my last breath. If you’ll let me, I’ll fight for you too.”
I suck in a long breath, dizzy with the implication.
“I still hate you,” I breathe.
“Good. Your hate is right, Dove. You should hate me. But don’t make the mistake of thinking that means I hate you in return.”
And then, he’s gone. Wind rushes past me. A beast roars. And then, soon, there is a chorus of them. Howling, and rumbling so loud I cover my ears with my palms.
I don’t hear if he’s spoken to me, but I feel Haze’s hand on my arm, so gentle despite the danger. He tugs me, and somehow, my feet obey. I am running, running, with the man I hate. The man I stabbed in the chest just minutes before.
There is light ahead. Soft, glowing green light.
I glance over my shoulder, and I see the draken for the first time. But it isn’t only one—there are a dozen. Massive creatures that move like serpents. Their bodies slither, but their four feet stomp. Their tails are covered in armor, sparkling and hard, each one in a different color.
Their jaws are sharp, their eyes glowing in the dark.
Those things are coming for me.
Haze yanks me behind him and then throws his arm up. He has no weapon, but apparently, he doesn’t need it. Inky black magic swirls up, building a wall between us and the creatures.
“I can’t fight them all,” he says, panting. “We have to climb out.” He points to a spot to his left.
I nod quickly, even though I suspect that is a task far beyond my abilities.
A roar and raking claws slash at the magic wall. Seconds. It only lasted seconds before the hoard of draken come flying through the magic like shattering glass.
Haze throws more magic at the beasts, but there are too many. Black magic sends one flying to the ground but another simply replaces it. Soon, there are more than a dozen.
I stumble backward, away from the tsunami of monstrous reptiles.
Something rattles behind me then cracks the ground next to my foot.
“What—”
Everything stills as I turn my gaze up, up, up. Up a red-scaled leg then chest. Then to jaws filled with razor sharp teeth.
This drakai is taller than the ceiling in the sanctuary. Fifty feet—Is that even possible? I didn’t know they got that large.
The rumble in the lizard’s chest is soft. I don’t dare move but my wide eyes do not leave its dripping fangs.
The chaos behind me stops suddenly. But I don’t look away from the beast hovering over me.
The drakai clamoring for the right to be the one to eat me alive have stilled.
“Amora,” Haze says, voice strained. “Amora, she is mine.”
The red draken lowers its head nearer to me and huffs out a rancid breath.
No , the rich female voice rings through my mind. No, she is mine.