Chapter 18 #2
I paused as Shava’s voice rang out through the cave. I didn’t have the breath in me to whisper, let alone answer her. How the fuck had she gotten over here? Was it divine intervention? Never had I been so thankful to hear another person’s voice.
“Are you in there?”
A pathetic wheeze was the only sound I could make. She’d never hear it.
“If he doesn’t answer, that’s a good thing, right?” Shava asked, quietly enough that it was likely to herself. Unless she had that other woman with her.
“Or it means he’s dead or hurt, you idiot,” Shava continued, answering her own question.
I would have snorted if I could have spared the air.
She went silent, and the momentary relief I’d felt at her presence spiked into panic as I worried she’d left.
Scrabbling sounds filled the cave behind me, and the sound of cloth scraping against stone.
“Son of a bitch, this shit is tight.”
I tried to keep my emotions in check, knowing that I didn’t have any room to spare for my chest to heave in thanks.
Silent tears leaked from the corners of my eyes before I could stop them, the only physical outlet of emotion I could allow.
Plus, no one could see them in the dark, so what did it matter?
My situation hadn’t changed at all with Shava’s presence, but the amount of relief coursing through my body was tangible. What was it about having just another person with you that made a terrible situation bearable? I wasn’t used to relying on others in this way. I didn’t like it.
“Tight spaces. Just—oh!”
Shava literally banged into me, reaching for the crevice only to discover me already wedged in between it. Her hands drifted over me, one resting on my leg, and the other sliding down my back, focusing on feeling my heartbeat and my small, panting breaths.
“You are alive. That’s good.”
Other than my mother, she was likely only the second person to feel that way about me.
Fuck. Stop crying like one of the kitchen wenches.
My lack of control was just as terrifying as the situation itself.
I couldn’t see her, but I felt how her body contorted around the rocks and me.
“I’d like to pull you out, if that’s ok.” Her hand still rested gently on my face, so she felt it when I vehemently shook my head.
She drew away, her anger palpable in the air. “What, you want me to push you through to the other side? What if there is no other side?”
An irritated wheeze escaped my lips.
“Just wait a moment. Don’t go anywhere.”
I would have sworn she’d said the last bit sarcastically, but without seeing her expression, it was impossible to say. Her tentative footsteps echoed around me as she moved, carefully picking her way through the cavern, using a path I hadn’t chosen.
Her grunts of labor filled the air as I waited, attempting to keep my breathing regular and even.
“Really picked a good one, didn’t you? Urgh!”
Her shout mingled with the sound of tumbling rocks and debris. I hated how my heart rate increased, sweat dripping down my back as it went silent in the cave in the wake of tumbling rocks.
Was she injured? Dead? Would I languish here, slowly dying while her corpse decomposed feet away from me?
My ears strained to pick up the slightest sound.
Nothing.
“Fuck!”
Her voice echoed loudly in the cavern, and I flinched at the unexpected shout. Relief poured through me at hearing her voice.
She shuffled in behind me again.
“All right, I’m back. Sorry to say, but it only narrows further ahead. If you would have pushed any further, you’d be a goner. Let’s get you out.”
Disbelief warred with embarrassment and shame. I didn’t enjoy being told I couldn’t do something. Even worse, I hated being indebted to someone because I had been stupid.
“Going to pull you back now.” She maneuvered around to my back again, grabbing my arm and giving an experimental tug. After some thought, she dropped it and grabbed my exposed upper thigh instead. “More area to pull from—give me a moment.”
Whether she meant that, I didn’t get a moment to consider. She immediately yanked me back, hard.
Pain assaulted me, burning a hole in my chest. A whimper left me, but that was all the sound I could spare. It was harder than ever to get any air in my lungs.
“Shit.” Her hands felt around the rock. “You’ve already gone past the narrowest part. I think I can break some of it. Hold up.”
She rustled around in her clothing, and must have found what she was looking for. Without warning, she struck, sending sparks flying that illuminated her determined face.
Again and again she struck, with no obvious effects. It did nothing against the rock, as I thought. What had she expected? She?—
“Ah, there it is.”
WHAM. CRACK.
A different pitch sounded out of the left center of the rock pinning my left side. Shava turned the blade around in her hand and slammed the reddish metal hilt down against that spot as hard as she could.
Impossibly, the rock cracked and split.
I gasped in air as I suddenly had a few more inches to work with. Shava laughed with triumph and brushed more rock away. Avoiding the jagged edges she created, she slowly helped pull me back out of the crevice and back into the main chamber.
Sweat poured down my back, my arms and legs shaking as I collapsed back in the main cavern. Shava kneeled in front of me, taking my head in her hands.
I was not ok.
“Zephyr, are you?—”
Caught up in a vicious cocktail of adrenaline, fear, and lust, I seized her and slammed her up against the cave wall, her back hitting it with a muffled thud.
My mouth closed over hers. Minutes ago, I’d been unable to breathe. Now I’d steal her breaths.
Desperation drove me into her, along with the unfamiliar sensations of gratitude and the fear attached to it. I couldn’t rely on anyone—it made me weak, and an easy target. I didn’t know how to cope with it. I especially was afraid of how much I liked it; having someone else to rely on.
No, I wasn’t being desperate. It was just lust; simple lust. I’d fuck her and be done with it as a thank you, and nothing more. One hand went around her delicate neck, feeling her pulse push rapidly against the pad of my thumb. Her skin was flushed, eyes bright with arousal.
Lust. It was just lust.
I kept her pinned with my right hand, the left one throwing her skirt over her shoulder. My breeches went down my hips with a single shove, and the next moment my length rubbed against her heat, which was wet, warm, and inviting.
“Zeph,” she moaned, jolting me. No one had ever called me that before. Did I like it?
These new thoughts and feelings were confusing. To avoid thinking about them, I thrust into her.
“ZEPH!”
Don’t get caught up in emotions. Don’t fall for her. You’re just grateful to be out of those rocks.
“How did you know how to do that? With the knife?” I clarified as I thrust, not breaking my rhythm or giving her time to think.
“W-what?” she choked, eyes hooded and half-closed with pleasure.
I gave one large thrust, plastering my body against hers and leaning in. My grip around her neck tightened, both of us panting with exertion.
“A-a girl,” Shava stuttered out. “From the stone quarter. She told me every stone has a weak spot. You just have to pay attention and find it. She’s dead now. ”
Her eyes sharpened, as if remembering the other girl’s demise in excruciating detail.
So, she hit the stone until she found the weak spot.
It was so simple and brilliant that I believed her. Girls from the stone quarter would be well-versed in masonry, so the source was credible, and I couldn’t argue with the results.
I was alive.
And fucking Shava into oblivion.
“Please, Zeph, oh gods …”
Her eyes rolled back into her head as I pounded into her faster and faster, my fingers leaving indents around her neck. My other hand dug into her hair and twisted it around my wrist, pulling hard.
I didn’t want to hurt her, just discourage her from thinking this was anything other than a quick fuck. I didn’t need her developing anything for me, and the feeling was mutual. Clover had always acted afraid when I’d gotten rough with her.
But not Shava.
My harsh treatment of her had the opposite effect. Her heart rate increased, her breathing hitched, and frustratingly enough, her inner walls tightened and bore down on me.
Oh fuck, I was going to ? —
“AH!”
Hot wetness flooded my cock, my release out of my control as we cried out simultaneously. My hips continued to move against hers as I spent myself into her, her body limp around me.
“Oh my gods. Zeph.”
She sank against me, and I let her. I owed her something for saving my ass. Again.
“T-thank you,” I grumbled halfheartedly against her .
Her hand stroked my cheek, eyes boring into mine. Or they tried to; I kept mine firmly on a point on the cave wall.
Her arms came around me and hugged me, her face in my chest. My muscles tensed, afraid she’d say something ridiculous, like she cared for me.
“How did you get over here?” I asked. Zariah had flown away, after all.
She grinned at me, puffing up with pride. “I’m a good climber.”
My lips parted with surprise. Surely she wasn’t suggesting she’d climbed up to the cave hole, had she? Well, I suppose I was about to find out.
“Let us get back to the others. No more caves for today.”
Shava nodded and together we headed out into the stifling heat.