Chapter 1 #2
“Seeing as I’ve tried to sit up twice now, and each time caused the most excruciating pain to lance through me, I don’t think I’ll be moving on my own anytime soon.”
“W—who are you?” Riya stammered, ignoring his comment. “Where did you come from?”
He blinked up at her, and she watched as his face contorted, eyes narrowing as some realization played across his features. “Where am I?”
“I asked you the questions first. You are trespassing on my property, and I demand to know who you are.”
His brows rose, and Riya didn’t miss the slight twitch of his lips before he said, “I’m Vaxara, but you can call me Vax. I’m from Salamaand.”
“Sala…what?” Riya gawked at the man. He was speaking gibberish.
He was from somewhere that she had never even heard of.
How was that even possible? Sure, she was a bit sheltered most of her life, but she knew the cities of Svakland well enough, and Salamaand was most certainly not on any map she had ever seen.
He swallowed, the little apple in his throat bobbing, and she let her gaze travel to his exposed arms, the well-defined muscles there tensing.
She moved quickly back up to his face, where he bit down on his bottom lip, and that small gesture did something to Riya’s insides that had her shifting awkwardly.
The strange coloring and brightness of his skin, hair, and eyes, combined with the undeniable bulky strength of his body and the attractive angles of his face, were intoxicating.
She couldn’t look away. It was as if he were some creature from the underworld, who had crawled up to earth and was still warm from his fiery realm.
That thought didn’t frighten her as much as it should have.
“Will you answer my question now?” He said, shaking her from her thoughts. “Where am I?”
Riya licked her lips, and Vax’s nostrils flared ever so slightly.
“You’re in the far north of Svakland, along the Frost Sea, just north of Frosborg.”
His mouth moved, forming several shapes with no words coming out, until he finally chuckled, “It seems I am a very long way from home, because I don’t know any of the words you just said.”
Riya offered a small smile at that, feeling a little bold and slightly more comfortable with his joking tones. “I believe you are. I’ve never seen a person with pink skin before. Did you eat too many shrimp?”
His brows rose and then he laughed, the sound deep and rumbling, sending a tingle through Riya that was foreign, yet intriguing.
“Not to dampen the mood, but I’m fairly certain if I don’t get out of this snow soon, I may very well turn blue, and while I look good in the color, I’m not sure having blue skin would really suit me. I have no interest in looking like an Undina.”
Riya’s smile fell at that, and she glanced back at her cottage up the bank.
She was all alone out here, and this man was a stranger, and not a weak one by the looks of him.
Any amusement and curiosity that sent butterflies fluttering through her belly turned to ash in her gut.
The axe began to tremble in her hands as she looked back down at Vax.
She met his strange red eyes again, and she could have sworn they softened as if he knew exactly what she was thinking.
“I really can’t get up. I’m not trying to trick you.
” He coughed suddenly, falling into an uncontrollable fit and bringing his hand up to cover his mouth.
When he finally stopped, he groaned, pulling his hand away from his mouth where bright red blood was splattered across his palm. “Well that can’t be good.”
Riya’s brows rose in shock. He must be badly injured, an internal bleed was never a good sign. She came to his side, kneeling beside him, laying the axe down in the soggy sand. “Can you put your arm around my shoulders? I’m going to help you sit up.”
He seemed to be getting weaker with each passing moment because he could barely lift his arm, and Riya had to physically pick it up, placing it around her shoulders.
Slipping an arm under his back, she lifted.
He was exceptionally heavy, unable to help much, but she got him into a sitting position, watching as he clenched his teeth, obviously in a great deal of pain.
Riya gripped him tightly around the waist, and she was startled when he let his head fall, resting on her shoulder, and placed his other hand over hers, squeezing it tightly.
His skin was like a furnace, and this suddenly felt far too intimate.
She shook away the wave of heat that seemed to be working its way through her entire body, settling in her cheeks, and said, “Alright, let's get you standing, but I’m going to need your help.”
His dark pink face had grown considerably paler, almost to a dusty rose complexion that made her heart twist anxiously. He nodded subtly, and Riya tried to ignore the way his grip loosened on her shoulder.
She pushed up off her knees and into a crouching position before taking a deep breath in preparation for the heavy lift.
“On the count of three. One, two, thr...” Her thighs trembled as she lifted, fingers digging into the thin, soaked fabric of Vax’s clothing.
For a heartbeat, he stood on two solid feet—long enough that snowflakes swirled in the space beneath him—until Vax’s anguished yell cut through the air and his entire body went limp.
Unable to hold up his full weight, he slipped through her arms, landing with a soft thud back onto the snow-covered beach.
“Vax?” Riya knelt again, looming over him. She placed a finger on the side of his neck, feeling for a pulse. It was there, but very weak. “Shit.”
His massive frame was too heavy for her to carry.
There was no possible way she would manage to haul him up the steep bank to her cottage without assistance.
Panic rose in her chest as his skin burned like hot coals beneath her touch and his breathing grew increasingly shallow.
This man was teetering on the edge of death right here on her midnight shore, and she refused to let it claim him, not when she might be able to help.
A sudden gust of icy wind knocked into her and she looked up at the once-clear sky, where angry dark clouds were rolling in from the sea. A storm was coming in and fast.