Chapter 14 Calypso
Chapter fourteen
Calypso
Sensation returned in flashes, hitting her all at once before pulling her under again.
She surfaced first when water was brought to her lips, the cool liquid soothing her scorched throat.
The next time she surfaced from the abyss, it was to the feeling of someone touching her skin.
She braced, not quite having control of her movements.
But when the touch continued to be clinical and not invasive, her body relaxed.
What drew her fully back to consciousness was the smell of food.
Calypso opened her eyes, blinking a few times to focus. The smell was wafting from a nearby fire, where Vidorak was cooking fish.
She remained silent as she took in her surroundings. She was in a small cave, cocooned in a pile of furs. Vidorak sat by the fire alone with no sign of the other orcs. Experimentally moving her hands, she was relieved to find the cold shackles still gone.
Her eyes flitted back to the orc to see him observing her with his dark gaze.
“Unwise decision.” Her statement came out raspy. “It seems you want to die.”
Instead of running away, like he should, the arrogant orc walked over and crouched within arm’s reach.
She sat up and struck her hand out, wrapping around his throat. Flames licked him just enough to cause discomfort, but she didn’t squeeze.
“You won’t kill me.” He calmly held up the waterskin.
She didn’t reach for it. “You kidnapped me and took my magic. Exactly why wouldn’t I kill you?”
“In your current state, it’ll take Jarl Kinar a day or two to find you and drag you to Sanograd.” He took a small sip from the waterskin to prove it wasn't poisoned, then he offered it again.
This time she took it, removing her hand from his throat. Her eyes didn’t leave his while she drank greedily, thirsty from the fever.
“Give me the shackles,” she commanded, “and I’ll let you live.”
His tusks twitched in amusement. “No, you won’t.”
“You are right. I won’t. But I will give you a running head start.”
“Very generous of you,” Vidorak said as he returned to the fire. “And the shackles are with Jarl Kinar.”
His calm manner fueled her irritability, and she considered lashing out with her flames just to teach him a lesson. But he brought back some of the cooked fish, and she resisted the urge.
He held up a piece, trying to feed her as he’d done prior. She glared at him and snatched the food, refusing to be fed by him again.
“How long has it been?”
“Two days and two nights. The infection in your thigh was extensive, and your exhaustion from the fight did not help.”
She resented the accusation she heard in his statement. “Has your memory been damaged by the cyclops? That wound was caused by your clansman, and I was weakened because of the shackles you put on me.”
“I remember.” The words were dark, and she didn’t know how to interpret that. She didn’t know what to think about him letting her go when his clan’s peace treaty was at stake. It was an illogical move given the years of war between the groups.
Ultimately, it didn’t matter, and she didn’t care. The orc’s reason for his actions was his own. All that mattered was returning to Taybe to help her sisters.
The hunger turned sour in her stomach as memories of Gemma came flooding back.
“She is still living, by the way.” Vidorak’s words snapped her attention back to him.
“How do you know?”
“A medicinal witch healed your friend’s wound. I instructed them to go north to your coven’s stronghold.”
She couldn’t explain the immense relief she felt at hearing his words.
Even so, it was only enough to soothe the sharpness of the guilt that remained.
Gemma wouldn’t have needed healing in the first place if they had simply left the gathering behind.
But the violence had drawn Calypso in, and she selfishly allowed it to control her.
“We aren’t a coven. And it’s not a stronghold.” The words were reflex, but there was less conviction behind them.
“Either way, that is where they were headed when we parted ways.”
If she hurried, she might catch up with them. Her eyes went to the opening of the cave. Of course, she’d need to figure out exactly where she was first.
It took more effort than she cared to admit to stand. She stretched gingerly, carefully working out the aches across her body. There was still a throbbing pain in her thigh, but putting weight on it was tolerable.
She limped toward the cave entrance, too aware of him watching her movements. Her body was tense, ready to call upon her power if he tried to stop her.
The crisp morning air hit her face at the entrance, and she took in a breath. Her red-eyed creation sat on a nearby boulder, basking in the sun as much as an undead bird could bask.
“Seems you survived.” She reached out to touch the crow when her hand paused, spotting her dress laid out on the boulder as well. It looked washed and mended. Areas she knew had been ripped now held black thread sewn through them, standing out against the maroon fabric.
Looking down, she took in her own attire for the first time. “You dressed me in a man’s tunic?”
“In my tunic,” he corrected, still sitting by the fire inside.
She raised an eyebrow, pointedly scanning his bare muscular chest. He hadn’t worn a shirt the whole time together. She was surprised there were even ones his size.
“Humans don’t accept nakedness too readily. I carry it with me when I’m headed into the human towns.”
“Goddess forbid you’re dressed improperly during a raid,” she muttered as she went to run her hand over the fabric.
Maybe she would let him live. She rather liked the idea of bringing him back to the estate and letting him serve her as payback for what he’d done.
“Why does your smile give me a bad feeling?” There were twinkles of amusement in his dark eyes.
Growing frustrated with herself, she turned around too quickly, sending pain up her leg. She should be pushing a dagger through his heart, not fantasizing about ways to keep him around her. Best to part ways before her mind became further muddled.
“Why did you free me, Vidorak?” She stalked back slowly. “You cannot possibly tell me you’ve had a change of heart.”
She walked around the fire, stopping a couple of feet from him.
He threw her a smile that looked more scary than friendly. “I never said you were free, little witch. I am simply not honoring the peace treaty anymore.”
Quick as a viper, she grabbed his dagger that he’d left on the ground and lunged. She shoved him onto his back, straddled his waist, and pointed the dagger at his neck.
“What is your game?” she hissed.
Hate, greed, and indifference she could understand. Him, she could not.
He didn’t answer. Instead, his rough and clawed hand moved up her thigh, sending shivers through her body. “It’s time for your bandage to be changed.”
She stared at him, but no further answers came. Fine, he could keep his secrets for now.
She pushed off his chest but held onto the weapon. Delicately, she unwrapped the bandage around her thigh, revealing a sticky green paste underneath.
“You mix healing herbs like a witch,” she observed, palpating the area gently. “I didn’t realize orcs knew such things.”
“Our race is prone to fighting. An orc who cannot tend to wounds rarely survives long.” He grabbed the pouch with the medicine and came over. “This is a recipe my mother taught me.”
Calypso put out a hand, but when he made no move to give her the pouch, she got his intentions. “You really want to die, don’t you?”
He crouched and gently cleaned off the paste, revealing the healing wound underneath. The swelling had significantly improved, and the infected drainage was gone.
Allowing him to keep treating her, Calypso studied his face. She wanted to understand him better. At its most basic, she felt he was attracted to her. Otherwise, why keep finding reasons to touch her? Beyond that, it was difficult to say.
“I’m leaving today.” She watched his expression closely.
The muscles in his jaw tensed, but his hands kept working. “Where will you go?”
She inhaled sharply as the fresh salve covered her wound, but the coolness quickly offered relief. “Where do you think? Likely, the northern guard is already headed toward Taybe. There’s nowhere else that takes precedence at the moment. Well, except for the Eye of Azara.”
She didn’t know why she had even said that last part. It had been an off-handed statement that slipped out. She certainly didn’t expect to see recognition flitter across his face.
“Do you know something?” she pressed as he finished with the bandages and stood up.
“Why are you searching for a lost artifact?”
“You know something.” Her statement was barely a breath. He made to walk away, but she grabbed onto his wrist, holding him back. “What do you know?”
He hesitated, clearly not wanting to answer. “I know the amulet is too dangerous to go after. Put it out of your mind.”
“Too dangerous? I have a bounty on my head. I have brazenly killed a district lord of the realm. Have you considered, I am the danger.”
“Thinking like that led to your capture.”
She began to pace, needing to release the energy streaming through her somehow. “I have been searching for the dragon’s eye amulet for years. Every lead I had was a dead end. Tell me what you know!”
He stubbornly stared at her, not speaking while she paced. Oh, how she wanted to threaten him with her power, but those threats would ring hollow with how badly she had shown to want his information.
“Why do you want it?”
She hesitated, hating to give up all her secrets but knowing he would sense any deception. “The amulet is the key to becoming the most powerful witch of Shalimar, and no one would ever be able to hurt me or my sisters again.”
It was only a half-lie.
“I fail to see how an old amulet would achieve that.”
She snarled in frustration. “I don’t need to explain myself to you. I will get my hands on it no matter what it entails. I don’t care what I need to do or what deal I need to make.”
“Alright.”
She stopped pacing and looked back at him. “Alright, what?”
“I will make a deal with you. I will tell you where the amulet is for something in return.”
“What do you want?”
He didn’t answer right away, staring intently at her as if trying to peer deep into her tainted soul.
Then he spoke his demand. “A kiss.”