Chapter 11
Raiden
Her soft snores fill the cave where I’ve had her tucked away for the last three days. She still hasn’t woken up. I worry that she never will.
I brought her here without thinking. But there was no other option.
Dolan is dead. His crumpled body caught her fall, and there was no coming back from that amount of blood loss. His partner and their group of hellions will be livid, but that’s a problem for another day.
She had nearly died, too. And I risked a lot by using my magic to bring her here. It was stupid. Reckless. The potential that someone saw us blur is great, but sitting here in the dark with her is worth it.
The Underground is a series of tunnels and caves carved out to create living quarters and various other spaces. It’s been my home for the last three decades. Since my father was murdered and living above was no longer an option.
I built a sanctuary. At least, that was how it had begun.
This particular room is small, and there’s not much in the way of furniture. She lies on a bed pushed against the wall. There’s a table in the center of the room, and a tray of food that’s gone cold since being brought in for her.
Quiet moaning has me on my feet and rushing to help to prop her up on the bed. Something in my chest squeezes, knowing the pain she must be feeling.
She looks up at me, and I think she’s about to say something kind until the recognition sets in and fear flashes in her green eyes.
“Where am I?” she asks, her voice strained.
I hold a small cup of water up to her lips. “You’re in the Underground.” The look she attempts to hide gives her away, so I ask, “Are you familiar with it?”
She ignores the question, instead asking, “How did I get here?”
“I brought you.”
“No. I mean, that’s not what I—”
“You fell from the wall, and I caught you and brought you here,” I explain.
She holds her head in her hands, struck with some lingering pain from Dolan’s ax hitting her. It’s then she realizes her hands are wrapped, and she releases a low moan.
I pour the medicinal tea I’ve had refreshed and brought in every hour or so, just in case, into a cup for her, blowing on the wisps of steam to cool it.
“Drink this. It will help with the pain until you’re strong enough to heal yourself.”
To my surprise, she does as I ask without arguing. So obedient. Though it does make me wonder how much pain she must be in if she can’t even find the strength to defy me.
When she’s finished the tea and found her voice, she continues her interrogation.
“Why am I here?”
It’s an excellent question, and I’ve been asking it of myself over and over again. There’s the truth, which I’m trying not to examine too closely, and there’s the excuses I’ve settled for.
“You knew too much.” I shrug. “I couldn’t have you out there ruining everything.”
And the sight of your crumpled body ripped my heart from my fucking chest.
“So you kidnapped me?”
“Think of it more like an invitation. You’re my guest. Indefinitely.”
“I don’t want to be your guest,” she says through gritted teeth.
The magnet that pulls me to her thrums within my soul, willing me to soothe her, to touch her, but I ignore it.
“You’re angry.”
The incredulous look she pins me with could fracture realms.
“Am I supposed to be grateful? You’ve kidnapped me. Taken me from the only home I’ve ever known. And brought me to the last place in this godsforsaken land I ever desired to be. Would you like me to kiss your feet?”
I can think of other things I might prefer her to kiss.
“There is no sense in arguing. You are not well enough to leave, and even if you were, I cannot allow it. You must stay.” Letting her go would create more problems that I don’t have time for, but there’s another reason she cannot go. Maybe more than one.
“And if I refuse?” I bristle at the thought, and clench my hands to keep from raising my voice at her ungracious behavior.
She gets so deep under my skin, and I lose composure.
Maybe it’s the fucking Smog that makes it harder for me to keep my emotions in check, but I think it has more to do with the healer than the curse.
“There is no refusing me. You either stay with me now, or you die.” I’m bluffing. There’s no way I could kill her, but she doesn’t need to know that.
“Then you might as well just kill me now. Put me out of my misery. There is no way in hells I’m staying.”
As if on cue, the caves begin to rumble. Tiny rocks tumble from the ceiling, and dust sprinkles onto the floor. It’s a common occurrence, but the fear painted on her face reminds me that she’s in my territory now.
“What the fuck was that?” she asks through coughs when the quaking stops.
I shrug, hoping it will bring her some sense of comfort. “We are underground, and very near the plates of rock that move beneath the surface. When they collide, the earth shakes a little. You’ll get used to it.”
“I won’t be here long enough to get used to it,” she argues, and even when she’s weak and bedridden, her confidence is so fucking cute.
“How about another deal? You stay and learn the truth of who my people are and what we stand for. Give us seven days. We might just surprise you.” She only knows what she’s witnessed above ground. Down here, things are different.
“How do I know you won’t murder the queen in that time?”
I wipe a finger across the dust on her table before answering, “You don’t. You’ll just have to trust me.”
“And if in the end I am not swayed?” She’s trying so hard, but I know she’s dying to find out more about the Underground.
“We will reassess and find somewhere else for you to go. But you cannot return home.” I leave out the part where I plan to restore the home she loves so much, she’s willing to die for a tyrannical ruler who doesn’t even know her name. There’s no point in getting her hopes up.
I set her pack of supplies on the small table by the bed while she stares at me in horror, her mouth hanging open. As if being down here is so abhorrent she’d rather die. As if being stuck with me is the worst form of torture she can imagine.
I leave the room before she can question me further, closing the door on her look of confusion. I don’t lock her in.
Maybe it was foolish to wish she would wake up at all. Maybe it would have been better if I had left her there to die. Maybe that would have made everything easier.
I’ve never been the kind to do things the easy way, though.
Arina
EVERYTHING HURTS.
A yell rips from me as I toss my pillow at the door when it shuts. The pillow hits with an unsatisfying thud and slides to the floor. The singular small act has drained me of strength.
I’m desperate to run to the door to see if I’m locked in, but I can’t.
I take one more sip of tea. It’s got all the right herbs in it and dulls my senses enough that I am able to sit at the edge of the bed and sift through the bundle that he tossed my way as he was leaving.
What I find inside is a little surprising. An extra set of leathers, my brush, black hair ribbons, and lip oils. Things I use every day. Things he couldn’t have retrieved without going in my house. In my room.
The item I find at the bottom of the pack is the most surprising of all. Neatly settled in my leather sheath is my dagger. There’s no sign of the violent way it had torn through Dolan’s skin. It’s cleaner than it had been before the tournament even. I tuck it under my pillow for now.
There are no windows in my room. A torch sticking out from a hole carved into the wall above my bed is the only light, and I worry it will burn out while I’m alone.
This is a nightmare. I’m a murderer. Queen Daphne is still in danger. And I have to get back to Phillipa.
I suck in a deep breath, and even that simple movement makes my ribs ache.
In the quiet, I evaluate my wounds and the amount of healing it will take to be back on my feet.
If it’s left to only me, it will take days to fully recover.
Healers can heal themselves, but it is a much slower process than having another healer assist, and the extent of my injuries will drain me over and over again.
I finish my tea and lie back down. The torch is still burning, and I would rather fall asleep while there’s still light.
This deal we’ve made can work in my benefit. Nobody has ever been able to find the Rhiza’s hideout. I’m inside it now, and I can either escape with no information, or gather all I can and come back with reinforcements.
I’ll show him a fucking snake.