Chapter 37
Thealina
I once made a promise to myself. Never, under any circumstance, sleep rough again. Turns out, I shouldn’t make promises I can’t keep. Owls are cute, adorable and fluffy—in theory. In reality—their eyes glow in the dark and the hoots in the dead of the night aren’t.
My bones rattle. Not with cold… but fear. Cold, unrelenting fear dripping down my spine as trees sway in the breeze, animals rustle within the bushes and shadows stalk in the dark. Even though the moon casts its pale light where I lay, I can’t stop the tight grip terror has on me.
I wish I could repeat a mantra telling myself how brave I am, but that’s not true is it?
Not when everything in me screams to run back to Rafe. Back in his safe arms and ask him to hold me close and make love to me again.
Our moment was perfect. Something I’ll treasure for as long as I’ll remember. The way he held me, caressed me, kissed me, was everything I’ve never had. And everything I’ve always wanted.
A tear falls wondering how he is. Is he angry, sad. Is he following my tracks as we speak. Will he come and save me from these damn owls!
Breathe, Thea, breathe.
It’s not far now to the town, there you’ll find a Portal Master, you get yourself to Alarithia and the plan will be underway.
Right.
Or you could jump there now?
What if I don’t land there. What if I can’t travel that far. I barely remember the memories of seven-year-old me, chances are I’ll get the time wrong. And I cannot get the time wrong.
Maybe I should walk some more and only stop until my legs fail me and my eyes snap shut, that would surely block out the terrifying sounds and movements of the deadly night.
Fuck it.
***
I’m lost. Utterly, stupidly lost. I’m an idiot who thought she could do this all on her own.
Tears sting the backs of my nose. I’m walking aimlessly in circles for gods knows how long. The town should be here…
Nothing but forest on my left, a path bordered with wildflowers and a channel of water on my right.
My arse screams at me as I thump down on a large rock overlooking the water, a lush breeze cools my heated skin. Sweat beads down the back of my neck when I stretch it from side to side, groaning as my aching muscles release some tension.
I take a swig of water from the skin I stole from Rafe, watching the sun break over the horizon, making the channel glisten. I napped for a little while during the night, finding an empty shack to shield me from the hooting owls and screeching shadows.
Slept in spurts. Jumped at every sound.
Removing the map from my breast pocket, I try to make sense of why the town isn’t where it’s supposed to be, scratching my brow coated with sweat.
I’m gross. Dirty. Starving.
Remind me why I left Rafe again.
To travel back to 830, hunt down Sam ‘Chuck’ Foran, save his soul so Rafe doesn’t carry the guilt of his death, then go back to Valandor and save myself.
Sure.
Right. I can do this.
Except I can’t find the bleeding town!
The map lands in the water in my burst of anger.
Bollocks. Bollocks. Bollocks.
It floats for half a second before the current snatches it.
Water seeps into my boots, travelling as high as my thigh as I wade through, coaxing the map back to me. The current has other ideas. The more I seem to go forward, the quicker the map seems to get away.
It’s mocking me as fear curdles in my gut the further I go. Salty water fills my mouth and stings my eyes.
Nope. Not doing it.
I spin, turning back the second my feet couldn’t reach the seabed.
My breaths are tattered as I fight against the current.
The water claws at my body and drags me off balance.
Legs straining, lungs burning. I cough, spluttering saltwater and panic, blinking fluid from my stinging eyes as the rock I was once perched on gets closer and closer the more I scramble for the shallows.
My soaked body is heavy as I collapse against the rock and hold my sack close to my chest while my lungs recover.
“Well, that was stupid.”
My heart drops to the pit of my stomach hearing a deep voice behind me. I scramble back on my arse, panting, the heels of my boots digging into the earth, trying to find some purchase to get up and run.
Black armour. A gnarly sword. Face half-covered in black material, leaving only sharp blue, menacing eyes and dirty blonde hair visible. His eyes sear into me like I’m a little girl again, getting scolded by the house master of my orphanage back in Alarithia.
“That water might look inviting, but it’ll have you out in the sea before you can blink.”
The lines between his brows soften a fraction before he pulls the black material down, revealing his face.
Commander Kharson.
My heart stutters. I blink to make sure I’m seeing things correctly.
He survived the Battle of Sovo. The real one, not Rafe’s echo. No one could have survived after what Rafe told me.
The lines between his brows are back, probably because I’ve still yet to answer him. It spurs me into action, ripping open my sack for my quill and book.
‘I lost my map to the water. I need to find the town. Urgent.’
His armour grinds as he crouches to squint at my book.
“Which way were you going?”
I point.
His heavy sigh deflates me.
“You’re walking away from it, not to it.”
Of course. I squeeze the bridge of my nose. Of-fucking-course I was.
“I’m escorting someone into town today. Come.”
He stands to his full height, and if I hadn’t met him before, his tall, powerful frame would be intimidating, but I’m not scared.
So, I take the hand he offered to pull my soggy arse off the ground, and walk by his side, down the path of wildflowers.
We walk in silence, the squelching in my shoes and the birdsong the only sound.
Thank you for your hooded robe back in 830.
“Why do you not speak?”
I decide to hit with the truth and point to my open mouth. He leans over to see into the empty crevice before he straightens, but not before I hear a slight growl rumble in his chest.
Did I gross him out?
“Does it hurt?”
Only my soul Commander Kharson.
I shake my head.
He walks us a good thirty paces before stopping in front of a large wooden hut surrounded by a white picket fence. He uses two knuckles to knock on the door before pushing it open.
“Tes, the mounts are ready.”
Nibbling my thumb nail seems like a good idea to pass the time as I wait at the bottom of the decking stairs for this Tes person.
“Killian, I don’t need you to escort me!”
Killian.
A stern but feminine voice cuts the air, I notice her long braids first, then her pointed elven ears and flawless bronze skin.
Embers, she’s beautiful.
And tall too. Five, maybe six inches shorter than the commander.
She stands with a basket hanging on her forearm, the other hand resting on the hip she pops to the side. She freezes when she sees me, swiping her gaze back to Commander Kharson with a raised brow.
“Doesn’t have a tongue. Doesn’t know her way to town… but does have a death wish.”
“You’re soaked!” She gasps, hurtling down the stairs, grabbing me by my shoulders to look me up and down.
“Caught her swimming in the channel.”
I was rescuing my map!
“Going after a runaway map.”
Clearly my stern, levelled glare prompted him to correct his previous statement. I can be formidable too.
“Come, I have spare clothes. You’ll catch a death.”
She drags me to her herbal-scented hut, and Commander Kharson just shrugs, crosses his arms and leans back against a wooden pillar.
“You a runaway? You look like one.” She lifts a brow, rummaging through some drawers and turfs out some garments.
I shake my head, taking the forest green dress, socks, corset and shawl from her outstretched hand.
She directs me toward a room divider for privacy.
Rafe’s damp tunic and trousers stick to my skin, almost pulling out the fine hairs as I peel it from my body.
The dry socks make me want to weep, and although my boots are still wet and seep into the fabric, they’re thick enough for me to get back some comfort.
It’s good to be around people again. To be a little bit safer than I was last night. I breathe, filling my lungs to capacity as I step out, rubbing the wet strands of my hair in a towel she placed on the hook.
“Better?”
I nod, mouthing ‘Thank you.’
She jerks her chin at me. “Let me see.”
Talk about being on display, but something about Tes’s sternness has me compelled to open my mouth.
She too must lean down to examine the empty space.
“Any pain?”
I shake my head. What is this? An appointment with my local healer clinic?
“Here.” She reaches up to a shelf of a cabinet full of bottles, elixirs, balms and salves, bringing down a small tin.
I’d have to stand on a chair to reach that height.
“It still a little raw and swollen, so rub this on it. Great for nerve damage. It’ll regenerate them, might make it easier when you try to make sounds. ”
I sniff the herbal scent, eyes widening at the faint tingle pattering along my skin. Hope blooms in my sternum. Regenerate? I fumble for my quill.
‘Could it grow me back a new tongue?’
She chuckles and I level her with a look; I’m not messing around.
Her face falls flat. “Sorry. Er, no, it won’t regenerate a tongue.”
Disappointment swims through my veins. That would’ve put an end to half of my quest, and I’d get to keep Rafe.
“If I had your tongue to hand when it happened, this would’ve helped reattach it. Heal the nerves, the muscle.”
My head snaps up so fast the weak muscles in my neck tweak, enough to make me wince, but not enough to take my mind off what she said.
“Made it myself,” she smiles, rocking on her feet with pride. She must be a healer. “Come on, let’s get to town before my Alchemist sells out of white willow bark.”
Yes, definitely a Healer.