Chapter 11 #2
“You said this can last up to a day?” I asked Loden.
He nodded. “It started almost four hours ago, so I’d say we’re nowhere near done, and it may go on longer than usual.”
“Let’s move him now while he’s clean and stable,” I said, tossing my rag into the filthy bowl.
Jax went to update the others. A few minutes later, we wrapped Darrow in a blanket and moved him, with me holding his head.
The one time I’d stopped touching him, he’d started thrashing a few seconds later.
Maybe our mating bond wasn’t entirely in place, but there was enough of a link between us that it somehow made a difference. I didn’t question it at this point.
Slowly but surely, we made our way out of the cabin with the princess, Lord Hartoll, their daughter, an elf guard, and a couple of dozen Frostdar following us. One of the blue-gray men took Darrow’s legs, allowing us to speed up a little more.
Both the Andalagar chiefs led the way. By the time we reached the ring, my power had refreshed more than enough to open the portal and hold it. I was grateful I only needed one hand to channel, though someone had to pour the holmium into my palm.
I sighed with relief when we reached the other side.
Several of the Prime Chief’s people stood waiting for us in the dark, turning their gazes from the sea at our arrival.
He barked orders at them, which sent the two men and one woman running ahead.
They would make arrangements for all the new guests, so they had somewhere to sleep. It was getting late.
Once more, we made the awkward journey to Doga.
It felt like it took an eternity since the ring here was much farther away, and we went uphill.
Meanwhile, Darrow appeared to get more and more agitated as we neared our destination.
By the time we settled him in my bed, even my close presence didn’t help much.
“Your touch gives him a brief respite,” Jhene said from the cabin doorway. “But you’re only delaying the inevitable. The God of Wrath will take his pound of flesh no matter what.”
“How do you know?” I asked, forcing my gaze from my husband to meet her eyes.
The older woman gave me an amused look. “I told you before that I see things. Are you daft?”
I glared. “Did you come to tell me anything else?”
She glanced at Darrow’s friends, hesitating, but neither moved. “Just be prepared that things will get worse before they get better, and your mate is going to need you in more ways than one.”
I frowned. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing yet.” She shook her head. “For now, let him go through the process…painful as it may be.”
Before I could ask any more questions, she disappeared into the night.
Sighing, I removed my hand. Darrow immediately began shaking, and fresh cuts appeared on his skin. His legs jerked next as he let out sounds of distress. Red stains spread across his ragged pants. Jax helped me remove those and press cloths to the deep lacerations.
The whole bed was going to be a mess before long, but that didn’t matter.
All I cared about was doing what I could to make my husband comfortable.
My chest tightened at his grunts and cries of pain, knowing the agony must be unbearable for him to react that strongly.
The wounds on him were getting deeper and more gruesome.
Were we even seeing them all? What if he was being tortured magically as well, and it affected parts of him internally?
“I’m never accepting a nameless god’s power,” Jax swore.
Loden’s face showed anguish for Darrow. “He knew he’d pay a steep price, but he kept using it anyway to save us. I won’t judge him for it.”
“That’s not…” Jax began.
I patted his arm. “We know what you mean.”
He gave me a grateful look.
Watching my husband suffer this way to help others made me respect him more.
Yes, he’d saved me a few days ago, but he hadn’t had to sacrifice himself in any way to do it.
I was also vital to his plans. This time, he had called upon the nameless god’s powers and used them repeatedly to get others to safety when he could have chosen to walk away.
By the expression on his face now, he was having horrific, torturous dreams. Were they ones the god devised or memories he relived?
How long would he have to endure them? I wanted to touch him again to ease his pain, but decided I’d only do it once every couple of hours to give him a break.
The seer was likely right that it would only prolong his pain.
I wanted it to be over as quickly as possible.
“I’m going to check on Rynn and see if she can stay somewhere else,” I said, rising. “I’ll return as quickly as I can.”
“We’ll watch over him,” Jax promised me.
It wasn’t easy to leave, but I trusted his friends to take care of him until I returned. I just hoped Darrow never had to go through this again. With war breaking out everywhere, however, it would be difficult to avoid if he insisted on saving people in impossible situations.
When I stepped outside, I found Chief Orran walking toward my cabin. His expression was grim. He gestured at me to follow him until we were a short distance beyond the village and well away from anyone who could overhear us. I shivered at what news he might bring now.
“I have sent four separate sebeskas to Tradain over the past couple of days. Two were meant for an officer who keeps me apprised of the situation there.” He worked his jaw. “Neither has returned.”
I gulped. “And the other two?”
“They should have reached Sariyah at different times, but one returned twenty minutes ago, injured, with no note. I’m still waiting on the other,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I don’t know what that means, but it worries me.”
“We have to check on her.” That was the obvious answer, but it concerned me that he didn’t say that right away.
He shook his head. “We have no idea how many soldiers are there now, if the dark elves have taken over, or anything else. Even Jhene can’t see anything. I can’t send my warriors in there blind, but I also don’t want to abandon Sariyah.”
“There has to be a way,” I said, mind racing.
“Try to get some sleep tonight. Neither of us is in the right state of mind to devise a reasonable plan. It’s been a long day, and your husband needs your full attention.
Tomorrow, if the fourth sebeska hasn’t returned with news, we’ll consider ideas until we find one that has a chance of working without risking too many lives,” he said.
I nodded, hating that he was right. I was being torn in too many directions at once. “Okay.”
We headed back to the village, with us parting ways at Tamasine’s cabin so I could see if she had a spare bed for Rynn. It would be the best place for my cousin right now because I wanted her to be fully rested before seeing Darrow at his worst.