Page 72 of Bound By Darkness

Strong hands gripped my face, hauling my eyes to stare into silver. “Gods, you’re okay,” he rasped, his forehead pressing into mine.

My throat was hoarse from the casting I’d engulfed as my forehead pressed back, relishing the heat from his skin.

His eyes swirled with an emotion I didn’t recognize. “You’re—” He swallowed. “You’re back.”

I gave a nod as Death’s nails clawed at the iron door I’d shoved it into. I wasn’t sure how long I could hold it back…ifI could hold it back at all.

As the adrenaline slowly dissipated from my veins, Istared at my clenched fingers. Not an ounce of discomfort lingered as if they hadn’t been broken in the first place. My fingers stretched and curled, unable to believe they were fine.

“What was that?” a woman asked, her red hair braided back as she emerged from the tree line.

I reached for the dagger at my thigh. It wasn’t there. I had forgotten I’d tossed it at the man… at the man who lay dead a few stones to my right.

“It’s okay, Thalia,” Ivan said as he wiped red from his lips. “She’s here to help.” He pointed to the blue crest resting on her shirt—the crest of Laias.

“We’re citizens of Laias,” she said, her hands raised in surrender. “Our spies heard the commotion. We came as fast as we could.”

Ivan nodded as his gaze flicked to Fin. “Please help my friend,” he said. “An arrow struck him.”

The woman’s voice rang out as two more people emerged from the tree line. They bolted to Fin in a rush of blue.

“Thank you,” Ivan said, his voice wavering as he glanced at Fin’s still body.

The woman nodded gravely. “It’s the least we can do to help fellow supporters during this harrowing time.”

“You said your spies heard the commotion?” Ivan asked, his eyes snapping to her.

The conversation grew fuzzy as well as the trees swaying back and forth. Why was everything moving?

My hand pressed against my temple as I leaned forward, my knees digging into the wet ground. Roaring filled my ears, louder than any creek.

Consume, that voice whispered.You are cursed. You will ruin us.

Chapter 21

Shared Fates

MORIA

I did not receiveanother dosage.

Not a single injection of powder entered my system. Cold sweats, fits of rage, and pain coursed through me as the powder emptied from my body completely. Yet through the pain, they still pumped me full of minerals, and sometimes, I thought my skin glowed the faintest of blue.

My chains rattled against the stone as thunder shook the building in great, large waves as prisoners swayed in tandem.

Whimpers and fits of coughing sounded in the room as the rest of us dangled like slabs of meat. None of us ever spoke. Didn’t acknowledge the other over these harrowing days, hours—I wasn’t even sure how long I’d been strung here.

The iron door creaked and shuddered as another wave of thunder struck the tower. The storm raged outside, swirling in great big sweeps over Galar.

How were the other prisoners fairing in the torrential rain? Would the guards unleash those weapons once more upon the unsuspecting prisoners as they descended themountain trail? Would they strike in catacombs where women and children rested—where Ellia rested?

Ellia.

I blinked slowly, my eyes still slightly hazy from the injection. I had forgotten the young girl ridden with fever—a sickly girl lacking fear.

No one else would trek the trail for food and water. No one else would risk stealing tiny morsels to bring back to her. She likely had succumbed to her fever in my absence.

My eyes hurt, but no tears were shed for her. My body lacked the requirements to produce them as vivid images of the young girl flashed in my mind. Far too young to be a slave.

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