Page 116 of A Kingdom so Crimson

A deep, vicious snarl broke through the darkening haze. Forcing my eyes open, I saw the wolf glaring at me with a rage so intense it seemed ready to tear me apart. I attempted to move, but my body remained frozen, paralyzed by the overwhelming exhaustion and pain. Everything felt distorted—overwhelmingly vast yet oppressively close, a maddening contradiction that left me trapped in a swirling vortex of fear and confusion as I struggled to keep breathing.

Another harsh nudge from the wolf rolled me to the side as it snapped its teeth. I looked up at its eyes, which were now gentle and pleading.

"Please. Hold on a little longer."A soft voice rippled through my mind.

I…can't.

I gazed into the wolf's desperate eyes as my vision began to darken, swallowed by the intense pain and gnawing hunger that engulfed me. Just as I felt myself slipping away, I was lifted off the ground by warm, strong arms. The comforting strength of the embrace was the last sensation I felt before oblivion completely took over, pulling me into unconsciousness.

"Eliah!" A familiar voice quivered, jolting me into consciousness as I was moved into another pair of warm, strong arms. "Eliah!"

"She's going into shock; we have to give her this!" Another voice growled, urgent and frantic.

"No! She's too weak. It could kill her!"

"She will die if we don't!"

Fingers pried open my mouth, and a burning hot liquid consumed my throat and soul, engulfing me in a fiery abyss. I tried to scream against the flaming tendrils lashing through my every vein, seizing every cell and stitching it back together in a hot flare. I quivered, desperate to wake up and stop the liquid from consuming me whole. More poured down my throat, choking me as warm arms pulled me closer.

"I have her!GO!" A warm voice commanded.

An angered grunt faded away as I began to shake harder against the fierce fire that burned inside me. I gasped, struggling to breathe as the world around me lurched into motion. Dizziness and pain erupted in every ounce of my being.

"Please," the desperate, familiar voice cried close to my ear. "Come back to me." Lips pressed against my forehead, and a warm blanket covered me as the fiery liquid turned icy, coursing through my veins and into my extremities. I wheezed, feeling my fingers ice over.

The air left my lungs, and a deep pressure settled on my heart, which abruptly slowed, causing me to black out repeatedly until an electric shock zapped through me, thrusting screams from my throat until it was raw. I felt my swollen, torn leg, stitch back together, along with the cut at the base of my head and the poison on my blistered arm calm.

The familiar voice cried out, clinging to my limp body and praying to names unknown to me. Slowly, vibrant emerald-blue eyes came into view, and all I was left with was a blinding headache and gnawing hunger; all my pain had vanished.

I felt a soft kiss caress my forehead and caught sight of his teary smile as understanding hit.

"Levon?" I coughed out, my voice raw and depleted.

His lip quivered with a smile as he embraced me, rocking me back and forth. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry," he wept repeatedly, tears dampening my blood-soaked hair. He let go, holding my face and looking into my eyes, his own filled with guilt and determination. "I'll never let you go again. Ever."

"Water. Food," I whispered, my voice barely audible. He moved me to the side, and I looked up, seeing shadows of trees passing through the window, realizing we were in his carriage.

"Can you sit up?" he asked, holding a canteen before me. I nodded slightly, wincing as he shifted his arms to help me sit against him, pressing the cold metal to my lips. I drank slowly atfirst, savoring the cool relief, then deeply until I consumed the entire canteen.

He held out some nuts, an apple, and hard cheese. My stomach growled at the sight, and I devoured the cheese and nuts, reaching eagerly for the apple he gave over with a tease.

He laughed softly at my scowl, kissing my forehead again, his touch gentle and reassuring.

I felt a growing warmth awaken deep inside as a ripple of energy sizzled within my core as if it hummed with realization and familiarity of home. My mind flashed back to all the unexplained instances throughout the tournament—the unexpected surges of light that coursed through me, the soothing warmth, the voices in my head.

"Levon, what's happening to me?" I rasped, my voice cracking with a mix of fear and confusion having a foreboding feeling he knew what was really going on.

His eyes darkened as he sighed, looking away as if hesitating to answer. "You'll likely be hunted by King Thealor and his men for not finishing the Matchandby Jesri…but you're not going back. You've come to a point where we had to intervene." He took my hands in his, his eyes lined with silver.

"Eliah, when I first saw you dancing at the seashore, it wasn't then that I decided to protect and care for you. I promised my mother I would," he said, his voice breaking slightly.

My heart pounded as I struggled to comprehend his words, my brows knitting in confusion.

"We had been searching for you for years, terrified you were lost in the Cataclysm," he continued, his words coming out in a rush. I tried to interject, but he continued. "I couldn't tell you with everyone watching...with Jesri watching and spewing so many lies. He would have taken you straight to the king or sold you to the Onyx Market, where the Spellcasters would torture and use you. So, we had to play along."

"After finding you, I closely watched Jesri and his idiotic schemes. He tried to sell you off to the highest bidder, but no one wanted to marry a girl so young. So, he created another revolting idea to make you a bounty hunter within the Onyx Market, but that would only put you in the line of fire. So, we spread lies and bribed the men to believe you weren't worth it, especially not against the king and his—" he stopped abruptly before his eyes darkened with sadness. "His personal executioner."

My heart sank as I saw tears streaming down his cheeks.

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