Page 36 of The Sacred and the Tormented

Rion shook his head and pulled her tighter. Arianna tried to recall her most recent memory. They’d been surrounded by Dark Fae when she’d lost consciousness. She remembered a sudden searing pain in her side.

Arianna pulled her hand from Rion’s and pushed the quilt down. Rion assisted her and she pulled the hem of her thin shirt up to reveal a jagged pink scar across her stomach. It was raised, and thick, and still warm to the touch.

Panic surged through her. “How long have I been out?”

“Two days.” His jaw flexed against her temple.

Two days? But that wasn’t nearly long enough for her wound to have healed this much. Her head throbbed and she allowed Rion to cover her up again. Maybe the blood loss was preventing her from thinking clearly. Or maybe she’d hit her head as well. That would certainly explain the pain.

A new sense of dread pooled in the pit of her stomach. If she’d been unconscious for two days—

“Is everyone okay?”

Rion didn’t answer and his silence sent her heart into a gallop. She tried to turn in his arms, but he held her firm, almost as if he weren’t willing to face her just yet.

Oh gods—a lump formed in her throat as names filtered through her head.

Arianna couldn’t keep the panic from her voice as she asked again, desperate to know and yet not wanting the answer. “Is everyone okay?”

“I don’t know.” His words were barely a whisper.

“You don’t—what do you mean you don’t know?” Surely he’d not kept himself confined to this little house for two days—but—that’s exactly what her mate had done. It’s what she might have done too if their situations were reversed.

Arianna wriggled out of his grasp and he reluctantly released his hold. She studied his face, her head still resting against the pillow, but he refused to meet her gaze.

“Tell me what happened.”

“You need to rest.”

“Please.” Tears were forming in the corners of her eyes as she imagined the worst of scenarios. “I need to know. Are the villagers okay? Do they need me in the medical ho—”

“You aren’t going anywhere.” She bristled at his tone and the storm in his eyes. Rion’s jaw flexed, then he rested his head against her shoulder in submission. “Please, just stay here and rest.”

Arianna could hear the exhaustion in his voice. The desperation too.

“Okay,” she relented. His shoulders visibly relaxed. “But only if you tell me the truth.”

He loosed a breath. “You won’t like the truth.”

“I can’t just lay here and not know. Is there another attack coming? Are we safe? Was my father able to convince the villagers to finally move to Levea?”

“We’re not in the village.”

That brought her up short. “What do you mean? Where are we then?”

“Do you want something to eat first? A bath? Do you need—”

“Rion. Where are we?”

His jaw clenched again. “I don’t know.”

He didn’t … she stared at her mate and studied the forlorn expression marring his anguished face. Her gaze ran over the black bags beneath his eyes and the way his hands kept clenching and unclenching.

Then Arianna finally noted the dirt all over the floor and the way the particles danced as if ready to move at a moment’s notice. Just like they’d always done at his cabin.

Her lips parted as she realized Rion was entirely serious. He had no idea where they were.

But how was that possible? She tried to recall the moments before she’d blacked out again. She’d felt a surge of happiness when they’d saved the pair of Fae. The two had run back to the wall with Rion clearing the way. The Dark Fae had surrounded them on all sides—

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