Page 81 of A Blightress of Wrath
Ifilled my lungs with a ragged breath, swallowing the blood sliding down my throat. “Whydidn’t you come for me then?Forall those years inHyrithia, why didn’t you just take me?”
Lia’shands formed a ball of silver light behind her back, readying her power.
TheBlightressonly had eyes for me, her face cool and calm.Inmy rapid blinks,IthoughtIsaw her face soften slightly. “Because,Karus,Iwantedyouto come tome.”Shedrifted past her sister, drawing nearer. “Iwanted you to reach out your hand and ask for mine becauseyouneededme.Ihave always held all the answers you needed.Ihave always been the only one in this world who could understand you becauseImade you what you are.Andwe will be great rulers in our reign.”Shelifted her fingers toward me, her palm outstretched. “Motherand daughter, reunited to choose the fate of our isle together.”
Revichshifted, his hard body covering me further, butIsaw her face over his shoulder.Theface of longing, of loneliness.Theface of a woman who had forgotten that love could never be taken by force.
Steppingforward, her hand still outstretched, she admitted softly, “Idid not foreseeHeimlen’sdeceit, butIdid whatIcould to keep your mind intact.Ikept it quiet, hidden away until the day you were ready to feel again.Keepingyou safe inFelgrenis the one thing to be thankful to your lover for.”Hereyes flashed toRevthen back to me. “Karus, come.Revichcan join us if you must have him.”Herlips pulled into a hopeful smile. “Itis time to come home.”
Lia’sball of light grew behind theBlightress, shaping into a wall of brilliant silver.
Ishook my head, my heart in my chest bleeding for what she asked of me thatIcould not give her. “Icannot love you.”
“Yourlife is long,LittleSprout, and time is healing.”
Ishook my head again, losing strength in my legs, adding, “Ido not want to love you.”
Hernostrils flared and her chest heaved under her sheer black dress. “Igrow tired of this defiance.Ifyou will not come willingly, then let me be clear.Iwill not make the same mistakes with your daughter thatIdid with you.Iwill take her for myself, and she will be raised under my love, my rule.”
Ina flash,Liastruck.Theboom of rock hitting rock behind us thrummed through my ears andRevichscooped me into his arms, turning from theBlightressand her sister without another look back.
TalonandIlyennaran just behind him, and my eyelids drooped asIstruggled to keep them open.Amound of the stones blocking the path now piled on top of where theBlightresshad stood.Herdark shadows wove under the rock and her scream of rage echoed through the cavern as black magic wrapped aroundLia, gripping her throat.
Icried her name, my voice hardly more than a whisper, blood still trickling down my tongue.
Revichreached the portal, ready to shove me in asIheardLia’schoked words stumbling on another phantom breeze through the cavern. “Ishould n-never have left her.Iwon’t leave her now.”
Rockscontinued to fall, blocking our path back to the heart, trapping her in the cave with theBlightress.
“No.”ThecryImeant to scream escaped my throat in a pathetic whimper, the sound ending in an abrupt cough.
Revpushed me into the portal whereIlay silently in the abyssal dark.
Aloneand afraid.
* * *
Saelynstayedwith me in those moments that moved.
TheonesIcould not feel as they passed.
Mychild’s heart beat with mine, wounded as it was, and we lay, suspended in time, place, consciousness.Mymind woke and faded, brought me back to awareness before drifting again, not ready to wake, not strong enough to leave.
ButSaelynstayed, living and growing.
Ifelt her presence there in time that was not time.Inspace that was not space.Indarkness that was not dark, for light did not exist on its own in this place.
Saelynwould not rest.Saelynwould not be still, kicking endlessly at my ribs, shifting endlessly across my growing belly, refusing to rest with me, refusing to give into the dark.
Shekicked me again, jabbing herself under my left rib andIstarted, jolted back to consciousness again, but different.
Iblinked,Iassumed.Ifelt the movement of my eyes, yet the darkness continued. “Illuminare,”Irasped, and the smallest spark of green light flickered at my fingers.Itfaded out, andIgulped, my tongue sticking to the roof of my mouth in a coating of iron. “Illuminare,”Ispoke again, this time using the spell as an anchor, catching myself on the comforting glow of powerIknew.
Saelynplanted another kick, and this time,Igrunted, the force of her little limbs in my belly much stronger than anythingI’dknown before.Ilifted my hand, hovering over my womb to confirm my revelation.Mybelly had grown fuller, rounder, spilling over the band of my skirts, the hem of my vest pulled back to reveal my skin stretched taut.
Thesight pulled me to more clarity, and dread pooled in my spine as the creeping fear of just how longI’dbeen inside this portal reared its head, stark and vicious.
Mybreath came in heavy rasps asItried to sit up, my body limp and useless on the floor that was not a floor.
