Page 120 of The Lands Defying
Once the large wolf is close enough, I crane my head up, keeping my gaze on him. He brings his head down, and I tense again, but the look in his eyes has me slowly relaxing.
It’s not friendly, but it’s not cold either.
His large nose nudges my arm, and I stumble more into the smaller wolf. My eyes widen as he does it, again and again, and I have no idea what he wants, until the smaller wolf lowers himself.
I look back and forth between the two wolves, my brows pinched together until a particularly harder shove from the violet eyed wolf has me falling on the smaller one’s back. I scramble, and the wolf shuffles as my legs end up on either side as I scowl at him.
“You could have just asked, you know. I already have someone who man handles me,” I grumble, my voice quiet, but then I instantly freeze. I slowly lift my eyes to his, hoping he doesn’t eat me for talking, or complaining, but then I hear another huffing sound. This one like he just laughed at me. “Um…”
He shakes his large head, his violet eyes seeming to brighten further until he looks up again. The smaller wolf moves under me, and I grip his fur at his neck in a panic, not wanting to fall. He stands at his full height and moves from side to side like he’s adjusting me, then settles again.
The larger wolf growls, looking down at me before once again looking up. The smaller one moves now, only it moves closer tothe other one. I may have let loose a noise in fear as he moves along the larger one’s front leg, pressing himself—and my leg, against him. I look at the chains around his body, so tightly against his skin that he’s bleeding, something I hadn’t noticed before.
The wolf comes back through the middle of his front legs and turns to face him once more. Gods he’s huge.
We stare at each other, violet to ice-blue, and I slowly reach out my hand to him. I’m petrified of him, having no idea who he is, but he saved me with whatever he did.
He looks at my hand and then to my eyes, until he lowers slowly, and my shaking fingers touch the tip of his nose. He closes his eyes, turning slightly until I gently stroke up his snout.
“Thank you,” I whisper, and he opens his eyes again, only this time, it’s brutal. I can see the torment in them, the hurt. It’s so unexpected that my eyes begin to water, and I sniffle, sucking them back. I don’t want to cry again.
But it feels just like what I saw in my mind, that heartbreaking feeling again.
Did it come from him?
“I can help you, maybe?” I say, gesturing to the chains and the spears, but he moves and licks my hand, giving it a small nudge before he steps back.
More ripples spread out from under him, moving towards me but I don’t see the cause. Fear penetrates me again at the thought of something else down here, an unseen creature.
Just as I nearly call out to the large wolf, the one beneath me gives a small, low purr, and then he starts to run.
But not straightforward.
No.
He goes up.
My fingers clench in his fur, my thighs locking around him to keep myself from falling as he runs up violet, mist-like steps. They appear the higher we go, coming from the bottom.
I look down, seeing the larger wolf watching us, his eyes glowing before he seems to melt into the shadows.
“Wait!” I call out, but he’s gone.
I look back up and see the light shining above. I see waves turning back into themselves, bubbles appearing before we suddenly crash into it. I try to scream, but water invades my lungs as I’m knocked off the wolf’s back in an instant. I close my mouth, scrambling as ice cold water surrounds me. I start to swim, to rise to the surface that seems so far away, but I can’t seem to rise, my limbs feeling heavy.
A shadow appears next to me, and I hold on to the wolf’s wet fur as he swims to the top, taking me along with him as my lungs burn with the need for air.
He moves as fast as he can, his eyes focused as I squint for the light, holding on to him tightly.
Just as I feel myself start to slip, we break through the surface.
Thirty Four
Darius
Following Leif through the forest surrounding Eridian, I pull the hood over my head as more snow falls. Leif yips ahead of me, his nose going to the air before he starts to cross the river. I follow, the ice-cold feeling of the water instantly seeping into my pants and boots. But I press on, wondering why he was away from his family and in Rhea’s cave.
I haven’t seen him since the last time Rhea was playing with the pups. Which seems like a lifetime ago now when I watched her from within the trees, seeing how happy she was playing with them. She would love to see them all again, I know she would.
