Page 49 of Of Spindles and Nightfall
She stared at him but didn’t move.
“Or stand there. Whatever you like.” He relaxed as he stared out over the stream, listening to the gentle sounds of the night.
After another moment, Aryana lightly sat on the log, leaving plenty of space between them.
“Your father was wrong to do what he did to you,” she said after a time, her voice soft.
Something painful worked its way up his throat, but he swallowed it back. “Your uncle is a bastard.”
That was all that needed to be said. It was as far as he’d allow himself to go. A tacit recognition of how much they shared in common. He sensed that bringing up her experience with Vallin wasn’t a good idea so he let it go. They both sat for a bit, looking out into the darkness not saying anything. He listened as Aryana’s breaths became deep and steady.
“This place is calming,” she said.
“Let me know when you wish to return to the castle.”
They sat for a while longer before she rose to her feet. “I am ready.”
Without another word, they started back along the path that wound through the trees in the direction of the castle.
As they walked, the world around him grew hazy. He blinked, trying to sharpen his vision, a sudden fear tightening in his chest. No, not again. It had been so long, surely it wouldn’t come upon him now.
Eerie stillness pervaded the surrounding forest, and a fresh, unconnected worry gripped him. He paused, again attempting to clear his vision while he scented the air. Yes, demons were nearby. Demons from kingdom Aeria. Were they seeking to take him out of the running before the trials started?
And if they managed to remove him early, before his bargains with others took effect, all the better for them. He was fortunate. He only detected them because the breeze had shifted.
How did they find him?
He threw out a hand. Aryana breathed in deeply. She must scent them too.
“Take my arm,” he said. His vision deteriorated. Zarathos clenched his teeth. The collision of his oncoming seizure and an unknown enemy stalking them couldn’t be worse. They had to get to the castle before it was too late. Her fingers closed over his forearm, and he called to the shadows.
Before he grabbed onto them, his sight clouded over, and his muscles locked. The shadows abandoned him. A cold ache raced through his bicep and a small panic sparked through him. Aryana was in danger. His mouth fell open to tell her to run, but he couldn’t move, couldn’t speak. His last clear thought was that if the seizure didn’t kill him, then the demons coming for them certainly would.
And then his mind fled, and he was on the ground, spasming, the world rushing about and the pain and panic of death rolling over him in waves. Oh, gods, he was going to die. Somehow through it all, he vaguely sensed Aryana leaning over him, her hands on his clothes, and distant panicked words.
Then he had the impression of moving fast, the earth underneath him rushing by. Zarathos was flying. No, that couldn’t be right. His wings weren’t out. Or maybe they were? The world passed by in shades of black and deep greens.
When his senses returned, he realized he was lying on stone in the dark tunnels leading into the castle. A thousand swords felt as if they had rammed into every part of his body. A disgusting, decaying sensation lingered in his mouth.
Aryana sat next to him with a bottle of his clear potion in her hand, staring up at it in the darkness.
“What are you doing? Give that to me,” he snarled.
She lifted an eyebrow at him. “What is this, Zarathos? I know it is the same potion that caused you seizures when you were a child.”
Damn her and damn that memory she saw. Damn the spell and the night he’d given her his blood that made that possible. “It's nothing. Give it to me.”
“You can’t even move.” Her mouth turned down. “And it seems like you taking this will make you quite the liability in the Demon Trials…”
“I said it is not for you to worry about—”
She shot him a fierce look. “And yet I will, because if you die, then I die, remember?”
He let out a frustrated growl. “How did you get us here?”
“How do you think? I’m not some weak human. I carried you. It was close, but I lost them before entering the tunnel.”
She’d saved him. She’d carried him on her back the entire way here. He was impressed and a tad… touched. Despite the fact that she was under a bargain, it made him feel as though he owed her.
