Page 61 of Obsidian Dream
“Why did you never take the oath of the immortals?”Talik asked bluntly.He shrugged as she stared at him.
Khalida continued to trace his back, not ready to answer, following the angry lines that appeared to be growing.
“You asked me to keep talking.”
After Talik had left, she had thrown herself into the training, wanting nothing more than to dull the emotional pain with the physical.“Because part of the oath is renouncing all official ties to your family.I could not do that to my father.I may have no longer been his heir, but he is the only family I have.”
Talik was unnaturally still.
The venom ran close to the surface of his skin.It was turning his back into a multitude of colors—purples, reds, and blues.Dark enough that she could see the path it was taking.“I need to cut out the source of the venom.”
“I was hoping you wouldn’t say that.”
So had she.“You have healed over the wound.I need to remove the tip of the blade.It is where the venom is most concentrated.”
She took out the obsidian blade Rieka had given her.The sharp edges of the blade glowed in the light.It looked like it belonged to a surgeon.Not for the first time, Khalida wondered exactly what Sypha had seen in their vision and why they had given the blade to Rieka.Talik coughed.
“My backpack has an extra flashlight,” Talik whispered as he nodded behind her.“It has the box, and water, and some snacks.We don’t want you to get hangry.”
Khalida didn’t care about the box, and she didn’t need the water, but Talik did.Following his directions, she grabbed the bag and headed back, careful not to knock him as she gently kneeled next to him.She found the water bottle, unscrewing it before she forced the mouth to Talik’s lips.“You need to drink.”
Talik obeyed, not bothering to open his eyes as he took a small sip of water, dribbling most of it.
“More.”
“Your bedside manner is atrocious.”
They didn’t have enough water to use to cool him down and keep him hydrated.In the distance, the trickle of water was faint, as if it was coming through layers of stone and dirt.And it probably was.
A slight chill went through her.She shifted as she weighed her options.“I need to remove your shirt.”
Talik snorted, his eyes opening in small slits, a slight curve on his full lips.“You could have asked me—no need for me to be injured.”
Lifting his shirt higher, she ignored the comment.She slowly looked over his body, wincing at the bruising coming through.It was not just the venom she needed to be worried about.His ability to heal was likely compromised.Her gaze lingered for a few seconds longer than it should have on the tattoo on his chest.Talik had always taken a little longer to heal than she had.Purple and yellow marked his skin.She let her fingers trail along his taut skin and hard muscles.
Talik hissed.“Kiki, are you trying to kill me?”
“I’m checking for broken bones,” Khalida answered, with a little more heat than she intended as she continued her systematic check.
“Are you trying to convince yourself or me?”
In answer, she grabbed the hem of his shirt and attempted to pull it over his head.It only muffled his laugh as his entire body vibrated.She should be pissed off, but it meant he wasn’t in immediate danger of dying.“I don’t want to tear the shirt any more than we have already.”
He lifted his arms and slipped it over his head.
If she saw those creatures again, she was going to slowly dismember them and watch them piece themselves together, and once they were whole again, she was going to do it all over again.And again, until they could no longer regenerate, while she relished in their screams and pain.
“You need to roll onto your stomach,” she softly ordered, gently pushing him where she needed him before balling up Talik’s shirt.She placed it under his head before she turned her attention to his back, wincing at the red-raw marks on his shoulder.Talon marks.She grabbed the water and rinsed her hands.She did not want to be another reason Talik wasn’t healing.
He groaned as he repositioned himself.The cool stone may alleviate some of the pain in the short term, but it was going to get worse before it got better.
She traced the tip of the blade along one of the angry red lines, thankful Sypha had given them a surgical tool.Khalida held the blade still.“This will hurt.”
Talik nodded, barely moving, as he took a deep breath.The pain was excruciating according to her memories.She had been stabbed once with the venom—it had been part of her training—and it had taken her hours to recover after she had been administered the antidote.Biting her lip, she forced herself not to say something she would regret.There was nothing they could do except wait and hope the creatures didn’t come back.Or the Anki.It was not a comfortable feeling, not when she was used to being on the offensive.
“You can thank me afterward.”She inched closer as she palmed the knife.The venom running through him was moving faster than she had expected.The thick purple lines were growing darker as they streaked along Talik’s skin, star-bursting from the original wound.They also didn’t appear to follow any direct route.Some went along his entire back and looked like dried-out roots.Other lines pulsed in time with Talik’s heart.His darkly tanned skin was now more yellow than she’d ever seen it before.“On three.”
Talik snorted.“Just do it, Kiki.It is not like you actually count to three.”
