Page 20 of A Kingdom of Shadows

I stumble. Burning sensations swell beneath my skin, and pain shoots from my ankle toward my thigh. Collapsing into Darius's arms, he kneels on the ground as his features carve into an edge of concern. It feels like my lungs are swelling, and it only gets more painful every second I inhale. It's like someone stabbing my ankle over and over.

"The vine," I muster. "It must have been poi—poisonous."

Darius looks at my ankle, and I hear Tibith's frightened gasps as he says, "Darry, her leg."

I'm losing consciousness, but Darius shakes me in his arms. "Nara, look at me."

I do.

"I'm going to try to give you my dragon blood so it triggers the healing process."

I'm nodding, but it hurts. Everything hurts.

Each breath is less than the last I take.

My vision swirls, causing nausea to coat my throat before I look as Darius bites down on his wrist. My lips part just enough as a droplet of blood gets inside my mouth and for the strange taste of sweetness like honeyed fruit brushing against my tongue. I swallow, my head resting on Darius's chest as past the distant whispers of the forest's breeze, a voice—multiple one's inch closer and closer.

Darius turns his head, and I can just about make out shadows of figures coming through bushes.

"Darius," is the last thing I whisper before succumbing to exhaustion.

Chapter Nine

I cringe as light shines through the gaps of the twig roof above me; I raise an arm to protect my eyes. And as I lay here, my hand curls to the side over what might be straw. It's a bed of sorts, but the way my head is pounding makes me think back to the day I fractured my bones after falling out of a tree when I was a kid.

When I gaze to my left, I turn to stone as a smooth green face with obsidian eyes and leaf-shaped ears stands there, watching me.

I let out a noise between a gasp and a scream as I scramble off the bed. My back hits against the twigs while the elf stares with curiosity. Blinking further at what I'm seeing, I notice it's a beautiful female with a human figure. She's long and slender, wearing a dress made from whole green leaves and vines holding it together around the neck. She leaves nothing to the imagination, showing her toned stomach and silky long raven hair ending below her waist. Her skin glistens as she steps from the side of the bed and tries to approach me.

"Who are you?" I ask, my palms sliding along the wall as I move to get away. My eyes dart around the small hut, taking in the frame of the wooden bedposts and straw I was lying on. "Where am I?" I try to slow my breathing, piecing together what I last remember.

Vines.

The forests.

Poisoned.

I glance down at my ankle, now healed because of... Darius.

My gaze darts up as panic skids along my spine. "There was a man with me and a—"

"They are safe, just like you." The elf's voice is soft and tranquil.

I stare at her, unsure whether to trust her words. "Take me to them."

She bows her head. "Of course." And extends a slim arm toward the door.

Sensing that I won't move until she does first, she nods once and leads the way.

I follow her out of the hut and across a wooden plank bridge. It creaks and quivers beneath my feet, and I can see we're high above, amid trees, by gently gazing over the ropes keeping it together. If I jumped over, I'd almost certainly die. More bridges cross over others in the middle, going to shelters and further down into the forest. Elves in leaf-like attire, such as the one in front of me, stop what they're doing and stare at me. But my attention is drawn to one who appears youthful as he tilts his head, and his eyes follow me every second I walk. I turn away, a huge pressure building in my stomach. I was just in Darius' arms last night, poison running up my leg, and now I'm in this strange place.

"How did we get here?" I ask the female in front. She does not turn as she carries on walking.

"You were brought here by our kind," she answers. "Woodland Elves."

I'd heard of woodland Elves, but I'd not known they'd reside in the screaming forests.

"Our leader," she continues. "Renward runs this part of the forest. Rest assured, though; he poses no harm." She climbs up a small step from the bridge and onto a wooden platform.

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