Kali lingered in an endless ocean of misery, resting on a tide of numbing pain that rushed in with each breath. Endless. Consuming. Drowning her in white hot agony that ebbed and flowed with brutal force.
She wished she could force her chest to still and her stubborn heart to lay still.
Instead she remained locked in that place of suffering by unfamiliar hands that held her down each time she thrashed and begged for the relief of numb darkness that blanketed her for brief moments of nothingness.
The infection she'd felt in the pit seemed to settle deeper into her veins, making it difficult to think. To remember. It trapped her in a useless body, unable to move or escape her captors.
We are alone again, a familiar voice whispered, curling through her mind like a fog.
Rhone…
Rhone isn't coming back, the darkest part of her continued implacably.
The hurt was enough to drag her consciousness to the surface of that endless sea, back to reality. Kali shifted fitfully, feeling an unfamiliar scrape of fabric against bare skin. She could hear a soft, comforting sound that repeated endlessly in time with the slow pump of blood through her body.
She frowned, mind still sluggish, and tried to remember where she knew that sound.
Had Delorea found a new way to torture her in the pit?
Slowly, cautiously, Kali opened gritty eyes and blinked up at an unfamiliar canvas ceiling. A tent, her mind supplied after a moment, I'm in a tent. Why would Delorea make her think she was in a tent?
She remained still, keeping her breathing even in the rhythm of a deep sleep so as not to let the guards know she was awake. Muffled footsteps outside and the low murmur of voices warned her she wasn't alone and she had no intention of letting them know she was conscious until she was ready to face them.
Curling her fingers, Kali forced herself to test each of her limbs for mobility, ignoring the weariness that made her want to sink back into sleep. At least there she would have to face a more painful reality.
Surprisingly, her back and most of her injuries felt better, healed even. Delorea must have decided to heal her so they could begin their tortures again. That meant Rhone hadn't given her the book yet.
The thought of the spellbook made brief flashes of memory flicker through her mind. Delorea's delighted chuckle. Crackling ice and snow and…
Kali sat up abruptly, twisting her head to look around the tent to find herself laying on a simple cot that was the only furniture in the sheltered space. Her stomach twinged at the movement but the pain was child's play compared to what she'd already endured. Someone had removed most of the blood that had coated her skin and brushed all the tangles out of her long silvery hair so that it brushed against her shoulders and back in soft waves. She needed to find clothes and weapons so she could be prepared for whatever fresh horrors Delorea had concocted this time.
The sound of soft breathing nearby made her look down and suck in a startled breath.
Rhone lay on his side on the sandy ground, one arm tucked under his head for a makeshift pillow and the other resting on her cot only a few inches away from her side. She drank in the sight of him greedily, noting the deep lines of tension that hadn't been there the last time she'd seen him in the palace. Hands fighting to hold onto her even as Thrace's guards dragged him back.
Her mate.
Her own hands were moving toward him instinctively before her mind caught up, clenching her outstretched fingers into fists. This had to be a trick. Delorea had told her that Rhone was really her mate and the look on his face confirmed all of her worst fears were true. Even if this wasn't some kind of hallucination, the truth would always be just as bleak.
The smile on her face faded slowly as understanding replaced the overwhelming relief she'd felt at the sight of him and she looked around the tent once more. Bloodied bandages littered the ground around her with sharp smelling liquids in carefully marked jars. Sunlight poured into the tent through the cracked opening and she realized the sound that had lulled her in and out of sleep was...water.
Where were they?
Helplessly she looked back down at Rhone, noting the torn and bloodied clothing he wore and wished she could wake him without worrying where his loyalties lay. Unfamiliar voices, male and female, passed by the tent on their way towards the water and she strained her ears to pick up snatches of their conversation over the sound of the waves.
"How long….need to get moving…."
A male voice, Stryker she realize with a lurch, sounded worried, "No response yet."
Was Stryker a part of this too?
Holding her breath, Kali waited until the voices faded before wrapping the blanket more tightly around herself in order to reach the pack that leaned against the end of the cot. Each movement felt like she was forcing her way through a thick layer of mud and drained her flagging strength. How was she going to be able to limp away from this place without getting dragged back for whatever Delorea had planned?
Her fingers fumbled with the leather ties that kept the bag and she grit her teeth at each tiny sound. If Rhone woke up before she got away, if he really was a part of everything Delorea had planned…
It would break her.
Finally the bag opened and she reached deep into the pouch, hoping to find at least a knife to use in her escape or clothes to help shield her from the sun beating down on the tent above her.
Anything that could get her away from the truth that would be exposed if Rhone opened his eyes.
The thought was enough to make her eyes burn and the satchel in front of her blur slightly. Kali pressed her fists against her eyes, willing the tears to stop and her will to escape return. The weakest part of her wanted to curl up beside Rhone and pretend everything was alright, to believe he would never hurt her. But all she could think about was the victorious glint in Delorea's eyes each time she described the way Rhone had touched her, kissed her, believed her to be his mate.
Her shoulders slumped forward and she suddenly wished she could return to the numb darkness as she had before she opened her eyes in this stupid tent.
"Kali?" The hoarse voice behind her made everything in her still and her heart thunder in her ears. She told herself not to look, not to confirm that Rhone was working with Delorea-that all of her worst fears could be true.
But she never had been able to refuse him.
Slowly, Kali turned to find Rhone sitting up, eyes blazing with an emotion she was too afraid to register. He looked like he hadn't slept in days and dark circles marred the pale skin of his face like bruises. It made something in her break when she saw the wild panic and worry in his expression and the way his eyes traced each of her features like he expected her to disappear if he blinked.
She shifted nervously, clutching the sheet like a flimsy shield, "Where-"
Her words were cut off with a soft sound of surprise as Rhone lunged forward, arms wrapping around her and crushing her against his chest. A chest that shuddered under her touch as he curled her against him, pressing her bare skin against his rumpled clothing. "Kali," he repeated like a prayer, "Kali, you're awake. You're finally awake. Gods, I don't even care if this is a dream-you're awake."
By the Mother, she'd forgotten how big he was. Or how good he smelled, or the way his hands cradled the curves of her body like she was precious, fragile even.
A part of her softened at the relief that made his hands shake while he stroked over the bare skin of her back in soothing motions and pressed a kiss against her bare shoulder, heaving a jagged breath. The sensation made her frown. Where were her scars? Where was the brutal evidence of her life Under the Mountain?
Her mind filled with the jagged pain of the whip slicing into her over and over again and she stiffened at the echo of pain. Each stripe ripping away at the layers of hope and happiness and love that she'd built in the light and freedom away from Amarantha's realm.
She should have bled out by now-she wanted to bleed out by now. Before Delorea could force her to admit where Amarantha's spell book really was. Before Rhone came to deliver it or took the book and ran-she wasn't sure which option would be more painful to witness. Her death was the only way she could keep Rhone and the rest of the world safe from Delorea's plans.
So why wasn't she dead?
Memories trickled in slowly, sluggishly, as though her mind didn't want to remember the agonies of the pit or the sight of Rhone charging into the throne room to face Delorea. He had ignored every warning, every plea she made with the same stubborn, foolish determination that he faced his brother with.
"I don't understand," she said slowly, pulling back so she could see his face.
"It's okay," Rhone replied gently, tucking a long, curling strand of her hair behind her ear, "It's okay, you're safe now."
Panic clawed at her, tightening its grip on her chest until she had to struggle to breathe. To think past the urge to scream and scream until her throat was raw and all of her terror ripped free from her body. Her lungs labored in and out in a rapid rhythm that made the room turn grey at the edges and Rhone lean in to say something else, but she couldn't hear it past the pounding blood in her ears. Just stared at his lips moving, forming words that could never hope to comfort her.
It wasn't okay. It would never be okay.
"I shouldn't be here," she gasped, trying to break his hold on her arms, "How am I here? What did you do, Rhone? What did you give her?"
Rhone went very still.
She stared up into the face of the male she'd sacrificed everything to keep safe and saw the same desperation she'd felt in that night with his blood on her hands reflected in the blue green of his eyes. In the grim set of his mouth and the feathering muscle on his jaw. Saw the guilt chase away the joy and relief.
Saw the truth.
"The book," Kali whispered in horror, "You gave her the book."
Welp...Rhone's in trouble. Kali is going to lose her mind when she realizes all the things he did to get her back from Under the Mountain. Hope you enjoyed the double posting of chapters! Let me know what you think!
