Cahir stayed on the ground, trying not to faint from the pain. Of course, she had found out. He knew she would. It was a matter of time, and he assumed he should be thankful she hadn't killed him. The latter part was a bit difficult due to the fucking pain in his side.
The betrayal in her eyes had hurt him deeply, he'd realized then that she actually trusted him. She'd began to trust him only for that fucking soldier- He had hoped she'd fainted before she heard his name. Cahir groaned and rose from the ground, trying to find his footing in a world that spun.
Cahir had hesitated. Once. The man that ran for him during the battle had been with him at Sodden, he'd dragged him from the flames himself, and now he'd been sent to kill him.
'How the mighty have fallen,' the soldier had sneered as he unsheathed his weapon.
'I didn't fall,' Cahir had replied and kept staring.
'One bitchy mage was all it took to get you on your knees? You're a fucking disgrace Commander, the Emperor will kill you for this. Or perhaps she will, when she finds out who you are. We've been instructed to use your name. Loud. Often.'
Cahir had only snarled under his breath and lifted his sword. The Emperor would definitely kill him, but the soldier would be dead before that happened. That was the only thing that mattered. As for the name, he'd lie. She'd believed everything else.
He greatly enjoyed the sound of the tip of his sword digging into the man's throat. He stood above him and stared as the light died in his eyes and his useless fucking hands tried to stop the blood. It didn't matter. No more.
Cahir had turned to see Auri sprinting across the field, her eyes set on the last soldier hiding in the woods. He'd heard her scream and followed.
He was glad she didn't look. She would think less of him if she had, Cahir's face was caked with blood and grime as he shoved his sword through the soldier's neck with a grin on his face, simply punishing him for laying a hand on her. She was his. No one else's.
Something had been wrong. The eyes she placed on him were full of hate, the fire that flared up moments after told him he was fucked, the dagger she threw at him said the same thing, albeit with a bit more violence.
If he wasn't wanted before, he'd be wanted now. She'd taken his fucking horse too; he'd bleed out before he even got off this field. He assumed he deserved it, he'd lead her on. He'd pretended, very badly, to be something he wasn't.
Cahir braced himself with a hand around a tree branch and took a step. The blood flowed in time with his heartbeats. He needed to stop the bleeding, get off this field and hunt down his horse. He still needed to get to Skellige. He would still be safe there if he found a way to get her to see reason.
He kept walking away from the tree and noticed the trickling trail of blood he left. The dead soldier still lay where he had fallen, and Cahir moved through the mud and blood. He kicked him over on his back and knelt to the ground. A shirt would be good enough, anything would be good enough to just stop the bleeding.
He fumbled over the dead soldier, ripping off armor and weapons as fast as he could. Thankfully the idiot was larger than him so the strip he managed to rip from the reeking shirt would do the trick. Cahir's head swam with dizziness and regret when he sat back down on the ground and lifted his own shirt. The armor lay discarded by his feet. No one else was coming for him until word of this got back to the Emperor. At the most he had a couple of days to track her down, either beg for forgiveness or force her to take him to Skellige.
Cahir tied off the shirt with a hiss. The wound wasn't fatal, but the blade had cut him deep. He would have to stitch it when he found his horse, even if it healed on its own, he'd rip it back open every time he moved.
His eyes drifted over the cold dimeritium shackles by the tree opposite him. He could take them, find her and use them to force her. He'd let her go the moment he got to Skellige; he wasn't a monster-
The rustling leaves behind him caught his attention, soon a snarling maw appeared behind the scarce trees, and he realized she hadn't lied about the wolves.
The massive, gray beasts trotted toward him of soft paws, yellow eyes fixed on his bleeding side.
'Fucking hell-' he croaked and grabbed his sword.
He thanked the gods that the wolves weren't a whole pack. The emaciated demons baring their teeth at him unnerved him, yes, but he could hold them off.
Cahir widened his stance and kept his blade pointed toward the three wolves circling him. The leader attacked first, while the last two waited for him to fall. Cahir didn't fall. He simply kept his sword pointed in front of him and slashed at every piece of scraggly fur he could reach. The other two leapt for him, the smell of his blood made them desperate, desperate enough to not care about his blade slashing into their sides and their necks.
The howling turned to mewling, and then to eerie, damning quiet. Cahir panted as he dragged his blade across the neck of the last wolf. They'd clawed him up good. He should have worn his armor. Thankfully, he wasn't stupid enough to remove all of it, he'd only left his chest piece. A few claws had scratched holes in his shirt and his skin, but nothing compared to the wound in his side. They had been weak, starving and dying but they still fought.
Cahir's brows furrowed. His horse had left tracks. Very visible tracks. He understood her threats for what they were, she had been serious. If she saw him again, she would kill him, if he didn't die on his own by the time he reached her. Something in him had shifted when she found out, something deep inside him screamed for him to find her and explain. She needed to know he'd changed his mind.
He hadn't exactly known when that had happened, but he had changed his mind, nonetheless. He understood what he was doing the moment he cut down his own soldiers, he was saving her. By doing that he would also save himself. Cahir rasped a shaky breath and followed the horse-tracks into the woods away from the field. She couldn't have gotten far, she was wounded and still bleeding. Her chest had been carved up and he was sure the arrow had been poisoned. She had reeked of dimeritium and poison when he found her- the hate in her eyes. He'd never forgive himself if she died. He had tried to fool himself into thinking he only cared because he'd kill her later, he'd fooled himself so completely he'd missed the signs-
She had been so peaceful, sleeping next to him. He understood now that she'd felt the dagger and the hesitation. She'd pieced it together then, and when she heard his name-
Cahir stepped over a small stream, still following the tracks trodden into the stinking mud. He knew these woods; they had not taken her far. She was still close to Vizima. Closer to Gors Velen and her way home.
The darkness closed in on him, he had to hurry. If he lost the moonlight, he'd lose her tracks and she would be gone. Though, she'd pass out from the blood loss soon enough.
Cahir stopped walking. He was close. He heard the unmistakable sound of horseshoes clattering off small stones. He hoped she was still on his back when he peered out from between one of the trees.
Yes. Still on the horse. Barely.
Her feet were out of the stirrups, and she was dangerously close to falling off, she turned her head to him when he called her name. She mumbled something he couldn't hear when she lost her balance and hit the soft forest floor with a thump. Sir stayed where he was, she still held onto the reins with a fist.
'Will you let me help you or do you prefer to bleed out and die?' he said as he walked up to her, careful not to place himself too close. She'd hurt him once, next time he'd be dead.
'I'd like you to fuck off and let me die in peace,' she grumbled from the ground, her breath sent flurries of sand whirling up toward him on the cold winds. Beast indeed.
'I should. Considering you tried to kill me before,' he said and knelt by her side.
'You tried to kill me first.' She replied and tried to move. She braced herself on her healthy arm and shook slightly when she raised her head to look at him.
'I didn't kill you then and I'm not going to kill you now.'
'Leave me alone,' Auri spat and sat up on her knees. She pulled herself up by the reins and walked on shaking legs toward the mountains ahead.
He'd expected nothing less. She was too exhausted to fight him off, and even walking drained the color from her. She'd faint. He just had to wait. Cahir followed her through the woods, he kept his distance. He had to explain himself, he needed her to be safe. If he got to Skellige on his own they'd kill him the second he arrived if she got there first. There was no way in hell she'd keep her mouth shut about what he tried to do.
They would protect their own, and he'd be sent back to Cintra to meet the sharp edge of an ax.
'Auri, you will die. You must let me help?'
'No, I don't want your help. I don't want to hear any more of your lies.' She said, refusing to look at him. Cahir rolled his eyes. So stubborn. He quickened his pace, keeping a hand on the bleeding wound in his side, he walked up beside her and stopped her by placing a hand on her good shoulder.
'I didn't lie,' he lied.
'You said you were a Temerian commander and that your name was Mawr,' she said weakly. Still refusing to look at him. She only looked at his hand.
'I used to be a Commander and my name is Mawr, I just didn't tell you the entire fancy title.'
Auri kept her angry eyes on him. Filled with tiredness and poorly concealed hatred. She didn't believe a word he said.
'Mawr is my middle name. I figured it would be the safest one to use. I was sent to kill you because you kept burning the soldiers the Emperor sent to King Foltest. I said I'd do it to get my station back. I had a month. The soldiers followed me because I didn't do as I was told. Now,' he took a breath and placed a shivering hand under her chin to make her stay focused 'I've saved your life, and in doing so I have damned my own. If I wasn't wanted before, I am now. I still need to get to Skellige to be free, I still need you-'
She simply slid from his grip and the crack when her knees met the ground reverberated through his head. He managed to get a hold of her arms just before her head hit the ground. She'd fainted. Cahir placed a hand behind her knees and lifted her up into his arms. He moved his shoulder forward and tried to keep her head tucked against his chest. She was coated in blood. How she'd even managed to get this far-
The soldier had taken great care in carving her up. Her collarbones were almost exposed, and the deep gashes glinted when the light shone through the roof of leaves. She could hate him as much as she wanted, he owed her to save her. Despite every thought of the Emperor, despite every single screaming voice in his head that told him to take her head and get his life back, he didn't let her go.