Damyan lay on his back, listening to the sorceress' gentle cries. The guilt of severely misjudging her made his chest hurt. Damyan had never been so wrong about someone. Everyone assumed that anyone working for Slaede did so willingly. It never once occurred to him that maybe coercion was involved.
He looked over at the weeping sorceress who was slowly making her way back to her bedroll. Feigning sleep, Damyan replayed their encounter in his mind.
The sounds of whimpering had awoken Damyan. He immediately recognized the sounds of someone having a nightmare. Scowling over his shoulder, he glared at the whining sorceress. He was tired, and she was interrupting his much-needed sleep. Damyan had half a mind to throw a handful of sand at the beautiful enchantress. Besides, Raven lived a life of luxury. What nightmares could she possibly be having?
Her sudden gasp had Damyan turning back around. He hadn't been spotted staring. But, judging from her soft footsteps, she was definitely trying to sneak away. Obviously, she hadn't noticed the iolite chain attaching her ankle to his.
A loud "oof" followed by a thud had Damyan sitting up with a huge smile. He was going to thoroughly enjoy this. Strolling over to the incensed sorceress, Damyan's smile only grew once he saw how furious she was. Her violet eyes shone brightly, and all Damyan could think was how adorable she looked. Her attempt to fight him was a surprise. Her punches were weak, but her fighting stance spoke of training.
When Raven placed her petite hands on his chest, every cell in Damyan's body came to life. It enraged him, and he barely held himself back as he slammed her to the ground. He felt no sympathy for the tears the sorceress tried to hide. If anything, he found her crying to be rather pathetic. All of the pain she caused, and he was supposed to feel sympathy because she hit her head on the hard ground? Yeah right.
Laying his entire body on top of Raven's to immobilize her, he had to fight his body's natural response to the feeling of her soft curves underneath him.
As they exchanged barbs, Damyan's rage slowly grew uncontrollable. Did Raven really see herself as innocent? She was a whor – "…keeping my family alive." Damyan felt like he'd been kicked in the stomach. His rage immediately evaporated, and curiosity took over. She had a family. She'd been kidnapped at a young age.
Damyan rolled onto his side, his back towards Raven's roll. He hated to admit it, but he never once thought about how or where his sorceresses came from, or why they even served Slaede. Then again, Slaede did attempt to destroy every iolite cave in existence. He wanted to be the only one able to control the sorcerers.
Damyan felt like an idiot. Then Raven said something he never in a million years expected her to say. She said his mother asked Raven to save him. He didn't know how to respond to that. Damyan didn't even know his mother had any sort of gift or power. He was learning all sorts of things tonight.
Rolling onto his back, Damyan sighed deeply. This war with Slaede wasn't making any sense. Before kidnapping Raven, everything was black and white, the lines were clear. Now, there were so many shades of gray.
Damyan's turquoise eyes found Raven's now sleeping figure. He hadn't planned on cutting her loose, but there was no reason for her to be held hostage.
The look on her face when she realized Damyan was her best option. "There are worse dangers out there than me," he had said before leaving her crying by herself in the sand. Damyan backed away from her when he saw her face fall. He couldn't stand there. He'd break if he saw those beautiful, violet eyes fill with tears.
Damyan watched the sorceress' shoulders gently rise and fall as she slept. She had to be no older than 22. She must have been 5 when Slaede took her, he thought to himself as his mind began to formulate a plan. He gritted his teeth. Slaede was going to die. Damyan didn't know how or when, but watching as Raven began to stir in her sleep Damyan made her a promise. He would kill Slaede if it was the last thing he did.