Page 131 of Faerie Hunted

“Come on. We’ve got to get to Onyx.”

“I’m close,” he said. “But you have to come to me. I don’t think I can move.”

The darkness messed with my mind. The space felt both large and small at the same time. There were no strange echoes but the water continued to pulse along the shore without making a sound.

I swore I saw things in the blackness, blacker than everything around us. Finally my hand brushed against Onyx’s legs and I used it to get my bearings until our shoulders touched.

The four of us were together.

“Is everyone all right?” I asked.

“I’m unhurt,” Livvy answered right away. “A little sore and definitely had better days, but unhurt.”

And I hadn’t been able to feel anything wrong with Noren.

“Onyx? What about you?”

Another beat of silence, and then… “I can’t feel my legs,” he said quietly.

Panic hit me, mingled with despair. I couldn't help crying out before I got control of myself. I fumbled for his hand. His fingers twitched against mine as I grabbed him.

“It’s going to be okay.”

I regretted the words as soon as I said them. I was in no position to offer up false promises. None whatsoever. Because it definitely didn’t feel like things would be okay.

It felt like we were screwed. Royally, fully, however you wanted to call it. We were screwed and lost in the darkness and something had happened to damage Onyx’s already fragile body.

“I hit the rocks hard when the boat capsized and I felt something crack in my back.” Much to my everlasting shock, he laughed. “This is the first time since the injury that I feel no pain. It’s actually kind of relaxing. A marked improvement from suffering through it.”

Guilt lived inside of me especially when he continued to laugh.

“It’s actually a relief. Chronic pain is no joke.”

“You know what? Your dark humor isn’t appreciated right now,” I snapped.

“It’s the only thing I have left, so at least give me this,” he retorted.

“Sorry.” I forced myself to scoff before the sound turned into a sob. “Not doing it.”

I’m the one who hurt him in the first place. I’m the one who damaged his body, who dragged him along on this miserable adventure, who made him come to the Abyss and relive the nightmares of his past.

Whatever happened to his spine was my fault and my responsibility. My interaction with the goddess was all but forgotten at this point.

“Here. Grab onto Noren. He can take you on his back.” I fumbled in the darkness to orient myself with the direction of Onyx’s body. “He’s strong enough to handle your weight.”

“Tavi—” Onyx began.

“I’m not going to leave you behind.”

My voice caught somewhere in the back of my throat. How many more people were going to get hurt because of me? How many more friends were going to suffer?

“Livvy, can you help me move him? I’m not strong enough to lift him on my own. And Onyx, if you even think of telling us to leave you behind, I will strangle you.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Onyx said dryly.

Somehow between the two of us, we managed to get Onyx onto Noren’s back and we inched along down the shore.

It was slow going. More often than not, I slipped on the rocks, holding onto Noren and Onyx with Livvy on their other side. Keeping in physical contact with each other helped.

---