Page 81 of Blood Beneath the Snow

For the first time since we’d started training together, I was afraid of him.

Was this battle real? Was my life in danger?

He lunged, plunging the sword down from above his shoulder. I swung mine up to meet it. They connected with a clang and I shifted my weight to the left, kicking out with my right foot to try and connect with his ribs.

He stepped back, lithe as a wildcat, and moved toward me again, twisting with his strike. Adrenaline pumped through my veins. But my core tension slipped enough to take me off-balance, and a wave of panic surged through me. I exhaled in a whoosh as pain erupted across the top of my arm and veered into my shoulder, the impact of his blade in my flesh pushing me to the ground.

The world blurred around me as my shoulder connected with the floor. An uncontrollable spasm wracked my body and I let out a cry. My right hand went to my injured shoulder on instinct, but I didn’t feel the touch—only the blood seeping through my fingers.

“Shit.” The Hellbringer was on his knees at my side in seconds, lifting me into his arms. “Shit, I didn’t— I’m so sorry.”

The world blurred. I struggled to keep my eyes open. A fuzzy figure approached me, humming a familiar melody. Frode? I cringed when my arm moved. My mind buzzed with questions fueled by panic. How bad was the wound? How much blood had I lost?

I slammed my eyes closed as a wave of nausea washed over me. I wouldnotthrow up on the Hellbringer; it would haunt me for the rest of my life.

“Take us,” I heard him say, and before I knew what had happened, my stomach lurched again, the way it had when I was first transported to the prison—like I’d been flipped upside down and turned inside out.

A gust of cold wind hit my face and I curled into the Hellbringer’s chest to shield myself from it. Through the pain, one thought reverberated:Outside. I’m outside.

I heard noises I couldn’t identify: shuffling and thudding and murmuring. But I did hear the Hellbringer shout, “I need a healernow!”

I tried opening my eyes, but nausea swept over me once more and I had to turn my head to vomit in the snow. Dizzy. I was so dizzy.

Clinging to consciousness with everything I had wasn’t enough. Moments after emptying my stomach, the darkness swept me away.

I faded in and outfor what must have been several hours, the whole time dreaming of a melody I couldn’t escape. It repeated itself over and over until I was lost in the jumble of notes and sounds.

The first time I dared open my eyes, a familiar face hovered over me.

“Volkan?” I whispered, tilting my head. I must be hallucinating.

But he offered me a grim smile. “Nice to see you, Revna. How about we get this healed up for you?” He muttered something under his breath and reached out to touch my wound.

I couldn’t feel a difference through the pain.

He laid a hand on the gash and I looked over. A giant chunk of my flesh was missing. Strange, to look at your own body and see brokenness. Every falling drop of blood rang in my ears, played the next note in the song hovering just close enough for me to hear.

As soon as he touched my arm, the pain began to subside. I sighed with relief. Slowly, the muscle and blood vessels started weaving their way back together, prompted by Volkan’s magic. It itched and burned, but as tears filled my eyes, I was grateful.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, my voice raspy. I must have screamed even while I was unconscious.

“We’ll talk about that later,” he said with a gentle smile. He pressed something against my lips. “Now chew. It’ll help with the pain.”

I obeyed, and then I swam in stars again.

I drifted awake in thedarkness. Night enveloped my surroundings like a lover’s embrace.

With a gasp, I reached for my shoulder. There was nothing but smooth skin where there had once been a gaping wound. I looked around but couldn’t see anything. “Where am I?” I mumbled, rubbing sleep from my eyes.

“You’re awake.” One of the lanterns was lit and the Hellbringer was revealed, sitting in a chair on my left, watching over me with his mask on.

He looked like an omen of death. Fitting. In my hazy state of mind, I giggled.

“What’s so funny?”

I shook my head. He wouldn’t get it. “I don’t like your mask. Take it off.” My brain swam in dizziness and a part of me knew I wouldn’t remember this in the morning. What had Volkan given me?

He was silent for a moment. “I can’t.”

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