Page 135 of A Dance of Water

And the raven shifter took a damp curl of her hair between his fingers, letting it pool like silk before he stepped away from her entirely.

She had had touch for some hours now, and to suddenly be without it… It made her wary. "I want to speak with Az first."

Tharen scoffed. "No."

"Let me speak with Vale, then," she countered.

The twisted thread that burned like embers grew shorter.

"You realize we do not have all the time in the world?" Vale was beside her, not quite touching. She resisted the urge to lean into him and find solace, something to ground herself.

"I wish to speak with Az." She bit her lip, anxious she would be denied.

But the King did not deny her. "Very well." To Tharen, Vale mumbled, "You say intense emotions help her power?"

Tharen replied with something she did not quite catch.

Heavy footsteps, and the strong thread between her and Az trilled lowly. Warm palms cupped her cheeks and tilted her head up.

"Az?" she asked, leaning into his touch.

He did not respond.

She tried again: "Az?"

No response. Something steely brushed against her shoulder, and her brow furrowed. Was that…

"Chains?" she breathed. "You’ve chained him?" She reached out, fumbling against Az’s hands as she felt thick manacles against his wrist, held together by a chain. She traced the links of unwieldy metal up to his neck, where she felt a collar.

Tears burned the backs of her eyes.

She stood on her tiptoes, hands reaching to cup his cheeks and grant him comfort. But her hands met more metal instead of warm skin.

"What is this?" Luella traced the edges of cold metal on his face, finding that it stopped halfway on his face. She traced over the slope of his nose and up to his brow, feeling his skin. He rumbled from her touch, and tears finally spilled over, soaked up by her blindfold.

She shook from rage, from helplessness.

"What have you done to him?" she sobbed.

Even chained, Az still tried to comfort her. He awkwardly gripped her wrist and pressed it to the side of his neck. She felt his pulse under her fingertips, reminding her that he was alive.

The rain grew harsher as it fell from the clouds. So thick and unending, it permeated the barrier of the treetops. Droplets splattered against her hands and the top of her head. She tilted her head back, letting the rain mist her skin.

She felt no fear in the presence of the water. Only resentment.

Az was ripped away from her, and she was, once more, alone in the middle of the rain-soaked forest.

Over the call of the rain, Tharen declared loudly, "Good. Now we begin."

Luella ran.

Damp strands clung to her neck and shoulders, the weight dragging against her with each frantic step as her feet sought purchase against the wet earth.

Her palms and exposed arms stung from the scratches she had acquired from how many times she had tripped and fallen. She paid no mind to the pain, her focus solely on fleeing with determination.

Her breaths came in uneven bursts, and she tried to do what Tharen had instructed—feel the air, the ripple of the breeze. But the way the rain roared in the sky drowned out everything, left her fumbling and blind—literally.

The cold water consumed her. She wondered if she had her sight, would she even be able to see through such a roaring tempest?

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