Page 66 of Synodic

I grasped and pulled at the mud and watery vines, dragging myself out of the water one handhold at a time. I desperately clawed at the earth as if I were climbing up a mountain, not crawling across a riverbed, but I was terrified of losing my grip and falling back into the violent whirlpools. I managed to make it onto all fours like a near-drowned cat, coughing and choking up all the water from my mouth, nose, and belly.

My exhausted arms caved out from under me, and I collapsed to the rocks. My cheek landed on a sun-baked stone, and its solid warmth was the most exquisite thing I’d ever felt.

Lying half sprawled out of the water, my breathing slowly returned to normal, but I decided to rest a bit longer, giving my numb mind and shot limbs a chance to recover. My body ached from the impact of the fall, not to mention the beating I took from the rampant waves.

Too waterlogged and bruised to move, I hoped Rowen was somewhere nearby. He’d probably made it to the bank before I had. I would go upstream in search of him soon, but right now, it just felt so damn good to be still. Unmoving. Alive.

I don’t know how long I lay there, weaving in and out of consciousness with the waves lightly lapping at my legs, when suddenly, my peaceful resting was rudely disturbed. Strong hands grabbed me by the back of my vest and the waistband of my pants and flipped me over like a flapjack.

I kept my eyes shut, avoiding the bright sunlight that threatened to beam into my swollen lids. “I’m fine,” I thought I said out loud, but frantic calloused palms were at my cheeks, pushing my wet hair from my face.

“I’m fine.” I thought I said again, more loudly this time.

I squinted my eyes open a tiny sliver, only to see a glowing god hovering above me. The setting sun was directly behind him, casting him in a perfect burnished halo of light and fire, and I marveled as he blazed and dripped with liquid gold.

I thought such beings were devoid of feeling, but this beautiful god looked down at me with sheer dread. I wasn’t sure why. I was pretty sure I’d told him multiple times I was fine.

Abruptly, my upper body was yanked up by the front of my vest, and the first few rows of my lacing came undone as I was lurched forward into a half-seated position.

Stupid, forceful god. There was no need to manhandle! I was perfectly capable of getting up on my own.

His strong hand was between my breasts, clutching a fistful of my shirt to hold me in place. His other hand swiftly hit me on the back with a fully opened palm, forcibly and right where my lungs were.

Ow!

“Open. Your. Eyes,” Rowen said, a clipped command in every word, then he swatted me again.

“Ow! I said I’m fine. I’m fine, I’m fine, I’m fine,” I repeated in rapid succession, batting and pushing him off me.

“You’re alright,” he said as relief washed over his features and his shoulders relaxed. “I thought you… you looked…”

“I’m okay,” I said shakily as I struggled to sit up on my own.

Rowen was on his knees beside me, inhaling ragged breaths. His soaked linen shirt molded to his body, clinging to every contour of his sculpted chest. Water dripped from the dark wavy strands of his hair, plastering a few curls to his face and neck, and a single droplet hung from his lips like a golden gemstone.

I tore my eyes away from his mouth only to notice blood seeping through his now see-through shirt. The crimson stain at his side was growing, spreading through the light fabric. And fast. Much too fast.

“You’re hurt,” I said, reaching for him.

He went to stand but growled out in pain as he sank back down to a knee. One of his arms hugged tightly around his middle while the other braced himself against the ground. His face was down, and I heard him suck in several quick breaths before shaking his head as if trying to clear his thoughts.

“It’s from a laith,” he said calmly, though I could see the unease ridged throughout his body.

My eyes shot wide. I remembered him telling me outside of Weir Falls that a forest laith’s scratch contained venom. Venom that caused hallucinations before promising a painful death. One must have slashed him when he was tackled to the ground.

“We need to find cover,” I urged, worried we were still being hunted. “Then we’ll take a look.”

He nodded in agreement, took in one more breath through clenched teeth, and stood, but not to his full height. His injury must be bad. Blood was already seeping through his fingers.

I took his free arm and draped it over my shoulders, helping to carry his weight as we walked into the thick of the trees. I was glad he didn’t argue with me. He needed to preserve his strength.

My mind raced with what to do. If we headed back to the cliffs, we would surely find a cave for shelter, but who knew how far the raging current had pushed us or how long it would take to get us back there. We didn’t have that kind of time. Rowen was getting weaker with each step, slowly leaning on me more and more. He weighed a ton, and I was buckling under his mass.

I would need to treat him soon, but I knew next to nothing about healing. The little I did know about venomous wounds was that you could tourniquet a limb to stifle the blood flow, but it was around his midsection and wouldn’t be of much help. There was also the option of sucking the venom out, but his gashes seemed too deep for that to be a viable option.

Rowen wasn’t saying much as he battled the poison coursing through his veins. I could tell he was putting all his concentration into his next step, and his next, and just before we both almost collapsed to the ground, I spotted the mouth of a cave.

Practically dragging Rowen with all my strength, I made a beeline for the wide opening and lugged him through it. The cave was shallow but relatively tall, and most importantly, empty.

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