Page 16 of Glass and Bone
Standing back up and wiping away the tears staining my cheeks, I make my way over the edge of the tent, silently cursing the persistent limp. I peer through the slit and see the fire abandoned, no one around. I slip through, keeping my back against the tent wall. Glancing around, making sure no one is there to see me, I slowly step towards the back of the tent, bordering the trees. Keeping my back to the woods and my face towards the camp, I continue until I am hidden by the brush.
Spinning around I begin to run. My leg retaliates, going stiff and numb as I try to pick up the pace. The pain between my legs spreads towards my core as I feel hot liquid running down my inner thighs, but I keep running as best as I can. Despite the pain and exhaustion, the weakening of my limbs, I have to keep going. I can’t let them take me to the palace. If I’m pregnant or if they find out about this, I’ll be dead.
I can’t let them kill me.
I can’t go back home.
I can’t go anywhere.
The king will assume I never made it away from the monsters of the forest. They’ll think I’m dead anyway and move on. My father will bear a new child with whatever mistress he has this week, and I’ll be replaced.
Knowing none of this is true, the lies I tell myself are the only thing that keep me moving forward. And I have to keep moving.
I pick up my pace as my head throbs and the nausea overwhelms me, threatening to explode. I can’t stop. I am running for my life.
Wait. That's it.
I come to a dead stop, my leg cramping, as I take in that last thought. I’m running for my life. A life I don’t want. Maybe dying isn’t a bad thing? Maybe I’ll see my mother again, the only person who has ever made me feel like I’m loved. I never wanted any of this. King Evreux could consider that and let me live out my life as a citizen of Noterra. I could start a simple life. Make a life of my own creation.
But that won’t happen.
Shaking my head in an attempt to get rid of the self-sacrificial thoughts, I begin my half-run half-shuffle again, breathing through the endless pain.
Everything is dark, the trees, the bushes, the forest floor. Sticks and rocks pierce through my feet as I continue, getting more and more breathless. My head is swimming, it’s taking every ounce of strength to even keep my eyes open. I’m gasping for every bit of oxygen I can manage to suck in, narrowly dodging tree trunks hidden by the shadows.
I don’t know how much longer I can run, the blood now steadily dripping out of every one of my fresh wounds, my feet going numb, the bile rising in my throat threatening to come out. Despite my mental protests and deep breathing, that’s exactly what it did.
Falling to my knees, the vomit explodes out of my mouth for a second time and lands around me. Taking every ounce of energy and strength I have with it. My limbs burn, my head throbs, my mouth is unable to inhale an adequate amount of air, and my mind is spinning. My eyes cloud over as I fight to keep them open, my muscles shaking from exhaustion. I can’t afford to stop. I can’t afford to let the weaknesses inside me win.
You are stronger than this.
But this weakness is more than a symptom of my injuries. I feel as if my limbs aren’t responding to my mental pleas, as if I have no control over my body. My heart is slowing, my lungs barely working. Something is wrong.
The waterskin.
He drugged me. He put something in the water, and I didn’t even question it. He was prepared for me to run, and I didn’t even realize it. I figured his attention was out of concern, but he only has one goal in mind.
His mission is to bring me back alive, and I walked right into it.
The crunching of twigs catches my attention as boots stop in front of me. I look up to see a cloaked man with no identifying sigil on the dark wool. He’s not with the men I was just with, but one of the men who watched as Aleksander took me into the forest. He bends down and grips my arms, forcing me up to my feet and I wince. I try to pull my arms out of his grip, but I can’t even get my feet to stay planted on the ground.
“Let's go.” He snarls. The sound of cracking branches and the shouts of men echo through the trees behind me. He whips his head towards the noise, searching through the trees. I can just barely make out the sight of a torch in the distance. I look back at the man and let out the loudest scream I possibly can, but it’s short lived.
A sword comes flying through the air, making contact with his head, slicing it in two, narrowly missing me. We both fall to the ground.
I try to stand, but my knees buckle around me, my body refusing to cooperate. I roll onto my back, staring up at the night sky. As black as my hair, sprinkled with glitter. A relaxed smile spreads across my face as I welcome the end.
Fairytales and magic.
Theo’s face is the last I see before the darkness takes me again.
Chapter Seven
Glass and bone. Slicing its way through my naked flesh as I stand and watch the fire consuming the buildings. Consuming the bodies. The smoke filling my nose has a peculiar scent. What I expect to smell like burning meat and timber, a scent I can’t figure out takes its place. A sweet and herby scent I’ve never smelled before. It doesn’t quite fit into the scenery laid out in front of me.
What is it?
A hand reaches out and pulls me to him. I scream as my eyes land on him. His black hair and green eyes shining in the smoke. A single white strand of hair flowing in the wind, tickling his face.
