Page 10 of Unkindness of Crimson Ravens
Breathe.I commanded myself, but couldn’t seem to do even that, my body froze like a statue.
There was a part of me that was convinced that one of the knights saw my departure, and decided to follow for safety. Perhaps, they decided to hide, allowing me privacy. There was a part of me that was curious to see what might be behind the tree line, but I was not foolish enough to act on such a twisted idea.
The fog had become denser, covering my vision. The hair on my arms and neck rose and suddenly the air felt even colder—if that was even possible.
When my legs finally listened to me, I turned around back on my pathway. Thankfully, I was not far, but the cold air slowed down my moves: even the adrenaline rush did not help my muscles work. Perhaps I’d used up all of my resources on the previous day.
The crackling grew louder and I was not convinced it was a squirrel anymore. My walk broke into a run. I tried to look back at the cemetery, but my feet stumbled the moment I did that.Watch your feet!The last thing I needed was to fall straight on my face.
Air rushed past me in strong waves of a hurricane that almost knocked me to the ground. A wave was so strong it spun me around; I could barely see anything past my extended hand. Whatever or whoever this might be, most definitely was not here to protect me.
My stomach dropped.
Horror washed over me, my mind was stuck in the storm of my unresting imagination.Help!I wanted to scream, yet the sound did not come out. My lungs were empty.
Something grabbed my wrist, squeezing tightly, making the dagger fall with a terrifying clang—the only sound in this abnormal silence.
Its nails dug into my skin, breaking through my veins. My mind became rigid; my heartbeat ripped through my chest, smashing into my ribs. Every muscle in me was paralyzed, despite my best attempts to break free of my attacker.
The sharp pain in my wrist made my body shake; my wrist felt warm and cold at the same time. The force came so fast, faster than a wingbeat of a hummingbird. Though, it left just a second later, leaving me to the mercy of this unbearable torture.
The loud croak broke through the invisible wall around me. My head flew towards the sound. The unkindness of ravens circled above me. Their wings broke through the air, slicing it into two. The blood from their feathers fell down on me, the crimson drops hitting my face in a rainfall.
My instincts took over and I ran like never before. The moon was hidden behind the thick clouds now, as though it did not want to witness the horror either, leaving the night pitch black.
I only hoped I was running towards the palace—not away from it. Either way it didn’t matter at that moment, I just needed to get away as far as I could.
Unsure how long I ran for, I didn’t stop, nor did I look back. I did not stop until the pain in my wrist got impossible to handle, that even the adrenaline in my veins failed to mask it.
In half an hour—perhaps less, perhaps more—I was far enough from the cemetery, far enough from the birds, in the depths of the night forest. Unfortunately, far enough from the palace as well, but I would deal with that later; right now I had tofind the strength to examine my wrist, which only got worse with every passing moment.
Leaning on the nearest tree, I searched my surroundings for any sign of life. The woods were vacant and for the first time in my life I was grateful to be alone in the night forest. Yet my relief was short-lived; the pain in my wrist cut through my bones, icicles grew inside of my veins.
I rolled up the sleeve of my wounded arm through the agony, using the inside of my cloak as a cloth to clean up my injury.
Excruciating pain erupted the moment the cloth made contact with the skin, as if fire itself wrapped my wrist, holding it hostage. A suppressed cry escaped me without permission. The ground started to move upside down, moving me with it.
I had to find my way back to the palace before I lost consciousness; I had to find a healer. I prayed to all the Gods and the Moon, I did not just catch rabies.Breathe.
When the wound felt clean enough, I put my hand towards the moonlight, forcing the air into my lungs.I cannot afford to faint right now.
Feeling steady enough, I took a glance at my injury.
A terrified gasp escaped my lips.
“No,” I whispered, examining my wrist.
No.
It was no animal that had bitten me, the mark was of a human.
No.
I failed to keep my breathing steady, and cared not if I lost consciousness right this moment. In fact, I wished that would have been the case. I wished it was all a twisted jest of my imagination.
My mind wandered trying to findanypossible explanation, beside the obvious one.
Perhaps I was wrong, it was some sort of a wild animal that had bitten me. Perhaps the events of the ball and the news of the upcoming marriage had been too much to handle—it must have made me paranoid; perhaps it had made me see things that weren’t actually there. I just needed rest. I barely had any sleep, and this night had a lot on its plate. I must have gone mad.
