Page 112 of Devour
“I’ll take care of it,” he growls, then grabs my upper arm and practically drags me away from the woman. I stumble to keep up with his harsh pace, all the way through the line of warriors.
Only when we are far past the Drak does he finally release me. “Do you see now?” he mutters under his breath. “This entire place is a trap. They will bait you in any way they can manage.”
I swallow and rub my arm where he’d pulled me.
“I’m sorry if I hurt you,” he says, watching me carefully. His eyes are still so lifeless. His shoulders tense.
“I understand what you did,” I say quietly. “Thank you.”
He releases a breath.
I would have run straight into the priestess. Would I already be in the dungeons if he hadn’t stopped me?
“But I still stand by what I said. I won’t give up.”
He rolls his shoulders but gives no other response.
It was reckless to flee on the spot. Of course they were there waiting for me. I have to make my escape when they don’t expect it.
There is one thing I feel in my bones after the reading today. One truth I find in the spinning madness of my mind.
Reconciliation. Rupture.
The dream of Astella being taken by the Drak.
I am far from certain, but if there is even the slightest chance that Astella is down there, starving, suffering, alone, then I have to find her.
I have to find the key the girl told me about. I have to find a way out. Now.
Tonight.
I follow my Drak through the quiet hall, knowing tonight will be my last night in comfort. Even if I make it out, I’ll be back to starving, back to running for my life.
Back to Astella.
Find me.
He is the key.
50
Haze
She is quiet as she accompanies me back to our nest. Unnaturally quiet. Like the moment before death strikes.
I allow her stillness, though it carves through my soul. I deserve this discomfort.
I don’t know what happened in her reading, but it clearly upset her. How will she cope with her new pain?
Perhaps she will lose herself to her inner world as I have done many times before.
It’s how I’ve survived this long.
I find refuge in the dark corners of my mind, where the past lingers. Sweet memories, unmarred by the curses of this world.
It is not the fate I’d hoped for her. Maybe I am even selfish for keeping her alive in such a half-life. Maybe it would be better to allow her the righteous death she would surely find if she continued her current path.
I ache to ask her what happened in her reading. She passed, so they did not see her escape attempts, past or future, but then why did she run immediately after? What spooked her so deeply?
