Page 81 of Golden Queen
I knocked loudly as the world tilted to the side.
I moved with the topsy-turvy earth and felt my back hit something solid just as my feet went sliding out before me through the gravel.
I didn't remember hitting the ground, but I must have, because I came to awareness as someone picked me up.
"Sera, what happened?"
I knew that voice, but it was angry. I struggled to tell him I was sorry.
"Ran too fast, srry." My voice sounded strange—wet. As I tried to speak again, liquid filled the back of my throat. Rising.
I couldn't breathe!
Panic took hold of me as the world spun overhead. I could see the sky, the brilliant sparkling stars, and the edge of a few trees—but the world was turning in very odd ways.
And I still could not breathe.
A gurgle came from my throat and then the world was spinning a brand new direction. Pressure built behind my eyes as darkness overtook my vision.
Something hot poured out of my mouth and I sucked in a rasping breath, feeling like something was wrapped around my neck, choking me. I could only get a little air around the obstruction, so I tried to reach up with my hands to remove it, but my arms were just...gone.
Nausea roiled through me as I landed on something soft. A bed? A couch? A cloud?
Anetta's face swam before me. And then Io's beautiful one took its place, and I no longer cared if I could breathe or whether I had arms.
He looked terrified, so I tried to smile at him to let him know I was alright.
"Don't you fucking dare, Sera. If you die, I swear to the gods I will burn this fucking city to ashes."
Wasn't that sweet of him?He loves me.
And then darkness swallowed me as warmth rose up, cocooning me in soft, peaceful oblivion.
Fourteen
Iwoke in fits and starts, first opening my eyes to a red-tinged world that I could not focus on.
Voices muffled and far away. "Let me deal with the fucking consequences, Aben. I won't leave her until I know she'll wake." Io's voice. I would know it anywhere.
"She will wake, cousin." Aben, of course.
"She lost a lot of blood." A female voice I could not place. It was not Britaxia. Was it Master Juriae's wife? I could not seem to remember her name.
"She will wake." Aben again.
The voices grew more and more muffled, and then I began to dream again.
Soft hands on my brow, sweet female words in my ear, and sleep—peaceful and healing.
"She ran for almost two miles," someone argued, and I snapped awake more fully that time, blinking away the red-tinted world to find a room, a bed, and a head of dark hair tipped forward over open palms.
I reached my hand out, pleased to find my arms had returned, but the best I could manage was to graze my finger against his sleeve.
It was enough. His head shot up, and his eyes found mine. They flooded with relief.
He took my hand. "How do you feel?" His face was haggard, his eyes somehow haunted.
"I'm fine," I said hoarsely. "Did I hit my head?"
