Page 75 of Beneath the Flames
Relief swept through me like a wave.But then Maren’s gray eyes turned on me.
“Why didn’t you tell me there was adragonin the volcano?”
A snort was my first response.“That wasn’t a dragon, Maren.The Avalean dragons died off long ago.No, this was a Lavawraith, a creature I didn’t even know still existed.They were supposed to be extinct.I’ve heard tales of a similar creature you humans call a Cherufe.It lives in the magma, protecting the volcano, sometimes causing eruptions.”I paused, considering what would have happened had it truly been an Avalean dragon.“No,” I breathed.“If this had been a dragon, you’d be dead.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
“The truth can hurt.”
Maren scowled for only a few seconds before relief swept through her features.She pushed to her feet and walked over to me.My legs groaned as I tried to stand, and Maren was suddenly right there.All thoughts of the monster, of the frigid air that had descended once more, disappeared as her eyes met mine, as the heat from her body filled the space between us.And then her arms were around me.
The same elation I often felt when using my magic swept through me at her touch.Nothing had ever made me feel the way my magic did.What is this strange feeling?
“Thank you for not letting me get eaten,” she said, her face pressed into my chest.
Though I couldn’t recall ever hugging anyone in my entire life, my arms wrapped around her of their own accord.How could such a foreign embrace feel soright?
“I told you I wouldn’t let you die.”
She cocked her head to look up at me.“Yet.”Her face wasso close to mine, it would only take a shifting of my weight to—
No.She is a means to an end.You’re caught up in the emotions of all that just happened.She is nothing to you.
I swallowed hard.“Yet,” I confirmed because I couldn’t bring myself to lie to her after the Lavawraith attack.I wished it was a lie, but it was the reminder I needed as I forced myself to take a step backward, out of her arms and away from her.
I needed to remember.I couldn’t allow myself to forget.
At the end of this, broken curse or not…
Maren would be dead.
Rhydian and I barely made it back to the little cabin, our legs giving out entirely as we stumbled inside and collapsed on the cot.There was no way either of us would be able to make it down the mountain without at least a little rest.I didn’t even have the energy to tell him to move to the floor, that I wouldn’t sleep next to him.With the way he slumped against the wall, eyes immediately closing, it appeared he didn’t care much about moving either.
The problem was the combined weight of the two of us on the rickety old cot made it dip in the middle, and our shoulders sank together.There was nothing I could do to stop my tired neck from resting my head against his arm.
Much to my surprise, I didn’t feel the need to pull away.
The warmth leaking from him into me was actually…nice.I told myself it was just because neither of us had the strength to start a fire to drive the cold from the cabin, and not for anyother reason.
Even more surprising, Rhydian didn’t try to move away either.
I dared a glance up at him and found his eyes closed, deep shadows carving the space beneath them.I’d seen him look tired after using his magic in the past few days, but I’d never seen him look so drained that it made me question whether death waited nearby to pull him under.
Neither of us spoke for so long that I thought he had fallen asleep when he finally murmured, “Rest…here for a…little…while.”The words were slow and drawn out, as though he didn’t have the strength to even speak.The heavy weight of exhaustion sank its claws into me, pulling me down into its depths.
Mere seconds later and Rhydian’s breathing evened out as he succumbed to sleep.The last dregs of my adrenaline finally faded as I sat there listening to his soft snores.It was like a strange sort of lullaby that quickly lulled me into a sweet, peaceful dreamland.
***
My eyelids stuck together as I struggled to pry them open.Without a fire, the cabin was dark save for the dim light of the moons shining through the little window, so I had no idea how many hours we had been asleep.
Reality was slow to return as I fought against the sleep that wanted to pull me back under.I was vaguely aware of something warm beneath my head.
My eyes snapped open.Sometime while we slept, I had lain down and put my head on Rhydian’s lap.I tried to turn to look at him, but a strange sensation stopped me.
His fingers were tangled in my hair.
I expected my first instinct to be to roll off the cot, put asmuch distance between us as possible.But for some reason, I felt a deep warmth that I hadn’t felt since coming to Eroth.It filled me to the brim, and settled into my core like a hot, comforting drink.I thought about moving, untangling from him, but my limbs wouldn’t agree.Nothing would move, and for some reason, I was okay with it.I tried to convince myself that it was just because he’d saved my life from the Lavawraith, and not because I was developing feelings for the Fae who had brought me here against my will.
