Page 21 of Hex
“Hit him over the head with a metal cup really hard.” I chuckle, allowing a light smile, hoping to cheer her up even a tiny bit.
“It’s Halloween today, and your thirtieth birthday tomorrow…I think your powers are finally starting to show.” It worked, because she’s smiling right along with me, although it looks as pained as mine feels. We have matching bruises on our cheeks, thanks to Gregor.
Standing, I hold out a hand for her. She takes it and, together, we heave her up. With one arm around her waist, the other holding the whip and keys, we walk out. Flaming sconces line the walls, and the farther away from the cells we get, the more red the rocks become almost a deep crimson.
The light at the end of the literal tunnel is a deep amber, like flames on a dark night. Neither of us have spoken, too busy concentrating on walking through the injuries. There’s an opening, the sconces no longer on the walls, and that hope in my chest burns brighter with every second that passes.
I know Hack is near, too. I can feel him. So close I can almost taste him.
The ground starts shaking as a deep growl vibrates through the tunnel, and I don’t want to stick around to face the thing it came from.
“We need to be faster.” I’m not trying to make it sound like an order, because Saffron is clearly suffering more than me, but we don’t have much time if the growing thuds are anything to go by.
We both speed up, Saffron’s arm around my shoulders gripping tightly for leverage as she walks.
The growling gets louder, the shaking rocks more intense, and I know our chances of escape are getting smaller by the second. A roar that sounds like it’s coming from the pits of Hell echoes all around, making me pause to lift Saffron into my arms. Her wafer-thin physique and the way she wraps both arms around my neck for support mean this isn’t as difficult as I had expected, and the few seconds wasted to pick her up are more than made up for in speed.
“Leave me, Sage. You’ll be faster on your own.” Her whispered words are light against my ear, almost as if she isn’t physically speaking them, they’re just seared into my mind.
“Not happening.” I think the adrenaline that kicks in when someone you care for is in danger is the only thing keepingme going right now. The guilt I’d feel for leaving her behind would surely kill me alongside what I’m guessing is the fenrir I’d forgotten all about.
“Tell my twin sister that I love her, and that I’m sorry. She’ll know why.”This time, I know the words are only in my mind, and the strange cloudiness that came with it is whipped away as Saffron jumps from my arms.
Winding her outstretched arm in circles, she creates a breeze that begins to pick up its intensity as the fenrir finally comes into view.
“Saffron! We have to go now!” My shouts go unheard as the wind increases.
She’s hunched over, her face creased up in agony and concentration.
“Run, Sage. I’ll hold him off as long as I can.”Her voice is in my mind again, her lips remain unmoving, but her wide eyes plead with me.
I’m about to protest again, to demand she comes with me, but she shakes her head and tears begin falling down her soft, pale cheeks right before she takes a deep breath and pushes a heavy gust of that wind she’s creating in my direction. The scream that comes from her throat is guttural, like she’s using up every ounce of energy she has left.
My feet lift from the rock beneath us and I fly backward. The opening of the mountain of rocks we were inside is now in front of me, crumbling like an avalanche as I make my own descent into a thick bush. My landing isn’t pretty, but neither is the way the clear entry inside the mountain is disappearing, with Saffron still inside.
Every muscle and bone in my body aches and I know I should move from this bush-like thing, but instead, I just stare at the devastation caused by my friend.
I assumed it was night, but there’s no moon to see, only a dark red-orange mist that is thickening the longer I lay here. The avalanche of rocks eventually stops, but my tears don’t. My stupid escape attempt may have worked, I’m free, but Saffron…
“I knew I’d find you.”
Chapter Nine
Hack
My breath gets caught inside my throat at the first sight of Sage sprawled out against a whysperbrush—named for its rustling leaves, even without a hint of a breeze—and staring at a pile of rocks closing off what I can only assume is a cave. I don’t think she heard me, and if she did, she’s not registering my presence. All I can see is her profile but even at this angle, there’s no denying the shock written across her face—her pale, gaunt face. One quick scan of her body tells me she’s lost a considerable amount of weight and her once healthy tint seems pale to the point of sickly. Clothes ripped, skin bruised and covered in dried blood, she reminds me of collateral damage in a war and that singular thought has my chest vibrating with pent up rage.
Opening my mouth to say her name, maybe pull her out of the trance she seems to be trapped in, I’m cut off by her sudden movement. One second she’s downright frozen in place, the next, she’s running, screaming like her lungs are on fire, straight for the cave entrance.
“Saffron! Saffron!” Frantic, she screams that name as she tries to remove the compact wall of rock debris with her hands, probably breaking every nail she still has on her fingers.
My brothers all move in unison, the valkyries following suit, as we form a half moon around Sage, anticipating the worst. She’s breaking my heart but I have a feeling that the wall is there for a reason, and although I would give the world to my chosen—my own life if it meant keeping her safe—this feels like the opposite of that.
“Saffron, please! Please.” That last plea drips from her lips, and even to me, it tastes of bitter acid.
“Satapti.” Kneeling behind her, I wrap my arms around her shoulders and whisper against the shell of her ear. “I’m here.”
Sage erupts into sobs, her voice cracking on every syllable of the name she keeps repeating over and over like a prayer that’s going unanswered. With my hold on her, she’s stopped digging her way in, but the defeat in the hunch of her shoulders and the repeated heaves of her chest make me feel useless. The only reason I know she feels my presence is because she allows her body to melt into mine, accepting my comfort and radiating gratitude with every breath she takes.
