And so I used every drop of my energy to find the clasp. My fingers were bloodied and burned as untold amounts of time went by. I sobbed as I struggled, but I never gave up. I wouldn’t give up.
I knew the taste of freedom and I wouldn’t stop fighting until it was mine once more.
Minutes, hours, days, or years went by. But eventually, I was free. The second the other bracelet tumbled off my wrist, the darkness began to recede.
When I opened my eyes once more, I was no longer falling.
The Pines
Igroaned, throwing my hands over my eyes as brightness leaked through my shut lids. Every part of my body ached. My limbs were heavy, my head pounding as I lay on something soft.
“Thank Kydona,” a husky voice said from somewhere beside me. The scent of smoke and ash and trees was stronger than ever, filling me with a strange sense of safety. A warm hand landed on my arm, sending small sparks along my skin. “Can you hear me?”
My throat was hoarse as I rasped, “Yes. I can.”
“Can you open your eyes?”
Pursing my lips, I thought about the question. “I can try.”
Opening my eyes had never been so difficult as it was at that moment. The task felt monumental as I commanded my eyelids to obey my will. It felt like an entire minute went by before my body complied with my demands.
My eyelids opened slowly, revealing bright light and a pair of concerned golden eyes.
“Xander?” I asked. Stretching out my fingers, I pressed them into the lumpy mattress beneath me. There was no richness in this small wooden room. Thank the gods.
Rubbing my eyes, I tried to push myself up. Every movement felt like agony as my muscles screamed.
Weak.
I was so weak.
“Yes,” he rasped. “It’s me. Don’t move. You’ve been through quite the ordeal.”
That seemed like an understatement. But lying in that bed, I realized I wasn’t the only one who had suffered.
Bags lay under Xander’s eyes that hadn’t been there before, and he was hunched over, his frame folded in on itself as he sat on a low wooden stool. His eyes were dark, his mouth pinched in a straight line as he reached beside him. I stared at him, unable to pull my eyes away for even a moment.
Had it really just been a dream? It hadn’t felt like a dream. No, it had felt like so muchmore. My fingers still burned from the manacles and my heart still raced from falling through the pit.
Something had definitely happened. But what? As I was pondering the complexities of the dream that hadn’t been just a dream, Xander cleared his throat.
“Aileana, drink this,” he ordered gruffly, shoving a wooden cup in my direction.
I eyed its contents warily, pursing my lips. “What is it?” I asked as I avoided the cup. It smelled unpleasant, and I could see something floating around in it.
“It’ll help you,” he said, avoiding my gaze.
I stared at him, furrowing my brows as I shook my head. “I’m not going to drink something without knowing what is in it.”
He huffed, his nostrils flaring as his muscles tensed. “Of course.” His grip on the cup tightened as a vein in his jaw popped. “Of course, you are going to be testy with me.”
“I’m not being testy,” I said. “I just asked a question.”
“Aileana,” he snapped, his eyes widening. “You have been unconscious for two days after you lost control of your magic. Two days. Is picking a fight really the first thing you want to do?”
I widened my eyes, blinking.
Two days?