Fire in the sun, p.19
Between Soul and Vessel: A Dark Fantasy Romance Series (Between Life and Death Series Book 4), page 19
“Fallon?” Kaleb’s groggy voice called out from inside the crevice.
Lyra dashed over to it, disappearing inside. Not long after, she and Kaleb emerged.
“Easy now, tough guy,” Folkoln said as he strolled over to them. “You’ve been out for a while.
“How long?” Kaleb spoke wearily, his arm slung over Lyra’s shoulders.
“About four days,” Folkoln replied.
“Did we all make it?” Kaleb asked.
“Soren is the only one unaccounted for,” Folkoln answered.
Kaleb nodded, drowsy eyes shifting over to us, then—
“Fallon!” he yelled, voice desperate. Seeing her, as she was, must have been like a bolt of electricity, because he was racing over to us. Lyra scrambled after him.
At Fallon’s side, he sank to his knees, their gazes locked. He slid his shaking fingers to her cheek, and she cupped his hand, her fingers stained with blood. “It’s going to be okay,” he said. His head jerked up to mine, face etched with worry. “What do we do?” His eyes locked on my arm, and they grew even larger. “Shit!”
“It’ll grow back,” I reassured him. “Worry about Fallon.”
“Reassuring,” Fallon grimaced, voice saturated with sarcasm.
“Should we take the fang out?” Ryker asked, looking at me. “Or is it better to leave it in?”
“It’s not the fang I’m worried about,” I said as I surveyed the wound. Surrounding it, a web of black had started to spider out. My attention shifted to my arm, looking to see if I, too, had been infected by the hydra’s venom, but I spotted nothing. Either the toxin hadn’t had a chance to spread yet, or the head that bit me wasn’t venomous.
My gaze returned to Fallon.
Back home, Fallon couldn’t die again because she was already, well, dead. But here, in these foreign lands, I didn’t know what would happen to her soul.
I could suck the venom from her, but if I wasn’t immune to it, like I was with snake venom, that could cause a host of problems—problems that could deter me from getting to Sage, and that was something I was not willing to risk.
“We need to find someone who knows about the hydra’s venom,” I told them. “A healer.”
“Fuck the healer,” Folkoln hissed as he crouched beside Fallon’s wounded leg. His hand wrapped around the broken tooth, and he pulled it out before anyone could stop him.
“Folkoln,” Ryker growled.
But Folkoln paid him no mind. Carelessly, he tossed the fang to the side, sending it skittering against the stone. He bent forward and, with his eyes on Fallon’s, said, “Just remember, Little Bird, out of all these so-called men, who had the balls to save your life today.”
“Folkoln, wait,” I snarled, reaching for him with my good hand—my only hand.
But he flipped his middle finger at me as he placed his mouth against her wound and began to suck out the venom.
Von
“This is it,” Ryker said hours later as we approached a section of the tunnel partially caved in on one side.
The crumbled stone had fallen into the river, squeezing off the passage of water and forging it into turbulent, angry rapids. Rubble was strewn about, making the terrain treacherous and uneven, a good place for a mortal to break one of their many brittle bones. Through the jagged hole, daylight beamed, giving the reddish rocks a yellow glow.
“Finally!” Kaleb exclaimed as he jostled Fallon further up on his back. Lyra leapt up and down beside him, sharing in the small victory.
“There are plenty of plants and game on the other side. A freshwater stream as well,” Ryker said, an unconscious Harper in his arms. “Fallon and I made a camp out there where we stayed during the nights. During the day, we’d come back inside the tunnel to try to find you guys. Little did we know we were going to find a fucking hydra.”
“Did you ever travel further downstream?” I asked, my gaze set ahead, while the rest of them looked at the exit.
Fallon picked up her head from Kaleb’s back. “No,” she rasped, her voice weak but slowly improving since Folkoln had sucked the venom from her wound a few hours ago. “We had planned to go tomorrow if we didn’t find anyone today.”
“Soren could have floated further down the river,” I stated, hating the idea of remaining in this fucking tunnel any longer, but it was something that might be necessary—Soren was essential because he was the only connection we had to Sage. Since we arrived, I had tried to speak to her through our bond, but that private bridge remained broken.
So, if I was going to find Sage, I needed to find Soren first.
A truth I despised.
I studied the weary faces, now turned toward me, waiting for me to decide. They did not possess the same immortal stamina as me or Folkoln, although I’d seen bits of it shine through Harper and Ryker, as they were descendants of Dameon and Zahra. But all in all, the group was tired.
“We’ll spend a night at Fallon and Ryker’s camp so everyone can rest up,” I decided. I could see the relief spread from face to face. “We’ll reassess in the morning.”
Fallon and Ryker’s camp was fairly simple. They had crafted a small shelter, just big enough to fit the two of them—something I know made Kaleb do a double take. Small, slender tree trunks stacked together formed the sides. The roof was made out of large, leather-like leaves. Those same leaves were what Fallon and Ryker had made their laughable clothing out of. The leaves were placed over top of one another and slanted to the side for runoff. In front of it was a small stone pit. Inside, the ground was untouched, not a speck of ash to be found—which meant Ryker had been using his own flame to create a fire within it.
Lyra watched with solemn eyes as Ryker gently placed Harper’s unresponsive frame inside the shelter. When he backed out, the leaf he wore failed its job, causing Lyra to swiftly look away. For her sake, I would make him clothes—as well as Fallon. However, I would have to wait until later because the regeneration of my arm was chewing up a great deal of my power.
I rested on a fallen log, eyeing my stub, which had grown about halfway between my shoulder and elbow. My old tattoos began to stitch themselves back into my skin. The top of the tattoo of Sage’s hand holding an apple was starting to form again. Seeing it there was like oxygen to my lungs, breathing life into me. Reassurance.
Folkoln sat beside me, his sights set ahead on Kaleb and Fallon.
Slowly, Kaleb lowered her onto the mossy ground. She winced as he slid his arms from underneath her. When Kaleb pulled back, she caught his hand, a silent conversation taking place between the two of them.
My gaze shifted to Folkoln, who was still watching them.
What am I looking at right now? I asked, shoving the words through the cracked door linking our minds.
Absolutely nothing, came his reply.
Absolutely nothing, my ass. Sucking the venom out of her leg could have put you at risk, and yet, you did it anyway. Why?
He shrugged. I was doing my good deed for the decade.
You, my brother, are many things, but selfless is not one of them. You haven’t taken your eyes off her since you sat down beside me. So, I’ll ask again, what am I looking at?
At first, he said nothing. Which was unlike him. Then, Fallon and I never shared a personal connection; it was always just intimate. When Kaleb came into the picture, she called things off. Which I was completely fine with, but then we came here, and it’s like something has shifted in me.
I raised a brow. How so?
That’s what I’m trying to figure out. I don’t know if it’s because I like the idea of being with her, or if it’s broader than that. But I find myself wondering things that have never crossed my mind before. Like what it would be like—he nodded to Kaleb and Fallon—to have someone.
I thought of Sage, of how much she had enriched my eternal life. She brought me happiness I had never known was possible. Understanding, patience, kindness, love. And above all else, she had shown me the power of forgiveness. She wasn’t just forged from the moon—she was the moon, and it was my world that revolved around her, not the other way around. I believed she could learn to live without me, something I would want for her if that were to happen, but I could never do the same.
What I was doing now was a testament to that.
The truth was, I needed Sage. Like an addict needed their next fix. Like the birds needed the sky. Like a beginning needed an end.
She was the light to my darkness.
She was my everything.
My attention drifted to my arm, locking on my vine tattoo, my brows lifting ever so slightly as I breathed out the words, “There is no better feeling.”
“I never understood your and Saphira’s infatuation with the stars, nor did I understand why either of you wanted to find your mate so badly. But now, I feel this strange . . . tugging.” He rubbed his hand over his chest.
“I know that feeling. I feel it with Sage. Like a rope is tethered to my insides and I’m being pulled toward her.”
“I was thinking more in terms of a boat seeking a lighthouse, but that’s a good way to describe it.” He glanced back at Fallon and his hand stilled.
I could see the mismatched wheels beginning to rotate in his chaotic mind. Before they could start to spin any faster, I said flatly, “She’s not your mate. If she was, the bond would have forged the first time you slept with her.”
“I’m not a dumbass. I know how the bond works,” Folkoln said, his gaze still fixed ahead. I followed it—
Fallon and Kaleb seemed to be having some type of dispute, but before I could listen in, Kaleb spun and started for Ryker, who had his back turned to him. Kaleb’s fists were clenched so tight the skin over top of his knuckles had turned white.
Folkoln leaned over, saying, “This ought to be good.”
I nodded.
“Hey! Ryker!” Kaleb shouted.
Ryker turned to look at him, but just as he did, Kaleb’s fist smashed into the side of his face. Blood and saliva misted the air as Ryker swirled and fell onto the ground.
“You are a real asshole, you know that?” Kaleb spat out the words, his face glowing cherry red.
“I deserved that,” Ryker said as he rubbed his jaw.
“You deserve that and so much more,” Kaleb hissed, voice laden with anger, raw and deep, like a jagged shard of glass, ready to cut.
Ryker held up one hand in defense. “I know this is shit for you, but Fallon and I had something in the past and we’re just trying to figure things out.”
Kaleb bit back. “Fucking each other when she is with someone else is not figuring things out.”
Lyra, who had popped her head out of the shelter, watched the scene unfolding before us all, her mouth wide open.
Fallon looked rather pitiful as she dragged her leg behind her, making her way over to the two of them. She stepped in front of Kaleb, her eyes pleading as she said, “Kaleb, I know you’re mad at me, and you have every right to be, but please try to understand. What Ryker and I had in the past was real, and we never got to see what could have been. I won’t deny I have feelings for him, but I love you too.”
“You love me too?” Kaleb’s eyes narrowed. “Does that mean you love him?” His slit pupils shifted to Ryker before they landed back on Fallon.
Fallon’s mouth went slack, tripping over her words as she said, “I-I-uh, I’m trying to figure that out. Those feelings don’t just go away.”
Kaleb went to take a step back, and Fallon tried to grab his hand, but he pulled away. “Don’t touch me.” His voice was as cold as the dead of winter.
“Kaleb, just hear us out,” Ryker interjected. “We never would have gone that far—”
“No,” Fallon cut in. “We wouldn’t have, but the berries we found that night messed with our thoughts. It loosened our inhibitions, and next thing I knew, it just happened.”
“I feel like I’m going insane. You are blaming your infidelity on . . . fucking berries?” Kaleb shook his head in disbelief.
“Kaleb, it’s true, please,” Fallon pleaded.
“I’m done,” Kaleb said, and then turned to walk away.
Fallon and Ryker called after him, but there was nothing they could say to keep him from walking off into the trees.
I sighed and said to Folkoln, “Look after the others. I’ll be back shortly.”
My right hand propped up my nub as I made my way through the forest, the mossy floor covered in small twigs that snapped underneath my boots. The earthy scent of decaying leaves and fresh pine hung heavily in the air, a welcome change from the briny tunnel.
When I caught up to Kaleb, I slowed to match his pace.
For a while, we walked like that, our silence occupied by the sounds of the forest—the natural rustling of leaves, the chirping, tweeting birds, and a babbling brook not far up ahead.
I knew of the inner turmoil Kaleb must be feeling right now, because there was a time, not so long ago, when I had felt it too. When Sage had decided to sleep with Aurelius, a choice she made without the sway of his ichor, it made me wild with anger. With possessiveness. So, I went to her, and I asserted my claim. Over her. Over her pleasure. She was mine in every sense of the word. She belonged to me.
As I to her.
Despite what she had done, I could not stay mad at Sage. To do so would be incredibly short-sighted.
Sage’s actions had been because of me.
She had learned of our twisted past, where I had cursed her and taken away the one thing she longed to do—create. I had left her to suffer through the fever, which ravaged her for days on end, causing her unspeakable pain as her body and mind were torn to shreds.
I could still hear her tormented screams as she writhed on the cottage floor, begging for the agony to stop. And like a heartless asshole, I just sat there, watching her. Like that, in her weakened, desperate state, I had taken advantage of her, forcing her into another bargain—
I am willing to offer you a deal. I will give you an apple seed to plant. My own words echoed inside my head.
I scowled at the memory.
Back then, I had been so caught up in my need for revenge I had ignored all the signs—that she was my mate. I had wasted precious time I could have had with her, if only I hadn’t been so painfully blind.
I hated what I had done to Sage, and yet, she had forgiven me for it. All of it.
So, if she could do that for me, I could do it for her.
In fact, I already had.
Kaleb sighed. “I miss Sage.”
“I do too,” I conceded, looking up at the swaying green canopy. Creator above, how I missed her.
“I wish she was here so I could talk to her about Fallon,” Kaleb said, the anger in his voice gone. Now, all that was left was sadness. “She’d know what to do.”
“I know I’m not nearly the listener that she is, but I can try to be, if you want to talk about it,” I offered.
Kaleb gave me a skeptical look, but he let out a long sigh and then word-vomited all over me. “I don’t know what to do. I don’t. I had planned to ask Fallon to marry me, can you believe that?” He gave a sardonic chuckle. “But then Sage died, and I put everything on pause. I just . . . I couldn’t imagine committing my life to another and not having my sister—my best friend—there. When we learned she was alive and where she was, I felt hope again, so I started to think about asking Fallon to be my wife.” He shook his head in disbelief and scoffed. “I’m an idiot. I thought what we had was strong, but clearly, I was wrong. She tossed what we had to the side so easily.” He began to wipe at his watering eyes with his bruised hand, the knuckles split and bloody.
I didn’t know what to say.
Kaleb and I were vastly different. And despite there being some similarities with this situation—our females fucking someone else—the elements at play were vastly different. Ryker wasn’t Fallon’s purely trash ex-husband. Kaleb hadn’t robbed Fallon of her powers and tormented her for decades. Kaleb also hadn’t hunted Fallon down in the forest, shadow chained her, and tricked her into forging the mating bond with him through a hate fuck. Kaleb hadn’t forced Fallon to live with him in his castle, knowing the bond would keep her from running away. Kaleb hadn’t—
Fuck, I was a bastard.
It was a wonder Sage had been able to forgive me after all of that. And yet, she had. The goddess was a saint.
I let out a sigh and rolled my neck, looking to Kaleb. “Do you want my thoughts or what I think Sage would say?”
Kaleb stopped and turned toward me. “What Sage would say.”
Facing him, I put my hand on his shoulder, as I felt like that was something Sage would do. “Do you need me to go kick her ass?”
Kaleb barked out a laugh.
I cracked a grin.
“Yeah, she would say that. She’d be all too happy to go another round with Fallon,” Kaleb said.
I was about to reply, but I heard sounds—voices coming from the north, which was the opposite direction of our camp. I looked at Kaleb, whose mortal ears probably hadn’t detected them yet, and placed my finger against my lips.
What’s wrong? he mouthed, his eyebrows weaving together.
I pointed over to a large rock, indicating we should hide behind it.
He nodded, and we crouch walked our way over to it, my shadows wrapping around us.
The voices became louder—two females.
Through the trees, I got a glimpse of them. They were strange-looking beings—gray skin, white markings, tall, and obscenely slender. It was as if their bodies had been stretched out, arms, legs, and necks elongated.
“Since Imari returned, she has become a menace. Acting like she’s better than everyone else. There is no way we can get the new system up and running in two months’ time,” said the female whose hair was pulled tightly back, secured with a leather tie. She was the tallest of the two.
The other one replied, “We do not have a choice. It is an order that has come from the empress herself, so we must do all that we can to make sure we get it done.”
“Wow, look who sounds like Imari now,” the taller female huffed, her speed picking up.
