I have people to protect here.
I readjusted Ellowyn on my shoulders before taking off at a sprint toward the temple. My bare feet slapped the cobblestones, and I stumbled once when an Earth Mage sent a ripple of power through the ground, causing my path to undulate. I let out a cry, nearly dropping Ellowyn as I fought to regain my balance, my knees buckling from the sudden waves, but just as soon as the attack started, it stopped, the tinge of ash heavy in the air.
I didn’t need to look to see who had saved me, again.
Rohak.
I clutched Ellowyn’s arms and legs as I hobbled the last few feet, finally taking shelter in the doorway of the temple. I delicately set Ellowyn on the stone steps, careful not to cause any more physical damage than was necessary, and pushed open the heavy oak doors. The interior was completely abandoned and empty, the only light trickled through the open doorway and a few scattered windows at the very top of the temple walls. My gazequickly tracked through the area, and I noted a small doorway at the complete opposite end of the space, my gut telling me it led to the basement Rohak described.
With our destination in mind, I grabbed Ellowyn’s boneless form and slung her over my back before making my way into the temple. I pushed the door closed with my foot, a resoundingbangechoing through the space as we were encased in near darkness. Careful not to catch my bare feet in any cracks between stones, I started the walk through the temple.
Fuck, it was hot. And I wasn’t entirely positive if the sweat was from the heat of the day, the amount of magic I used while performing the Bondings, the stress of the attack just now, or the sprint while carrying Ellowyn. My breath came in gasps and pants, a stitch of pain wrapping around my ribcage, as sweat beaded down my forehead and back.
I need a drink.
But first, the basement. The heavy oak door and the solid stone walls of the temple masked most of the sounds of terror and battle outside, though the occasional shriek did make its way through. I stopped to readjust Ellowyn on my back again before closing the remaining few feet to the basement door and enclosed staircase.
“Ellowyn, if you can hear me, it’d be great if you woke up now. I know you’ve had a...day,” I mentally snorted at my description of the utter hell she’d gone through today. “But we’ve got a ways to travel and you’re starting to get a bit heavy.”
I waited a bit, slowly plodding to the doorway and then eventually hobbling awkwardly down the stairs, shifting her weight on my shoulders every so often, but no response came. The only confirmation I had that she was even alive was the steady beat of her heart against my shoulders.
Well, fuck.
The building grew unnaturally silent the further we descended, and I couldn’t help the shudder that made its way over me. The air was cool and damp, causing the sweat to dry to my body, sticking my tunic to me in odd places.
At the bottom of the stairs, I set Ellowyn down and rolled out the ache in my shoulders.
“There you are,” the voice was harsh. Spooked, I screamed, and it echoed off the empty stairway.
I whirled to face the threat, my knife already pulled from my belt. I relaxed marginally when I only saw Lord d’Refan.
“Oh,” I said, stashing my knife back in my waist belt. “It’s just you.”
He grumbled in irritation before pulling Ellowyn from the floor and carrying her in his arms, bridal style. He held her propped against the wall for a moment while he used his now-free hand to brush her loose curls from her face. The gesture was oddly gentle and tender, so different from his earlier demeanor toward her.
Lord d’Refan readjusted his grip on Ellowyn and turned to face me, his face masked once again. He must have noticed my curious expression, however, because he set his mouth in a grim line.
“It was necessary. What happened today. That’s all the explanation I’ll provide, but know it wasn’t done out of malice or hate toward her.” I nodded once, filing the information away for later examination, and Lord d’Refan spun on his heel to lead us through the basement doorway.
We made quick work of the basement hallways, only stopping once we reached a heavy wood door that led to a staircase built into the earth. It was quieter now, though I didn’t know if that was because the threat was subdued or because of our relative proximity to the square.
My limbs protested with exhaustion as I trudged up the stairs.
I pushed my hair out of my eyes as we made it to the top and noticed a black carriage waiting for us. There was no emblem on it, but I assumed that was to retain our anonymity, especially if the rebels were here.
I thought I’d be safe from them farther north.
A footman opened the carriage door and we collapsed inside, me on one padded bench, with Ellowyn draped across Lord d’Refan’s lap on the other. He gently pet her hair and shoulders as the carriage rocked and moved, holding her tight so her body wouldn’t jostle or fall.
She still stared at nothing, and I worried about what would happen when she eventually woke.
Lord d’Refan didn’t seem apt to carry, or start, a conversation while we rode through the back alleys of the city toward the d’Aelius manor, so I stared out the window and chewed my lip while I thought.
The events of today and what I felt while performing the Bonding Ceremony turned over in my mind as we continued our slow trek back outside the city.
Nothing made sense; not the sudden appearance of the rebels, not the way Ellowyn was forced to murder a close friend, and certainly not the way the Bonds felt different when I performed them. Not bad, not good, just different. There was no suck on my power, for one, and those who received the Bonds didn’t fall unconscious—apart from the Vessels.
Something wasn’t adding up, and I couldn’t puzzle out the missing piece. My mind was sluggish from the stress of today mixed with the excessive use of my Blood Magic, and I simply filed all the information away to think about later.
