It was like a bubble had burst, letting in the noises of the rebel camp that existed just outside the flap of my prison. Vaguely, from somewhere deep in the reservoirs of knowledge, I realized that itwasa sound bubble that had surrounded my tent for the last few months. Clearly, the Air Mage that had conjured it was needed elsewhere now—or dead.
The cacophony was almost too much for my ears, and I tried to duck my head between my legs in an effort to stifle some of the noise. I cried out as I pulled my knees close to my body and extended my neck downward. The sheer agony in my body wasalmost too much to bear. My breathing was ragged and shallow as I fought rising nausea and unconsciousness.
Through the pain and noise, I heard the soft tell of the flap of my tent opening. I automatically froze, straining to hear the cadence of footsteps and taking desperate sniffs of the air to discern which of my captors was here.
But the crunch of sand was completely wrong. There was no shuffling and no heavy footsteps. Instead, the movement was light but purposeful, their steps quick and assured. When they finally reached my position against the pole, their scent overwhelmed me to the point I almost gagged.
There was no lye, and the unmistakable smell of sweat, horse, and mud lingered, but beneath it all was the distinguishing sharp aroma of bergamot and something that vaguely reminded me of sunshine.
The unidentified person crouched before me, but didn’t move, didn’t say a word.
“May I touch you?” they whispered, the voice decidedly masculine.
Touch me?I tried to speak, but my throat was cracked and dry, my mouth and tongue long past the point of the moisture required for speaking.
“I need to remove your bindings and blindfold, but I don’t want to spook or hurt you.” His voice was like warm honey, and I let it wash over me.
He was saving me? Oh, one of Fate’s Children.
I jerkily nodded my head once.
He seemed to understand my gesture, and warm, calloused fingers gently and deftly untied the blindfold that had bound my eyes over the past few months. The man struggled to remove the scrap of rough fabric from where it was tangled in my hair, and I swore I felt pieces of the skin on my face peel away as heremoved the blindfold. I inadvertently winced at the sharp pain, and the man halted his work.
“Are you in pain?” I jerked my head once in a nod.
“Do you want me to stop?” His voice was so full of compassion that I almost cried. I jerked my head in a ‘no.’
The man said nothing else, just returned his hands to the back of my hair, where he spent a few tension-filled minutes untangling my curls from the fabric.
“Fuck,” he swore. “This might hurt, but it’s the only way I can remove it.”
It was the only warning I got before he pulled hard on the fabric. It caught in the matted nest of curls at the back of my head, and I opened my mouth to cry out in pain as I felt chunks of hair pull from my scalp.
The man’s other palm moved to cover my mouth.
“Shh,” he whispered as the blindfold finally, blessedly, came free.
“Don’t open your eyes just yet,” he said as he tossed the infernal piece of fabric somewhere behind me. “You’ll go temporarily blind from the light.”
The light that was filtering through my closed lids was already brighter than I’d seen in months, and I heeded his advice, slowly opening my lids and letting my eyes adjust to the brightness of day.
As my eyes adjusted to the tent, I felt him move behind me to undo the bonds that kept me tied to the pole.
“This is going to hurt worse than the blindfold,” he quietly mused. “Your muscles have been frozen in place for too long—it will be excruciating to move them. I will help you, but not here. We have to leave, and quickly.”
His voice was still assured and calming, but there was an edge of panic to it now.
Solace and Kaos are coming.
The thought sent a spike of fear through my tattered body, causing my heart to beat faster beneath my breast.
At last, the man freed my hands and feet as my eyes fully adjusted to the light, allowing me to confirm my prisonwasa tent. A small one, with a low roof and no windows—no wonder it was stifling in here. I couldn’t see the man who rescued me—he was still behind me, slowly massaging my shoulders and upper arms.
My body screamed in protest as feeling returned to my upper extremities. Pain like I’d never experienced ricocheted through my body, burning my nerves and causing my muscles to twitch involuntarily.
The pain reached a crescendo, blocking out all other senses, and I opened my mouth in a silent scream before blackness blessedly took me.
I woke to a slow rocking,my back pressed against rough wood planks, and the sun warming my face.
