AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The agony of this hell gurgled moans up my throat, the excruciating aches keeping me semi-conscious and thrashing to find any kind of relief, never letting me fully disengage.
“Katrina?” said the only voice to cut through the noise, the only one I held on to like a life raft. “Katze?” I was left stranded in nothingness, and the rope to pull myself out of this dark hole was out of reach. The voice was home, it was security, and I struggled to reach for it. To grab hold. “Kat, open your eyes.” The tone grew more tense, only adding to my own anxiety. I wanted to ease it, to do what he asked, but I couldn’t. “Zid, can you do something?”
“If this is from a vow she made? Then no. That shit is from the gods and goddesses. You don’t mess with that stuff.”
My body flopped to the side, air struggling to get through my endless whimpers, hot and cold chills flushing my skin. I was on fire, melting from the inside out while at the same time shivering as if I was freezing to death.
I wanted death. Peace. I wanted it all to end.
“Someone fucking do something!”
My body leaned toward the voice every time it spoke, it ebbed the pain a little. As if my mind could forget the agony and focus on it. I needed it. Craved it like nothing else.
A sob broke free from my throat. Forcing my lids to pry apart, I took in only hazy outlines before they shut again. “Croygen.” The name came from out of nowhere, my voice barely audible. I had no understanding of what it meant, but I knew it. It was embedded in my DNA, written long ago on my bones.
“What do ya want us to do?” an accented voice replied, no one seeming to hear me.
“Anything! She’s fucking dying.”
Gods, I needed him closer. To touch me.
“We need to find a healer.”
“Och, a healer can’t touch this magic. This isn’t something you can take an herb for. You know this,” another boomed back. “The best healer in the world isn’t going to save her. The only way to relieve it is to fulfill the oath. And we have no feckin’ idea what that is.”
More agony twisted my body, and a flood of cries came from my gut, begging for relief. I needed my anchor, the voice that soothed the pain. I tried to lift my hand, my muscles refusing to respond to my order. His name was a whisper in my mouth, but it couldn’t make it past my lips.
I was sinking.
“Kat?” The voice I craved was right there. Opening my lids just a little, dark, sultry eyes greeted mine, his hand brushing back my sweaty hair. A low moan hummed in my chest. A single moment of numbness. “Tell me what you did. I can’t help you unless you tell me.”
My dry lips rolled together, and I strained to get my vocal cords to work. To respond to him. Energy drained from me with every blink, my lids drooping, pulling me back into the darkness.
My response curled in my mouth, and using the last bit of my strength, I pushed it out, hoping they heard me before I slipped away.
“China.”
Chapter 12
Croygen
It was a whisper, a faint hymn on the breeze, the single word barely escaping from her.
“China.”
Katrina’s body went limp, giving over to the pain, leaving me unsure if I heard right or not.
“China?” Zid repeated next to me. “Did she sayChina?”
Standing up straight, my hand still tingling from touching her, I ran it through my hair. I had no idea what trouble she got herself into, but I knew If I didn’t respond fast, she would go into a coma and possibly never come out of it.
This was why fae never fucked with promises and oaths. They carried deadly consequences if ignored.
For a brief second, my gaze went over her. Knowing this fierce little girl grew up to be a badass pirate made my chest seize. The thought of never hearing her voice again, having those cat eyes on me and seeing her smile, was unthinkable. Even if we spent the rest of our days trying to hunt the other down and kill each other, I needed her to live.
For Rotty, I told myself. I owed him that.
“We set sail in three hours!” I ordered, striding for the door.
