AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Nobody will hurt you. I swear.” I could have explained that she was my szaria, which bound me to her, and I would rather die than allow anything to happen to her. But I feared the explanation would take too long and wasn’t sure she would believe me. Plus, I didn’t want to overwhelm her.
She swayed on her feet again, her eyelids partially closed, and I scooped her up in my arms. She responded with a weak protest, but then her head fell against my chest, and a deep sigh escaped her lips, as if she resigned herself to something.
“I’m dead either way,” she mumbled, and I couldn’t resist kissing the top of her head.
“I swear I will keep you safe. Always,” I promised.
A weak smile tugged at the corners of her lips. “God, I hope that’s true.” Her voice was a mere whisper, and I knew she had either fallen asleep or was unconscious.
Careful not to jostle her too much, I grabbed the bag I assumed belonged to her, and slung it over my other shoulder. Gods, sheweighed almost nothing. I could have carried her with one arm had I not worried about making her uncomfortable.
Her improvised torch had extinguished itself, and the small fire she had built burned its last flame as well. I stomped on the remaining embers to fully smother it before I took off, holding my precious szaria tight.
For the first time in a long while, I walked feeling free and unencumbered, despite the prized possession in my arms. I didn’t think Holly had any idea what her appearance meant to me, to my clan. She represented a future we had all given up hope for.
On some very subconsciouslevel, I was aware he was carrying me. He, the stranger who had saved my life. He, the man, Thor.
Had I been able to summon an ounce of energy, I would have puzzled over this newest development, but I was exhausted. My body was simply giving out on me. What reserves had been left, I depleted during the encounter with the saber-toothed cat and the ensuing short conversation with Thor.
Conversation. Even semiconscious, my lips curved at the mention of his name and the fact that we had held a conversation! In English!
You are dreaming, my mind tried to convince me. It’s impossible.
But I told it to shut up and simply relished in the sensation of Thor’s strong arms around me, in the way he cradled me so my head wouldn’t bob up and down on his chest—his very wide, very hard chest.
With my hands neatly folded over my abdomen, I felt safer than I had in a long time. Safe and protected. No matter howridiculous that notion was, since I had barely met him. Yes, he saved my life, but for what reason remained to be seen.
At this point, I didn’t really care about anything. I knew I had reached the end of my endurance when the saber-toothed cat appeared. Whatever happened next was up to God, and I was okay with that.
I noticed that we were walking on a steeper incline, and I worried I would get too heavy for Thor. Even though I had lost several pounds, I was still far from my ideal weight. The steady beat of his heart, though, told me he didn’t seem to be straining himself at all.
From far away, I heard other voices—excited voices—and felt Thor’s arms around me tighten, as if he were afraid somebody would try to pry me away from him. I didn’t have the energy to open my eyes, and I didn’t understand what the other voices were saying. They sounded like Thor’s before his translator-chip thingy kicked in and… well, translated. However that worked.
On some level, I realized all the voices around me were male, but I was too tired to worry about it. I had already surrendered my fate to this stranger, Thor, and now I resigned myself to let the chips fall where they may, because I was unable to fight or struggle any longer. I had given it my all, and now it would be up to him to save me or not.
The ground underneath us changed and so did the air. In a way, it was amazing how my senses had sharpened since I got here. I didn’t even have to open my eyes to know we were entering the first and largest chamber of the cave system. I could hear it by the way Thor’s steps sounded, smelled the difference in the air as it became muskier—an attestation to multiple men living here—and felt the shift in temperature as it got warmer by at least ten degrees.
Thor said something in his unknown language, and I realized his translator only worked when he spoke to me. Hopefully hehad a spare one, or I would have to learn his language if I was going to stay; if I survived, if these men didn’t have anything more nefarious planned for me.
The voices faded as we moved deeper into the cave system and then he deposited me onto something warm and soft.
“Rest,” he ordered, moving his hands and arms away from me. I wanted to ask him to stay, but my tongue was as heavy as my eyelids, which refused to open no matter how hard I tried.
I must have drifted off into unconsciousness again until I felt something warm and soothing on my right foot.
“I’m going to clean your feet and see how injured you are, alright?”
Without waiting for a response from me, warm water and a soft cloth or sponge ran up and down first one foot, then the other. I moaned in bliss at the soothing sensation on the burning flesh there.
I had mostly avoided looking at my feet, and done so only to remove a thorn or small pebble. I was fully aware that there had been nothing I could do about them, other than dipping them into a stream every night and hoping the water would wash away most dirt and not add any contaminants to my countless sores and blisters.
“Your poor feet,” he mumbled. “We will get you some shoes. I promise.”
Tears prickled behind my eyelids; being taken care of felt immensely good. I had been alone for so long, even before I got here, that I had forgotten how nice it felt to have somebody take care of me. Especially after Gabriel left, not that he had ever taken care of me the way Thor was. Gabriel would rather have been caught dead than wash my feet.
Gentle hands, the same hands I watched wield a broadsword, slowly washed each foot before rubbing soothing ointment into them. Soon, his hands moved up my calves, my legs. This timewhen a moan left my lips, it wasn’t only from the comforting sensations his hands gave me, they were beginning to arouse me in other ways, ways that should have been impossible in my exhausted state.
“Holly, I need to take your clothing off to wash you, alright?”
