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I rushed to Mareina’s side,willingaway the shackles and palladium collar from her body and clutching her in my arms.
My hands shook as she crumpled against me. Relief at her scent still being unsullied washed over me so fiercely my knees nearly buckled.
“Mareina,”I croaked, burying my face in her neck and deeply taking in her scent to assure myself she was here.
That she was alive.
Her only response was the sob that wracked her body.
Cradling her tightly against my chest, I walked out of thatAkash-forsaken basement into the pouring rain as Iwilledthat building to burn to the fucking ground.
Chapter
Thirty-Two
MAREINA
An orange glow illuminated the town, now far behind us, from where Nakoa had set that building ablaze.
I felt an urge to tell him that the males who had taken me were a part of his Uprising but I couldn’t muster the energy just yet.
My body trembled in his arms as my thoughts sunk back into my haunted past, both recent and distant. Nakoa clutched me harder against him, pressing a kiss to my forehead.
“I’m here, lohane thili. I will always be here.”
Despite our animosities, his words soothed my tremors in mere moments.
I silently wept tears of gratitude that I was in Nakoa’s arms. Held protectively against his chest as he walked - waiting for the monsoon to calm before he could fly again, lest we get struck by lightning - for what felt like an hour in the pouring rain. He’d put a barrier around us, but I’d asked him for the rain. I needed to feel the rain. To feel it wash away the touch of the males in that basement. Cleanse me of the memory, the fear, the heartbreak.
By the time we arrived at the next village, I’d fallen asleep in his arms. The sound of minstrels playing music in the distance roused me. I opened my eyes to find us approaching a large inn that sat alone at the edge of the road amidst undulating hills where the silhouettes of hoofed animals could be seen in the distance, illuminated by the moons’ light now that the storm clouds had cleared.
A sign hung above the inn’s hitching post that readThe Gorgon’s Haven Inn & Tavern. A few of its patrons stumbled out, singing and laughing as we approached, holding the door open for us.
“You can put me down now…,” I offered, not wanting to attract more attention than necessary.
Nakoa merely growled in reply, clutching me tighter against his chest. A sound that I now found a deep comfort in.
Nakoa approached the tavern’s bar, unconcerned with the odd glances thrown our way. The music, soft and poignant, boasted a human female’s voice. Clear and crisp as a bell rang, she sang lyrics that sounded like a spell.
A tapestry woven with threads of pain,
Let love's redemption begin to reign.
The burdens of yore laid to rest.
Through the echoes of thunder, secrets unfold,
A tale of courage, of a love untold.
A guardian in the pouring rain,
Carrying through joy and pain.
In the embrace, a sanctuary found,
Love's tender grace on sacred ground.
Through the shadows, a forbidden chance.
