Tidal Waves

13. Trouble

At the crack of dawn, Damian abruptly awoke to cold air. Panic surged through him when he noticed the absence of Raven.

His first question was how he didn't he notice her leave?

His second question was why did she leave?

"Dammit!" The curse left his lips as he swiftly got to his feet, not hesitating to grab his dagger and step out of the shelter to thoroughly check his surroundings. His eye lit up at the sight of an imprint of Raven's boots in the wet sand.

Without a second thought, Damian stepped into the foggy forest, and began to follow the trail of footprints.

—

As the bright yellow sun gradually climbed the sky, Damian decided to take a break from walking. His muscles were aching and slick sweat glazed his forehead. The deeper he traveled into the woods, the rockier the terrain became.

When he finally caught his breath, he stood up again, and returned his attention to the ground once more. When he discerned that the number of footprints expanded by six, he felt his stomach sink. Beyond that was what Damian assumed was the imprints of her being dragged through the dirt and rock. This was bad.

"Raven!"

Ignoring his soreness, Damian pushed himself to sprint through the forest, following what few clues the missing girl had left behind.

—

Finally, after what felt like hours, he was met with a dead end. By now he was so far into the island that he hadn't the slightest idea where he was, but that wasn't his concern at the moment. All he cared about now was finding Raven.

The footprints had led to a large opening in the ground. In the distance, Damian could make out a small, empty village.

Quietly, he started on his way down the dimly lit tunnel of stone stairs. Slow burning torches illuminated his path as he made his way down the stairs. Damian was strong, but he had no idea what was waiting for him at the end of this tunnel.

At the bottom of the stairs was a large open cave. The sight of shiny silver chains caught his attention, and his eye followed the chains to the ground. Panic settled in his gut when he spotted a beaten girl sitting against the stone wall.

"Raven!"

Damian sprinted towards her and fell to his knees, a worried expression on his face as he took in her appearance. Trails of blood trickled down her forehead, and a good portion of her face was bruised. Her hair was a mess, and from what he could see, there were countless cuts along her body. A dirty white cloth was tied around her head and shoved in her mouth to prevent her from speaking. He easily detected her shallow breathing, and his heart throbbed in his chest at the sound.

When she could register his presence, violet eyes opened wide to meet his gaze, and he let out a relieved sigh. She was alive.

"I'm going to get you out of here," Damian assured just above a whisper, using his free hand to tuck a strand of tangled hair behind her ear. He swiftly untied the knot behind her head and freed her mouth from the gag, his hands shaking as he did so. Next he reached up and attempted to break her wrists free from the handcuffs, but his strength wasn't good enough.