Healer

Chapter 25

     Talia stumbled inside as the male shut the door behind them. She turned to him and looked him over, keeping her face neutral. It was dark save for a small lantern that hung near the door but she could see the lack of shadows at his hands, his shoulders, and she knew that it wasn't him under some spell, it wasn't him treating her this way. It was an impersonator, or some kind of illusion. But she wouldn't let her captor know that she knew. She stepped back up on the same step where he stood.

"You like these dark corners, don't you." She gave him a sleepy smile and put a hand on his chest, the same as she had the night before. He stared at her. "Come on, my love, let's go back to your room and finish what we started." He let her slide a hand around his waist but said nothing. She looked into the flat golden eyes of the male before her, who believed she could ever think him the shadowsinger. Her ploy wouldn't work. "My mate." She whispered. 

She meant it as a threat and he took it as such, grabbing her by the arm and spinning her so it was pinned behind her back. He clicked handcuffs around the wrist he had hold of, not bothering to cuff the other. The blue chains would do enough to slow her and he wanted her to walk herself. Mate. It occurred to her that Azriel might know if she was in danger. The bond would do that. He had found her in the pitch black of the dining hall on solstice, and in the library in the middle of a nightmare. 

As the male pushed her forward, her bare feet quiet on the red stone steps, she let fear fill her from head to toe, she didn't let herself stop it. Her hands trembled. She hoped he could feel it, that maybe he would return in time to stop them. After one hundred steps down, the bottoms of her feet began to feel raw and her scar ached. Her ability to heal herself had begun to seep out of her body the second the winged imposter shackled her. He pushed her forward at a steady pace, even as she grasped the railing to keep herself up. 

Not even one thousand steps down and her legs began to cramp. Her training wasn't thorough enough for this. She swallowed. She wished for water. 

Another one hundred steps and she lost the grip she had on her emotions. They floated upward and the signal she had been hoping to send out became lost. Another hundred. She felt nothing but the soles of her feet. 

Another, and she stopped, gripping the rail with both hands. He caught up to her and let her rest for a moment, but pulled a knife and held it to her back. She continued, trying to understand how going down was so hard, trying to understand why forcing her to walk was the best path as it slowed them. Good. She would go as slow as she could. Somewhere around three thousand steps, her left leg gave out as she took a step and she barely caught herself by latching her arm around the rail. She let her self drop and take a seat. It was dark here, and the air was stale.

"Get up." His voice sounded so familiar and it grated in her ears.

She stood, gingerly taking a few more steps before losing her balance again. She was sure her feet were bloodied. He was behind her again, his arm around her neck. "Get. Up." 

She tried and failed, and he nicked her with the knife on the side of her neck, sending droplets of her blood to the floor. At least they would know she had been there. Tears threatened. How had they not returned yet? And how had she been caught in the house? It was supposed to be safe. Still unable to move, the male wrapped an arm around her waist and carried her like an animal. She closed her eyes and concentrated. She could feel nothing in herself. Her mind wandered unwarranted back to the meadow, him standing before her and wiping her tears. She squirmed, fighting to break free, but he just squeezed tighter and kept going. After some time, she began to feel dizzy from hanging at his hip. They must be arriving at the house soon. They would catch her soon. Another thousand steps and she lost that hope along with her consciousness. Somewhere near the bottom, maybe another thousand steps to go, he set her down on her bottom and she came to. She reentered herself with an intense loneliness. Fear had left her thousands of steps ago as she waited to hit the bottom.