[THIS STORY WILL BE TAKEN DOWN ON SEPTEMBER 30, 2024]
He had hunted me, captured me, and locked me in a tower.
Season 3 'Of Crows and Thorns'
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While in RISING, Tabitha discovers something peculiar that may assist Nelle in her plan to escape the...
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Nelle's name brought all her emotions twisting beneath my flesh back to the fore.
The blistering heat of her outrage seared my soul.
The spitting of incensed fury smothered my mind.
That eerie part of me, that strange ancient whispering, seemed much louder as if it had now been infused into my very being. Its insistence thrummed through my veins, burning my bloodstream with urgency to go to her, sinking fangs into my heart as a scaly sensation, primordial and sinister, coiled around my bones.
Tamer—an ominous side to me could only deduce.
I spun around, unable to stop myself from moving toward the open doorway to Florin's office. However, indecision dogged every footstep.
I'd been here too long.
I can't... I need to let Nelle be!
I had to find her.
Let her go!
My stride turned purposeful, but a raspy and sleep-ridden voice stopped me midstep. "Gray?"
"Mela?" I pivoted back, hurrying to my friend's side as she blinked blearily. She slid her hand out from beneath the blanket and I gripped it, both of us squeezing each other's fingers.
"How am I alive?" she asked, utterly bewildered.
I huffed a laugh. "A concoction of magic infused with Skalki's Tears," and a drop of my blood, but I didn't share that part. "How are you feeling?"
She beamed a broad grin, her straight teeth bright against her dark skin, the warm undertones luminous with the caress of candlelight. Her soft nose crinkled as she thought about it. "I feel exhausted, and yet oddly invigorated?"
Mela's rich brown eyes slid from mine to the wavering strands of silver, the combined might of power vibrating in the office and lightly teasing our hair. Her eyes widened when she discovered she was in the presence of two Horned Gods. And one was a beast she'd never spoken to before. She startled and tried, fumbling in her attempt, to sit up. I stopped her with a hand to her shoulder pushing her gently back down. "Rest," I urged.
She sank against the pillow cradling her head as she flicked a nervous glance at Florin, her hand tightening anxiously around mine. She wet her lip with the tip of her tongue and cleared her throat. "Where am I?"
The corners of Florin's human mouth curled downward as he scowled at her down the length of his nose. His deep voice rumbled with menace. "Someplace I'd prefer you to never remember."
Mela swallowed, her eyes rounding.
I groaned, dragging my free hand down my face and peering out between my spread fingers at Florin who produced a jar of wriggling grubs and plonked it on the writing desk with a threatening thunk.
