Devotion: A Tale of Liars and Beasts

26. The Raven

Dren marched towards her from down the hall.
The tops of his antlers were blood-soaked. Crimson drops fell upon his brow.

Enara thought she might be dreaming.

She hadn't seen any of the men in days, each day blurring with the last. Had she finally succumbed to exhaustion and lapsed into this strange vision?

"Dren?"

She expected her own voice to sound far away, but it didn't. The sound of his boots, too, was crisp against the marble floors.

"Are you alright?" Her voice was hoarse from lack of use.

"I should be asking you the same thing," He stood before her now, features grim. His body bore signs of a fight. Enara could smell the blood now...

Not a dream, after all.

"I'm fine," Enara brushed him off. "You're bleeding,"

She reached for the torn fabric at Dren's shoulder.

"I was," He corrected her. He was already healed. Enara retreated a step, remembering the boundary she'd worked so hard to create.

"I take it you won't be joining us for dinner this evening?"

Dinner? Since when had they pursued such a mundane activity? The last time Enara could remember, it had been for her benefit.

"No,"

"I see," His expression was as unreadable as ever.

"Is there some special occasion I should know about?"

"You'll have to come if you want to find out,"

Enara was already shaking her head slightly. "I don't much like surprises in this place. They've only ever brought me pain,"

Dren wiped a fresh drop of blood off his forehead, shrugging. He was wise enough not to argue with the truth. But there was a glimmer of something in his gaze. Something soft.

He lingered, looking like there was more he wanted to say. Enara, too, found herself with questions to ask; and not as displeased by his presence as she'd like. She hated to admit she'd grown lonely.

Neither one broke the silence.

*

Enara lay in her chambers, waiting for sleep to find her. She missed the sweet oblivion that existed between dreams, where she could forget herself. Even a dream would be preferable to the aching emptiness she felt now.

Minutes ticked by. She grew restless, tossing this way and that upon her bed. A whisper of a distant melody made its way under her door. She had to strain her ears to hear it, but Enara was sure she wasn't imagining it. It was ghostly, echoing within the stone chambers before reaching her.

Enara sat up. The dinner must have started.

She crept through the halls, light on her feet. Even now, the corridors were a maze to her. But it did not matter. She followed the melody, barely seeing the corridors through which she stalked.