Savia's Heart [Sequel to Bastian's Song] [HIATUS]

[ 11 ]

[ Savia ]

"Where is Auron?" Savia cracked open the front door and peeked out into the night. Firelight glowed from the side of the house, where Delia had set up a campfire to boil water for her.

"I believe he went into the house to rest." Delia's voice was distracted and faint. Savia would have to make sure the older woman took more rest.

"He is not in the house." Savia stepped out and closed the door behind herself. "If he is not inside, and not with you, then he must be in trouble elsewhere."

"Trouble?" Now Delia sounded more alert. Footsteps brushed over the packed dirt and then Delia appeared, looking slightly disheveled. She brushed her hands over her skirts and frowned at Savia. "Why do you say that?"

Savia scanned the nearby houses, looking for any clues as to what direction her friend had gone. "Because he is always in trouble when he is not nearby. Auron has a talent for finding danger."

Delia scoffed. "Usk is a safe place to reside, healer. What danger could he possi—"

The color drained from Delia's face.

"What thought did you have, Delia?" She kept her voice low, but firm.

Delia balled her skirts up in her fists, and she turned her eyes towards the lake. "Summer can be dangerous for the men of the village. They all know not to go near the lake, but...I do not think we told your friend of the Rusalka."

Rusalka. Mermaids.

Savia ran. The wind whipped her hair into her eyes, but she didn't slow. Around her, the trees grew in thicker bunches, and she wove through them like a thread through a needle. In the distance, the glittering lake loomed. Each step seemed like a small eternity, though she knew that she moved faster than any mortal.

Silver light erupted in front of her, blinding her.

Savia skidded to a halt and reached out a hand to grope her way forward. Panic welled up inside of her. "Auron!" She couldn't help but call out for him. "Auron!"

Splashing water sounded, and her feet sank into the ground a little. Mud. She ran forward until she stepped into water. Savia sank to her knees and blinked her useless eyes, trying to get rid of the afterimage of light that had been burned into them. "Auron!"

Something brushed against her leg and she reached out for it. Part of her wondered if she were the next meal for the mermaids, but the more desperate hope inside of her wanted it to be Auron—whole and alive.

Her fingers met flesh, and she ran her hands up a scarred arm and onto a familiar torso. Savia unfocused her gaze until his life force bloomed in front of her.

Auron was alive.

His heart beat sluggishly, but his chest rose and fell under her hands. Savia pulled him from the waters, clutching him tightly as she scrambled backward into the mud.

She turned him onto his side and shoved two fingers into his mouth, checking his throat for anything that might be in the way of his breath. Nothing. Her eyes cleared slowly, and she looked back to the deceptively-still waters of the lake.

Auron was soaked. There was no way the mermaids hadn't gotten their hands on him. Yet he was both alive and, from what she could see, unharmed. It made no sense. Her racing thoughts came to a sudden stop when a voice floated over the air to greet her ears.

"Good evening, daughter." The voice was soft and low and feminine.

All of the hair on Savia's nape stood up, and so did she. She turned in the direction the voice had come from and saw the pale figure of a dark-haired maiden. Her form was curvaceous and generously covered in hardened leather and cloth that was trimmed with fur despite the summer heat. Silver eyes arrested Savia and she could not find words to speak her racing thoughts.