Myth's Friend (Book 3 of Seven Series)

Chapter 2- Eira's POV

"Princess," Caden said, his voice strained. His whole body was tense, and I knew that he wanted to help but didn't know how.

His whole body shook from her command, and he gritted his teeth in pain. He closed his eyes and snorted, flicking his ears. "Help her," he said. "I don't know how."

"I know," I said, furrowing my brows. I slammed my staff against the ground, making it stand, and rushed to her side. Quickly, I called my bag to me and opened it up.

"Calm her first, please," Caden begged. He snorted and shook his head. "It hurts, Your Highness, because she is begging, and I can bring her no relief."

I nodded and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Look at me," I said firmly, and she instantly opened her eyes and looked at me with her dark brown eyes.

Pain filled them, and I could tell that she was wanting to cry but didn't. Her eyes glistened with tears, and it broke my heart because I knew that she was suffering.

I offered her a soft smile, masking the worry because I had no idea what was wrong with her just yet, and cursed myself for not bringing Ralph with me. "I am going to need you to focus on something else other than the pain," I said. "You are begging for relief, and it is causing Caden pain because he has no idea how to help you."

Confusion filled her eyes, and she cocked her head in question. She didn't understand what I meant, but she was thinking of that instead of silently begging.

I nodded my head to the minotaur that was behind me. "That is Caden, by the way, and I am Eira." I knelt to her level and did a glance over, noticing that her leg had black veins that had only just appeared.

"I am Zanaya," she whispered, her voice cracking. She watched me move towards her legs and widened her eyes. "What's wrong?" she asked. "What did you find?"

"What do you remember before you passed out?" I asked, not answering her question. "Do you remember seeing anything that did not look "normal" to you?" I didn't touch her leg, not yet but inspected the deep wound that had blacker veins than the one that I had noticed.

"Ummmmm." She furrowed her brows. "I remember seeing the head of a bull," she said. "The bull was standing over me, protecting me from something."

I hummed and nodded before I reached into my bag and pulled out a book. "Keep going. What else do you remember?" I flipped through the pages because I had a feeling that I knew what had done the scratches on her leg.

How did one get out here? I asked silently. Without us sensing it?

Zanaya furrowed her brows further. "Ummm..." She cleared her throat and winced. "I remember seeing red eyes," she said, her voice shaking. "I-I don't know. I know that there was no shape to it. I-It was a shadow but wasn't."

I nodded and stopped at the page. "Did it look like this?" I asked, showing her the image of a black cat with red eyes.

Zanaya furrowed her brows and looked at the picture, frowning while she studied it. "Yes," she replied, "the eyes look like it, but it didn't look like a cat."

I nodded and closed the book before I stuffed it back into my bag and started to dig around for the cream. "A cat is it's "true" form if it is not hunting for something," I replied. "I have seen a few, but I had never seen one here before."

"So, you know what that thing is?" she asked, and I nodded in confirmation. "What about those human-like creatures?"

"That smells like fish?" I asked, and I paused to look at her.

She furrowed her brows and slowly nodded. "Uh, ya, ya," she said finally. She cleared her throat and licked her lips. "What are they?"

"They're called Walkers," I replied, not going back into my searching. My heart pounded in my chest, and again, I gave her a glance over before I looked her in the eyes. "Did one touch you?"

She shook her head, and I breathed a sigh of relief and nodded, relieved.

"Good. Don't let it happen." I went back to sifting through my bag and pulled out a roll of gauze, paper towels, a tongue pressure stick, a bottle of water, bandages, and some of the healing cream.

"Why not?"

"It's painful," I replied. I pulled my small pouch from underneath my shirt and imagined the herbs that I needed. "It would be a hell of a lot more painful than that." I nodded to her leg. "You can trust me on that."

"How did it hurt worse? T-"

"Don't think about the wound, and the poison won't spread," I said, interrupting her. I pulled the herbs out of the pouch and started to make the paste that would counteract the poison and heal the wound.

"Ok, how did it hurt worse?"

"It felt as if my soul, my identity was being ripped away from me," I replied. "I wasn't... me, and I felt as if I was going insane." I shrugged and looked up, offering her a grim smile. "But I was also happy."

"Why?"

"I wanted to know what the touch of a Voldemort look alike felt like, and I had gotten my wish." I looked back at my work, making sure that I did everything correctly because I knew that if I didn't, then it would cause her more pain, and Caden could potentially attack me. "It is actually how I was able to find you."

"Find me?" Zanaya asked, and I nodded my head in confirmation. She cocked her head and furrowed her brows further. "Why?"

"Because," I replied. I paused and offered her a small smile before I went back to work, knowing that I was running out of time to get it set. "You are the one we have been looking for. We have been searching for you for three months, and I am glad that I was able to find you now."