Her Cinder Throne (Completed)

Chapter 68

As Cole's senses returned, she felt the cool and fresh air of morning swirl around her. Sunlight made her squint and the sound of birds filled her ears. Her mother's face swam in front of her and she realized that she was falling to her knees without even meaning to.

"What happened?" her mother asked, eyes widening as she caught Cole and tried to prop up Tanwyn with her shoulder.

"We got the stone," Cole managed to choke out. "Monsters. Chasing us."

With some effort, Cole rolled her head to look at Tanwyn. Blood dripped out of his mouth as he lay against her mother's side, near unconsciousness if not already there. She looked up at her mother.

"Is he hurt? Check him."

Her mother gently propped her against a rock outcropping right behind her, then gently shook Tanwyn's shoulder. He seemed to revive, his eyes blinking open and taking in the blue sky and vegetation around them. They were down the mountainside at their old camp, but the sound of the men shouting in Thijs' camp above them still reached their ears.

"We need to go," he said, but the blood pooling in his mouth muffled his words.

"Were you injured?" her mother asked, holding his head still while trying to examine his face. He was unnaturally pale, but his eyes seemed alert enough now. Along the bottom of his chin, a large chunk of skin was grated away, leaving a pulpy mess in its place.

"He bit his tongue," her mother replied back. "It's deep, but it will heal."

Cole nodded, relief rushing through her. Now that she knew, she could sense the pain in her own mouth, though her tongue was untouched. Tanwyn seemed barely conscious of it, instead spitting out globs of blood and smearing it across his jaw with the back of his sleeve.

"We have to leave now," he said. "Those monsters won't rest if their master is nearby, so we need to get far enough away that they won't be able to sense it."

Panic fizzed in Cole's arms. "I don't know where to go," she admitted. The only places her frenzied mind could remember in enough detail to transport there were in the city and far too close to both the Eldritch and Thijs. She had never been anywhere else besides the mines, and that would be almost as bad as staying put.

"There's somewhere nearby," Tanwyn said. "A village. We'll go there and wait for the king's men to search for us further away before travelling again."

Cole nodded, dropping the stone into Tanwyn's palm. It glowed a deep red now, pulsing like a heartbeat without veins. She saw his eyes widen as it hit his skin, but he quickly looked away and held out his hand to Cole. She gripped it, pulling her mother with her until they all huddled close. Tanwyn wrapped one arm around Cole, an almost embrace that was more for support than anything else. Both of them, with the combined injuries shared between them, were one breeze away from collapsing.

"You'll have to take care of us as soon as we arrive," Tanwyn said, staring at her mother. "We're going to barely be able to withstand the magic drain, so you must stay with us."

Her mother, unable to stay for long in the land of the lucid, bit her lip for a moment.

"You'll do fine," Cole whispered. "Just remember that we need you, and it will keep you from slipping away."

Her mother exhaled slowly, but nodded. "I'll try my best."

Tanwyn inhaled, his head burying itself in Cole's shoulder, and then, for the second time in only a few minutes, the world blurred around them and they shifted sharply. 

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Time melted into itself until it was nothing but blurs and smears. Cole found herself swirling in and out of consciousness that never was strong enough for her to regain her sense of self. Through flashes of light too bright to bare, and pain exploding in her body, she heard people talking in echoing voices and felt hands across her skin. Her mind registered the sensations but did not want to think about them. She merely felt them and then drifted off back into the black void where she could rest.

Eventually, there came a time when her mind snapped back. She felt her consciousness jolt back into her body, and felt all the aches and pains that came with being back in the real world. She groaned, wanting to go back to sleep and escape the exhaustion and pain, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't trick her body into going back there.

After spending what felt like hours trying to return to sleep, Cole finally gave up and forced her eyes open. Thankfully, it didn't seem to be morning, which meant that the sun was already dipping behind the horizon. The room was barely lit and a soft and soothing gray-ish blue. Cole rubbed her eyes and looked around, taking in the room.

It was small and comfy, with a small bed that she was laying on near a paned-window. A fireplace sat on side, the embers low and glowing. Tanwyn lay in a pile of blankets on a woven carpet near the hearth, the back of his newly shorn head facing her. She saw the nicks that itched on her own skull, and she slowly swung her legs over the side of the bed to tip-toe over to him.

She peered over his shoulder, not daring to get down near him. She couldn't see much amongst his blankets, but she saw his eyes closed and his breathing gentle and calm. The scrape on the bottom of his chin was scabbed over.

She backed away, content that he was sleeping and well for the moment, and made her way to the small paned window. There she pressed her forehead against the glass and peered into the courtyard that lay below them. It was small and all the grass had been worn away by many feet. A circular horse-trough took up most of the area, with a small stable taking up the rest. It was obviously the courtyard of an inn, which meant that Cole and Tanwyn were on the second floor in a rented room.

Just then, the door creaked and Cole spun around just in time to see her mother walking into the room with a bowl and basket in her hands. When she saw Cole standing in the room, a large smile split her face and she rushed over to grab Cole into an embrace.

"You're awake!" her mother said, planting a kiss on Cole's cheek.

"How long was I out?" Cole asked, helping her mother set the basket down and place the bowl on a side-table by the bed.

"I think it's been a week or more," her mother replied. "You and Tanwyn woke up a few times, but I don't think you were quiet there. I managed to get you both to eat and drink, but it wasn't much. That's why I ran out to buy some food and get some water for when you woke up properly."

Cole didn't remember waking up to eat or drink, but she didn't care. Her stomach was empty and her throat dry, and she quickly devoured her share of the rations while her mom prepared another bucket of water and a washcloth.

"You might want to wash up a little," her mother said. "It was a long sickness, and I couldn't bathe you beyond your wounds."

Cole looked down to see the bite from the monster was freshly bandaged. However, the rest of her was covered in grit and dried blood, and she felt sticky and hot. Thankful that she didn't have long hair to deal with, she made her way to the bucket of water and scrubbed what she could. It wasn't a good bath, and she still probably smelled like a horse's rear-end, but she managed to get rid of most of the dried blood and make herself feel at least decently human again.