The Obsidian Pillar

Chapter Eighteen

A high-pitched scream pierced through the forest. I jolted awake and sat up, my eyes wide and my breathing shallow as I tried to listen for any movements around me. After a few minutes of uneventful silence, I calmed down, slouching and pulling my blanket back over my waist in the chill night air.

The fire's embers were slowly dying, only flickers of orange light sprinkled amongst the ash remained. My three companions were still sleeping soundly. Their collective orchestra of breathing was leisurely and peaceful while their dreams comforted and entertained them. They were nestled against tree trunks or felled logs, wrapped up in their blankets and cloaks that sheltered them from the chill. The screams couldn't have been real. I must have dreamt them.

I rubbed my eyes, feeling the dirt and grit on my skin. My eyelashes were sticky with sleep. I fell back onto my cloak and tried to ignore the small stones and sticks beneath me. But the scream resounded once more.

I rose swiftly and thrust the blanket away, heading towards the agonised shriek.

'Valla?' Sebastien whispered groggily from a few feet away.

'Stay where you are,' I whispered, but I heard him shuffling, not taking heed of my words.

'What is it?' he asked me seriously as he approached. His eyes were bleary from his sleepy stupor. I hesitated when he drew his sword. The grating sound of metal against metal jarred me. I shook my head in defeat, placed a finger on his lips to silence him, and pointed another over to the soldiers who were still snoring and oblivious.

He stiffened when I gently stroked his injured arm. 'I don't want you to come with me. You're injured, and it might not be safe,' I whispered.

He gritted his teeth and an irritated sigh whistled through them. I watched in indignation when he stretched out his arm and winced. 'I'm fine.'

'Sebastien, no.'

'Be quiet, you're not going out there alone. You have no weapon and your magic isn't enough. Don't argue.'

I ignored his orders. 'Did you hear the screams too?'

'No, I only heard you,' he replied in confusion.

Another scream pierced the air and without a second thought I broke away from the clearing, running through the trees with Sebastien hissing at me to stop from behind. I tried to follow the screams like beacons lighting my path in the dark, but they seemed to ring out from different directions. I couldn't reach them, no matter which direction I tried.

I halted abruptly to listen, concerned that my heavy breathing and the blood that pumped in my ears was impeding my hearing. Sebastien collided towards me in the dark, pushing me up against a tree, his body flush against mine. I gasped, but didn't move, startled by his close proximity to me.

His scent of soap and leather drifted up from his shirt. The bare skin of his collarbone grazed my lips. He was crowding my senses and rendering me useless to the screaming victim of the forest. As much as I wanted to stay so close to him, to pursue whatever might happen next, I pushed against him. Someone out there needed help.

'Seb-' His warm hand clamped down over my lips, muffling my voice.

He was so close to me that I could barely breathe. I could feel every inch of him against me. I wondered what it would be like to touch his bare skin, to pull back his cloak and see his body, to hear him whisper and laugh without care. I longed to uncover the real him beneath all of the layers and walls.

I let out a soft moan when he closed the remaining gaps between us. He tensed at the sound. His hand tentatively moved from my mouth, trusting that I would not disobey him, his fingers trailing down to my chest, tracing the skin there. I blossomed with heat, my skin shivering delightedly from the sensation of his touch.

Smothered under his cloak, I had forgotten how muscular he was underneath. I brazenly raised my face to his and felt his warm breath on my mouth. His azure eyes were blazing.

'You need to calm down,' he breathed. I wasn't sure whether this was for my benefit or his. I attempted to wriggle away from him, but his body forbade it, remaining hard and still against me.

'Move,' I ordered, trying to keep my voice controlled despite my body betraying me.

He didn't respond. He continued to stare down at me, his expression a stormy battle between lust and self-restraint.

'Please, Sebastien, let me help her,' I whispered, reminding him of the reason why we were out here at all.

He rested his forehead against mine in a rare display of intimacy. Stunned, I felt my resolve crumble. His hand traced my hip to my waist where his grip tightened. He groaned.

I arched my back against the tree trunk, eager to meet his lips with my own. They hovered above me, infuriatingly close...

Then I was pushed away from him, back against the tree, blinded by white light and pinned by an unseen force. The pressure climbed from my waist, over my chest and up to my throat where it constricted. Still blinded, I gasped for breath before a surge of icy air cooled my body, dousing any emotion or lustful ambition that had burned in me a moment before.

'Open your eyes,' a deep, silky voice coaxed in my ear.

I opened them and cried out, certain that I was in Perdition.