Page 43 of Sinful Curses
More than a few times, she was jerked to a stop by her fingers catching on something as her feet fell away. Once, she slid down a few feet as rocks tore and battered her belly before she regained purchase and jerked to a stop.
Her shoulders and back screamed a protest against the abuse and her weight pulling on them, but she somehow managed to regain her footing. Pulling herself closer to the wall, she stood trembling and unable to move for a few minutes before regaining the strength and confidence to do so again.
“Careful,” Fath had murmured.
Gritting her teeth, Sahira resisted the impulse to flick him from her shoulder. Like she needed to be told that or was enjoying nearly falling thousands of feet to a sudden, splattered stop.
However, the brownie’s voice had wavered with fear on that one word. She didn’t like his backseat driving but understood it. She pushed on without hurting a tiny creature who didn’t deserve to have her terror taken out on him.
At the end of the fifth day, she was frozen, her limbs shook, and blood dripped from her fingers, making the already slippery climb more difficult, when the summit of another mountain came into view only a few feet over her head. Exhausted, she wasn’t sure she had the strength to pull herself over the top, but as she stretched her hand up, Orin grasped her wrist and helped pull her over.
Even battered, bruised, frozen, and about to collapse, a tingle ran through her as his hand warmed her more than the fire they would build once they settled in for the night. When she tugged on her wrist, he released it.
“Thank you,” she murmured.
He nodded briskly before turning away. They hadn’t talked much since leaving the brownie town behind.
It wasn’t because of their argument over the brownies; they annoyed him, but he wouldn’t withdraw and stop pestering her over them. Instead, she saw something watchful and uncertain in his eyes when they met hers.
She didn’t understand what brought about the change; maybe their fight in the storage room after they had sex, or perhaps he was done with her. He could try to go for Elsa, but Sahira knew her friend had no interest in him, and Orin probably realized the same.
Maybe he’d decided he could hold out until they escaped this realm and he found someone else to occupy his time. He looked a lot better than he did before they had sex.
She’d noticed his weight loss and increasingly pallid skin tone, but since it was gradual, she hadn’t realized how bad it was until his skin regained its glowing vitality and his cheeks filled out some. He’d still lost weight, they all had, but he looked like he’d put five pounds back on.
He might be able to hold out for another woman until they left this realm behind… if they found a way to do so soon. If not, she fully expected him to start annoying her again, but she would hold out this time.
As she thought it, she felt that niggling weakness deep inside her. Why couldn’t things be simple with him?
But that would be like asking why the Earth couldn’t stop spinning. Some things were simply impossible.
Now, as his wary eyes held hers, she had no idea what was going through his mind. Before, she’d always known what Orin was thinking. He tended to have only one thing on his mind... other than breaking out of this place.
She had no idea what was going on with him, and as much as she welcomed this distance from him and a reprieve from the madness of their strange relationship, she almost asked him what was wrong. Thankfully, she managed to restrain herself when he turned away; some things were better left alone.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-EIGHT
She bentto help Elsa over the mountain’s edge while Zeth hoisted himself over and fell to his knees. When Elsa collapsed beside him, Loth scrambled from her shoulder, stopped to pat her head, and whispered, “Thank you. Rest now, dear.”
The brownie scampered away while Fath climbed down Sahira’s back and walked over to join his friends. Gior pulled out his flute and played while Pip sang a haunting melody of unrequited love that set Sahira’s nerves on edge.
Determined to ignore the singing, Sahira knelt at Elsa’s side and rested her fingers against her friend’s arm. “Are you okay?”
“I can’t feel my arms and legs, but I think they’re still there.”
Sahira pretended to look her friend over. “They’re still there.”
Elsa lifted her hand to give her a thumbs-up before dropping it again. Sahira patted her shoulder. “Do you want me to stay with you?”
“No, I’m going to sleep or die here, whichever comes first.”
Sahira chuckled as she squeezed her arm. “I’m going to see if I can find some wood. A fire will make us all feel better.”
So far, they’d been lucky enough to find wood at their other stops. Scraggly trees speckled the mountains, and their broken limbs and branches littered the ground.
She didn’t know how long that luck would hold out, but she hoped to find more of it here too. Sahira shifted her attention to the mountain they’d climbed and the beautiful view of the craggy, snow-topped peaks rolling out around her.
Clouds drifted in and out of those peaks as they kissed their tops and parted around them. During the climb, she’d touched some of those clouds—or tried to as her fingers fell through the misty creations floating around her.
