Page 58 of Sinful Curses
“He’ll never see his children again,” she whispered mournfully.
“No, he won’t, and if you’re not careful, you’ll never see your ma and pa again either,” Orin told her. “Orhisto tell them what happened.”
She sniffled before relaxing into the crook of his shoulder. When he glanced at Sahira, curiosity and disbelief shimmered in her tear-filled amber eyes. She looked at the geyser that killed Gior before wiping the tears from her eyes.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked him.
He sensed she wanted to say or ask more but restrained herself. He was grateful for that, as he didn’t know what to make of this either; he never should have saved the brownie. At any other time, he would have let any other immortal suffer the consequences of their stupid decisions, but not this time.
Why not?
He had no answer, as he had no idea what had compelled him to save her. Sure, he liked her voice, and admired the courage of the brownies, the crazy bastards had formed a tower to try to take him on after all, but that wasn’t a reason to burn himself for her.
“I’m great,” he muttered.
“You remembered that she wanted to see her parents again,” Sahira said.
“And?”
“You didn’t bother to learn her name for days, but you remembered that.”
When he scowled at her, she smiled as warmth filled her eyes. He’d seen that warmth in her gaze before but never directed at him.
He didn’t know what to make of it or the strange flutter it created in his heart. Whatever this was, he didn’t like it… or did he?
CHAPTERFIFTY
They were stillin the middle of the field when the sun rose again. Sahira resisted the urge to cry while blinking away the tears burning her eyes.
She didn’t shed any tears but inwardly sobbed against the unending torment of this place as exhaustion made it almost impossible to remain standing. If she sat, she’d die, but it was all she yearned to do.
She was so tired she’d fallen asleep while walking earlier. It was a deadly mistake, thankfully, caught by Orin, who grasped her arm and jerked her awake.
After that, they all held hands. Every few seconds or so, someone would squeeze to make sure the others were awake, and it would run through the chain of them.
Her fingers entwined with Orin’s, and she held on tighter than she should have, but thankfully it had mostly healed and he didn’t complain. On his other side, he held hands with Elsa, and Sahira had taken Zeth’s.
Their joined hands were slick with sweat, but no one released anyone. They were probably as afraid as her that, if they let go, they’d lose someone.
Sahira pried her eyes open as the sun beat down on them. Grainy and dry, they felt like they had a pound of sand caked onto them as blinking became a monumental effort.
Her stomach rumbled, but the idea of moving to take off her pack and find food only made her more tired. Not eating might also be a deadly mistake; she was willing to make it, as it took every ounce of energy she had to stay awake.
Once the sun set again, they would continue. They didn’t have a choice, but she had no idea how she’d dredge up the strength to do so.
Closing one eye, she kept the other open as she glanced at Orin. Pip remained sleeping on his shoulder with her hands propped beneath her head.
Am I hallucinating?
Considering the severe lack of sleep she’d experienced these past couple of days, it was a good possibility. This was Orin, the biggest asshole out here, with abrownieon his shoulder.
Because he saved her!
The memory of Orin pulling Pip from the fire blasted across her foggy mind. He’d saved Pip from the flames while also burning himself.
If someone had ever asked her if she thought such a thing was possible, she would have laughed. Until last night, Orin would have been more likely to kick one of the brownies into the fire than pull one from it, but he had; she’d seen it herself.
Or did I? Is he really here? AmIhere?
