Page 7 of Sinful Curses
“I have a salve that could help with that,” Elsa said as she waved at Sahira’s leg.
Sahira turned her leg to examine the wound. “I’m good, thanks. It had a lot of teeth, but the punctures weren’t very deep. It’s mostly healed already.”
Orin broke off some bread before wrapping the rest and stashing it away. It was already becoming stale as he chewed while staring at the flickering shadows dancing across the wall.
“We can hunt some of these creatures, too,” Zeth said as he chewed on a dried piece of meat. “That will get us through longer. We could have eaten that thing today.”
“I’d prefer to starve,” Sahira muttered.
“What about water?” Elsa asked.
“That could be harder to find, but at least we won’t die without it or food,” Zeth said.
“Maybe not, but we’ll be exhausted, weak, and find it increasingly difficult to move if we go too long without either. And once we’re like that, we’ll be extremely vulnerable to everything out here,” Sahira said.
“We have plenty left for now,” Orin said, “and we could find something to eat and a river tomorrow.”
They didn’t respond while they ate their meager meals. When they finished, they spread their blankets on the ground.
Orin had been happy to leave the sand and desert behind, but the cave suddenly felt too confining. Sahira and Zeth didn’t look at each other while they worked to set their blankets up at opposite ends of the cave.
Despite their distance, Orin was reminded that the demon knew what touching, kissing, and being inside her was like. His fingers clenched and unclenched as he contemplated beating the demon to death.
It would serve them both right if he made Sahira watch while he killed her lover. The idea brought a grim smile to his lips.
He was bored, and it would be fun, but he couldn’t kill the demon… not yet. There were too many hazards in this realm, and as much as he would prefer the bastard dead, he wanted the demon’s strength to help them get through this.
When they were finally free, he’d kill the demon, but not before then, or at least, that was the plan, but plans had a way of changing.
Unable to stand being in the cave with them anymore, he rose, pulled his cloak back on, and clasped it at his throat. “I’ll take the first watch.”
No one spoke as he left the cavern.
CHAPTEREIGHT
Sahira hadno idea what time it was when she woke, but the candle had burned out and enshrouded the cave in darkness. She hadn’t known the time since leaving Belda’s town and the single clock in the pub behind. And she had no way of knowing if that clock was right.
In this realm, days revolved around sunrise and sunset. It was the only guarantee they had.
Twisting on her blanket, she stared into the darkness while listening to the faint breaths surrounding her. She couldn’t see the others, but she was certain Orin wasn’t one of those breaths, which meant he was still outside.
Pushing herself up, she ran her hand over the cool stone while searching for her pile of clothes. She finally located it against the wall, removed her cloak from the top, and pulled it on.
She would change out of her ruined pants tomorrow but was too exhausted to bother doing it tonight. With their limited supplies, she’d shove them into her pack and probably have to wear them again.
She started toward the gray light indicating the cave entrance before hesitating. The idea of dealing with Orin after everything they’d been through and on her limited amount of sleep was exhausting, but she couldn’t leave him out there.
He didn’t know she was awake, but they’d all agreed to take turns keeping watch while the others slept, and since she wouldn’t be able to fall asleep anytime soon, he might as well get some rest. Still, she would have preferred if Zeth or Elsa had woken first and gone out for this.
Dreading her return to the land of sand, Sahira pulled the hood over her head. She kept her hand against the wall while shuffling through the darkness toward the patch of gray.
As she walked, she recalled Zeth and Elsa’s locations in the cave. Elsa was further back in the crevice, and Zeth was on the opposite wall, so she wouldn’t step on one of them.
Feeling over the cool, bumpy stone surrounding the opening, she ducked to slip outside. When she emerged on the other side, she rose to take in the moon and stars shining brightly in the velvety night.
For once, no breeze moved across the earth, and sand didn’t pelt her. The three-quarters-full moon spilled across the red, sandy sea to illuminate a pathway across its pristine surface.
Her fingers twitched as she had the sudden idea she could cross that pathway and touch the low-hanging moon. Something would probably eat her before she arrived, but it was so inviting that she almost wanted to try it.
