Page 21 of Cursed By Malignant Magic
After a few minutes, I’d drunk until I felt uncomfortably full. I should have waited until I had something in my stomach so I didn't make myself ill, but it was too late now. All I could do was try not to throw up all of the hydration that my body desperately needed, and judging by Varna's groans next to me, she was in the same position.
“That was a mistake,” she mumbled, and I nodded in agreement as I stretched out beside her, both of us flat on our backs.
It would be wisest to keep moving so we could put as much distance between us and our captors as we could before the sun came up, but I doubted either of us was in any kind of shape for that. I’d been held captive for far less time than Varna, but even so, I would still have been more than happy to curl up here and sleep on the ground.
Perhaps it was because my stomach felt full, even if it was just water. Maybe it was exhaustion finally hitting after I had been wound so tight during our escape. Or maybe it was merely that I could lie down for the first time in so long, without chains preventing me, and I couldn’t have been more grateful for that fact.
Although I knew we should keep moving, I didn’t have the heart to make Varna get up, nor the energy to move myself.
“We can sleep for a few hours. I’ll take first watch and wake you if I hear anything.” I sat up and scooted around, leaving my back to the stream and facing the way we had come.
Varna shook her head and sat up, turning to face the same direction. My eyebrows rose, and I frowned down at her in confusion.
"No,I'lltake first watch,” she insisted. “You sleep first. I'll wake you when I'm ready to sleep."
I started to protest, to point out that she was in far worse shape than I was, but she cut me off before I could fully get started.
"I'm not ready to sleep yet," she mumbled.
Our eyes met, and my shoulders hunched, trying to get away from the look in her eyes—a strange mix of relief and fear. Part of me wondered what she had gone through back there. I had been so lucky in my captivity, something I never thought I would say, but I didn't know what had happened to her. Nor was I going to ask. When, or if, she was ready, I would listen.
I nodded slowly. "As you like. Wake me when you need to."
I stretched out on my back and closed my eyes, feeling the slight shift as she moved closer to me. I didn't open my eyes, just stayed where I was, and opened my hand in a silent gesture of support. If she didn't want to be touched, I understood that, but I had always craved more physical connection than I was given while growing up. Sometimes even holding hands was enough, and I could offer her that, at least.
She didn't grasp my hand, but I didn’t take offense. I was exhausted enough that I was already fading into sleep, but just before I slipped fully into unconsciousness, I heard her talking once more. Her voice was so quiet I almost couldn't hear her, but I didn't move, didn't open my eyes. Just waited to hear what she had to say.
"I'm afraid to close my eyes. Afraid of what I'll see if I do."
I swallowed hard, realizing too late that she might not have meant for me to hear her, but if she noticed the motion or my slight flinch at her words, she didn't comment. I wanted to comfort her, but now that I had stopped moving and closed my eyes, exhaustion had fully set in and adrenaline no longer propped me up. I sank into sleep, promising myself that I would try to comfort Varna as best as I could when I woke.
The fleeting moments of sleep abruptly shattered when a rough jolt yanked me back to consciousness. A hand clasped over my mouth, muffling any sound that might have escaped.
I flinched in surprise, gasping for air as my eyes snapped open. But the darkness was so thick, it was impossible to make out who had disturbed me.
A low, urgent voice whispered in my ear, its source hidden in the shadows. "Don't say a word."
Finally, my eyes adjusted to the low light and widened. My shoulders relaxed as I realized that it was Varna.
She removed her hand from my mouth, and I sat up slowly, still blinking. It was still dark enough to suggest that it was the middle of the night.
"What is it?" I whispered, belatedly remembering what she'd said and cringing inwardly.
"They’re coming. We need to go."
Chapter
Twelve
Iscrambled to my feet, reaching down to help Varna up too. "So now what?"
We just stared at each other, and it occurred to me that one of us had to come up with a plan relatively quickly, or we were going to get caught. With that in mind, I started shuffling along the side of the stream, hoping that some sort of solution would come to me.
Finally, Varna pointed toward the stream. "If they have any kind of dogs, they won't be able to track our scent if we're in the water. Not to mention they won't be able to follow our footprints on the bank either. Depending on which way the current is going, it might even take us away from them."
I stuck my hand into the freezing stream, doing my best to figure out which direction it flowed in the darkness. Once I figured it out, I pointed with one finger, and Varna nodded.
"They're behind us. If we're in the water, it should take us away from them with very little effort on our part," she said hopefully.
