Page 14 of Heart of the Cursed
Chapter 7
Selene ran until she thought her lungs would burst. She didn’t dare look back in case he was hot on her tail, but God, she needed to stop soon, or she was going to pass out. She was surprised she hadn’t already.
Her feet were killing her from where she hadn’t stopped to put her shoes on, and she had scratches all over her arms and across her face from running through thick shrubs and bushes. They stung like mad, but she ignored the pain and kept on running until she couldn’t run any more.
Darkness surrounded her by the time she finally collapsed from exhaustion. She didn’t have a clue where she was, or even if the male was nearby. The only thing she knew for certain was she couldn’t move another inch.
If he caught up with her now, she would be fucked. There was no way she would be able to defend herself. She could barely lift her head off the ground, so she would be less than useless if she had to fight him off, or any attacker.
Selene didn’t know how long she lay there waiting for her heart to stop racing. Her lungs burned from running, but as she lay there, it slowly became easier to breathe.
When she was able to hear something other than her heart pounding in her ears, she picked up the sound of running water nearby.
Selene opened her eyes, and after a lot of cussing, she gradually lifted her head to look around. She couldn’t see any signs of a river or stream, but she knew it was close. She could hear the trickling sound as the water meandered over rocks as it headed down stream.
She attempted to lick her lips, but her tongue was so dry, it felt more like sandpaper grating against her lips. Pushing herself up onto her hands and knees, she began crawling in the direction she could hear the water coming from.
After what felt like hours, but was closer to minutes, she finally found the stream hidden behind a row of bushes. She pushed her way through the bushes and crawled the rest of the way over to the water.
The second she reached the edge of the stream, her arms gave out and she landed face first in the shallow water, smacking her forehead against a rock in the process. Selene groaned as pain shot through her head.
The icy cold water was a shock to the system, giving her a jolt of adrenaline. She quickly lifted her face out of the water enough so she could quench her thirst, without her face being submerged.
Selene braced her hands under her chest, lifting herself above the water slightly, and gulped down mouthful after mouthful. Once she was finished, she rolled over until she was out of the water and on her back.
She stared up at the stars. The bare tree branches that hung over the side of the stream did little to hide their beauty. She loved how they twinkled in the sky. It was so peaceful watching them, she could almost forget about the world around her. Almost.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t completely forget the world around her. There was always a niggling in the back of her mind that wouldn’t let up, not even for a second. It was there, day and night, reminding her that she had a mission to complete, and it wouldn’t wait on her for long.
It was like a ticking time bomb, just waiting to go off.
Selene would give anything to have just one day to herself. One day where she could forget about the impending doom that loomed over her continuously, but that wasn’t going to happen.
From as far back as she could remember, the niggling had always been there, in the back of her mind. At first, she didn’t know what it was or what it meant. It was just there, like a continuous tapping in her mind. Until one day, something seemed to just click inside her.
Like a switch had been turned on, Selene knew exactly what the tapping had been trying to tell her. She knewwhatshe had to do, she just didn’t knowhoworwhenit needed to be done.
As the years passed, the niggling grew in intensity and became more persistent. Selene knew she was running out of time, but she was still no closer to figuring out how she was going to accomplish her mission.
Selene hoped the spell she was searching for was the key to answering that, but she wouldn’t know for certain until she found it. Which made finding the book that contained the spell even more imperative. Without it, she wouldn’t be able to complete her mission.
Well, it’s not going to get done tonight,she thought as she continued to stare at the stars.
Even if she wasn’t exhausted from running for hours on end, she wouldn’t be able to perform the locating spell. Blasting the male so she could escape, had completely drained her magic. She had thrown everything she had at him.
It was worth it to get away from him. But it also meant she wouldn’t be able to cast another spell for a day or two, if not more.
“Wanker!” she growled at the sky.
She was pissed, but mostly with herself. She knew it was dangerous to stay in one place for too long. She should have moved on a long time ago, but she liked her bunker. It had quickly become not only her safe haven, but it had become her home. The first real one she had ever had. So, she had stayed, much longer than she should have. Much longer than it was safe to.
Selene should have known it was time to move on when she came across the first intruder after harvesting the honey. She should have packed up and moved on straight away. Instead, she had carried on as if nothing had happened.
She couldn’t really blame the second male for her fuck up. Living in the bunker, and so far north, it had given her a false sense of security, and now she was paying the price.
“Lesson learnt. I won’t be making that mistake again.”
Knowing her luck, she would probably end up making all new mistakes instead. She just hoped her mistakes wouldn’t cost her her life, or the lives of anyone else.
