Page 91 of Heart of the Cursed
“Think again,” Arun said.
He stepped forward with his hands up in front of him and his palms facing each other. A ball of magic soon appeared between his hands. It grew larger and larger as the seconds ticked by. The cave and everyone in it seemed to hold their breath, waiting to see what would happen next.
“Stewpid food,” one of the Ogres said as he stepped forward, ready to grab Arun.
Before he could take another step, Arun threw the ball of magic at him. It hit the Ogre square in the chest, knocking him back several steps and making him lose his balance. He landed on his arse with an almighty thud that rocked the cave before falling onto his back, dead.
The other Ogres stared at their friend in shocked silence, but the instant the shock wore off, all hell broke loose.
Selene looked back at the entrance just in time to see Dain shapeshift into an Ogre. Her eyes met Arun’s for a mere second before the one holding her cage launched it to the back of the cave. She held on for dear life as the cage sailed through the air. It smashed into a wall and bounced off before hitting a pile of rubbish and rolling down the side.
By the time she landed on the floor, her head was spinning, and she was in agony. Her right shoulder was dislocated, her left leg was facing the wrong way, and she was certain that she heard… and felt… several ribs break. But she was alive, and that was the main thing.
The door to her cage had ripped off its hinges at some point, and the bars were all buckled. Looking at the state of it, Selene was grateful to still be in one piece. Thankfully, she still had hold of the book, but only because she had wrapped her body around it. If she hadn’t done that, there was no telling where it would be now. She certainly didn’t fancy searching through the mounds of rubbish for it.
Selene tried to drag herself out of the cage, but she barely made it an inch before her vision went black around the edges as pain shot through her body in protest. Unable to move, all she could do was hope and pray as she lay there listening to Arun and the others fighting the Ogres.
She didn’t know who was winning because there was a mountain of rubbish blocking her view of the fight. It seemed to go on forever before silence descended in the cave. It was deafening after all the noise from the fighting.
Selene held her breath as she waited to see who had won. She closed her eyes, trying to listen for any sounds, but she heard nothing. When she opened her eyes, it was to see Arun standing outside her cage.
“Are you okay?” she asked, looking him up and down for any signs of injury.
He raised an eyebrow at her. “I’m fine. I can’t say the same for you, however.”
Selene took a deep breath and instantly regretted it when sharp pains stabbed at her insides. Her vision started to go blurry around the edges and she was hit by a sudden urge to vomit. She closed her eyes again and waited for the pain and nausea to pass.
“Just stay still,” Arun told her.
He sounded a lot closer than he had been moments ago. Selene peeked her eyes open to see him leaning over her. He’d moved so quietly, she hadn’t heard a sound as he move closer. For that matter, he hadn’t rocked the cage, either. Which she was grateful for.
When she turned her head and looked down, she noticed he was standing on the floor between the bars.
“I told you to stay still,” he admonished.
“Sorry,” she said sheepishly, turning back around.
Selene watched as he slowly ran his hands over her body without touching her. Everywhere his hands hovered, her body was beginning to heal. Bones knitted back together, joints popped back into place, cuts closed and began to stitch back together, and bruises disappeared without leaving so much as a red mark.
By the time he was finished, she was completely healed. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he took a step back and sat on the edge of the cage.
“Thank you,” she said in awe as she sat up, pain free, and took a deep breath.
“You’re welcome,” he said. “But try not to do it again.”
Selene grinned. “I can’t promise anything.”
Arun shook his head at her. “You’re definitely trouble.”
She winked at him before clambering out of the cage. Arun followed, but at a much slower pace than her.
“It’s more fun that way,” she said over her shoulder as she headed towards the entrance of the cave.
.
