Page 16 of Heart of the Cursed
Chapter 8
Arun tilted his head as he watched the female. He’d caught up with her shortly after he left the underground compound and followed her until she collapsed from exhaustion.
He hadn’t let her know that he was following her. Making sure to stay just far enough behind that he could see her, but she couldn’t see him.
When she finally stopped running, she collapsed from exhaustion. Still keeping his distance, he watched as she pulled herself along the ground as she searched for water.
Arun had nearly broken his cover when her arms gave out, making her land face-first into the water. Thankfully, she was able to lift her head out quickly enough.
She spent a good five minutes gulping down water before rolling away from the edge of the stream. That’s when he caught sight of the bump forming on her forehead. She must have hit her head on a rock when she fell into the water, but she showed no sign of discomfort.
The growing bump didn’t detract from her beauty. He shouldn’t find her attractive, but he did. Even covered in dirt and debris, she was as stunningly beautiful as she had been when she blasted him with her magic.
As he watched her staring up at the night sky, he decided against trying to speak with her again just yet. He couldn’t put it off for too long, but he could give her the night to rest and regain her strength. She would need it for what was coming after her.
He wasn’t sure if it was the tiredness taking its toll, or if she was lost in thought, but she kept talking to herself. Arun found himself listening intently, trying to figure out what she was talking about. But for the life of him, he didn’t have a clue.
As far as he was concerned, she was talking a load of gibberish, but it probably made complete sense to her. Her last comment made him smile, though. The way she told herself to go to sleep, it was like a mother telling her child.
He hadn’t expected her to fall asleep nearly instantaneously. The only other person he knew that could fall asleep so fast was Dain, but even he took longer than her. Literally, seconds after she told herself to go to sleep, he could hear her breathing change as she drifted off.
It was the last part of her comment that really piqued his interest. What was the ‘deal with the rest’ she was referring to? Did it have something to do with the spell he heard her chanting in his mind? Was it about his appearance in the underground compound? Or was it something else altogether?
Arun didn’t know the answer, but something about the way she said it made it seem like it was important. Like life and death kind of important. So, he was going to stick around and find out.
He planned on asking her first thing in the morning. So hopefully, she would have a good night’s sleep and be in a more cooperative mood when she wakes in the morning.
He couldn’t do anything to make the ground she slept on more comfortable, but he could ensure her safety while she slept. Even if it meant staying awake all night to keep watch over her. He was prepared to do anything to keep her safe.
Knowing the type of people who were likely coming after her, was half the battle. He could set wards and spells to guard against most of them, and the few that wouldn’t be affected, he placed spells to warn him of their approach. He set those spells a little further away, so he had plenty of time to prepare for their arrival.
It was the unknown that Arun was concerned about. While he had a good idea of who was likely to attack the female, there was always an element of uncertainty to any mission.
Arun frowned. When had he started seeing her as a mission?
Before he found her, all he’d wanted to do was warn her about the danger she was putting herself in. How had it changed to wanting to help her? And when did the change occur?
“What the fuck?”
Arun’s jaw dropped as he watched the female’s sleeping form begin to glow. Tendrils of light seeped up through the ground and wrapped around her body. Just like a cocoon, it encased her from head to toe.
It wasn’t a white light. More like hundreds of tiny little rainbows twisting and swirling together to make one thick, tightly woven cocoon.
The female sighed contently, letting him know whatever it was, it wasn’t hurting her in any way. But it didn’t answer any of the questions flying around in his mind at the sight before him. Not once in his exceptionally long life, he had ever seen anything like it.
“What are you?” he whispered.
He hadn’t even heard about any creature that could wrap themselves in light, let alone pulling it up through the ground as they slept. What puzzled him even more was the fact it wasn’t just a white light, but multiple strands of rainbow lights.
Arun wondered if she even knew about the light. With it happeningaftershe’d fallen asleep, it was possible she didn’t have a clue what was happening. It was just another thing to add to the growing list of questions he wanted to ask her when she wakes up in the morning.
Staying awake while she slept meant he didn’t have to run the risk of her waking up and attacking him while he slept, or running off again. It also gave him plenty of time to think about what he was going to say to her when she woke.
He couldn’t exactly come straight out and tell her she was going to die if she persisted with the spell, but he needed to make it clear that she couldn’t continue on the path she was on. However he tells her, it wasn’t going to be an easy conversation. He just hoped she gave him the chance to talk this time.
He barely got six words out before she attacked him and ran off. They didn’t have time to play cat and mouse, especially if she continued to do the spell in the meantime.
Arun watched over her all night, not once taking his eyes off her sleeping form. Before he knew it, the sky was getting lighter as the sun began to rise.
