Page 112 of A Darkness So Sweet
But alive. They were all alive. And that meant they could continue forward.
They kept going, all of them injured and limping. Finally, they made it to the area Bjorn had told them to wait in. Ragnar pressed a hand against his side to staunch the bleeding and turned his back to the wall. “And now we wait.”
“We wait?” one of the trolls said, his voice shaking. “For what?”
Ragnar didn’t know. But he had a feeling it was important to trust Bjorn. There was a long way for them all to go, but trusting their own kind was the best start they had.
A rumble of sound shook the labyrinth, but it seemed to come from above them. Ragnar looked up and to the right, his eyes widening in shock as he saw a woman launch herself from the stands above them. Her tangled hair and dirty clothing marked her as one of the “gifts”. And then he heard Gunnar suck in an angry breath.
The women couldn’t survive that fall. The stands that contained those women were significantly higher and besides, once the women were in here, he had no idea what the human men would do.
“Is this part of the king’s plan?” he asked, staring up to see many guards were already rushing toward the line of women who always stood up there.
Where was Maia? She was usually with them, but today she wasn’t. He didn’t see her shock of red hair, nor did he get the comfort of knowing she was near.
His stomach churned in fear that perhaps the king had done something to her. At the end of the day, that was the only thing that would tear him apart. He wouldn’t be able to come back from that, and the king knew it. The only way to hurt him was through her.
The rumbling sound happened again, although now he swore it came from within the labyrinth itself. Anxiety churned in his gut, making it hard to focus when all he could think about was her. The image of her red hair had kept him going, kept him fighting. And now?
Now he would tear this entire building down if it meant he could get to her. He would fight, tusk and claw, to get to her. If he had search the entire castle he would. He would revel in their death, paint the walls red and make the cavernous halls ring with their shrieks of pain.
The noise got closer, so he squared his shoulders, then shook out his hands. “This is it,” he muttered. “It ends here, or I end here.”
“Ragnar—“
“Enough, Gunnar. This is my choice.” And he would end this battle in bloody glory.
Until bright red hair rounded the closest entrance in the labyrinth and his entire world stopped. A mirage, surely. Her red hair was more tangled than he remembered, but parts of it were woven in braids. Her white dress, that had once been so stunning, was smeared with dirt and blood. But her expression was filled with rage and determination.
She didn’t stop running, not even when she saw him. She darted right for him, rushing into his arms with the force of an earthquake. He staggered back a few steps, his arms still held out for her. Part of him couldn’t believe she was really here in his arms.
But then he smelled her. That sugary sweet scent that was only slightly marred by the death and decay that surrounded them. Her heart beat frantically against his belly, and her hair tangled against his chest. She was here. Just as she was supposed to be.
With a horrible groan that wrenched from his very soul, Ragnar gathered her up in his arms and held her tightly against him. He squeezed too hard. He could tell, but he wanted to feel that she was alive. He needed to know that the warmth in his arms was really her.
Tears burned in his eyes, trailing down his cheeks before dropping into her hair.
“Maia,” he whispered, his voice ragged and raw.
She pressed a kiss over his heart, her lips a welcome change to the anger and rage that filled this place. “Ragnar, we have to go.”
“How did you get here?”
“I jumped.” She shuddered. “I was lucky enough to not break my leg, but I was the first one to jump. Did you not see me?”
He must not have been looking. He was ashamed to admit that his eyes weren’t on her at all times. “Listen to me, there is something I have to say to you.”
“Ragnar, there is no time–” She tried to say, but he pressed his hands over her mouth.
“I love you,” he said. “I love you so much. I should have said it a thousand times before this moment, and I am ashamed that I have not. I love you more than the mountains beneath our feet, my fire hair.”
Those big, green eyes stared up at him and he swore there was laughter in those depths. “I know.”
He blinked. “You what?”
“I know you love me.” There was a giggle in those words. “I’ve known it for a while, I think. But I love you too, you know.”
A knot in his chest eased. He had no idea it was even there, but it felt like it had been there for a long time.
