Page 203 of Savage Throne
The poison was everywhere now, burning through my veins like liquid fire but I forced myself to focus.
To breathe.
To push.
Find the rhythm. Work with your body, not against it.
My thumb found the hollow of my wrist, pressing hard against the tendons there.
A wave of nausea rolled through me and I gagged, my stomach heaving as the bitter taste of bile coated my tongue.
Then, thick black liquid spilled from my lips, splattering the bark beneath me.
“But” His voice was closer. “Can you expel the poison and not die?”
I couldn’t see him. My vision was still blurred, the world spinning around me like a cruel kaleidoscope.
But I could hear him.
The steady crunch of his boots against the bark and the faint rasp of his breathing.
He was coming for me.
I didn’t have time to recover. The poison wasn’t out yet. My limbs still felt heavy, my chest tight but I couldn’t let him finish this here.
Not like this.
I lashed out blindly with my foot, kicking hard in the direction of his approach.
Thank God, my boot connected with something solid, and he grunted, the sound satisfying in its briefness.
I got him!
The force of the kick sent him stumbling back, the rustle of branches and a muffled curse confirming he’d lost his footing.
Further off, he yelled. “You’re only prolonging the inevitable, son!”
I ignored him and moved my hands with renewed urgency, pressing into the spot beneath my ribs, where the diaphragm met the solar plexus.
Oh God. What sort of poison is this?
The pressure sent a sharp, shooting pain through my chest but I gritted my teeth and kept going.
Another wave of black liquid surged up my throat, spilling from my mouth in thick choking bursts.
I gasped for air, the taste of the poison still clinging to my tongue.
Duck yelled. “Lei, watch out!”
My vision cleared just long enough to catch my father kicking me in the chest.
“Ahh!”
The force was a wrecking ball, knocking the air from my lungs and sending me sprawling forward.
The world tilted.
“No!” Falling off the branch, I accidentally dropped the sword.
