I blinked a few times and then looked over the dead bodies on the ground. This experience had changed us both, for better or worse.
We came to a ladder that led us upward to a hatch. Was this place underground this whole time? It explained the smell of damp earth that permeated the walls.
Vik began climbing and I followed. The blood dripping from the bag still slung on his shoulders hit me on the cheek and I scowled. Was he really going to keep those heads with us?
When Vik pushed open the hatch, bright sunlight streamed into the hole, temporarily blinding us. Fresh air gave us renewed energy as we both ascended the ladder faster until we made it out the other side.
It wasn’t until we pulled our bodies onto the topside that we realized how cold it was.
“How in the world…?” Why was it so cold?
Our faces were hit with a breeze of arctic air and my entire body shivered. Looking up, I realized we were by a wall of ice and snow.
Did we lose that much track of time? Have the seasons changed that dramatically? But snow? I don’t remember ever seeing snow around Black Hollow.
“We’re close to Shaye territory,” Vik informed me.
I whipped my head and looked at him. He was staring out into the horizon, lost in his mind.
“How do you know?”
“The mountains. We’re next to Lashrose Rise.”
“Lashrose Rise?” I had never heard of the place.
He slowly turned to look at me. “It’s either that or we’re by Disaris territory. Nonetheless, we are far, far away from home,” he explained calmly.
At that moment, I saw Vik in a different light. He was more traveled than I was, knew more about the different territories and the differentiation of climates. Who was I trying to fool by following him, making him think I would be an asset?
I shivered again when another ice cold breeze hit me.
“Are you going to be okay, Inés?”
My teeth clattered against each other but I nodded my head anyway. We had no other choice but to be okay if we wanted to make it back home.
“We better move before the sun goes down taking away the little heat we do have.”
Heat? Heat? What heat? He was out of his damn mind.
He must have been reading my facial expression because he chuckled and came closer to me, pulling me in for a warm hug. I was grateful and snuggled against his chest.
“Give me a minute,” he mumbled as he gently pushed me away. I stood there quietly watching him in confusion. I was cold. I wanted his warmth back.
He chuckled, staring at me as his hands quickly converted the bag into something that could be tied behind his back.
I stood in awe. He was so innovative. This brilliant person standing before me could have been lost to what we were subjected to down there. Tears burned my eyes and then froze when they streamed down my cheeks.
I owed it to Vik. I needed to make sure I brought him back as whole as he could be. Black Hollow desperately needed a man like him, one that was willing to sacrifice his life for another—for a life as worthless as mine.
“Are you just going to stand there? Come on,” he teased as he grabbed my hand and pulled me forward.
Something cracked inside of me, metaphorical walls began to crumble as I gripped his hand in mine and followed closely beside him to conserve our warmth as we traveled together.
ChapterSixteen
We had madeit out of the proverbial pot and into the fire. Wearing only a thin pair of pants and a long sleeve shirt, I couldn’t battle the arctic winter that we have now come face to face with.
Vik calmly marched forward, carrying a damn bag of heads and wearing the mask of that psychopath while calling himself the reaper. Though I was wondering if he was himself anymore, I wondered the same thing about myself. They really did a number on us and maybe this was his way of moving on but he was turning into someone I didn't even know anymore. I was someone I didn’t even know anymore.
