Chapter 37: Weighed Down
PATRON SHOUT OUT: Thank you, NyxG1663, for suggesting the name “Magnus.” I hope you like how I Anima-ized it!
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NAME PRONUNCIATION: Mhagnus is “MAG-niss”
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~ HARTH ~
It was a lengthy walk to the cave, Harth’s chest constricting the whole way-why had her mate insisted on a cave after what she’d told him. But Tarkyn kept up discussion with the guards for the entire walk, asking them to report on what had been occurring in the city and among the soldiers since he’d been away. She suspected he was reminding them of his position, and that he did not walk as a prisoner, but as their commanding officer...
.....
She looked up at him and her chest tightened for an entirely different reason.
His head was turned away from her, the cord of his neck pulled tight as he spoke to a guard who walked to his side and just behind them. The fading sunlight filtering through the trees cut shadows into his collarbones that peered out from beneath the clean shirt he’d been given by the guards at the cave.
His eyes were sharp on the soldier behind him, but tight with pain and weariness. He needed rest. She could feel him... fading. And yet, there was no sign of it to anyone watching. He carried himself with strength and purpose, speaking as if his energy was limitless.
She’d been given a male of great strength. It made her heart flutter.
Then they took a trail that began to climb, and although Tarkyn didn’t let it show, she took his arm, let it look as if he supported her, when really she was just praying he’d make it to the top of the trail. Through the awakening bond, she could feel his body failing. And where she touched him, his muscles seemed to quiver under the skin.
‘You need rest. Food and rest.’
She sounded like an alpha to a child. Tarkyn’s lips twisted up on one side and he cut her a glance from the corner of his eyes.
‘Do you know... I haven’t had someone chide me for my protection since I left my mother’s cave? Usually I’m the one admonishing others,’ he said in her head, his tone light, as if the idea amused him. But one of his steps scuffed because he didn’t lift his foot high enough and she felt the jolt that snapped through him.
‘Tarkyn, you need-‘
‘We’re almost there. Just a few more minutes. Don’t let the soldiers know that I’m tired. Please, Harth.’
She sighed and gripped his arm. ‘I never would, Tarkyn. But I’m worried they’re about to figure it out. If you fall down it will be kind of difficult to avoid,’ she muttered to him.
He squeezed her hand, but with every step he seemed to lean more of his weight against her grip on his arm.
The trail to the cave wasn’t a steep climb to begin with, but it curled with the rise of the mountain and became steeper as they got higher. Harth was just beginning to fear that he really wouldn’t make it when the trail wound around a tree and some rocks, then flattened out ahead of them, widening into an open cave mouth so wide that it reminded her of the space they’d had near the river.
She breathed a sigh of relief, not only because he’d made it, though she could feel him trembling now. But also because she now understood why he’d chosen this place.
“I told you to trust me,” he murmured.
Harth gripped his hand and rubbed his arm as they walked as quickly as he was able into the cave.
A cave so wide, a dozen people could stand side-to-side along its front.
A cave that didn’t curve, so the open mouth was visible even at its back.
A cave that felt more like a home because there was furniture and seating, and... and all of it coated in a layer of dirt and scattered leaves near the front that told Harth no one had been here in months.
As they stepped inside, a breeze came up, skittering the scattered leaves and dust at the entrance, flowing through the entire cave to turn and flutter Harth’s hair.
Even the evening light reached almost to the back of the main cavern. Harth swallowed a pinch in her throat.
He had been listening. He had understood.
She leaned into his arm as they walked to the couch that had seen better days, but was thick and solid. She thought Tarkyn would sit immediately, but instead he pulled from her grip and told her to wait there, where the light still caught, and he walked deeper into the cave, disappearing into a tunnel at its back.
The four soldiers who’d guarded them for the journey paused, uncertain, at the mouth of the cave. She turned to them, holding out a hand for the bag one of them was carrying.
“Please tell me you have food in there for him?” she asked sternly. Her own stomach growled, but unless there was a lot in there, she wouldn’t eat a bite until Tarkyn had had his fill. His massive frame needed a great deal more fuel than hers did-and after the beating he’d given it before she found him, he needed even more.
The guard frowned, but before he could respond, Tarkyn’s voice rose from out of sight at the back of the cave. “Give it to her, Mhagnus,” he said, the ring of command in his tone. “She needs to eat.”
Harth rolled her eyes. They would discuss who was more in need when he returned, but she didn’t speak, just took the bag gratefully when the soldier offered it to her somewhat reluctantly.
There was a firepit in the center of the cavern, just beyond the couches and seating area. At the side of the cave just a few feet away, a tumbled pile of kindling and extremely dry branches and lumps of wood waited to be used. Harth took the bag and set it on the ground to dig through and see if there was any need for a fire, but she’d barely cursed over the fact that it contained mainly fruit and cheese-only a little dried meat. He needed protein!-when Tarkyn appeared behind her carrying thick, heavy furs over one shoulder and feeling to her like he might collapse even under that weight. fre ewebno vel.com
She scrambled to her feet, but he gave her a warning look, then spread the furs near the fire pit, gripping his hands into fists when he wasn’t holding the furs, so they wouldn’t tremble as he spoke quietly to the guards.
“Take your positions down the trail. If we’re in need, we’ll call. I assume the birds won’t come until morning?”
“The Queen ordered one to-”
They were interrupted by the sound of wings beating air as a massive bird back-flapped to swing their legs down, talons extended, to catch their weight at the opening of the cave, then shifted effortlessly, a backpack slung across her chest.
“Tarkyn, you’re still alive. Good... you fucking idiot.”
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