The Way We Fall

Chapter 44 (Roche)

"Skuedo." the words were a breathless gasp as the world turned dark in the smoke of a thousand flames. There was air against her skin, a weightless feeling in her gut, and a spongy protective film around her body.

Then she crashed through the branches and into the mulchy ground, pain radiating up the entire left half of her body so intensely that consciousness was no longer a viable option.

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"Holy shit."

The horrified whisper infiltrated her dreamless sleep. Roche couldn't move, immobilised by the darkness binding her.

Footsteps and hooves thundered beside her ears. There was a series of three gasps, followed by mournful silence.

"We'll bury her, Tigris. She'll be honoured as a hero." a male voice murmured soothingly. Roche basked in it. That voice was warm and sure, so much better than the yawning darkness that held her at bay. She drifted towards it.

Warm fingers brushed past her skin, sending lightning strikes of pain up her side. A low moan rattled out of her throat.

"Did you hear that?"

"She's alive! Good gods she's alive!"

"How in the ten hells?"

The voices overlapped, buzzing with excitement. They wormed into Roche's skull, agitating her aching brain like a swarm of bees. She squirmed, gasping as agony rolled through her like a wave, dragging her to consciousness.

Roche cracked her eyes open, groaning as the waning light of the forest stung her eyes. She hissed, her tongue thick and leaden in her mouth.

"Tigris?" she managed to say. There was a shuffle of movement. Then that glorious pale red hair filled her vision. Roche's blurry eyes could still make out those sparkling green irises.

"Roche, can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear, princess." Roche muttered, the royal's voice grating against her brain. Her ears rang faintly, "What happened?"

"You fool," Tigris laughed fondly, kneeling in the mud. Her eyes twinkled. "You detonated the object of power."

Roche numbly tilted her head up. "You did that. I just tossed it off the cliff." And added the inkblood needed to finish the detonation. She was lying in a crater of some kind. Her entire body ached. When she tried to sit up, pain seized her so sharply that she cried out. Tigris pushed her back down gently.

"Don't get up."

"Right," Roche sucked in gulps of air, trying not to vomit. "I think I'm hurt."

Tigris snorted. "You think?"

"Where are the princes?" Her voice sounded funny, like the words were bleeding together.

"Trying to find out where we are. Aodh! Finn! Get over here, she's awake!"

Roche's vision trembled as two sets of boots entered her line of view.

"Where are we?" she asked hoarsely. Finn kneeled next to her head, tilting a waterskin towards her lips. The water was heavenly, smoothing out the crumpled paper lining of her throat.

"Somewhere in the forest. The explosion threw your body here." he answered, his voice catching. His green eyes dimmed. "We thought you were dead."

"Think again!" Roche crowed triumphantly, mostly to ease the grief in his features. Her mirth faded when he didn't smile. "Is everyone alright?"

"Everyone except you." Tigris huffed, narrowing her eyes at Roche, "Couldn't you have tried to land somewhere softer? Like a bush or something?"

Irritation flickered to life in Roche's chest. "It's not like I had much of a choice!" she snapped. Tigris rolled her eyes.