The Atheil Chronicles: A Call to Fire

Chapter 15

When she woke up, Ariana didn't open her eyes right away. She knew it was ridiculous, but she was scared of what she might see if she opened them. She was scared that she would see goblins and purple eyes staring down at her from above. Most of all, though, she was scared that Ryonen rescuing her had all been a happy dream and that, if she opened her eyes, she'd be right back in that goblin camp.
Her head was propped up on something soft but firm and her cloak had been taken off of her shoulders and draped across her like a blanket, its soft material bunched under her chin. She felt sore all over, her hands and legs especially, and her head was throbbing violently. She tested her hands to see if she could move them and she realized that she wasn't tied up. That either meant that the goblins were playing a very cruel trick, or that she really was with Ryonen.
Tentatively, she opened her eyes and was relieved to see the familiar green glow of Ryonens fire. She brought a hand up to her eye and rubbed it gently before looking around. She couldn't see Ryonen anywhere. She felt her heart skip a beat and was just about to panic when she dropped her hand next to her head and felt fabric beneath it. When she looked down, she realized that her head was laying in Ryonens lap.
She felt a hand on her head. "Ariana?" Ryonen said, quietly.
She licked her cracked lips and answered. "Yeah?"
Ariana heard Ryonen sigh softly. "Good, you're awake."
"How long have I been out?" She asked. She was thinking about sitting up so she could look at him but her body was starting to feel strange. Something like fire was racing through her veins.
"It was yesterday morning when I found you, it's just after nightfall, now." He brushed a hand across her head and she closed her eyes at his touch.
"Thank you." She said, suddenly.
"For what?" Ryonen asked.
"For rescuing me." She said, taking in a breath and letting it out. She was trying to ignore the pain in her limbs, but it was becoming increasingly hard.
Ryonen paused and then started stroking her hair again. "You don't have to thank me." He said.
"But I do." Ariana said, opening her eyes and fixing them on his face. Even as she looked at him, her vision began to blur. She blinked, trying to force it away. "You saved me, Ryonen."
For a moment he looked pleased but then his eyes darkened. He ran a hand over her arm and it sent trickles of hot pain through them. "I wasn't quick enough." He said quietly, angrily. The dark look vanished, though, and his face wrinkled with concern. "How are you? Is it painful?"
His fingers lingered on her arm, and she tried not to wince as the pain grew stronger at his touch. "It's not unbearable." She said, but even she could hear the tremor in her voice.
Ryonens sharp ears must have heard it, too, because his brow furrowed. "What is it?" He asked. "Where does it hurt?" In his concern, he gripped her arms gently, but the fire in her veins flared as if he had her in a vice grip.
"It burns!" She yelled, not able to keep it in. "Your hands!"
For a split second he looked down at her horrified, and then he quickly released his grip. "Ariana!?" He exclaimed. Through her eyelashes, she could see that he was pale, much paler than normal. He seemed incredibly uneasy.
Now that his hands were no longer touching her skin, the pain subsided until it was just a hot throbbing in her limbs. It still hurt, but not nearly as much as when he was actively touching her. She took an unsteady breath before answering him. "It's okay." She said, softly. "I'm okay."
He reached a hand toward her head but then he seemed to think better of it. "No you're not." He said quietly. "You can tell me."
She closed her eyes against the blurred sky. "It burns." She said, her voice tremulous with the pain that she could still feel from his touch.
"What does?"
"Everything. My whole body. It feels like I have fire running through my veins." She kept her eyes shut for fear of what she'd see on his face.
He was quiet for a minute and, just when she was beginning to think he wouldn't say anything, he spoke. "I'm so sorry." He said finally.
Now it was her turn to be surprised. "What are you sorry about?" She asked, opening her eyes to look at him. Through her blurred vision she could make out his bowed head.
Ryonen looked away, taking a deep shuddering breath. "I don't know how to help you." He said, finally. There was shame in his voice as he spoke.
Ariana tried to reach up a hand to touch his cheek but the pain flared in her arms as she tried to move. She let her hand relax back into her chest. "Am I going to die?" She asked, her voice barely a whisper.
Ryonen whipped his head back and Ariana could make out the panic in his face. "No, of course not!" He said fiercely.
Something about the intensity of his reaction made Ariana look away. "You don't have to lie to me." She said, her voice almost breaking. She swallowed against the pain in her chest and continued. "Morgrean told me that it would kill me without the antidote, Ryonen."
He didn't speak. A heavy silence fell between them as Ariana felt her stomach knotting and cramping. She was about to break it herself when his voice rang out, startling her. "I'm so sorry" he said again, "I can't help you. I have no idea how to brew the antidote but, even if I did, it would be impossible. If it's what I suspect it is, I wouldn't have any way to access the ingredients." He paused, his voice sounding anguished. "They can only be found in the Northern Kingdom where it originated from," he explained, "where-"
Ariana stopped him, realization dawning on her. "Where Malor's kingdom is." She finished. She felt sick to her stomach, both literally and figuratively. How was she going to survive if no one had any way of getting the ingredients needed for the antidote, she thought miserably.
Ryonen pulled her from her thoughts. "We'll figure something out." He said, and he sounded so desperate that it broke her heart.
She didn't reply, her own terror keeping her from saying anything. She knew that Ryonen meant well, but she also knew that the clock was ticking for her. What had Morgrean said?  'It's clearly beginning to manifest itself, you'll die if you don't get the antidote soon'. She knew this was true; she could feel herself growing worse by the second. Her limbs were now racing with fiery pain, the heat of it moving to her chest and bubbling there. She tried moving her head but even that hurt her.
Ariana was vaguely aware that Ryonen was leaning over her, his face inches away from hers. "Listen to me," he was saying now, "I'm taking you to the Eastern Kingdom, just like we planned. Someone there is bound to know what to do." His voice was coming in and out of focus in her ears. "Ariana?" He asked.
"Okay." She answered, barely being able to muster the energy to utter the single word. She took in a breath that tore through her lungs painfully. "Sleep." She said simply, her eyes closing shut. She didn't fight it, the heaviness of sleep seeming to numb her to the pain in her body. She welcomed it, even. The grogginess was taking her over and she never heard what Ryonen said in response. She was already long gone by then.
* * * * *
Ariana was aware that she was being carried. The pain in her body woke her up as it flared at every movement. She cried out, but the dryness in her voice muted it, only pushing out air. She opened her eyes, seeing Ryonen's face swimming above her with the midday light framing it, his serious features pointed toward the path ahead of him. He had her cloak wrapped around her tightly, the fabric bunched where his hands would have made contact with her body. Even then, the pressure was enough to make the fire inside of her throb terribly.
Ryonen seemed to sense a change in her because he looked down, his green eyes so full of anguished worry that she could hardly bear to look at him. In his eyes she saw the truth; that she was as close to death as she had ever been in her life. "You're awake." He said, his voice tense but relieved.
She cleared her throat and flinched at the pain. "Yeah." She said, and her voice was even more hoarse than before.
Ryonen's brows wrinkled. "Do you need water?" He asked her.
She nodded and then stopped. The movement was jarring to her throbbing head. Ryonen gingerly adjusted his grip before kneeling down to set Ariana down at the foot of a tree. He leaned her against the rough bark as gently as he could but she still felt the immense pain of the heat rising up inside her. As soon as he had her steady, he reached into his satchel and pulled out the leather canteen. It was bulging, the brown material bloated with water. He unscrewed the cap, bringing it to her lips before pouring some water down her throat. The cool liquid instantly coated her dry mouth and she felt the brief relief of it before her throat grew increasingly hot.
She hurriedly turned her face away from Ryonen, the movement barely registering to her compared to the agony that was now overtaking her. She cried out, her stomach cramping instantly as the water hit it.
"What is it?" Ryonen exclaimed. He tried to touch her arm but she screamed. He pulled his hand away abruptly.
"It hurts." She could barely speak but she managed it.
His face was stony as he looked at her. He quietly put the canteen back away. "You can't have water." He said, mostly to himself. "Which means you probably can't have food, either."
Ariana didn't say anything, her head was spinning and she couldn't seem to focus on what he was saying. No, she thought, trying desperately to fight what she knew was coming. She opened her mouth to tell Ryonen, but darkness overtook her.
The next time she opened her eyes, it was evening. She couldn't see the sky clearly, but she could tell that the light was dimming. It would be night within an hour or two. She was propped up against the tree still, her back falling into the curve of the trunk so that it seemed to hug her. She was about to open her mouth to call for Ryonen when his voice sounded next to her.
"I'm here." He said. His voice sounded rough.
"I can't see you." She whispered. She didn't have the strength to turn her head and she didn't dare try. The fire was coursing through her veins even worse now, her entire being seeming to be consumed by it. She heard a rustling and then Ryonen was in front of her, making sure to keep his distance and not touch her. "Are we-" she stopped. "Did we go anywhere or are we in the same place as before?"
Ryonen bit his lip and didn't answer. After some time, he said, "No, Ariana, we didn't go anywhere." She heard something in his voice that made her scared.
"Why?" He swallowed and she swore she saw apprehension in his features. "Why?" She repeated.
"You aren't well enough." He finally conceded. He brought a hand up and ran it over his face.
Silence stretched between them and Ariana let herself consider this. She knew what he was saying, or, that is, what he wasn't willing to say. She let her eyes close as her thoughts wandered away from here. Her mother was somewhere out there, depending on Ariana to find her. If she died, what would happen to her? It was Ariana's fault that she was involved in all of this in the first place. She was even more scared for her since being held captive by the goblins; she knew now that these creatures weren't merciful and, if Malor was anything like Morgrean, Ariana had good reason to be scared. Morgrean had been downright ruthless, and Ariana hated to think of the terrible things that Malor would do to her mom. For a brief moment, she wondered if she was even still alive, but then pushed the thought away. No, she thought to herself, she had a feeling that Malor was just using her to lure Ariana to him, like a trap. He would lose any leverage he had if he killed her.
Ariana suddenly swallowed against the pain and jutted out her jaw defiantly. "Listen to me, Ryonen." She said, putting every ounce of willpower she had left into her words. "You have to promise me that you'll save my mom."
Ryonen paled at her words. "Ariana-"
She shook her head and then gasped at the throbbing pain from the motion. "No." She said, and he stopped trying to speak over her. "I'm not going to make it." She said, the truth of her words washing over her even as she said them.
"We might still make it." Ryonen said, though he didn't sound sure; he sounded defeated.
Ariana closed her eyes against the aching in her body. "We won't." She whispered, then felt strength return to her with her determination. "You have to promise me, Ryonen. Please. She can't be left alone here when I'm gone."
Ryonen didn't answer and Ariana opened her eyes to search his face. He looked pained, his hand over his mouth as he kneeled in front of her. After what felt like forever, he finally spoke. "I promise." He said, his voice breaking at the last word.
She felt a calm start to spread through her. Good, she thought, closing her eyes again. Ryonen wouldn't let her down, he would be there for her mom even when she couldn't. She lay there, the warm breeze caressing her face, and thought back on everything in her life that led her to this moment. She had never fit in at home, not really. Maybe it was always her fate to wind up in Atheil; she had never made plans for the future, never tried to make friends, or even thought about moving away. This whole time she should've been doing those things and, yet, she never even tried. She couldn't help but think that she was meant to meet Ryonen and be swept into this world of magic and adventure. It's just too bad it had to end like this. She took a shuddering breath and lay her head against the rough bark of the tree, her mind starting to quiet until everything around her felt hushed. Maybe it wasn't so bad, she thought, being someplace so beautiful like this, at the end of it all.