Chains of Fate

Chapter Thirty-Five

Chapter Thirty-Five

My eyes opened to a white tent for the second time. I was resting on a wide, comfortable cot with blankets wrapped around me. A figure sat beside me, and it took my eyes a moment to adjust.

Synnove's dark eyes bored into me, and her delicate eyebrows rose when she saw that I was awake. "You're alive."

"I haven't heard that one before." I tried to laugh, but my voice felt hoarse. "What is that monstrous heat on me?" I asked, trying to rub my hands. I realized with a start that I was strapped down to the cot, as if I were some wild animal. And my hands were bandaged so much they looked like clouds.

"They are for your protection." She nodded to the straps. "I've taken you and Hadrian to my caravan for safekeeping."

My shoulders relaxed. "You found him then," I said.

"And you." Synnove adjusted the golden bangles around her wrist, and I noticed that she was wearing different clothing from when I last saw her. Her trousers, short-sleeved blouse, and knee-high boots were all black. It was disconcerting to see her in such a dark—and normal—outfit. "You survived a unicorn's touch," she said. "That isn't a feat many can boast of."

"I don't really feel like boasting," I said dryly, indicating with my chin at my bandaged hands. They throbbed with pain, and my entire body felt as if it had been submerged in boiling water. "I suppose I'll never have to leave my house for sun again," I joked. "Is there a reason that unicorn tried to kill me?"

She smirked. "It wasn't trying to kill you."

"If burning me alive doesn't mean it was trying to kill me, then what does it mean?"

Synnove crossed her legs on the cushion beside me. "Unicorns are vain, but not evil. They relish in being admired, so they mask their true appearance—the form of a burning volcanic rock—and lure creatures to them. Unicorns don't intend to kill the creatures they attract, but their illusionary magic only holds for so long."

I realized that this world was becoming more sick and twisted as time went by.

"You're lucky I came in time to save you," Synnove added.

Shula, awaken!

The words came back to me in a rush. Didn't Eden shout that name when the Barghest was threatening to kill us?

And weren't those words yelled by a familiar, feminine voice?

I sighed, giving Synnove a look of exasperation. "Why couldn't you have told me you were the Fire Harbinger when you first met me? I mean, you already knew Hadrian."

Synnove didn't look surprised—as I knew she wouldn't. She knew exactly who and what she was. She lowered her gaze to the floor. "I'm sorry," she said, "but I cannot connect myself to others."

"Okay," I snapped, making my throat hurt in the process. "I have had so much of this 'connecting to humans' crap that it's making me really, really tired. Of course you can connect yourself to others. For Aria's sake, I did! And I never left my house for two years except to shop for groceries."

The dancer's eyebrows drew together in confusion.

I heaved a sigh. I supposed that ranting wasn't going to get me anywhere with her. Especially if I was ranting about myself. "Sorry." I felt an itch in my hand, but I was unable to scratch it. Blasted itch. "What do you mean that you can't connect yourself to others?" I asked in a more reasonable tone, though I couldn't keep my irritation out of it. "Do you have some fear? Or is it the fact that you have to do so much to save the world? I suppose it could also be the fact that there's a chance you could die..."