Within the Walls

Chapter 36

"Larissa!" I grip her under the shoulders, using all the strength I can muster to drag her out of the tunnel and into Sneya's room.

"He stabbed me!" she wheezes, spluttering up a wad of crimson saliva onto the marble, trembling.

"Don't talk, Larissa." I lean her against the wall by the bookshelf, tossing my sword off my back and shrugging off my coat. I yank the knife from my belt and used it to cut a strip of fabric from my shirt. "We just have to stem this bleeding and you will be okay."

"No, Elle." Larissa places a hand over mine, bringing her blue eyes up to mine, laced with desperation. "It's okay."

"What? You'll be okay!" I say, bile burning my throat. "I will not just let you die."

"But you have to, Elle." She reaches out a wavering hand and catches the tear trailing down my cheek with the pad of her thumb. "There is no helping me."

"But I can help you!" I yell, shaking, my own breathing erratic.

"Elle, stop!" With her remaining strength, she grips my shoulder, jolting me. "Please stop!"

I exhale heavily, shoulders slumping forward.

Larissa is going to die.

The realisation hits me as I take in the blood pouring from the wound, pooling at her side. Whoever stabbed her removed the knife from her. Blood, so much blood.

I clutch her hand, gently helping her lie her head in my lap. She breathes short and shallow, and her eyes widen, brimming with tears.

"Elle, you must stop him. You must stop him."

"Stop who?"

"The real enemy."

Then the rapid rising and falling of her chest steady, and she lifts her chin up to me. "Sing for me," she whispers.

"Sing?"

I am not one to sing. I used to sing along with my father to the song that he sang to my mother before Isabelle was born. He would also sing it to all of us as he busied himself in the kitchen, or as we trekked through the Forest.

If this is Larissa's last request, damn me if I do not grant it to her. And so, I draw in a quivering breath and open my mouth to sing.

"She plays in the forest. Bare feet and loose hair. He and the wild butterflies chase her together. They want to have her. For she is life. She is the start of something new."

My voice cracks as I choke out the last line, a tear running down my cheek, dripping onto Larissa's forehead. Larissa's lips pull into a flicker of a smile as she closes her eyes. At last, she lets out one last gasp for air and her hand in mine relaxes.

Only then do I allow the sobs to come.

----

I press a kiss onto Larissa's cold forehead as I lay her head on a pillow, rising to a shaking stand. My lip trembles as I avert my eyes from her pale face to the blood soaking her frock. As my tear-glazed eyes flick back to her face, a wave of anger ignites in my chest. The inferno consumes me until my entire body quivers. I wipe the tears staining my cheeks and scream a curse. Withdrawing the dagger from my belt, I open the tunnel once more, watching with grim determination as the bookshelf slides to the side, hissing on its hinges. I glance around at Larissa one last time, biting back the wave of sobs that threaten me again. I draw my shoulders back, blow out my cheeks and march forward, walking into the black abyss blind.

The bookshelf shudders as it closes over the tunnel opening, the sound bouncing off the surrounding walls. My eyes strain, desperate to pick up any pinpricks of light. But darkness swallows me whole. I press forward. I only walk about ten feet when my foot drops and I almost tumble down a flight of steps. As I correct myself, I brush my fingers against the wall and follow the winding, descending staircase. The steps are so narrow my shoulders tense at the constriction. My mouth dries and my pulse quickens.