A Beautiful Sacrifice

Chapter Nineteen

At first the sun was a tingle and then it became a slow burn. His feet walked on the floor, encased in his leather shoes and yet they felt like a holiday maker’s feet walking on the hot sand with no shoes. It hurt him but he paid no attention to it. For as long as he could he could he walked under the trees, he walked behind hills and boulders of the forest but that luxury soon came to an end. The forest ended and a long and winding, exposed road stood before him. The road was in a secluded place with only fields around him and yet it was so deserted that not a single animal was about. There was no bleating sheep or grazing cows and he wondered why on earth these fields were left unused when there were many poor people who would love the chance to work the farms for money.

                It was a mystery to him but one he could not dwell on. He wrapped his coat around his torso; the sun was burning his skin even with his clothes on and he felt the prickle of the rays but he had to try to use anything he could as a shield against them. Sweat was starting to form, beading up on his forehead. He could feel the dampness of it under his arms and the minute his coat was pulled around his body he felt suffocated with the heat he could not escape.

                He had started off on his journey with his hands held away from his body and he used his palms to feel the magic. To feel when where one had trod but as he inched along the derelict road he soon had flung his arm over his eyes in a bid to block them from the sun. He had no choice in that moment to roll back his sleeves and use the skin of his forearms to help differentiate between the particles and that was an advanced skill to an already high levelled gift. Feeling particles with the palm was hard, but to use another part of the body was practically unheard of. Used initially only by those who had lost their arms due to fights or capture by enemies, Perttu had learnt this skill so he would never be caught of guard. He was no thankful that he had.

                But the sun soon burned at his exposed flesh and he gritted his teeth as it melted his skin and blisters formed. It was not even mid-morning at this point. He knew that Lily would be asleep at this moment and when night rose she would wake. He dreaded to feel his shoulder then. He dreaded to think what would happen to her when the night came. He pushed on and took another step, and another, down this winding road that lead to a place he didn’t know.

                He was alone. Getting weaker and weaker by the second. Knowing he would have a fight at the end of this he started to think realistically. He needed time to recover, even if only partially before the fight; but could he justify even an hour’s sleep to get Lily back? He didn’t want to leave her a moment longer but he could be killed so easily if he went in weak. And then that would be her life lost. His father loved her as a daughter but he would not leave his mate nor risk her. Lily would be alone. The soldiers may go for her, try to save her, but the full moon was in six nights. They would find that the priority not Lily and she would be left in hell for longer. He cried out in frustration as he wondered what would happen to her at the going down of the sun. He found himself wanting to feel the sun burn. When he knew the sun was attacking him, he knew Lily to still be asleep. When the sun gave him a reprieve, he knew Lily would be faced with torture. Why had had he gotten involved with her? Why had he ensured that the village keep their bargain and bring her to him? If he had simply accepted his lonely life, with no Bride, she would back in the village. She would more than likely be meeting suitors for her hand in marriage by now. She would not be in a stranger’s lair and she would not be in danger. She would be happy and that was an emotion he had yet to instil in her.