The Grey Blood #2

Promises

"On the couch," Alicia orders and Oliver helps her set Galya down on the frayed seating. Alicia kneels over the woman and pushes the auburn strands of hair from her face to reveal the dirt and blood, Galya somewhere beneath it all. "Galya, talk to me. Are you hurt?"

Blinking her red-rimmed eyes open, Galya looks up at Alicia, her mouth opening and closing, but no words come forth.

Oliver passes a flask of water over Alicia's shoulder and she takes it, helping the girl drink with a hand cupping the back of her neck.

Once she's drank, Galya lets out a groan and squeezes her eyes shut. "My fucking head."

Dampening a cloth that Oliver brings her, Alicia settles it over Galya's grimy forehead before sitting back on her heels. Questions burn on her tongue, but she lets Galya get her bearings first.

She looks around, meeting Alicia's eye, then Oliver's. "You two look like you're enjoying your time away from the capital," she murmurs with a wry smile stretching her dry lips.

Oliver snorts and walks into the bedroom.

Alicia presses the flask of water back to Galya's lips and urges her to drink more. "Did you find Samantha?" Alicia asks, knowing that Galya took off after Sam a few days before Oliver and Alicia did.

"I did," she replies, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

Oliver enters the room again, tucking an undershirt into his trousers. "How is she?"

Galya shakes her head and tries to sit up. Helping her, Alicia notes how dirty and torn her clothes are. Wherever she came from, she was out in the wild for a lengthy amount of time. "I knew you'd go after her, Oliver. I know about the debt you think you owe her."

"Well, here I am. Tell me what's going on."

"It's Sam." Galya cringes as she shifts. "She needs our help."

"You need to rest," Alicia interrupts her but Galya shakes her head again.

"No," she argues and grabs Alicia's arm. Her fingers dig into Alicia's skin, the grip sure to leave bruises. "I need to tell you what's going on. It's the Ghuls."

Alicia pries Galya's fingers from her arm with a wince as she talks.

"The Ghuls want to die." Galya uses the damp cloth to wipe the dirt from her face, her gaze taking on a haunted look. "They tell Sam that they want to find a way to destroy themselves, and with them, the entirety of the Reaper's Curse. They claim killing the Ghuls will kill the Grey Bloods."

Glancing over at Oliver, she studies him as he gets the fire going, his back to them. His shoulders are tight and Alicia knows that Galya's words affect him as much as they do her.

"They want this?" Alicia asks.

"It's what they claim. Apparently living life as an immortal creature in a tomb isn't what they were promised." Green eyes flick to Oliver. "They were betrayed."

"Where are they?" Alicia's question draws Galya's gaze back to her.

"North. They're searching for something. They thought they'd find it in Yorvik Keep but they didn't. They're continuing north, scouring ancient ruins."

Yorvik Keep. Alicia remembers it too well. She remembers Oliver on the ground, blood darkening his scalp, the remains of a young boy coating the charred, stone walls of the tunnel.

She shudders even thinking about it.

"Why aren't you with them?" Oliver asks, shattering the vivid memories.