Battle cries permeated the air and the smell of smoke and death invaded her nose. The Renai had retreated somewhere, far into the depths of her body, taking her strength with it. Her leg throbbed where a deep gash bled out, placed there by a Toraveru’s sword. Luck had kept the blade from cutting through bone before she removed his head, but unable to move, lying on a bed of frozen dead leaves, she knew her luck had run out.
Hired by a trading caravan for protection, she hadn’t expected the attack, and many of the travelers had been slaughtered. Lorelei had saved a few before the leader of the band of Toraveru attacked her and led her into the forest, far away from the transport. She had been hired because of her black wings, a sign of the disease called the Renai that marked those who had it with a reputation for cruelty, violence and an unpredictable disposition. It also gave those with the disease some well known advantages, making them excellent swords for hire, but lately her strength to control it was fading and her acute senses had failed her in sensing the attack. Their deaths were her fault. She deserved to die here alone.
She drifted out of consciousness, coming to terms with her death in the quiet moments of sleep. Each time she woke it was harder to stay aware. As her eyes fluttered open, her body involuntarily jerked at the site of a tall man, his black cape flapping in the brisk winter wind and his majestic black wings unfurled. His black eyes were set in a strong handsome face and his attention was set upon her. There was only one other in the area with black wings, and when she realized this in her weakened haze, she breathed a sigh of relief. Silently she thanked the gods that he had found her.
He rushed to her side and looked her over, stopping at her leg. The muscles in his jaw twitched and his eyebrows furrowed. That look told her that he knew how serious this was. Her heart skipped when he gazed into her equally raven colored eyes, trying to keep his concern from her. Kneeling down beside her, he took one of her hands in his. “Lorelei, I’m so sorry. I was outnumbered and couldn’t get to you right away.”
Lorelei closed her eyes again when she felt the soft leather of his other gloved hand press against her face, almost completely covering it. Her arm shook as she willed her hand towards his face, but missed, and instead landed in his short blonde hair. Running her fingers through it was always hard, never being able to take her gloves off when she was near him, but she managed. “Airik.” A cough jerked her chest up. “I’m dying. Please let me have what I’ve wanted so badly.” Without waiting for his response she let her arm drop from his head and started removing one of her gloves.
Too weak to make much progress, she couldn’t stop her hands from trembling when he grabbed them up and made them disappear in his. The force behind his grip told her that he wasn’t letting go of his hold, or of her. The man never cried, but she watched the expression on his face turn from tearless despair to determination. He leaned in closer, careful to leave a fist sized gap between them. His breath mingled with hers as he whispered in her ear. “I won’t give you what you want because I refuse to let you die.”
The force that connected them pulled against her will, and the heat radiating off of him made it even worse. The darkness that grew inside her wanted her to throw out all of her resistance aside and become what they were meant to be, together. If she had any energy left she would have closed the gap and kissed him, disregarding the rules he had set in place to keep her safe, to preserve that last bit of light left in her soul. But she suspected he knew she couldn’t do it or else he wouldn’t be this close. Before she could think on it anymore he stood and took his cape off. “I know someone who can help. But it’s in a village and we could run into trouble.” He leaned back down and laid his cape out on the ground beside her and muttered under his breath. “Just let them try and stop me.”
Gently placing his arms underneath her, he carefully lifted her and winced when she cried out in pain. “It’s going to be ok. I promise.” After she was resting on his cape he leaned in again. “This will hurt, but I’ll try to fly as steady as I can. Are you ready?”
Not able to push out any words she merely nodded. A worried smile stretched across his face as he gently folded in her limp wings, bundled her up in his cape and easily lifted her up. She felt so unsubstantial in his strong arms and safe. Falling into sleep again she felt him lift off, stroking the wind with his wings, his shoulder muscles flexing as he began the journey that would either save her or take both their lives.