you okay?”
She doesn't answer. My leg pain grows stronger, and I take a brief rest and feel down the injured leg. My hand brushes something hard, and after further investigation, I realize my thigh bone is sticking through the skin. I retch to one side, my stomach swirling with unpleasantness. It takes all my effort to still the cyclone of nerves in my stomach and concentrate on Elan.
A dull orange light shines down, and hot breath blows from above. I gaze up to see the dragon made from lava peering over us, its mouth open in a half grin. Its nostrils flare as it takes in our scent.
I wave a dismissive hand at it. “Go away! You’ve caused enough damage.”
It keeps looming over the top, its black eyes focused on us, watching us as though it's on guard.
The ground vibrates in an even rhythm, and I ignore it, positive one of the lava monsters is stomping over the land. Pushing aside my pain, I stagger up to Elan’s nose and tap it with an open palm, trying to awaken her. When this doesn’t work, I shake it slightly.
“Elan. Elan, are you okay?” Urgency grows in my voice with each passing second. Not again. I don't need her to be injured again or worse. I push the thought of worse options out of my mind, not allowing myself to think along that path.
Shoving my hand against the soft part of her nose, I inject healing power into her. As no lava creatures’ claws have struck her, I hope this will help her mend. I repeat this several times, hoping for a result before the ground-shaking monster comes close. Even when I know the beast is leaning over me, I don’t stop. I continue injecting the healing power until I’m ripped off the ground by an enormous hand, and pain blasts through my body from the movement of my leg. The ground shrinks beneath me as Elan’s eerily still body accompanies me.
- Chapter Twelve -
* * *
Wrapped in the massive hand, we’re carried for many ground-stomping paces. The large hand opens, revealing the inside of the same cave and crushing my spirit. We thought we had escaped. We tried, yet here we are, back where we started—trapped inside the cave guarded by the lava monster with no way out. Making it worse, we are now injured. My body screams when we're tossed onto the ground with a thud. Pain soars from my broken leg up to my hip and straight down to my foot. I crush my eyes shut and hiss through my teeth.
The ground beneath me shakes violently at an even tempo. Small rocks break loose as I can only imagine Surt stomping away, surly after we nearly escaped. Eventually, the vibrations fade, and I wrestle with the agony shooting through my body from the shakeup. When I get a hold on my pain, I pry my eyes open only to find Elan’s motionless body slumped next to me, which fills me with stress. The rough treatment didn’t even wake her.
“Elan! Are you with me?”
Her beautiful golden-scaled body doesn’t move, and I struggle to keep my hopes up. I need to get to her, but first, I need to pay a little attention to my own condition. I’m no use to her injured. Being a Valkyrie, I have fast healing powers, but the next part isn’t going to be pleasant. I have to do something about this leg.
Rolling up and sitting is a considerable effort. When that round of pain subsides, I grit my teeth and gather the courage to feel down my injured leg again. My hand grazes the broken bone protruding from the skin, and I cry with pain. Amazingly, my leather pants are still mostly intact over the fracture. The lump from the bone is evident through the fabric, with only the smallest hole where a bone fragment sticks through. I grimace. This is going to hurt.
My breath catches as I run my hand over the hole again, feeling the sharpness of the protruding bone. Somehow, I have to get this leg straightened so it can heal. I need something to grasp the other end, and Elan is out cold. At least, I hope that's all that is wrong with her. I shove the negative thought out of my brain and focus.
A dark shadow passes over the cave, drawing my attention. I'm confident that I'm looking at a part of the lava monster blocking the hole again.
After clenching