He would cry at the despair he felt, but there were no more tears in his eyes. Why bother? All tears had ever done was cause him to be beaten more.
Disgusted, he dragged himself out of the water and staggered up the shoreline. One ankle felt badly sprained. Maybe his arm, too. Not that it mattered.
Nothing mattered now that he knew his real place in the world. Not to be king or prince.
Not even to be human ...
I am damned and cursed. Forever.
With a ragged sigh, he crawled up to the road and paused as he saw how far he'd have to go to get home. Had he been whole, it would have been too damned far.
As he was right now ...
"I'll never make it." Not like this.
Maybe some bandits will ...
What?
Kill him?
He laughed at their imagined stunned dismay when they learned he was immortal then winced as pain tore through his entire body. There was no use in lying here. It wouldn't do any good.
Pushing himself up, he stumbled along the road as best he could.
After a while, he saw a small break in the trees on his right that led to a peaceful, bubbling stream. Needing to rest for a few minutes, he headed for it.
He was so focused on getting a simple drink of water, that he didn't notice the tiny girl with a fishing pole until she shot to her feet with a cry of alarm. She brandished a small knife in front of her with enough skill to say she was well proficient at its use.
For a full minute, he couldn't breathe at the sight of her. She was beauty incarnate. Yet not the same as Ryssa's perfect fragile beauty. With bright tawny skin and thick black hair, she had eyes the color of light, precious greenish-gold. Her red and white gown draped over her lean body and highlighted the fact that she was very nicely proportioned. Lusciously so ... She was also a lot taller than his sister. But she was still tiny in comparison to him.
He'd never in his life seen anything more inviting ... More beautiful or pure.
"Who are you?" she demanded, gripping her knife even tighter. "You touch me and I'll stab you, I swear it."
Styxx frowned as he realized by the way she moved her head and arm that she was completely blind, and he felt like a total shit for terrifying her.
"Please," he said, struggling to breathe through his pain. "Calm yourself. I'm sorry I scared you, and I mean you no harm. Even if I did, I'm in no shape to do anything more than bleed on you in my current condition. I promise you, girl, I have much more to fear from you than you do from me."
She straightened up and finally lowered the knife. "How old are you?"
"Ten-and-six. Now please, I just need to sit for a moment to catch my breath and then I'll leave you to your ... whatever it is you're doing." He sank to his knees and groaned out loud.
She returned her knife to the sheath on her wrist. "Are you all right?"
"Yes..." He hissed as more pain lacerated his middle. "No. Not really. I..."
What was he going to say? He jumped off a cliff, trying to die, only to find out he was immortal?
Not a wise confession by any means.
"My horse threw me."
She tsked in sympathy for him. "You poor thing. Do I need to get you help?"
He caught himself before he laughed at her offer. Really, there was no help for him.
Still, it was one of the kindest things anyone had ever offered where he was concerned. "Thanks, but that's all right. I just need a moment to sit and try to remember how to breathe." Styxx leaned over the water to splash his face and wash some of the blood and sweat away. His hand shook as his stomach heaved from the agony of it all.