Chapter 11

                                    

                                          
Azmolisk
                          
When the sun rose over Liberty Shores, the poisonous haze had begun to thin out until it was no more.
                          
The golden petals that surrounded us must have dissipated them. I watched as a smaller petal landed on the palm of my hand. Just like the sun, a subtle warmth emanated from it. It was a small amount of heat, but it was comforting after a long cold night being beaten around by Jhilza.
                          
"General, you're...a Gifted?" The words left my lips in fractured breaths as my mind struggled with accepting the fact that the elder man that towered above me was just like me.
                          
The general's eyes skipped over mine and landed instead on his wounded captain. "Once they've had a look at your injuries, you are to immediately take her back to the city."
                          
My heart leapt into the back of my throat. "Answer me, general!"
                          
He turned his back to me and moved towards Jhilza's corpse. With every step he took to her body and away from me, my anger flared like a raging fire caged within my ribs.
                          
"Myst," Innes panted, his fingers gently wrapping around my wrist as he tugged me towards him. "Let's go."
                          
I spun around and gasped, noticing how pale he'd started to look. Pushing my want for answers to the recesses of my mind, I helped Innes up. We limped towards the entrance to the city, silence and heavy breaths being the only things exchanged between us.
                          
Seeing the city in the light of day did little to change what I knew about it. The sunlight had filtered into the cracks of walls and made the murky street waters seem darker and thicker, almost like a vile honey.
                          
I narrowed my eyes at the towering gates, noticing a faint thumping sound. When we neared the city gates, something short of a miracle happened. As if on cue, the large face of a wooden snake threw the gates open and stopped a few breaths away from my face. Were it not for how exhausted I was, my heart would've jumped and I might as well have died from the shock of a battering ram almost flattening my face.
                          
Caledonian troops flooded through the gates, surrounding us. Two burly soldiers, slid Innes off of me and called for a healer.
                          
"Are you alright, dear?" an aged woman in light robes asked. The wave of soldiers parted for her, allowing her to take a look at my state. Her eyes moved from me to the captain, causing her to click her tongue. She wasted no time in tending to his injuries with a small leather kit containing herbs and bandages.
                          
Despite his wounds, Innes refused my offer to sing for him. "My injuries are small," he mumbled as he limped towards his horse before our departure. "Nothing to worry about."
                          
I shook my head. "Innes, you're bleeding out like a slaughtered deer. Let me—"
                          
"No," he growled.
                          
The captain released my wrist and lifted himself off the ground.
                          
I sat behind him this time. My arms were wrapped around his stomach and I could no longer see his face. But when I closed my eyes, I could hear him suck in a sharp breath every few minutes. 
                          
"Innes, please let me help," I pleaded after hearing a soft grunt escape his lips.
                          
His silence was my answer.
                          
I leaned my head against his back, careful not to tighten my arms around him. The lack of his desire to exchange words left me little choice but to wait, rest, and hope that we make it to Luster City in one piece.