17 Chapter 17:

〰 Proximo 〰

"You despise me. Throwing us aside like we are nothing more than the shit on the ground!" Valrun yelled at Hrudra as she simply sat on the ground with an emotionless mask. "You expected us to die after all that time huh? Oh, my Hrudra. I made a promise and I intend to keep it." She hisses at her when Hrudra tilted her head and popped several bones in her neck.

It was as if the damned woman was challenging Valrun, knowing that it would rile her up. I wished I could read into that mind of hers, but it's been long blocked from me.

Fiero was sitting on a tree trunk, getting some rest since he wasn't used to walking long distances. He breathed heavily and allowed the sun to soak his pale skin.

The man was a soothsayer which meant he knew what was going to happen. Fiero however, is someone I've heard of before.

He is from the old legends just as Hrudra is. Both of the old as dirt, however, Hrudra beat him by hundreds of years and he has only been granted the fullest of his power. The man may look weaker than an infant, but he was a deadly druid and strategist.

I was even awed in his presence, though I wish we could have met in better circumstances. He may have saved and protected Hrudra, but the way he served her up on a platter for us seemed a little off to me.

And I wanted Hrudra.

Was this a way to get on our side?

What was his end goal?

"Answer me!" Valrun screams angrily, Hrudra not even batting an eye and staring out into the forest past us. I stared at her, my own angry surfacing within seconds.

I wanted to join Valrun, but something about how Hrudra was acting told me there was something off. As angry as I was, we were still mates and the guilt that ate up at me prevented me from lashing out at her.

My demon kept me from hurting the woman that was already injured enough though I felt my fist itching to hit something. Anything at this point.

I couldn't even describe what I felt about chasing after this woman after the last few months. I barely could remember much of what happened other than the grief and fury I felt when she slipped through my grasps several times.

It was antagonizing; she was antagonizing.

"Won't answer huh? You're too proud to say anything to me. That's it isn't it?" Valrun kneeled down and snatched Hrudra's bloody collar and forced her to look. "When we get back to the kingdom, I will punish you then hand you over to the council. They're waiting for you and my, have you done many bad things." Her grin felt cold and dark as Hrudra narrowed her eyes at Valrun.

Before either of us realized what she was going to do, Hrudra slammed her face into Valrun's causing her to fall on the ground with a hard thump. I shoved Hrudra on the ground and held her down while helping Valrun.

The action pissing my inner demon off but I ignored him and thought back to everything that Hrudra has done to me and how Valrun has helped me these last few months.

"Are you alright?" I ask in a gruff voice when Valrun pulled her hand away and revealed the bloody nose Hrudra gave her. She held her hand out, seeing the crimson in her hand and shaking her head in anger.

"Just fucking wonderful." She spat at Hrudra. Hrudra didn't say a word, merely sitting back up and wiping her face against her dirty shoulder.

Valrun turned away and told us that we were going to start walking once again. Fiero nodded, standing gracefully and following after her before I turned to Hrudra and pulled her off the ground.

The electricity that ran through us felt forced and painful when Hrudra glared at Valrun's disappearing form with blood running down her nose. The bandage on her head soaking up in the red liquid but she didn't seem affected by it.

"Come on," I growl, pushing her forward almost making her fall on the ground. Hrudra cursed in a low tone, shifting her shoulders and starting to walk once again.

Fiero glanced back, smiling happily at both of us and waiting for us to catch up. Hrudra still limped terribly, her injured leg not healing or showing signs of improvement, going against the internal anger I felt for her.

"My Goddess. You're bleeding once again. We can't have that can we?" Fiero asks, pulling out a rag and dabbing on Hrudra's stained face and trying to clean the grime away from it. She shoved past him, putting pressure on her wounded leg and wincing slightly.

What had happened that caused so much damage a four-millennium-year-old Valkyrie couldn't heal?

Without another moment, she was limping ahead and closed behind Valrun leaving Fiero to me. He turned to me, smiling dangerously all of a sudden and slowing his pace to match with mine.

"Hello, Proximo. How are you this fine morning?" He asks me with a smile that told me he didn't care at all. I sighed and worked out a muscle on my back with my hand.

"Fine," I grunt out, watching as Hrudra strained against the magical bounds around her wrists.

"You don't sound very fine," Fiero says, butting into my business when I peered at him and stared at him closely.

His vampire like skin made the sun reflect off of him like a lightning bolt as his dark brown hair was tossed into a long elegant braid that made him seem more feminine than anything. The hazel with specks of gold in his eyes were mesmerizing but you could read the crazy that was hidden beneath them.

His tight button up shirt was rolled up to his elbows with black pants and a long green cape wrapped around him like a bubble. The man truly looked like a druid, however, his small frame made him seem very defenseless and innocent when in fact he is almost as powerful as Hrudra was.

"What do you want?" I question him as he tapped his chin and looked up to the sky as if there was an answer.

"Hmm. I want you... to die." He simply tells me, his request sounding utterly ridiculous causing me to bark out a laugh that caught the women's attention.

"Don't be ridiculous, Fiero." I patted him on the shoulder and walked a bit faster to where Hrudra and Valrun were. I glanced over at Hrudra, who was staring at the ground with lowering eyes when Valrun wiped the rest of the blood from her face. Hrudra still clearly affected by the hit she caused but she seemed a bit too proud of her handy work.

"What's up, Proximo?" She asks me when I glanced up at the darkening sky.

"We should find a place to rest in the next few hours." I simply said as Hrudra gritted her teeth but didn't say a word. I knew that she was annoyed since she was clearly in a lot of pain, but forcing her to be in a bit more agony made me feel better despite the fact that my demon was pissed.

Hrudra deserved everything she was getting because of what she put us through.

〰 Hrudra 〰

"Stay put." Valrun snaps, finishing at the ties around my bound wrists with mystical ropes. I only glared at her, not giving any of them the satisfaction of me talking before she pushed me down to the ground and walk away.

My thigh burned with agony when I sighed and shifted to relieve the pressure in my bruised thigh. My shoulder still stung from the gunshot wound that Mira so lovely gave me as well as the injury on my head from crashing into Fiero's home.

My body felt so exhausted after the excruciating walk even though I've done completely worse. Proximo was a fucking bastard since he knew that I was already in so much pain, however, I couldn't even process what I'd done to them.

But it still didn't attest to what he did!

Leaning back against the tree I was tied up against, I closed my eyes and allowed the cold weather to wash over me. It was still mid-November and it was growing colder and colder with each day that passed.

I enjoyed the cool weather when I had the correct clothing, but my clothes were covered in blood and grime. Also, they were wet from the river we crossed earlier and my arm still felt the warmth when Proximo grabbed at my arm before I fell face flat into the water.

Despite everything, my body still reacted around him as if nothing has happened in the last five months. Even my mind was forgiving him though I knew this wasn't the right decision to do since they were going to turn me into the council without care.

For all I know, those children I risked everything to save died once I left.

Once the thought went through my mind, I quickly pushed it away and shook my head with a conflicted look. How could I think of them so low? Just because they've been assholes doesn't mean they're monsters.

I heard someone coming making me perk up a bit, but I continued resting against the tree and kept my eyes closed. Their steps sounded heavy and the person didn't seem to care whether I heard them or not.

"Damn woman." Proximo cursed, kneeling down in front of me before something wrapped around me. His hands brushed against my skin making him recoil back.

The warmth that spread through me caused feelings of anger and what felt like relief. I didn't want to grow close to him again since I was going to escape once again, however, I felt almost excited for no reason.

"Fuck you're cold." I didn't say anything, keeping my breathing calm so he didn't detect anything. Was it bad that I wanted him to touch me again even though I was dirty and my whole goal was stay away from him?

He sighed and sat down beside me, pulling me closer to him so I could steal some of his body heat. I was so surprised by him that I couldn't stop myself from curling into him more.

I could hear him sucking in a breath, stilling as if I was going to open my eyes but they remained shut. The thumping in his chest sped up while he reached over and untied my bound wrists.

Should I try running?

When his hand brushed against my thighs so he could retie the rope around my wrists, pain flared up my body letting me know I wasn't going to move.

Gently, he brought my wrists in my lap and tied them back together. Even though they were tied tightly again, at least my hands were in front of me and saving me the constant pain of my shoulder blades.

His hands tugged the jacket around me tightly and kept his hands there. The comfort of having someone near me almost made me cry in grief but I kept my eyes closed and felt myself drifting to sleep with his body heat warming me up.