Blood Marked: StarHaven Sanctuary Book Three by Tera Lyn Cortez

Author:Tera Lyn Cortez [Cortez, Tera Lyn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-03-05T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The first thing to register next was a great pain in my chest and the feeling that I still couldn't breathe. Every breath I tried to take skipped into my lungs and rushed right back out again. On the next exhale, I managed to groan in protest.

“Oh, my goddess! Leah? Are you okay? Can you hear me?”

“Uhumph...”

“Crap. I'm sorry. Are you alright?”

The effort it took to force my eyes open astounded me. If I could've kept them closed and slept for a month, I would have. Every piece of my body needed the rest. It took my magic to give me enough of a boost to wave him off.

“Stop it.” The mumble barely seemed audible to my own ears, but his hands left me and there were no more questions for a minute.

Cracking my eyelids, I tried to figure out my location. Even the dim light burned, but I recognized the altar cave. Had the entire preceding experience really been just a dream? As a muscle cramp wracked my body and my fists clenched in pain, a smooth, hard object entered my awareness. Jerking my arm up, I pried my eyes open to see a red crystal in my fist.

Rick saw me struggling to sit up and offered his assistance. Leaning once more against the cave wall, I stared at the opaque rock. Had this thing been giving off the red laser beam of light at the bottom of the ocean in my dream?

Before I could tell Rick, I leaned to the side and vomited water. A lot of water. Choking and gagging it all out left tears streaming from my eyes.

“Water, not salty,” I croaked out. “Please.”

He grabbed the backpack from the floor next to him and rummaged through it, coming up with a partial water bottle. The first sip made me gag, but I managed to keep it down. After another couple of sips, the urge to throw up passed completely, but every breath burned my throat and lungs. My ribs ached and my brain felt fuzzy.

“Are you okay?”

“Maybe?” I wanted to laugh, but it hurt too bad.

“I had the weirdest dream.” I couldn't seem to force my voice to any level above a whisper. “Why are you up here? Are you done with dinner already?” Time didn't seem to make sense.

I ran my hands over my face, trying to rub the weariness away, and they came away sticky. Blood stained my palms and the inside of my fingers. No memory of a bloody injury surfaced.

My surprise must have shown on my face, because Rick offered an explanation. “You had a bloody nose when I got here.”

“Ah. Okay. Um...”

Finding a way to explain what I just experienced wound up being harder than one would think. My brain just didn't want to work. My mouth couldn't or wouldn't cooperate with the few coherent thoughts my brain did form.

“We need to get you down to a bed to rest. Then you probably need some food and medical attention. I'm going to carry you back.

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