Maiden of Dawn by Amelia Black

Author:Amelia Black
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Amelia Black
Published: 2024-05-15T00:00:00+00:00

She tried the latch. Locked. She slammed her shoulder into it. A sharp pain quaked down her side. The door shuddered, and the hinges creaked. She slammed her body again, and her sweaty fingers slipped from the iron latch as despair took root at the base of her throat. I have to knock it down. Her fists clenched. I can’t give up. I have to keep trying. I have to—

“Maeve!” Bismuth’s voice was getting closer.

She unlaced the leather pouch on her belt and dug through her meager healing supplies. She needed more time. An orange petal was nestled among the herbs like an offering. Gods above and below. She recalled Alistair’s unexpected hug before they left. They must’ve wanted to give me this without anyone noticing. Maeve lifted the petal. A sense of trepidation danced in her veins. It could be poison. She rubbed her fingers into the petal’s flesh. But Bismuth said it keeps you hidden.

Maeve shoved the petal into her mouth, and it stuck to her soft palate. Bismuth rounded the corner. Maeve froze. Bismuth looked right at her. She’ll drag me back to that room and lock the door. I can’t be a prisoner again. Bismuth scanned the hallway, and confusion and wrath contorted her features. She huffed and turned away, and Maeve released her held breath. She didn’t see me?

Maeve discovered her body shimmered like heat rising from a hot stone. I can’t be seen for now. She slid her hands across the wooden door. I could melt the latch if I had access to Juno’s power. She rechecked her pouch, but I must have something I can use. Her fingers brushed against a brown five-pointed leaf. Heimenta could work. Typically, heimenta was mashed into a thick paste and applied to the lower back during childbirth or pregnancy. I made some for Bertha when Lenora was born. But when it was chewed, vigor and strength fueled the body akin to a reckless and wild mule. She spat the flower petal onto the floor and replaced it with a leaf of heimenta. The smoky flavor of the herb sang through her teeth.

She pressed herself against the door. This time, when she held the latch for leverage and struck her body into it, the pain in her shoulder barely registered. The wood groaned. She stepped back and pressed her boot beneath the latch. A good kick. That’s all I need. She drove the heel of her other foot into the ground, and her veins pulsed like a thunderstorm. Emboldened by the heimenta, she kicked below the handle. Something cracked. Without a second thought, she barreled into the room.

A family of dust motes drifted through the shadowy air. From the hallway’s light, the floor glistened with blackened, dried blood and pooled and congealed around a chair at the center of the room. Gregor’s head lolled forward. Someone tied a rope around his wrists and torso. His fingers were flat on the arms of the chair and bound together in rust-colored bandages.

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