Mercy & Fire

19. Survivor's Grief Relived

With water dripping from my hair to my tattered clothes, I strained to hear as best I could.

The steps approached, and I could hear faint voices float toward me.

"He's in a bad state, sire. I'm not sure he'll last through the night in this cold, and the nurse said he's not in any condition to keep much food down at this point..." The voice was hesitant and suggestive.

"Would you deny a dying man his last meal?" Another man's  voice resounded in my ears, making my heart rate slow.

His tone was sharp and irritated in the same way when Roselena would whine or argue with him growing up. I could probably predict that he had a dissatisfied frown dragging down his face.

I turned around and faced the tree I was hiding behind with hope ballooning in my chest. Creeping to look around the edge of the tree, my eyes landed on the same displeased frown I had spent the last decade of my life rolling my eyes at.

Like a baby, I began to cry with a wobbling chin and finally revealed myself. I blindly made my way toward Jonas where he was crouching down with a handful of water skins, and barely registered his startled expression.

As if getting hit by realization, his expression dropped into one of shock and hope as he stood across the small creek. He was quick to step into the water as I dropped myself in, shoes and all, to get to him as quickly as possible.

The man behind him suddenly held up a sword and pointed it toward me despite the good distance between us. Grabbing onto him and steadying myself as the freezing water rushed past my shins, I could only stand their with an undoubtedly red face.

"Adelia?" He questioned as if he were unsure if he was looking at a corpse or not.

"Jonas..." I forced my voice out through a tight throat.

He didn't hesitate to fold me into his arms, and feeling the comfort of someone familiar I could trust, I sagged into him. A month ago, I'd have fake vomited at the idea of hugging this man, but today it didn't matter. For the first time in almost a week, I felt safe and secure.

"How long have you been out here by yourself?!" He asked as he petted my greasy, wet hair.

I tried to speak but it came out garbled and weak.

"Okay, okay. You're fine now, okay?" He patted my back and slowly pulled back to inspect me for injuries. "You look like hell."

The light, relieved smile on his lips made me feel better as I rubbed my practically tearless face. I must have underestimated how dehydrated I was.

Sniffling through my desert dry nose, I tried to calm myself down.

"I thought you were dead." I admitted to him as he stepped onto the edge of the river.

He grinned as he pulled me up after him. "Come on. Father and I are far too resourceful for that, and it seems you are too, Del."

The nickname brought me comfort as I held onto the sleeve of his coat. He quickly took it off and made me slip into it.

Jonas looked a lot gruffer than I was used to. Facial hair was growing on his jaw and upper lip, and he looked as if he had aged a couple of years in the span of a few weeks. Despite that, he looked like a male version of Roselena with green eyes. Seeing his face gave me enough comfort to feel newfound strength bloom in my limbs.

"Come. We were just finishing up hunting before sundown. We should return to camp so you can rest." His eyes seemed to scan the area almost hopefully.

"She's not here." I told him. Then I sneered to myself. "That infamous man took her. The red snake, or whatever."