Yavanna's hands shook as she poured water for one of her people. Niran's terrifying words still echoed in her mind.
Used. She hated being used. Amory had used her, and even though she knew that Niran had been using her. She felt sick to the stomach knowing that it had been confirmed. And it was something sinister. She could feel it in her bones.
She straightened and surveyed the room with saddened eyes. Coughing and the small chatterings of children filtered in. She swallowed a cough herself only to begin sputtering and choking. The water bucket fell from her hands as her vision quickly went blurry.
Hands helped her to sit somewhere and she felt a hand on her face. The air continued to become thicker and thicker and she struggled to sit upright.
"She's burning with fever." An aged voice said.
Yavanna shook her head. She could heal herself. She breathed deeply to focus her magic but it only set her lungs aflame once more. A cup was pressed to her lips and she only spat it back up.
Everything was so hot. She was dying. But…she'd always heard that when someone died they felt cold. Why was she burning alive?
"She needs air!" Someone snapped and she coughed weakly. Her window. Her haven.
"There's no air in these damned caves, Hengest. What do we care if she dies?"
A cool cloth was pressed to her forehead and their argument faded away. It was too hot and it hurt to breathe. She began to panic when she remembered why she had had bruises on her neck. When she hadn't been able to speak before.
But she wasn't like that anymore. She wasn't weak. They tried once again to give her water but nothing reached her stomach and it only hit the back of her throat. She swore it hissed against her skin.
Voices passed over her, but she ignored them. Breathing. She needed to breathe through her nose first. Her eyes had long closed from the firelight being far too bright. Breathing in, she noticed quickly that it was more difficult to maintain her breath within her lungs.
The oxygen had depleted but the voices and light from beneath her eyelashes were gone. No more cool cloth that sizzled on her forehead. No more soft bed to lie on.
Where was she? Yavanna sat up and squinted her eyes open. She was in her room. It was dark and quiet. Breathing in deeply through her now congested nose, she began to heal herself.
What was strange was that when she teleported using Niran's spell, it became so hard to breathe. But whenever she teleported out of her own control, she could hardly feel it.
It took time, likely too much, but she was eventually able to stand. And when she did, she returned to the well to get water for her people.
Just as she came around the corner she spotted Niran. Her heart stilled and she flew behind the corner. He stayed silent. She was sure he hadn't seen her.
"I know you're there, Uttara." He said and she closed her eyes. "Why are you so afraid?" He sounded genuinely confused.
She sighed and walked away. She wandered through the caves, some of them darker than others. The air remained stale, no matter how many corners she turned.
She felt so numb to it. It was too easy and she hated it. She should be trying to escape..so why wasn't she. Why didn't she feel like a caged animal? She felt more like a housed pet and it made it all the worse.
Returning to her room she grabbed what she would need. Only, she didn't feel a drive to escape. Where would she go? Who was she returning to? Her parents would be furious. She wanted nothing to do with Mirella and Rune. And Niran was becoming dangerous.
She could sense it. Every step closer to him and she became colder. And yet, there was something underlying. Something that felt like a bond. She felt familiar with him,
She swallowed thickly when she remembered his hands on her. No. Despite his strange kindness to her, she would leave. She had to. She would plant a home of her own. She had a little magic. She could manage.
Grabbing her cloak, Yavanna tightened it around her shoulders, despite the fact it was too warm for it. She must still be ill. Why wasn't her healing warding it off?
But she shoved it aside. Whatever it was, it could wait. She didn't have any belongings besides clothes and a brush. She could find those in a market.
She teleported from her room to avoid the guards and grasped the wall beside her. Her head was spinning and she felt a fog descend over her. The cloak would definitely be too warm for her.
The air cooked her lungs as she stumbled to her haven. She swore she could feel fire licking her skin, trailing through her hair. Yet her hands weren't on fire. She'd never become this sick before.
The wind that blew through her window didn't touch her skin. It gusted around her and she trembled, her limbs suddenly shaking. She wanted to heal herself, but everything was temporary.
Looking longingly at the forest below, she closed her eyes and felt the frightening magic build up within her. She wanted to be down there. In fresh air.
She stumbled through the trees, the first growing darker and heavier around her. She didn't know where she was going, she just knew she could run, and run free.
A ragged gasp tore from her throat when she suddenly ran into a tree. Her shoulders were held in place and her eyes went wide in confusion. The breeze touched her heated skin and she stared up at the tree only to see Amory.
"Amory."
His blue eyes pierced into her eyes and she staggered in his grip. His facade was as cold as ever.
"You're here for them?" She asked when he still hadn't spoken. Her voice sounded stuffy in her own mind. Everything was too hot. She knew she was ill, possibly dying, but she wanted him to at least save his people.
"Who?" His voice rumbled and she closed her eyes.
"Your people." She murmured, the world drifting away.
"No." He whispered and she felt his hands cradle her in his arms. "I didn't come for them."