Chapter 301 The false Light

Chapter 301: Chapter 301 The false Light

Talia’s POV

My head was pounding when I opened my eyes for what felt like the fifth time.

It was a deep, throbbing ache that pulsed behind my eyes and made every sound feel like a hammer striking against my skull. I could hear shouting, footsteps, and the ragged breathing of someone running. But everything felt distant, like I was underwater.

I tried to open my eyes, but my eyelids were too heavy. I tried to move, but my body would not obey. It was as if I was floating in darkness, and I could not find my way back.

I tried to reach out, to grab onto something solid, but there was nothing there. Just the darkness, pressing in on me from all sides, and the distant sound of my own heartbeat, slow and fading. I felt like I was slipping away, like I was being pulled under by a current I could not fight, and I did not know if I had the strength to swim back up.

Then I heard a man’s voice. It was Kaelen’s voice, and it sounded desperate and broken.

"Talia, stay with me. Please." He said.

I forced my eyes open and I tried to look around.

The world swam into focus, and I realized that I was in Kaelen’s arms, and he was running. His face was pale, and I could see the sweat on his forehead. The tunnel walls were rushing past us fast, and it all looked dark and endless.

"Kaelen," I whispered. "What... what is happening?"

He looked down at me, and I saw the relief in his eyes. "Talia. You are awake."

"I can hear them," I said. "The guards. They sound like they are so close."

He nodded. "They are right behind us, but we are almost out. Just a little further."

I tried to push myself up, but my arms would not hold me, and I was too weak. The blood magic had drained everything from me.

"Kaelen," I said. "Put me down."

He shook his head. "No."

"Kaelen, I can walk," I said again.

"You cannot even hold your head up, Talia," he said. "I am not putting you down."

"Kaelen..." I called.

"Talia," he said, cutting me off. "We are almost at the exit, and I can see the light. Hold still, for a bit, and I will put you down when we get outside."

I turned my head, and I looked ahead. There was a light, glowing faint and golden, spilling through the darkness. It looked like the sun breaking through clouds.

But something about it felt wrong.

"Kaelen," I said. "That does not look like an exit."

He looked at me. "What?"

I squinted, trying to focus. The light was bright, but it was not coming from a tunnel opening. It was coming from a crack in the wall. It was a small opening, high above us, where the moonlight was breaking through.

"Look closer," I said. "It is not an exit. It is just a crack in the wall."

Kaelen looked ahead, and I saw his face fall. "Talia..."

"It means we are close," I said. "But that is not the way out."

He shook his head. "No. You are wrong. You are burning up, that is why you think it is not an exit."

"Kaelen, I am not wrong," I said. "Look at it."

He looked again, and I saw the realization dawn on his face. "It is really a crack," he said. "Just a crack in the stone."

My mother appeared beside us, with her face pale. "Where is the exit?"

I looked around, and I saw it. Further ahead, the tunnel opened into a wider space. The walls were rough, and I could see the moonlight spilling through a gap above.

"There," I said. "We need to climb."

I pushed against Kaelen’s chest. "Put me down. Now."

"Talia, you cannot walk," he said.

"I know," I replied weakly. "But you cannot carry me and climb at the same time. Put me down, Kaelen."

"Talia..." He tried to argue.

"Kaelen," I said, and my voice was sharp despite my weakness. "If you do not put me down, we are all going to die. The guards are right behind us. They will catch us, and they will kill you, and they will put me in that cell with my mother, and my mother will never escape. This will all be for nothing, Kaelen."

He looked at me, and I saw the tears in his eyes.

"Do you understand?" I said. "PUT. ME. DOWN. NOW! KAELEN"

I watched the conflict play across Kaelen’s face.

I saw the way his jaw tightened, and I saw the way his hands trembled as he held me. He did not want to let me go, and I could see that. Every instinct in his body was screaming at him to hold on, to keep me close, and to protect me from everything that was coming. But he also knew that I was right, and that was the hardest part for him.

I could see the war in his eyes, and the part of him that wanted to protect me, and the part of him that knew I was right. He wanted to carry me to safety, and to keep me in his arms where he could protect me, but he also knew that this was not the time.

Kaelen looked at me, and I saw the love in his eyes. "I will come back for you," he said. "I will carry you out of here."

"You can carry me out when we are out of this tunnel," I said. "But first, we have to get out. So put me down."

He looked at me for a long moment, and I saw the grief and the love and the desperation all mixed together in his eyes.

Then he nodded. "I hate this," he said, with his voice breaking on the words. "I hate that I am putting you down, I hate seeing you in this state, and I hate that you are the one who has to be strong right now when I should be the one carrying you out of this place. But I will not let any harm come to you, Talia. I swear it on everything I am.”

He knelt down, and he lowered me to the ground. The stone floor was cold against my legs, and I felt the weakness spreading through my body.

“Mother," I said. "You have to climb first, then we will follow."

Seraphina looked at me, and I saw the tears on her face. "Talia..."

"Go," I said. "We do not have time."

She nodded, and she turned to the wall. She reached up, and she began to climb.

Kaelen looked at me. "We will get out of here safe and together, Talia. I will make sure of it no matter what."

I nodded. "I know."

He turned, and he helped my mother climb on to the higher part of the tunnel.

Then Kaelen turned to help me climb, but the guards came in to our view. “STOPPPP!” One of the guards in front yelled.