The sweet venom Chapter 34: 33

Read chapter 34 of The sweet venom by aspa201 on NovelPedia.

A dull ache throbbed against Helia’s skull, and a chill ran across her skin. The damp scent of earth filled her nostrils as she slowly regained consciousness. Her eyelids fluttered, her blurred vision struggling to clear. Her senses, still numb, caught only fragments of sensation: a gentle breeze brushing against her skin, a few rays of sunlight grazing her face, and the fresh scent of greenery, gradually dispelling that of moist soil. Then everything came rushing back at once. The cliff. The Prince. The fall. Her last memory was reduced to a brutal embrace, the pressure of powerful arms around her, her body pressed against cold armor, and a heady, woody scent that had enveloped her just before darkness claimed her. Her heart began to race violently, panic tightening her throat. She rolled slightly onto her side, searching for a familiar silhouette. "Your Highness…" she murmured, her voice hoarse and uncertain. The sound of footsteps on soft ground answered her. Then a shadow knelt beside her. "You are awake." Helia blinked, finally making out the Prince’s features through the lingering haze of her vision. He was covered in dirt, faint scratches marking his face and his hair disheveled. Yet he appeared unbroken. She wanted to speak, to ask what had happened after the fall, but a sharp pain shot through her arm and cut her short. A groan escaped her. Arthur immediately frowned. "You landed on your shoulder. I do not believe it is broken, but you will have bruising." Helia clenched her teeth and drew a shaky breath. She cautiously tried to move her fingers, and a wave of relief washed over her when they responded without excessive pain. "How long was I unconscious?" she murmured. "About twenty minutes," he replied calmly. He offered her his arm, helping her sit up before letting her lean against a tree."We fell from over twenty meters. The trees broke our fall." He spoke with a composure that was almost disconcerting, his tone detached, as though having narrowly escaped death were nothing more than a minor inconvenience. Helia’s mind, still clouded, suddenly sharpened as a thought struck her. She shifted slightly away from the tree and whispered, her throat tight. "But… no one saw us fall." She lifted her eyes toward the cliff still visible above them, the vertiginous distance separating her from its summit weighing heavily on her thoughts. The rock face was nearly impossible to climb. Her heart raced. She abruptly turned her head from left to right, her gaze frantically searching their surroundings. Everywhere, trees as far as the eye could see, a dense, impenetrable forest. Her eyes finally settled on the Prince, seated not far from her. He was calmly removing the shattered pieces of his black armor. His face was closed, neutral, as if the situation caused him no concern at all. They were lost in the heart of the forest, a territory surely infested with dangerous creatures, and she had no news of her knights. The image of one of them being carried off before her eyes resurfaced, twisting her stomach with dread. Was he even alive? And Sir Aldric… she had left him alone against two chimeras. What if they had overwhelmed him? Worse still, what if the camp had been attacked in their absence? Her father and her brother… if they were told she had disappeared, would they believe her dead? A shiver ran down her spine. "How are we going to get out of here?" she breathed, a muted panic creeping into her voice. Arthur raised his eyes toward her. He paused for a moment, his hands resting on a piece of armor he was about to remove from his shoulder. He could see panic taking hold of her. Yet he returned his attention to his armor. "Calm yourself," he said simply. "I know this forest by heart." With a sharp motion, he tore the broken piece of armor from his shoulder. She flinched slightly, but he continued in the same even tone. "We need only follow the cliff. We will eventually come upon a slope that will lead us back to the top." Those wo