You Were My Sl*ve - Chapter 80
The fire of sin and guilt burned hotter than ever, consuming Kazan. Only by throwing himself into that fire would he ever atone for what he had done. And in that moment of burning clarity, everything led him to one undeniable conclusion.
“The desert.”
Miriam lifted her head at his quiet, resolute words. Without hesitation, Kazan grabbed the reins of her horse.
Gone was the despair—gone were the shadows of doubt. His crimson eyes were already fixed on a faraway destination, somewhere only he could see. He swiftly mounted the horse and looked down at her.
“When the royal guard arrives with more horses, return to Ferma with them, Miriam.” His voice was steady, his gaze unflinching. “Tell Torthan this message from me—tell him…”
“Forgive my choice.”
Without waiting for her reply, he turned the horse and galloped away.
Miriam wiped her tears, watching as his silhouette grew smaller and smaller in the distance. She didn’t need to ask where he was going.
Sindar, god of wind and death, was returning to the place where everything had begun—the ancient lands where it had all started.
The desert.
*
A cold breeze on her cheek roused Elona from a restless sleep. Slowly, she opened her eyes and gazed up at the sky.
It was a deep black canvas, studded with countless stars—like fine grains of sand scattered across the heavens. The sky seemed so close she thought she could reach out and touch it.
Elona’s dry lips parted as she stretched her hand toward the stars. The cool night wind swept over her arm like frost, sharp and biting.
The desert wind never stopped, day or night, always carrying sand with it. The burning sun was gone for now, but the chill of the desert night was merciless in its own way.
It was time to move.
“Haaah…”
Still bound at the wrists, Elona pressed her hands into the sand and pushed herself up. She turned to face east, taking slow steps across the cold dunes.
“My back hurts… the bleeding seems to have stopped, but still…”
Her back throbbed with pain from Zahhak’s relentless whip. The rough, tattered fabric of her clothing clung to her wounds, scratching her skin with every step.
“It’s colder than I expected.”
Her breath came out in short, shaky puffs as she shivered uncontrollably. The air was dry and frigid, stripping her body of what little warmth remained. Goosebumps covered her arms, and the trembling in her limbs grew worse with every passing minute.
And then came the pain in her belly. Subtle at first, but now growing sharper with every step.
“You can endure this. Walk at night, find shade and rest during the day… you can do this. Keep walking. Keep moving toward Kazan.”
It was the only thought keeping her sane. The only way to fight the crushing fear and loneliness was to believe—believe that Kazan would be waiting at the end of this journey.
“…Hah… hah…”
Elona didn’t know how long she had been walking, but her body finally gave in. She stopped and bent over, struggling to catch her breath.
The ache in her belly grew worse, sending jolts of pain through her entire body. She instinctively clutched her stomach, memories of the vision she had seen in Lu’s temple flooding back.
“Don’t stop. You can’t stop…”
But then, her knees buckled, and she collapsed onto the cold sand. Something was wrong. Her body was too cold. She curled up, wrapping her arms around her belly in a desperate attempt to keep warm.
“Please… hold on. Stay with me… please!”
Elona whispered to the child in her womb, clinging to the hope that they were still safe.
And then… she saw it.
A silver cloud rising from the ground far ahead, swirling and twisting in the dark. It looked like a phantom in the moonlight, an enormous force spiraling into the sky.
The sandstorm.
“No…!”
She remembered reading about it—the deadly sandstorms of the desert. She knew what would happen if she got caught.
The wind would lift her into the air like a doll, hurl her across the dunes, and break every bone in her body.
She would fall like a stone from a tower, and her body would be shattered. The desert would swallow her remains without a trace.
The will of Sindar, god of wind and death.
“No… don’t come near me!”
Elona forced herself to her feet, ignoring the stabbing pain in her belly. She ran with every ounce of strength she had, the icy wind stinging her eyes.
But no matter how fast she ran, the storm caught up with her in moments.
The sandstorm wrapped around her like a giant beast, and she was swept away.
“Aahhh!”
Elona scrambled up the steep dune, her breath ragged, every step a desperate push against the sand. But just as she reached the crest and stepped down onto the slope on the other side, her foot sank deep into the shifting ground.
It felt like stepping into a trap. Her balance failed her, and she tumbled headfirst down the dune, rolling and sliding uncontrollably.
“Huff… ugh….”
By the time she stopped, Elona was half-buried in the sand at the base of the slope. Her hands and knees were pressed into the soft ground. She spat out the grit that filled her mouth and tried to push herself up.
But the harder she struggled, the deeper she sank.
“No… it can’t be… a sand sinkhole?”
It was the death trap she had only read about—the infamous quicksand of the desert.
The sand beneath her wasn’t stable. It moved in slow, swirling currents, drawing everything toward a sunken center in the distance. The surface shifted around her like a giant, flowing whirlpool.
“I can’t get stuck here… I have to get out!”
Elona moved carefully, just as she had read in her books, trying to free her legs by rolling her body gently. But her exhausted limbs were no match for the relentless grip of the sand.
Her strength ebbed away with each passing second.
Then she heard it—a deep, howling roar from above.
Elona looked up, and her heart nearly stopped. The sandstorm had already reached the dune she had climbed over moments ago. It was devouring the hill, swallowing it whole in a swirling vortex of sand and wind.
The sight was monstrous.
“Oh, god….”
Her lips quivered, and her body shook with fear.
The storm was coming for her. It was a force of nature—cold, merciless, and utterly unstoppable. It didn’t hate her; it simply consumed everything in its path.
And it would consume her child as well.
“Do not fear the desert. That is the only way you will survive.”
Aslan’s words echoed in her mind like a beacon in the dark.
Elona’s eyes snapped open, her senses sharpening. She scanned the quicksand around her. It was massive—nearly the size of an oasis. If she tried to escape, it would take at least half a day to get out. But the storm would be upon her in mere minutes.
“I fear death… but I must not fear the desert.”
Elona made a choice.
She shifted her body and turned to face the very center of the quicksand—the heart of the swirling trap.
Instead of resisting, she surrendered.
She let the flow of the sand carry her deeper toward the center, trusting in the desert to show her the way.
“If this is what it takes to save myself… to save our child….”
As she moved closer to the center, the roaring storm seemed to fade into the distance. In its place, the sound of the sand’s gentle, rhythmic flow filled her ears—a soft, almost comforting sound.
The sound was like the crashing waves of an eternal sea—a cold, indifferent beauty that filled the air.
Finally, the black mouth of the desert welcomed her. There was no turning back now.
Elona let herself sink deeper into the swirling sands, her body carried by the merciless current. She held her breath and closed her eyes as the desert embraced her completely.
Above her, the great sandstorm roared and raged. It swept across the silver quicksand, tearing through the dunes with a wild, unforgiving fury.
When it passed, there was nothing left.
Not a single trace of her remained.
Only the silent desert, vast and eternal, stretched out under the starlit sky—cold, tranquil, and utterly untouched.
As if she had never been there at all.
*
The heavy thud of a desert horse’s hooves echoed through the silent night. Kazan rode at full speed, his sharp gaze scanning the vast expanse around him.
Thankfully, the full moon cast its silver light across the sands, illuminating everything in a soft glow. But despite the bright night, all he could see was endless silver dunes stretching beneath the sky.
“Elona!”
His powerful voice pierced the stillness, ringing into the open sky. The desert, with its rolling ridges of sand, was far from flat, making it difficult to see beyond each rise.
But no echo answered him—only silence. His call faded, swallowed by the emptiness.
“Elona… Elona…!”
Kazan called her name until his voice grew hoarse, but the desert remained mute.
She must have been taken southeast. Zahhak wouldn’t have killed her with his own hands… he couldn’t have.
Kazan could easily guess Zahhak’s reasoning. If Zahhak had discovered that Elona was pregnant—and worse, if Aslan already knew it—then the high priest would have been able to confront Zahhak with powerful leverage.
Zahhak must have stormed Lu’s temple to kill her, thinking the temple was an easy target.
But Aslan stopped him.
Perhaps the high priest threatened him with the curse of the gods. Or maybe he wielded one of his prophetic visions to terrify Zahhak into sparing her. Aslan would have had the perfect justification.
A child destined to be king—the child of Kazan and Elona.
That child could have been born with the blessing of the gods. There would be nothing strange about it. He will probably be my only child….
Kazan clenched his jaw as the thought struck him. He had only one year left to live. The child Elona carried was the last heir of the Millechatra bloodline, the only hope left to this world.
Unless… by some miracle… I live beyond my fate.
For a fleeting moment, Kazan allowed himself to hope—hope that the gods might grant him one last miracle.
Madara Info
Madara stands as a beacon for those desiring to craft a captivating online comic and manga reading platform on WordPress
For custom work request, please send email to wpstylish(at)gmail(dot)com
Jules
my girl can’t catch a break…