She must have tumbled down a slope during the fall.
I have to get out...
Twisting desperately, she tried to pull her lower body free from the rubble.
The pain became unbearable.
She collapsed again.
Not only her trapped leg.
Her chest, shoulder, and arm all hurt as well.
There was not a single part of her body that did not ache.
Had every bone in her body broken?
It would not have been surprising.
In truth, she did not even ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) understand how she was still alive.
No.
Perhaps she was dying.
Her frightened eyes wandered through the darkness.
Night had fallen completely.
Was this what it felt like to be buried alive?
Breathing became more difficult with every passing moment.
She wished she could simply lose consciousness.
Instead, her mind became clearer and clearer.
Unable to withstand the increasingly violent pain, Talia clawed at the ground with broken nails.
Tears streamed endlessly down her face.
“It hurts... it hurts so much... Varkas...”
She did not know why she was whispering his name.
The image returned to her.
Varkas turning his back on her.
Running toward Aila.
She could never become someone important to him.
No matter the circumstances, the people he would protect were Aila and Gareth.
Never her.
Hot tears soaked her cheeks.
“No... that's not true... he'll come looking for me.”
She muttered the words as though trying to convince herself.
She was the Emperor's daughter too.
Varkas was a man burdened by duty.
Surely he would come looking for her.
Even if only to recover her corpse.
He would not leave her here.
Clinging desperately to that thought, she stared into the deepening darkness.
Before long, even the embers burning on the wyvern's corpse faded away.
The world became completely black.
No matter how long she waited, nobody came.
Her throat had become so dry it felt ready to split apart.
Forcing out a slightly louder whisper, she said,
“It's alright. It's alright. He'll come soon. Soon...”
But her voice was swallowed by a sob.
Talia bit down hard on her lip and covered her mouth with a trembling hand.
She did not want to cry.
If she cried, it would feel like admitting it.
Admitting that no one was coming to find her.
She forced the bitter wail of pain and despair back down into her chest.
Then she repeated the same words again.
If she waited a little longer, Varkas would come.
And just as he had once pulled her out of the mud, he would save her again.
He would.
Surely he would.
Surely... .