Savage Forest - Chapter 126.2
“Enya, what the hell…!”
Still, it was already too late. She had made him swallow something.
Tarhan was a born warrior. His reaction time was remarkable, and his ability to sense danger was significant.
If anyone else had tried to pull such a stunt on him, they would never have succeeded. Nonetheless, before Enya, he had already been completely disarmed, both physically and mentally. For her, he had erected no walls of suspicion whatsoever.
Enya gasped for breath as she quickly spat out the remnants of the powder from her mouth onto the ground.
“You…!”
Tarhan was shocked by her actions, but Enya paid no mind to it.
Breathing heavily, she squinted to gauge his condition and locked eyes with him. What she had forced him to swallow was the medicine given to her by Fiarca.
“It’s powerful enough to sedate a Geppas.”
Enya’s breath came in rapid bursts from the earlier excitement. She focused on watching Tarhan, trying to steady her breathing.
Even though she hadn’t even used a quarter of the dose, it seemed the effects were already starting to take hold. Tarhan’s breathing was quickening, and she could see his eyes beginning to glaze over. He grasped her arms tightly and shouted urgently.
“Enya…? What did you just do? D*mn it, tell me it’s not what I think. Please, Enya…”
Tarhan pressed his forehead and rambled. He looked as if the pain was washing over him, his brow furrowing as he started to stagger back.
“Ta, Tarhan!”
Enya quickly moved to support him.
Fiarca’s warning echoed in her mind.
“A small amount will put you to sleep, but using too much can kill you.”
Checking Tarhan’s state, Enya bit her lip. She had feared that she had given him much more than Fiarca’s recommended amount even though she had only secretly administered far less.
The worry was driving her nearly mad.
“Enya… what the hell did you just do? D*mn it, my head is spinning…”
“Tarhan, breathe… Just stay still. It’s okay. It’s just a sleeping potion.”
At her words, his eyes widened in alarm.
He gripped her cheek tightly until veins appeared.
“Why…?”
As his vision began to blur, Enya felt him biting his lip in frustration. She couldn’t help but be impressed by his willpower. Even in small doses, this potion had the ability to knock out a large monster like a Geppas.
Tarhan tightened his grip on her arm. It was painful. Like it was his determination that he couldn’t leave her to sleep alone.
Enya’s heart ached.
He squeezed out a voice that barely came out and groaned in pain.
“Why…?”
Even now, it seemed he couldn’t understand her intentions.
Tears began to well in Enya’s eyes.
“Shh, Tarhan. Please, just trust me this once…”
His expression twisted as if trampled by some cruel fate. The realization that she had deceived him, combined with the despair of being abandoned once more by someone he loved, was written all over his face.
Seeing him like that, Enya felt tears streaming down her cheeks.
“There’s one last thing I must do, Tarhan. It’s something I have to do alone.”
Tarhan’s hands still gripped her body, unwilling to let go. He shook his head, mumbling like an animal in distress. He looked painfully torn as he fought against the rising tide.
“No, no… Enya, you can’t…”
“Tarhan, please. I’ll be okay. I promise I’ll come back.”
Enya pressed kisses to his eyelids and cheeks, trying to comfort him.
Tarhan followed her figure with his narrowed gaze, his eyelids reddened.
He resisted to the very end.
Enya realized that had the dose been even slightly less, he might have been able to hold on without fainting. But he was only human, after all. No matter how great a warrior he was, the powerful potion that could subdue even the largest monsters was slowly taking its toll on his body.
His tense muscles began to relax, and his arms drooped heavily. His eyes were now closed, though his brow remained furrowed in discomfort.
As his once-flickering lips fell silent, Enya raised her hand to caress his cheek.
“Tarhan, I’ll be back. I promise.”
Enya kissed his lips softly.
She comforted him for all the struggles he had faced alone by giving his chin a gentle stroke and she began to get up.
As light filtered into the cave, Enya stood slowly.
She glanced around, first at Senu’s body in the corner, then at Tarhan’s massive form, slumped as if he were guarding him. After a moment of thought, she withdrew the dagger tied at Tarhan’s waist.
‘In this cave, he should be safe until he wakes again.’
When she took a deep breath and looked at the dagger, the wolf had nudged its snout into the cave.
The beast sniffed around as if asking what had happened inside. As the wolf pulled its head back, dawn’s light flooded in. Enya’s hair glimmered like gold in the light filtering through the Nervana forest.
Like God. Like a radiant light.
Enya acknowledged that she had finally become the woman Tarhan loved.
Now, she felt no fear.