Chapter 386: Bitter Mercy

Tarin gave her a nod.

It was weak — barely more than a tremor of motion — but Sophia caught it immediately. His chin dipped, then lifted again as if the effort itself had drained him. His lashes fluttered, and she saw how unfocused his gaze had become, pupils dull and glassy instead of sharp with fear like moments ago.

Her attention slid back to his arm.

The bite wasn’t the only injury.

At first glance, the dark veins crawling beneath his skin were alarming enough, spider-webbing outward from the wound like living ink. But as she leaned closer, her stomach tightened. Beneath the spreading blackness was something deeper — a puncture far too clean and far too precise to be only teeth.

It looked like he had been stabbed with a sword. Her mind went back to when he had told her that the others had told him that they wouldn’t kill him.

"Did those people," she asked, pointing toward the dead ones with the sigil, "try to kill you?"

Tarin nodded again, and Sophia closed her eyes, imagining ways she could perhaps wake them from the dead and kill them all over again.

And the fangs had bitten into Tarin’s skin, spreading the poison directly into his bloodstream.

Sophia swallowed.

The last time she had seen veins turn this color was when Orion had been bitten.

Even then, the memory made her chest tighten. Orion had been stronger — bigger, more resilient — and even he had collapsed from the poison, although that was because Orion was stubborn and didn’t even let people know he had been bitten.

She still remembered the urgency in Lysander’s movements, the way his hands had worked without hesitation, precise and unyielding. He had known exactly what to do.

Sophia did not.

Her fingers curled slowly into her palm.

Tarin’s eyes were growing paler by the second. The whites were no longer white but faintly gray, like fog creeping over glass. His breathing had turned shallow and uneven, each inhale catching as though his lungs were struggling to keep pace with his weakening body. He was shivering uncontrollably, and that meant the venom was spreading fast — extremely so.

"Tarin," she said softly, forcing steadiness into her voice. "I’m going to help you."

His eyes flickered toward her, barely focusing.

"The Trihydra poison spreads quickly," she continued carefully. "So I’m going to try to slow it down and then get us out of here, okay?"

He nodded again. Weaker this time.

Sophia exhaled slowly and reached for her weapons. She slid her swords back into their sheaths and secured them tightly at her sides. Then she drew one of her daggers, the familiar weight settling into her palm.

Her heart hammered.

She had no idea if this would work.

But doing nothing would guarantee his death.

Tarin flinched when he saw the blade glint faintly in the dim light of the nest. His body tensed instinctively, shoulders curling inward as though he expected a strike.

Sophia crouched in front of him, lowering the dagger so it wouldn’t loom over him threateningly.

"I’m going to be honest with you," she said gently. "I’m going to use this to cut you — but I’m not going to kill you. I’m only trying to get the venom out of your bloodstream, to delay it from hurting you."

His lips parted slightly. Fear flickered in his pale eyes.

Sophia noticed how violently he was trembling now. His teeth chattered faintly, breath puffing in uneven bursts. It was different from Orion. Orion had not even shown a sign that he had been bitten until he collapsed.

But then, Orion had been stronger. His body had been able to fight longer.

Tarin was just a child.

That realization hit her harder than she expected.

She hesitated for half a heartbeat — then made a decision.

She extended the dagger toward him, handle-first.

"I want you to hold this," she said quietly. "If I try to hurt you — if I try to attack you — you use it on me."

His brows knit together in confusion. "W...why would you... g..give me your dagger?"

"Because I need you to trust me, and it seems this is the only way. I don’t want to hurt you, Tarin. I only want to help you. I mean it."

She was taking a risk. A foolish one, some would say. She didn’t know him. She didn’t know what he’d been through, what fear or trauma might make him do. But if giving him control made him feel safer — if it stopped him from panicking — then it was worth it.

And there was also the fact that she didn’t want him to die. Being bitten by a Trihydra at this young age was enough to traumatize someone. She wasn’t going to let him die here. She would help him, take him out, and reunite him with his family.

Tarin stared at the dagger for a long moment.

Then slowly, he shook his head.

"I... I trust you," he whispered.

The words were quiet, fragile — but sincere.

Something warm tightened behind Sophia’s ribs.

She smiled softly and nodded. "Okay."

She took a torn strip of cloth from her already-damaged clothes and gently tied it over the bleeding area, applying light pressure to steady the flow. Then she pulled at the edge of her cloak and ripped a longer strip free. She wrapped it tightly above the wound, forming a makeshift tourniquet to slow the venom’s spread.

Tarin hissed faintly but didn’t pull away.

"You’re doing great," she murmured softly.

Sophia lifted the dagger again and adjusted her grip.

"Close your eyes," she said. "It’s going to hurt a little."

Tarin squeezed his eyes shut instantly, shoulders tensing as if bracing for impact.

Sophia swallowed.

Her hand trembled — just once — before she forced it still.

Then she made the cut.

The blade sliced carefully along the fang puncture, opening the wound just enough to let the venom escape. Dark blood welled up immediately, thick and unnatural, streaked with inky black.

Sophia sucked in a sharp breath. This was exactly like the situation with Orion, but he had coughed black blood instead.

She pressed firmly on the surrounding skin, forcing the blood outward in controlled pulses. More dark fluid seeped through her fingers, staining her hands. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Tarin whimpered, his face tightening with pain, but his eyes stayed shut.

"You’re okay," Sophia said quickly, leaning closer so he could hear her clearly. "Keep your eyes closed. You’re doing perfectly."

She continued pressing, coaxing the venom out, watching the blood slowly begin to lighten in color. Her arms ached from the pressure. Her palms were slick and warm too, but she continued as her mind raced.

Lysander had used herbs when helping Orion, but there was no way for her to get herbs here. They were in a nest, after all.

"What next?" she asked herself. "Wha—"

She paused when she suddenly remembered something from the novel she was obsessed with — the same one Orion had told her was not even romantic and was more gore than anything else.

Sophia almost laughed hysterically at the thought. But desperate times called for desperate measures, after all.

She hesitated only a second, saying a short prayer to the goddess — then leaned forward and pressed her mouth to the wound.

She drew the blood into her mouth carefully and spat it out immediately onto the ground, her stomach twisting at the metallic bitterness and strange tang that lingered against her tongue.

Again.

And again.

She kept her breathing controlled, careful not to swallow, spitting each mouthful away, praying the venom wouldn’t affect her through contact alone.

She alternated between suction and pressure, working steadily, ignoring the ache in her jaw and the cold creeping into her knees from the damp ground.

She wasn’t certain it would work, but it would help slow down the spread enough for them to get out — at least she hoped so.