Chapter 2
The hollow, biting pain ruthlessly dragged Kalyani to consciousness. Every breath was like a million tiny razors slicing into her lungs. She gasped and moved a shaky hand to her side, feeling strange material. It was then that it hit her. She was no longer in the water.
Immediately, she panicked, thinking that Rohan had found her. But that wasn’t possible. He had no idea she had gone out—no one did. So, who had her? On the heels of that question, she picked up the sound of voices.
“…know what they’ll do to you if anyone finds out?” came a nervous male voice.
“They won’t.” The second man’s voice was deep, his words decisive.
And yet, the first argued. “They will. It’s just a matter of time.”
“I didn’t have a choice.”
Kalyani tried to focus on the conversation, but her head was pounding. Though she was sure she had heard elvish. The accent was different from what she had heard before. Lyrical. Refined.
She wheezed as she peeled open her eyes, but all she saw was blue before they fell shut again. She rolled her head toward the voices, which sent agony prickling through her neck. Her desperate attempt to hold back the moan was for naught.
Suddenly, someone was beside her. She tried to see who it was, but her eyes wouldn’t obey her, and the pain was mounting by the second.
A soft whoosh met her ears before a light cloth was placed over her mouth.
Large hands held her chin, keeping her head in place.
She wanted to fight the person off, but she had neither the will nor the strength.
When sleep called again, she willingly went into its arms.
The next time she woke, the pain was much more manageable.
She was able to take a breath without thinking she might die.
Her side still ached, but it wasn’t the debilitating agony from before.
Even the throbbing in her head had diminished.
Yet she still couldn’t string two thoughts together.
She touched her face, but there was no cloth over her mouth.
She frowned, sure she hadn’t imagined it.
Her eyes were so heavy that it took everything she had to pry them open. Each time she did, she saw blue. Not the deep indigo of the ocean, but a pale aqua shimmer that moved against the ceiling and walls in gentle, rhythmic waves. It was altogether different and otherworldly.
A pulse of violet caught her attention. She turned her head toward it and found herself staring out a window.
Except it wasn’t a window, exactly. She wanted a better look, but she couldn’t keep her eyes open.
Kalyani rolled onto her good side and pushed herself up with her hands.
The room spun wildly as she clung to the bed.
When it finally stopped, and she could open her eyes, she saw another pulse of violet outside in the velvety darkness beyond the window.
The long tendrils of a massive lunai glowed a soft azure as it idly floated past. She rose on unsteady legs to get closer to the animal.
She’d been stung by a few over the years, but she had never seen one so big. Or one that glowed.
She took a tentative step, only to find herself pitching forward. The floor came up too swiftly for her to stop herself. The jarring drop stunned her, but only for a moment. If she couldn’t walk, she’d crawl. She had to know what kind of strange dream this was.
Within moments, Kalyani was out of breath, her body shaking from the exertion.
She glanced up, expecting to find herself at the window, but it seemed as far away as it had been before.
That didn’t stop her, though. She didn’t know how to give up on something she wanted, and she really wanted to get a closer look at the lunai.
When she couldn’t crawl and keep her eyes open, she crawled with them shut. That ended up being a bad idea, though. She fell over twice, and it took extra effort to get back on her hands and knees again. But she kept moving until, finally, she was at the window.
Her body wanted sleep, but she wasn’t giving in so easily.
She peeled open her eyes. The lunai was no longer in sight.
Kalyani blinked and focused her gaze on the glass.
Except, it wasn’t glass. She squinted, trying to make out what it was, when something shimmered above her.
She lifted her head toward the ceiling to see what it was and overbalanced.
She toppled to the side and rolled onto her back.
Sleep sounded so good. Just as she was about to give in, she caught sight of the shimmer again.
She sleepily blinked while attempting to follow the movements of the aqua waves without bothering to get up again.
Each time she blinked, her eyes stayed shut for longer. She should be scared, but she wasn’t.
She opened her eyes to see the waves again. Instead, she found a face peering down at her. She tilted her head to the side and blinked to see if he would disappear. When the face remained, she raised a hand and attempted to move it out of her way. He was blocking the pretty shimmers.
“You shouldn’t have gotten out of bed.”
Her eyes widened at the deep voice. It sounded familiar, but she couldn’t remember why. He reached for her hand, but she yanked it away. At least, she thought she did. Her body wasn’t responding as it should.
“Don’t you want up?” he asked.
“You’re blocking the view.”
His dark brows snapped together before he lifted his gaze. He released a sigh and stepped back. Kalyani smiled when she had her view back once more. It was so pretty and calming. Her eyes drifted shut again.
“Your wounds aren’t quite healed. You shouldn’t be moving around. I must admit, I’m surprised you’re able to heal as quickly as you do.”
His voice was nice. She could listen to the deep resonance all day.
“My…voice?”
She grimaced. Had she said that out loud?
“Aye. You did.”
Kalyani blinked up at him in confusion.
“Human, you need to get back into bed.”
She grinned at the way he called her human. Aye. His voice was very nice. Even when he was grouchy. He reminded her of Rohan.
“Who’s Rohan? Your mate?”
Kalyani rolled over and found her head cushioned by something a bit hard but comfortable all the same.
“My boot won’t make a good pillow, human.”
“Shhh,” she murmured.