Chapter 46
Varum kept his arm looped around Nirav as he swam.
The wound Nirav had sustained needed proper care, but it was difficult with the groups of Sea Elves tracking them.
Varum had purposely kept from finding Kalyani so he wouldn’t bring danger to her.
At least that had been his plan. Things had changed when Nirav fell unconscious the night before.
He adjusted his grip on Nirav and kept going. There was no time to stop to rest or eat. Nirav was worsening with every hour. And as it was, Varum wasn’t sure he would reach Kalyani in time. He wasn’t even sure going to her was the answer. The fact was, he didn’t know what to do.
Enemies surrounded him everywhere he turned.
He couldn’t go back to Tarangarh. None of the other cities would take them in either.
He and Nirav had been hiding for weeks. Several times, they had nearly been caught.
He was running out of time. After everything Nirav had done for him, he had to do whatever he could to save him.
Varum prayed that he did enough to shake off those tracking him so he wouldn’t lead them to Kalyani.
He spotted one of the fast currents and swam into it, letting it do most of the work as it shot him and Nirav forward. Varum allowed himself a brief respite. He wanted to check the bandage on Nirav’s wound, but the current was too volatile.
Varum rode the current for as long as he could before tightening his hold on Nirav and swimming out of it.
His fatigued muscles strained at being used once more.
He gritted his teeth through the pain. The shoreline was in sight now.
He glanced behind him, his gaze searching the blue for any signs of Sea Elves—or Kalyani’s yellow scales. There was no sign of either, however.
The shallow water eventually forced him to stand and let his head break the surface.
He only rose up enough to scan the shoreline.
It was dark, but no one was guarding the beach.
He slowly turned his head and spotted what appeared to be houses of some kind.
They looked crude in nature, but they blended into the forested mountain landscape.
He had followed Nirav’s directions, which meant this had to be where Kalyani resided.
Even if it wasn’t, Varum had to get Nirav out of the water.
The elves tracking them would never think to look on land.
Varum shifted Nirav onto his back and looped his friend’s arms around his neck, then straightened and walked out of the ocean onto land.
His feet sank into the wet sand as he carried Nirav. Once he was safely out of the water, he dropped onto his knees and released Nirav. Varum caught him before he fell and gently laid him down. Only to still at the cold press of steel against his throat.
“You’d better have a good explanation for being here,” a voice stated behind him.
Varum slowly sat back on his haunches and raised his arms. He thought about asking for Kalyani, but decided against it. Instead, he remained silent. The blade never wavered against his skin as the male walked around him. To Varum’s shock, he found himself staring into the face of a Dark Elf.
“I’m waiting for a reply,” the male said.
Varum looked into the Dark’s light gray eyes. “You didn’t ask a question.”
“Then let me,” a feminine voice said behind him. “Why are you here?”
Was it another Dark? Kalyani had said she knew three. Dain, of course, because she was forever saying his name. And of the others, one had been a female named Arya. He wasn’t sure of the male’s name.
“Answer her,” the male said as he pressed the blade into Varum’s skin until a bead of blood ran down his neck.
“Let him up.”
Varum frowned at the sound of the third voice. He didn’t recognize it, but it seemed as if the female knew him. Instantly, the Dark removed the sword and sheathed it. Varum looked behind him to see a female Dark, and beyond her, a woman with long, black hair who watched him.
He climbed to his feet and faced her. “Do you know me?”
“I’ve been expecting you. It took you long enough to get here.”
Uncertainty flooded him as he frowned. He could only see a partial view of her face, but she wasn’t Kalyani. He had no idea who the human was. “What are you talking about?”
“There will be time enough for answers. For now, let us see to your friend.”
Varum looked toward Nirav, but he was gone, as were the two Dark.
“Don’t worry,” the woman said as his head swung back to her. “He’s safe. We’ll tend to him while you deal with other things.”
Varum took a step toward her as she walked away.
A heartbeat later, he noticed a Sun Elf moving away from a tree and falling into step beside her.
Varum hesitated, his mind reeling. He scanned the beach and noticed the gritty feel of sand as it stuck to him.
He became aware of the rhythmic roll of the waves onto shore.
His gaze was pulled to the water as he saw the light from the double moons reflected in the rippling waves.
It held him spellbound. The sights, the sounds, even the scent of salt hanging heavy in the air—all of it created a scene that would forever be stamped onto his soul. The drawings Nirav had shown him of life outside of the sea dimmed in comparison to experiencing it himself.
Now, he fully understood why Kalyani had been so desperate to see the sky. Varum didn’t know what he liked more. The moons or the stars. And if this was the night sky, he couldn’t wait to see it all during the day.
He sighed as the ache in his heart deepened.
He had hoped she would be in the water, waiting, the moment he swam into the cove.
At the very least, he had thought she would be on the beach.
He wasn’t sure how many days had passed since she’d swum away from Tarangarh.
Maybe she had forgotten him. Or it could be that the memories of her time there were too painful, and she didn’t want any part of him.
The only reason he had managed to survive up to that point was the thought of seeing her again.
That was all he needed. One look at her.
He wouldn’t ask for more. He wouldn’t even speak to her.
It would be enough to know that she had made it back to her brother and was safe.
If he wanted to learn where she was, he needed to ask.
Varum steeled himself and turned to follow where the Sun Elf and woman had gone.
He took two steps and looked up, his gaze colliding with Kalyani’s, where she stood a short distance away.
It was as if the gods had heard his heartfelt plea.
His breath caught when the moonlight shone on familiar curls.
A storm of emotions burst inside him, swirling and tangling until he thought he might break into pieces. And yet, even in that onslaught, there was a thread of relief that she was, indeed, home and very much alive.
Then she was running toward him, her body colliding with his. Varum wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. He felt her shaking as she sobbed. His own tears traced down his cheeks and ran into her hair. This wasn’t a dream. She wasn’t a figment of his imagination. She was real.
“Where have you been?” she asked, her voice cracking.
He cupped the back of her head, not wanting to ever let her go. “Trying to get to you.”
“You’re here now.” She sniffed, her fingers digging into his back as she held on tight. “I thought you might have had a change of heart.”
“Never,” he whispered.
Kalyani had thought all her tears had dried up, but the sight of Varum had brought them all back. She knew she was holding him too tightly, but she didn’t care. She had spent too many days without him.
“You must be tired.”
His only response was a grunt.
She tried to lean back to look at him, but he didn’t loosen his arms.
“Not yet,” he murmured.
Unwilling to move herself, Kalyani gave in to his request. She was content to be in his arms and feel his warmth once more. There was so much she needed to tell him, but she had time now. She smiled through the tears drying on her cheeks.
Suddenly, all his weight fell on her. She stumbled backward in an effort to stay upright, but she eventually dropped to her knees as panic seized her. It took everything she had to keep him against her. “Varum,” she called.
His arms dropped lifelessly from her, and his head lolled to the side.
“Varum! Wake up,” she cried frantically.
But there was no response to her pleas.
“Rohan!” she screamed as she tried to lift Varum’s head to see his face.
In seconds, her brother was beside her. “What happened?” Rohan asked as he pulled Varum back to lay on the ground.
Kalyani crawled to Varum’s side and took one of his hands as she searched his face. “I don’t know. We were talking, and then he collapsed.”
When Rohan remained quiet, she tore her eyes from Varum to her brother. “What is it?” she demanded.
Rohan slowly lifted his bloodied hand to show her.
“Nay,” Kalyani said with a shake of her head, refusing to believe what she was seeing.
Before she knew it, Jai and Ravi were there. It was Ravi who pried her hands from Varum as Jai’s shadows swallowed them. The run from the beach to the hut seemed to go on forever, the sand sucking at her feet as if trying to halt her progress.
When she finally burst inside, Rohan, Jai, and Farah had already cut away Varum’s tunic and rolled him onto his stomach.
She skidded to a halt at the sight of the injuries on his back.
Kalyani looked down at her hands, which were stained red.
He hadn’t said anything about being wounded.
How she must have hurt him when she’d held him and dug her fingers into him.
“Kalyani!”
She jerked, her gaze going to her brother.
Sweat streaked Rohan’s face, and Varum’s blood seemed to be on everyone and everything. “I need you to put pressure here.”
She hurried to her brother and replaced his blood-soaked hands where they were on Varum’s back.
Time ceased to exist as Rohan barked orders to those around him to stop both Varum’s and Nirav’s bleeding.
Both had multiple injuries on the fronts and backs of their bodies.
It was chaos within the small hut as everyone worked tirelessly to stabilize both Varum and Nirav.
There was no time to rest or think about anything but saving them both.
Sunlight streamed through the shutters when Rohan finally dropped onto a stool.
Kalyani stood in a daze, staring at the blood-soaked bandages littering the floor.
Neither Nirav nor Varum had woken during the long dark hours of the night.
Several times, she had put her finger beneath Varum’s nose to make sure he was still breathing.
“I’ve done all I can do,” Rohan said. He lifted his head to her, exhaustion in every line of his face. “All we can do now is wait.”
Farah was immediately by his side. “Come, love. You need to rest.”
Kalyani watched the two of them leave. When Yasmin started cleaning up, she stopped her. “I’ll take care of it.”
“You’ve been here just as long as we have,” Jai said.
Kalyani glanced at Varum. “I’m staying anyway, so I’ll clean up.”
“We’ll help,” Arya insisted.
Ravi shot her a quick smile. “It’ll go quicker if we all help. Then, we can all rest.”
She had no choice but to admit defeat. The cleanup went more quickly with their help, and true to their word, the two couples left soon afterward. Kalyani then pulled up a stool to sit next to Varum’s bed and look across at Nirav.