43. Chapter 43
Chapter forty-three
-Bryce-
T he moment I made it far enough into the jungle, I broke into a staggering run and started shouting.
“Hey!”
There was no way I’d be able to find the Aldar myself if they didn’t want to be found, I had to get them to come to me. So, I needed to attract as much attention as possible, and hope like hell it wasn’t the ravenous predator kind.
I knew they wouldn’t have gone far to regroup before another attack on the camp, and I had half-expected them to pounce on me the moment I entered the trees. Kitari was still being held captive, and they wouldn’t leave without him. But the trees were eerily quiet with only the echo of distant animal noises.
“Where are you?” I called. “Kitari needs your help!”
Branches and vines whipped against me as I stumbled, leaping over roots, rocks, and fallen trees. Thank god for my prosthetic, because if both of my legs were as weak as each other I’d probably have collapsed.
“Hey!”
This wasn’t working. I stopped, breathing hard. They were out there. I could feel their eyes on me in the darkness. My heart jumped, and I tried to listen above the roaring of my breath.
“This isn’t a trap.” I held up my empty hands and spun. “I don’t have a weapon, I don’t have any armor. Kitari needs your help, and he needs it now.” I paused, but the only sound was the echoes of my own voice dying. “I know you can hear me. Please.”
Drawn out silence.
“Chief’s going to do something bad, and I need your help.”
A tall figure appeared like a specter from my left and I spun towards it, but not quick enough. The Aldar barreled into me, toppling me to the ground. I landed heavily on my back with it on top of me, one hand pinning my chest and the other aiming a long, golden spear at my face. It hissed angrily.
“This is all your fault. I should end you now and be done with it.”
I recognized his stern face, the calm sturdy strength of his jaw. It was Koum, the one who had taken us into Amalya. Great, possibly the one Aldar who hated me the most. He glared at me, his eyes full of hatred. I struggled to speak, but his hand held me down and weighed a tonne, pushing the air from my lungs. I tried to roll instead and managed to dislodge his hand for a moment before he got me again.
“Wait,” I said.
“You and your people bring hatred and death. Your presence here sullies our land.”
He stopped, drew air in through his nose. Confusion passed over his face and then his eyes widened.
“Your scent…” he said, appalled. “Tell me you are not bound to him.”
“Yes,” I wheezed.
He hissed in a breath. “How could he.”
A figure appeared behind Koum and pulled him off me. I scrambled back on my hands and feet. Once clear, I held my empty hands up to show I was no threat. I recognized Arcay by his mane of white hair tied in an intricate braid down the back of his neck. He had a rapid-fire conversation with Koum, who was still glaring at me.
“We have to help Kitari,” I said.
Arcay cast his eyes over me, but his face was unreadable. “We intend to.”
Then he went back to talking to Koum and the other Aldar from the party. They wanted to kill me. I couldn’t understand what they were saying, but from the shouting and growling and gesturing with weapons, it was pretty clear. There were only about six of them, not including Koum. Probably a scouting party. I was surprised, it had seemed like so many more from the amount of carnage they had caused during the attack. One of them was sent off into the jungle, I could only assume to get more of them and inform Jursin about what had happened.
The others gathered around Arcay and argued, but it seemed like he was the one who had the final say. He stood still, his bright orange eyes boring into me. It was pretty intimidating, probably being killed aside. He was taller than the others around him. Finally, he spoke.
“You are bound to Kitari,” he said.
I nodded.
That made a few of them get louder and angrier, while the rest went quiet. Arcay turned and spoke to them in their language, and although they seemed pissed, they begrudgingly agreed with him. I hope it was “Actually, let’s not kill him after all.”
“And were you aware of what would happen once you mated?”
“Yes, Kitari and Clay both explained it to me,” I said. “I wanted it.”
He gazed at me for a while.
“Please, we have to help him,” I said.
“We are regrouping and forming a new plan of attack. The first wave was just to test your defenses. Now we are aware of them.”
“I am more concerned that you appear to have left him behind yourself. Why is it that you are wandering around the jungle when he is apparently held captive? You say this is not a trap, but why would we trust you? This could be some form of ploy.”
I kept my empty hands up and shook my head. “It’s not.”
He lowered his head, and his eye contact was so powerful I had to blink. “You tried to take Clay from me.”
Something made my breath catch. It was like there was a power emanating from him, a heaviness in his voice and eyes that froze me in place. “I’m sorry,” I said thickly. “I didn’t understand.”
Koum shook his weapon at me. “Kitari is a trusting fool. His head is always in the sky. This was your plan, to take him and use him against us. Why else would he turn against his people for a human? You used his urges to distract and lead him astray.”
“It wasn’t. I didn’t trick him. He was just protecting me because he cares about me. And I care about him.”
Arcay studied me, but Koum kept on going. “I would kill you if you had not trapped Kitari in a soul bond.”
“That’s not going to help Kitari.” I swallowed and climbed back to my feet. No one seemed like they were going to stab me, so I took that as a good sign. “Please, we have to help him. I don’t know what Chief is going to do, but it’s not good. We need to stop him. Now.”
“What do you mean?”
“We were sent here with the mission to retrieve Clay,” I said.
“I have not forgotten,” Arcay growled.
“We thought he was in danger, but now I know the truth. I tried to convince Chief to leave, but that wasn’t the real purpose of the mission. It was to take Clay, willing or not. He wants to know about the soul bond, so they can figure out how to use it for their own advantage.”
The Aldar were all silent, staring at me.
“Now he has Kitari and he knows we’re bound. He’ll get his information any way he can.”
Horror dawned on Arcay’s face. “Why did you leave him behind?”
“I couldn’t help him on my own. But I know the codes, the routines, how they operate. I know the camp’s weak spots.”
“And you would betray your own people?”
I closed my eyes briefly. That stung, of course it did. But what else could I do? “Just, don’t hurt any of them. Ok? This is all a huge mess and it’s not their fault. Chief, yeah, but everyone else is just following orders.”
That was when the first wave of pain hit. I gasped as it flowed through me, sharp and cutting as a knife.
“What is it?” Arcay asked.
Another wave of pain seared through me, making it hard to speak.
“Kitari,” I said.
Arcay’s mouth fell open as he realized what was happening. The others fell silent too as they watched me, aghast.
Chief had already begun.