Chapter 36
Chapter Thirty-Six
REIYANA
T he chaos of the encampment roared around them—shouts, pounding footsteps, the clash of metal. Reiya knelt beside Kaelen, hands pressed against his chest, trying to keep him here; the rise and fall of his chest a battle he was losing. Each breath was a hiss, rasping through clenched teeth.
Blood seeped around the arrow lodged dangerously close to his heart, staining his clothing, pooling beneath her fingers. Her pulse thundered, but she pressed harder, desperate to stem the flow, stop the life from slipping through her hands.
A figure rushed toward them .
Alarik moved like a man in a dream—or a nightmare. His long strides ate the distance, but his usual steadiness was gone. The moment his gaze landed on Kaelen, he faltered, eyes locked on the arrow.
For the first time since she’d met him, he was frozen.
“Jodhar shot him!” she snapped.
Her voice jolted him back, but his hands still trembled. He knelt beside Kaelen, jaw clenched, gaze lingering on the arrowhead. His expression was grim and faraway. Reiya didn’t miss the way his skin had paled, how his movements slowed—like he was fighting something within himself.
“Alarik,” she pressed, sharper this time. “What’s with you?”
“Nothing,” he murmured, but the lie was plain. She saw it in the tight line of his jaw, in the way his fists curled at his sides—small betrayals of the control he fought to hold.
She watched in stunned silence as he pressed his fingers into Kaelen’s wound, coating them in blood. Before she could question him, he lifted them to his lips, tasting the crimson smear. The reaction was immediate. He spat onto the sand, jaw tightening.
“Sandshrike venom. We don’t have much time.”
He worked quickly, unlacing his brother’s left gauntlet.
A weak groan left Kaelen’s lips, his Sunborn tattoo flickering with a faint iridescent glow—his body still fighting against the poison.
Alarik’s brows furrowed, his stare lingering on the mark, as though it added weight to whatever already haunted him.
“Alarik,” Reiya snapped, pulling his attention to her. “We need to move him.”
The tension in his face resolved into focus. “I’ll carry him to the wagon. You find Mei Mei and get her to safety. We need Su Lian and Ru Rong.”
She forced herself to nod. “Be careful.”
He slipped his arms under his brother’s body, lifting with a grunt of effort. Kaelen’s head lolled against Alarik’s shoulder, a low groan escaping his lips. The sight twisted her heart, but she pushed it down and began her search.
The encampment was chaos—shadows flitting between flames, the acrid scent of smoke burning her throat.
Screams and shouts filled the air, blending with the clang of steel.
She darted through the tumult, eyes scanning frantically until she spotted Mei Mei huddled near a wagon, her small frame trembling.
“Mei Mei!” The girl’s tear-streaked face turned, and she bolted into her arms, clutching tightly.
“It’ll be alright,” Reiya said, forcing her voice to steady. “But we need to hurry. Come.” She hoisted Mei Mei into her arms and ran, muscles burning as she navigated the chaos. Her eyes darted ahead, locking onto Su Lian and Ru Rong as they hurried toward the wagon.
“Su Lian!” she shouted, her voice cutting through the noise. The woman turned sharply, her expression a cross of worry and relief when she saw them.
“What happened?” The woman demanded, striding toward her.
“Kai,” Reiya gasped. “Jodhar shot him—poisoned arrow. Lark’s taking him to the wagon. We need medicine. Anything to stop the venom.”
Ru Rong hastened, her face grim. “We’ll do what we can. Let’s move.”
They reached the wagon just as Alarik emerged from its interior, his bow slung over his shoulder, a sword at his hip. His face was drawn but resolute. He strode to her, his fingers brushing hers briefly, grounding her amid the storm of fear.
“Xian Jun and I will help the Talharen guards push them back,” he said. “But if they get too close, don’t wait. Drive the wagon out of here.”
Reiya swallowed hard, her throat dry. The thought of leaving without him sent a fresh wave of panic through her, but she forced herself to meet his gaze. “And you? Xian Jun?”
“We’ll find you,” he said firmly. But in his eyes, she saw the crack—the flicker of uncertainty he couldn’t hide.
She stepped closer, her hand tightening around his. “Promise me,” she said, her voice low but fierce. “You both come back. Promise .”
He hesitated, his lips pressing into a thin line before he nodded. “I promise.”
Xian Jun gave a short nod, his voice quiet but steady. “We’ll return. Bar the door behind us.”
He touched his heart with two fingers—a solemn gesture of oath—before the two of them slipped into the chaos and disappeared from sight.
She barely had a moment to watch them go before turning back to the wagon, urgency drowning out everything else.
Mei Mei helped her barricade the door with an iron poker.
The girl moved quickly to the corner where a small stove sat.
With fumbling fingers, she set a flame beneath the pot, boiling water without needing to be told.
Reiya helped Su Lian and Ru Rong lift Kaelen onto the cot. His skin, once flushed with life, was too pale, the sweat-dampened strands of his hair clinging to his forehead. The arrow jutted from his shoulder, an ominous reminder of how close death had come.
Blood seeped from the wound, relentless. Within seconds, the sheet beneath him darkened, red blooming like ink in water.
“We need someone to hold him down,” Su Lian muttered, her brow scrunched in concentration.
Reiya swallowed hard against the nausea twisting in her gut. “I’ll do it.”
The wagon felt smaller than before, the air stifling with the coppery tang of blood and the acrid sting of venom.
Heat pressed in from all sides, thick and suffocating.
Outside, chaos raged—clashing steel, the sharp cries of the wounded, the eerie crackle of flames consuming the camp.
It should’ve been deafening, but within these thin walls, it was distant, muted.
A fragile cocoon of battle and survival.
Reiya hovered over the cot, hands trembling as she pressed down on Kaelen’s shoulders. His chest rose and fell in shallow, uneven breaths, his skin burning beneath her touch. The dim lamplight threw shifting shadows over his face, highlighting the sheen of sweat clinging to his brow.
Ru Rong worked quickly, laying out her tools with practiced efficiency. “If we don’t remove the arrow, the venom will spread faster.”
Su Lian’s expression darkened. “Pulling it out risks tearing muscle—damaging a major artery. And so close to the heart?—”
“It’s risky, but poison is a certain death.”
The weight of their words pressed down on her, but before she could speak, a low groan escaped Kaelen’s lips. His head turned slightly, golden lashes fluttering weakly. His eyes, hazy but stubborn, flickered open.
“Take it . . . out,” he rasped, barely audible.
She leaned in, her heart twisting at the sight of him, pain etched into every feature. “Kai,” she whispered, gripping his hand, his fingers barely curling around hers. “You’re awake.”
Su Lian hesitated, then stepped forward, hovering above him. “Alright, Kai, we’ll remove the arrow. We’ll have to use cupping to extract the venom. It’ll be painful, and the bleeding could be . . .” She didn’t finish; didn’t need to.
Kaelen’s brow furrowed. “Do it,” he ground out, fingers twitching against Reiya’s. “I won’t . . . die lying down. Not tonight.”
Her grip tightened. His hand was weak, but the fire in his eyes still burned.
“He’s conscious,” she said, turning to Su Lian. “Can he handle the pain?”
“He’ll have to,” the woman replied briskly, already preparing the glass cups and flame. She met Reiya’s gaze. “Hold him down. He will thrash.”
She braced herself, pressing her weight against him. Beneath her hands, his Sunborn tattoo shimmered faintly—too dim to be a comfort now.
Ru Rong positioned herself by his shoulder, fingers curling around the arrow’s shaft. Her gaze met his, unwavering. “This will hurt. A lot. You must stay still.”
Kaelen exhaled sharply, jaw tightening. “I expect . . . nothing less . . . than agony.”
The arrow came free with a sickening squelch, dark blood surging in its wake. Kaelen’s body arched violently, a raw, guttural cry ripping from his throat. Muscles spasmed, his neck straining against the pain.
“Hold him down!” Su Lian snapped.
Reiya clenched her jaw, pressing harder, her teeth chattering as she fought to keep him still.
“Stay with me,” she murmured, voice trembling. “Stay with me, Kaelen.”
His head lolled back, lashes fluttering shut.
Ru Rong pressed a clean cloth over the wound, her hands sure and unshaken. “Don’t let him move.”
Su Lian held the flame to the glass, the heat making the cup glow. Reiya didn’t dare move as she watched her press it against Kaelen’s chest, the suction pulling dark, poisoned blood from the wound. A wet gurgle filled the air, the sound turning her stomach, but she kept her eyes on him.
Outside, the battle raged on, firelight flickering against the wagon walls. But inside, nothing else existed except Kaelen’s shallow breaths, the trembling rise and fall of his chest, and the desperate hope he’d survive the night.
Reiya’s hands trembled, but she pressed down firmly, grounding him as his body twitched beneath her touch.
“Is it working?” she whispered, her voice strained.
“Yes,” Su Lian replied tightly, her tone clipped with concentration. “But he’s losing strength. We need to close the wound soon.”
Kaelen’s eyes fluttered open again, glassy with pain and fever. His gaze found Reiya, and his hand weakly gripped hers. “Alarik,” he rasped, his voice barely audible. “Where . . . ?”
“He’s fighting the mercenaries,” she replied softly, her other hand brushing sweat-damp hair from his forehead. “He’ll be fine.”
Kaelen’s brow furrowed, and he tried to push himself up, his movements sluggish but insistent. “I should be . . . out there . . . with him.”
She gritted her teeth. Stubborn Sunborn.
“No.” She pressed him back down, her voice firm despite the tremor in her hands. “You’re staying here. You’ve done enough.”
His fevered gaze burned into hers, raw and unguarded, each word tumbling from his lips like an unspent prayer. “Anna?s . . . doesn’t matter,” he rasped, his voice cracking under the weight of his words. “Never did. You’re the only one . . . for me. For us.”
The confession hung heavy in the air, louder than the muffled battle cries outside.
Her chest constricted, the truth of his words cutting through the chaos and anchoring her.
He’d been carrying this guilt all night, she realized.
Even as the sandshrike attacked, even as his blood spilled, he wanted to tell her.
Her fingers tightened over his, grounding him as much as herself. She leaned closer and whispered, “Now you have to survive, so you can tell me.”
His gaze lingered on hers, something raw and unspoken passing between them before his eyes drifted shut again. His grip on her hand slackened, and for a moment, she thought the worst, but his chest rose and fell in uneven rhythm.
But Ru Rong was still trying to stem the bleeding. She pressed down on the wound with a thick cloth, but it soaked through within seconds.
“Damn it,” she cursed. “The venom’s done its work. His blood’s thin. It won’t clot.”
Kaelen’s skin was too pale, his respiration too shallow. If they couldn’t stop the bleeding, if he lost too much?—
Reiya’s throat tightened.
“Su Lian,” Ru Rong muttered, glancing up sharply. “You know what we have to do.”
The daughter-in-law hesitated for only a heartbeat before nodding. “Heat the blade.”
Ru Rong was already moving, grabbing a dagger and thrusting it into the brazier’s embers. The iron began to glow, a dull red brightening to searing orange. The heat warped the air around it, distorting the edges of the wagon’s dim light.
Reiya turned back to Kaelen. His eyes were open now. Two slits of gold, glassy with pain. He must’ve heard them. Must’ve understood what was coming.
“Kaelen,” she whispered, a hand still bracing his trembling shoulders. “We have to cauterize the wound.”
A ghost of a smirk flickered at the corner of his mouth. “Trying to see how many ways you can break me, love?”
Reiya swallowed hard, something clawing at her throat. It was just like him to make light of the situation.
“You’re impossible.”
His fingers flexed weakly against hers. “If you hold my hand, I’ll do it.” His glazed eyes found hers. “Don’t . . . let go.”
A tremulous smile flickered across her lips, even as tears burned at the edges of her vision. “Silly Alpha. What else would I be doing?”
She gripped his hand tighter, as if sheer will alone could anchor him to her.
Ru Rong turned, the dagger glowing hot in her grip. He barely had the strength to brace himself. His muscles twitched beneath Reiya’s hands. She pressed down harder, steadying him as tremors wracked his body. Every instinct screamed at her to stop this—to find another way—but there wasn’t one.
The hot iron met flesh.
His body arched violently, a raw, agonized roar ripping from his throat.
The force of it nearly knocked Reiya off-balance, but she held firm, anchoring him as his muscles spasmed beneath her grip.
The acrid scent of seared flesh filled the wagon.
Smoke curled upward, the sickening sizzle of cauterized skin and scorched blood sending bile to the back of her throat.
She wanted to look away, but she didn’t. She owed him that much—to bear witness to his pain, to see him through it.
“It’s almost over,” she whispered. “Hold on, Kaelen.”
His body finally slumped, his strength spent as he sagged against the cot. His breaths came in broken gasps, his skin slick with sweat. His eyelids fluttered once, then stilled.
Reiya’s pulse roared in her ears. “Is he?—?”
“He’s alive,” Su Lian said tightly, wiping her damp forehead with a rag. “Let’s give thanks for that.”
One shuddering exhale escaped her. Her head dipped forward until her forehead nearly brushed his, the sheer relief making her lightheaded. A sob welled up, raw and aching, and she pressed a trembling hand over her mouth to stifle it.
She wouldn’t let him go. Not tonight. Not ever.
The realization struck with quiet finality, settling deep in her bones. For the first time since their journey began, she understood the depths of what she felt—the fierce, unyielding determination binding her to Kaelen and Alarik.
The battle wasn’t over. Tomorrow, the dangers would still be there.
But she knew no force in the world would take her from them.