Chapter 23
twenty-three
Eryn
I clutched at my chest, feeling it burn from the inside out.
All along one side, from shoulder to hip, I was on fire.
Absolute agony raced down my nerves, worse than being stabbed.
Worse than the poison that tried to take my life with its deadly burn.
I looked down, but there was no visible damage. It wasn’t my wound.
Was this how it felt for Kaiden when I was hurt?
He was usually so good at blocking his side of the bond.
The fact that I felt his pain, this much pain, meant something was horribly wrong.
I climbed out of bed with a spinning head and shaking legs.
The surges of power I still felt out there rattled me.
I was surprised the earth didn’t shake from the force of it.
I checked on my net and followed the twinges to the cliffside deep in the forest. I was familiar with the icy feel of Ezra’s power, and I’d recognize Kaiden’s anywhere, even as depleted as it was.
They surrounded a dwindling pocket of darkness that lashed out at them with desperate strikes.
It faded as the witches pulled their power back within themselves.
Pacing the living room, I mentally tracked them on their journey back and kept an eye out for any surprises within my range.
Kaiden’s life force flickered like a sputtering candle.
I reached out, hoping to protect it, strengthen it somehow, but it was no use.
I sensed the second he lost consciousness, and the terror that gripped me was surprising.
It strangled me, making me fumble over my own feet to get to the front door.
I opened the many locks, and the thick wood swung open in time for Ezra to stumble in, holding an unrecognizable Kaiden with half his body painted in blood.
A ruby puddle formed on the floor around their feet after only seconds of being here.
One of Kaiden’s arms was wrapped around Ezra’s neck as he used all his strength to drag his cousin the rest of the way inside.
I slammed the door shut, reactivating the wards in case there was more of whatever hurt them out there.
I followed, helpless, as Ezra dragged Kaiden to the bedroom, careful to not split him open more.
Gods. Vomit burned the back of my throat at the sight.
I’d never seen the inside of a person like that.
Things moved too quickly to track. Ezra shouted orders at me that I didn’t fully understand.
I followed them anyway—grab this crystal or that vial of herbs.
Their large stash of potions under the sink vanished at an alarming rate as Ezra did what he could to keep his cousin alive and I was sent to task—boiling water and following the detailed instructions in a potion book to restock whatever didn’t require rare ingredients or a spell.
“Sage, stop arguing with me and send the fucking physician! I’ll keep him breathing until then.”
The mirror shimmered in the corner of my vision, an image of Kaiden’s sister blurry from where I sat beside him on the bed.
A healer was necessary for injuries this severe.
Half of Kaiden’s torso was a tangled mess; shredded skin and muscle; exposed bone; and.
So. Much. Blood. I did all I could, maintaining skin contact wherever it was safe to touch to lend my strength, and pouring potions past lax lips.
The bond in my chest was a constant heat—like it was working overtime to hold on.
If he survived this, we’d be wound even tighter together.
That didn’t bother me as much as the thought that he might not make it.
My eyes didn’t leave him for a second, as if just watching him could keep him anchored here with me.
I internally kept watch on that growing bond, so tender and new, ready to tug on it if he started to slip away.
Ezra moved like I’d never seen him move before—swift and controlled.
Everything happened too fast. He froze the parts of Kaiden’s body that splayed open, but the warm blood melted the ice after a few minutes.
His cousin’s life force was a sputtering candle, and each time that flame wavered, it threatened to take me with it.
I refused to give up. Every ounce of energy in me went to keeping Kaiden alive.
Tense hours later, the physician made it and depleted the majority of his power keeping his faction heir from certain death.
Muscles knitted together, blood replenished, and skin closed.
There would be faint scars, but considering Kaiden’s organs had been punctured, scarring was the least of his worries.
Twenty-four hours. It took an entire day of multiple healings, which the physician had to recover from before beginning again, until he was finally satisfied.
When he departed, leaving behind strict instructions for rest, Ezra and I sat in a silence born from exhaustion and disbelief.
Part of me wasn’t sure our efforts would work.
By all reason, Kaiden should have died. We were so, so lucky.
“What happened out there?” I asked. I wasn’t sure when Ezra left the condo, and hadn’t even known Kaiden was on his way back until I felt the flare of power.
He shook his head—like it would make any of this easier to understand. “Scent hounds,” was his whispered reply. “The djinn sent them after you, and Kol, their heir, taunted Kaiden at the meeting about it. He barely got here in time.”
The blood rushed from my head, leaving me shaky and even more unsteady.
Scent hounds? How had the tribunal approved that?
I was a faction heir’s bond! Technically, a faction heir in my own right now that we’d been granted clemency.
Yet they would just send those things after me? And for what reason?
“I thought it took a unanimous vote to release the hounds for a hunt?” My voice shook as I realized how close to death I’d actually come without knowing it.
Ezra shook his head. “We think the djinn have an unsanctioned breeding pair.” His lip curled in disgust. “Kol Von Bauer is the one pulling the strings, with or without his father’s knowledge.
He was behind your attacks, the illusions, and the hunters still trying to collect an illegal bounty.
If Kaiden hadn’t called ahead with a warning and raced like hell to get here, I’m not sure I could have kept you safe on my own. ”
I didn’t blame him. Not against fucking scent hounds. The fact that they both survived was miracle enough and not an easy feat.
“Thank you,” I told him, holding his gaze. “I’ve been beyond selfish and made your life difficult, both of you, but…thank you.”
He nodded, a rare moment of severity for him, before leaving to find his own bed, exhaustion causing him to stumble across the hall.
The fact that he was willing to go at all told me he thought his cousin was in the clear.
I glanced down at the man I’d fought so hard to resist. The better part of this year was spent thinking the worst of him and fighting every attempt he made to get to know me.
Despite my actions, he’d protected me time and time again.
He almost died for me, and that realization was only just sinking in.
Time blurred as we all recovered. Physically, I was in perfect health, but the amount of energy Kaiden needed was enough to exhaust me.
I threw everything I had at him. He could have it all if it meant he’d wake again.
I fell in and out of fitful sleep. Each time I woke, I’d check in on that bond in my chest. It hummed softly.
He’s okay. I had to remind myself. Despite him being right there, the thought of him slipping away…
Pure unfiltered terror gripped me. There it was.
The true feelings I hadn’t allowed myself to linger over.
Somehow, Kaiden snuck himself past my defenses and burrowed into my heart.
He rooted himself in there, digging deep.
My heart skipped and froze, sluggishly pumping through the fear that now encompassed my every thought. Every molecule in my body shuddered with it.
If I lost him now…
Beside me, Kaiden shot straight up, and his uninjured arm reached under the pillow to grab a sharp dagger. He held it out in front of him; eyes clear and scanning the room for danger. His healed chest rose and fell in heavy breaths as he completed his search, ending on me sitting beside him.
“Where is it?” he asked, worry clouding the blue in his eyes. “Where’s the threat?”
I stared at him, checking every inch of skin I could see to make sure no wounds reopened. Not that there should be anything left to open, not after the healing he had. I quickly peered down at his pillow, still dented with the impression of his head.
“How long has that knife been under there?”
Kaiden lowered said knife and twisted to face me. Concern still creased his face as he cupped my cheek, forcing me to look at him once more.
“You’re terrified,” he said, thumb gently brushing my skin. “Tell me what’s wrong so I can fix it.”
My eyes widened. He’d woken from a bone-deep healing sleep because he’d felt my fear?
Barely off death’s door, and his first thought was to protect me.
To make sure I was all right. That bond between us pulsed, and my chest clenched.
I was sure my face was stuck in shock. Seeing him speak—seeing him move like he hadn’t been torn to pieces only hours ago…
And now he wanted to fight, again? Because I was scared?
“Eryn,” he murmured, eyes capturing mine. His beautiful blue, very alive eyes.
Holy shit. My frozen heart stuttered and then kicked off like a stampede.
“I’m falling in love with you,” I whispered. My voice was a ghost, with hardly enough substance to hear, but he caught it.
His smile was slow like a cresting sun breaking through morning fog. “Just figuring that out, are you?”
I stared in silent shock. Panic. Fear. Realizing what I felt and what I just admitted out loud. A very big freak-out was building, and there would be no way to stop it once it arrived. How had I let this happen?
“Would it make you feel better if I still pretended not to know?”
That snapped me out of it. “Still? What do you mean still?”
He laughed, full and open, and the sound eased some of the stricture around my heart. I wasn’t sure this was a laughing matter but seeing him do anything besides gasp for air was a massive improvement.
“I’ve known about your feelings for some time now,” he admitted, his chuckle gentle. Pleased. “You’re the one who’s been hiding from them. You didn’t do a very good job of burying them from me, though.”
I scowled. “Well, sorry that I’m not as good as some people at blocking my side of the bond.”
He laughed again, and I blushed. There was a whirlwind of emotions inside me, spiraling so swiftly I couldn’t get a lock on what exactly I felt.
Embarrassment rose to the top. This whole time I’d fought against the idea of us, and Kaiden knew all along that it was a farce. He must think I’m an idiot.
“Here.” He grasped my hand. “I’ll make it even.”
The door to his side of the bond opened wide and out flooded every thought, every feeling he’d ever had for me.
Excitement. Frustration. Arousal. Irritation.
Amusement. Love. Tears flooded my eyes until Kaiden blurred in front of me.
This entire time, he trusted I’d find my way.
All the hurt he’d hidden at my denials and unfounded anger toward him.
My mistrust cut him to the core. My smiles he coveted like a personal treasure.
He liked pissing me off. He let me see it all, pushing some memories through as well for good measure.
My chin wobbled. “Why didn’t you tell me?” How did he keep this locked up?
“Because you weren’t ready to hear it.” He smiled again, a small one. “And you never would have believed me. You’d have thought it was a trick to get you to bond.”
He was right. I wouldn’t have seen it for anything but manipulation on his part.
Even now, I had a hard time trusting all that he showed me, so deep was my fear of bonding.
Feelings aside, the thought of allowing that level of control over me still made me wary.
Kaiden was so much better at this bond thing than I was already, what would happen once he had wide open access to me?
I shook my head. That was the fear talking. Kaiden had already proven beyond doubt that he wouldn’t hurt me. Why couldn’t I trust that and just be happy?
“Easy,” he hummed, cupping my cheeks once more. “Nothing has to change. Calm down.”
“I’m sorry. I trust you; I do. I swear. It’s just—”
“You don’t trust yourself,” he finished for me. “I can’t begin to understand what you’ve been through or why the idea of our bond makes you feel like that, but I’m here, okay? I’ll be here as you figure it out.”
I released a shaky breath. Took in another, and let it go as well.
Kaiden wrapped an arm around me and drew me close, tucking me into his uninjured side and laying us down.
The bond hummed, and he pushed gentle waves of calm down the connection.
His fingers trailed lightly over the skin of my arm. Up and down.
The door remained cracked, allowing me to still feel him but not be overwhelmed.
Slowly, I relaxed and stepped away from the ledge of panic.
Exhaustion rose and hooked into my mind with a finality.
There was a long sleep on the horizon—for both of us.
Hopefully, the danger that seemed to follow us needed a break as well because we would be beyond vulnerable otherwise.
Before going under, one thought wormed its way past my lips.
“Seriously, how long was that knife under your pillow?”