Chapter 11
“Do you want me to take the first shift?” I offer after we finish making our shelter for the night. “I’m kind of wired anyway.”
He looks over his shoulder at me and studies my face a moment. “Sure.” The fact that he doesn’t fight me makes me wonder if he’s hurting from the snake bite earlier and just hasn’t told me about it. I open my mouth to ask him, but he beats me to it. “I’m fine.”
I close my mouth and frown. “How did you know what I was going to say?”
He motions to my face. “It’s all over your face.”
“Are you sure, though? It was a huge snake.” I shudder even as I say the words.
“I’m fine. I’m going to sleep a few hours and then I’ll switch with you. But if anything comes our way, wake me up.”
“It’s funny that you think you have to tell me that. If some creature comes our way in the middle of the night, I’m screaming for you because I’m not facing it alone.”
He smirks. “Okay. I’ll see you in a few hours.”
It’s quiet after that, and I stare into the fire for a while.
These night watches have given me a chance to do a lot of thinking.
Kaldar and I haven’t talked about what happens after we survive the Spirit Rites, but I’ve thought about it many times.
He’s going to go back to his kingdom; he has to.
He’s the king there. Then there’s the little matter of our jaguars being mates.
He hasn’t brought it up, and while I’m grateful, I’m also confused.
Why hasn’t he brought it up? Is he not happy about this turn of events?
Is he disappointed? I sigh and stare into the fire, wishing I could talk to Farrah.
Of course, her case was a little different.
She had no idea she was anything to Rysden.
He knew she was something to him because of his mom’s visions.
But even he didn’t know she was going to be his mate, and that they would have a soul bond.
A soul bond or soul mates, as far as I understand it, is when you both have corporal animals that are mates.
I can’t even talk about any of this to Rysden and Farrah because literally as soon as I found out about Veyra, I was sucked into these Spirit Rites.
My mind pings to Veyra, and I wonder how she’s doing.
I also wonder how Jespar is doing. He’s been bonded to Kaldar for longer than I have been to Veyra.
I wonder if he’s struggling. I glance over to where Kaldar is sleeping.
I wonder if he’s struggling. I also wonder how long he’s been bonded to Jespar.
I’ll have to ask him. I feel a drop of water hit my nose, and I flinch.
I glance up at the sky with dread. So far, we haven’t had to deal with rain.
But it looks like that just might change tonight.
Another drop falls on my cheek and then another.
More drops fall, and then it’s like a deluge.
I gasp and stand up. The fire is put out instantly, and I stand still a moment in shock.
Then I run towards the shelter Kaldar and I built.
Before I get there, lightning flashes so bright, it blinds me a moment.
And then thunder so loud it shakes the ground rumbles.
By the time I make it to Kaldar, he’s already awake.
I duck into the shelter. “You okay?” he asks, but he almost has to yell it over the sound of the storm.
“It came on so fast,” I yell back. The lightning flashes again, and it’s blinding. I look away and can’t see anything.
“That hit something,” Kaldar says in a voice that belies that fact that he just woke up. When it thunders again, it’s so loud, I cover my ears with my hands. But then the ground begins to shake. When it doesn’t immediately stop, I lift my gaze to Kaldar.
He’s crouched, staring out the opening. We’re both still in the shelter, even though it’s doing very little to keep us dry. “This storm isn’t natural,” he yells above the raging storm. I try to stand and nearly fall over. “We have to get away from the trees or risk getting hit with lightning.”
I wipe my eyes as water drips into them. “We’re in a forest. There’s no getting away from trees.”
“We have to try. Maybe we can find a meadow or a cleared area.”
His face is resolute, and I don’t waste time trying to argue with him.
He’s not wrong about us being in danger here.
We’re basically sitting ducks in this storm, but I don’t know how it will get any better if we head out.
But he’s survived the rites once before; I’m counting on him to guide us through this one. “Okay.”
He glances up at the sky and then back at me.
“Ready?” he asks, even as rain slides down his face.
I nod, not bothering to yell over the storm.
“As soon as the next lighting strikes, run.” It happens less than a minute later.
Kaldar jumps to his feet, grabs my hand, and then we’re running.
The thunder claps so loud, I flinch; but I can’t cover my ears this time.
I’m trying to stay on my feet, which is next to impossible thanks to the rain and the ground that continues to shake long after the thunder cuts off.
More than once, I almost fall; but somehow, Kaldar is there every time to keep that from happening.
I can’t see a single thing as we run. The rain comes down in blinding sheets, and I can’t keep my eyes clear to save my life.
The next flash of lightning hits, and I’m blinded for a few seconds.
The thunder claps so loudly, and the ground shakes.
In the midst of it all, I don’t register the tree branch falling until it’s too late.
One minute, I’m running with Kaldar. The next, the wind is knocked from my chest. Pain seizes me so intense, I can’t breathe.
A minute later, the branch is pulled off me, and Kaldar’s face is in front of mine.
Water drips off his face and lands on me.
“What did you hurt?” he shouts over the noise of the storm.
“I can’t move my arm,” I shout back. I close my eyes a minute; I feel like I’m going to throw up.
“We have to keep going.” With no other warning, he grabs my good hand and pulls me to my feet. I scream in pain; I can’t help it. He’s in my face again. “Can you run? Or do you need me to carry you?”
I swallow and try to keep from passing out. “I can run.” I hope.
He pulls out the shirt I've used as a pillow and reaches for my arm. I cry out in pain, even though I can tell he’s trying to be gentle. He turns the shirt into a makeshift sling and ties it around my neck. “We have to move.”
There’s a brilliant flash of lightning far too close to us.
Kaldar yanks on my good hand and pulls me in the other direction.
The ground rumbles beneath our feet, and I only stay on my feet because of Kaldar.
I can’t think past the all-consuming pain in my arm.
I try not to think about the pain, but it’s impossible when every step is agony.
We run and run and run, slipping and nearly falling countless times.
I’ve given up on surviving; I’m certain we’re not going to make it out alive.
And then we stumble into an area that is as close to a clearing as we’re going to find.
Kaldar stops, and I stumble to a stop next to him.
He puts his hand on my shoulder but doesn’t say anything.
He turns in all directions taking everything in.
Suddenly, the rain stops, and I try to catch my breath.
When there are no more lightning strikes and the ground doesn’t shake again, Kaldar finally turns to me. “I think it’s over.”
Relief and pain hit me both at the same time, and it’s hard to determine which one is winning out.
Kaldar tries to wipe his face with his hands and then reaches for my arm.
“Let me see what we’re dealing with.” He tries to be gentle, but as soon as he touches my arm, I cry out in pain.
His eyes meet mine, and I can see the pain reflected his eyes.
“I’m sorry. I’ll be as gentle as I can.” He unties the shirt, and I bite into the shirt I’m wearing to try to stifle my cries.
It takes him far too long to do whatever it is he’s doing.
Finally, he ties the makeshift sling around my neck again.
“It’s bad, isn’t it?”
His eyes meet mine, and he nods. Even though I’m in a ton of pain, I appreciate that he’s being honest with me. “Yeah. It’s going to need to be set...in multiple places.”
I close my eyes and swallow back the nausea. When I open my eyes, he’s right there. “Let’s find a place to settle for a few hours.”
I don’t bother arguing that it’s too wet.
I can’t focus on anything right now except the pain; it’s an all-consuming kind of pain.
I follow Kaldar, even as black spots start to dot my vision.
I take a few more steps, and the world tilts on its axis.
“Kaldar,” I manage to get out, right as the world spins out of focus.
His wide eyes are the last thing I remember before everything goes black.
When I open my eyes sometime later, the first thing that hits me is the pain in my arm.
Not only does my arm hurt, but it seems to be radiating through my entire body.
I must make a small sound, because Kaldar’s there a minute later.
“Hey,” he says softly. I’m afraid if I open my mouth, I’ll throw up.
I meet his eyes instead. His are full of compassion.
“Here. Bite on this.” I move just the slightest bit, and pain rushes through my body.
My eyes tear up as I stare up at him. “This will help with the pain.” I have no idea what it is; I don’t even ask.
If it will help, I’ll do it. He puts something that feels and tastes like tree bark in my mouth.
My wide eyes find his. “Just chew on it,” he says softly.
He watches me carefully, and I do as he says.
When I don’t feel anything but agonizing pain, I nearly spit it out.
He must see because he puts his hand on it, keeping it in my mouth.
“Keep going. It will work.” I keep chewing.
I’m in so much pain that even chewing hurts.
Tears well up in my eyes again, and I can feel them drip down my cheeks as I close my eyes.
I feel a feather-light touch on my cheek.
“Keep chewing. Relief is coming. I promise.” I don’t open my eyes; it hurts too much.
A few minutes later, I realize the pain isn’t as agonizing.
I keep chewing, and the pain seems to lessen even more.
“There you go.” I hear Kaldar’s voice, but it sounds so far away.
“It’s going to make you sleepy. Don’t fight it.
Sleep and let your arm heal while you do. ”
I want to open my eyes, but they feel too heavy. I try to open my mouth and tell him thank you for the blessed relief, but I can’t do that either. I feel myself slipping away. There’s another light touch on my cheek, and he says something. But I don’t know what, because I’m already drifting.