Chapter 16
The room is almost completely silent, and I can’t focus on anything but Kaldar’s chest. I just need it to rise and fall.
Nothing else matters in this moment. It takes a few more minutes, but then I finally see it.
His chest rises, just the smallest bit. I feel like my entire body releases the tension it’s been carrying.
“He’s breathing,” somebody says. Jespar continues his work, but he’s breathing. That’s what counts.
“Kinsley, you need to sit down before you fall over.”
I hear Farrah and finally look over to her.
She and Harper are standing next to each other a few feet away from me.
Gratitude overcomes me, and I sag in relief.
We made it. Kaldar’s not going to die, and we survived the Spirit Rites.
My body suddenly remembers what all it’s been through, and I sway a moment.
I hear the slide of metal but it doesn’t register fast enough, not until somebody grabs my arm and places a knife at my throat. I go very still.
“Reika, no!”
“Stop!”
“Hey!”
Before I realize it, weapons are drawn. Rysden stands the closest to me, and he’s got his sword out.
His arm at his side for now, but I know how fast he can move.
Farrah and Harper both have knives in hand.
Lox is standing off to the side, looking calm and relaxed, but I don’t miss the knife in his hand.
Then there’s Kaldar’s men. The big, bald guy who took his weight from me is wielding some kind of axe that looks deadly.
There’s the guy that has dark swirls all over his arms and even darker hair and eyes.
He seems to glare at me, and I wonder what I did to make him mad.
“Reika, knock it off.” One of Kaldar’s warriors strides over to us with no concern for her own safety.
“What are you trying to prove?” the big burly guy asks.
“We don’t know anything about this woman.” I’m surprised to hear a woman’s voice behind me.
“Are all warriors from your kingdom this stupid?” Harper asks in a calm voice, like she’s asking about the weather.
“Harper,” Farrah hisses.
The knife tightens on my throat. “Release her,” Rysden says in a low voice that reflects just exactly what he will do if that doesn’t happen.
“I’m not going to release this woman. She tried to kill our king.”
A host of rebuttals ring out, but the knife doesn’t come away from my throat.
And just like that, I’ve had enough. Of everything.
I’m tired of almost dying; I’m tired of being scared.
I’m tired of fighting for my life in the Trials and then again in the Rites.
I’m tired of people dying...or almost dying.
Anger burns through me, and in a move that Ryden has made us drill over and over and over again, I yank hard on the hand holding the knife.
I spin and jerk her hand around, knee her in the stomach and crack her arm over my knee, forcing her to drop the knife.
I snatch my own knife and hold it to her chest a second later.
“I didn’t try to kill Kaldar. The next time you accuse somebody of something and hold a knife to their throat, maybe get the facts right.
” The anger in her eyes makes me almost regret what I did; I have a feeling I might have just made even more of an enemy.
But I can’t bring myself to regret it. I turn around, making sure to keep her in my line of sight and kicking her knife further away from her in the process.
“The same goes for the rest of you. I didn’t hurt your king.
He was bitten by a mireling; that’s why he’s not conscious. The poison was spreading through him.”
Jespar is holding off the poison from completely taking him until the antidote can get here, Veyra explains through our link.
“Jespar is helping to keep him stable until we get the antidote. If Kaldar were awake, he would tell you what happened. Until he is, you have to take my word for it. Jespar and Veyra are mates, and Veyra is my bonded. As I’m sure you know, the second I touched your king, we were sucked into the Spirit Rites. ”
“Kaldar already entered the Rites,” the woman that held a knife to my throat says.
I level a cool glance at her. “Yes, and this time was my turn.
But he held on to me, and it sucked both of us in.
Now, that is the truth. Don't make me repeat it.” I hear a sound and glance over to see Farrah and Harper both staring at me wide-eyed.
Farrah looks like she swallowed something. “What?”
They both snap out of it and hurry over to me. “Who are you, and what did you to our friend?” Farrah asks.
“I was trying to set the record straight.” The world tilts a little, and I take a step to straighten out.
“Might make a better impact if you don’t faint,” Harper says dryly.
I try to scowl at her, but I can’t seem to manage it. “Kinsley?” I hear Farrah’s voice, but it feels far away. The world tilts again, and I feel hands on me.
I hear a gasp. “Kinsley, you’re bleeding. Rysden! Hector!”
Somebody catches me when my knees give out, and the world spins again as I’m lifted. I hear everybody’s voices, but they come from far away. “She’s bleeding on both sides.” Somebody lifts my arm, and a cry is wrenched from my lips.
“Easy, Young One.” I recognize Hector’s voice. I fade in and out of it, never quite drifting into unconsciousness. After a little while, the busyness around me finally settles. It gets quiet, and I really want to go to sleep. I’m having a hard time staying awake, but I need to know.
I search for a familiar face. Harper sees my gaze, and she walks over to me. “What do you need?”
“How is he?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “He hasn’t woken up yet.”
“Is the man with the antidote back yet?”
She shakes her head, and I fight the sense of despair that comes over me. “You need to rest, Kinsley. I’m not sure what all you went through.” She glances over her shoulder again. “What all you both went through, but your body needs rest and healing.”
I feel a tear drip down my cheek. Harper's eyes track it, and she stares at me. “What’s wrong?”
Weariness overcomes me. I don’t even really know. My entire body hurts, and I feel alone and defeated. Something pushes next to my body, and I groan in pain. But when I feel course fur brush my hand, I don’t regret it. Rest now, Bonded One.
I can’t. Not until I know Kaldar is okay.
Your mate is stable. Jespar will keep him that way until an antidote comes. Now rest and let your body heal. I will wake you when he wakes up.
Really?
There’s a pause. You doubt my word?
No. Sorry. I’m just really...I can’t even seem to find the words I need.
Rest now.
I try to keep my eyes open, but it’s a losing battle. “Kinsley,” I hear somebody say, but I don’t get a chance to respond. Exhaustion pulls me into a deep sleep.
Sometime later, something nudges me, and I ignore it, trying to go back to sleep. Your mate is awake.
My eyes fly open, and I start to sit up.
I notice right away that my sides are much better; I have a feeling I have Veyra to thank for that.
My wrist aches, but it’s not as painful as it was.
“Kinsley, are you in pain?” Farrah puts a gentle hand on my back.
“I can get more of Hector’s pain reliever for you. ”
“I need to see him.” My voice is hoarse, and I cough to clear it.
Farrah doesn’t even question it. “Okay. Let’s get you up on your feet.” She puts a hand behind my back and helps me stand. My sides scream at me, and my arm is a continual throb; but I try not to think about it. I just need to get downstairs.
The door to my room opens, and Rysden steps inside and gives me a calculating onceover. “I was coming to tell you that he’s awake, but you already know.”
I nod at Veyra. “She told me.” He nods, unsurprised.
He eyes meet me a moment. “Do you want me to carry you down the stairs?”
Farrah’s face is full of concern. “Maybe he should, Kins. Your sides are still healing, and your arm is a mess.”
“I’m okay.” An urgency to see Kaldar and make sure he’s actually okay thrums through me, and the adrenaline helps the pain to fade.
We make our way out into the hallway and then down the stairs.
When we get to the bottom, I take an extra second to try to catch my breath before I keep moving.
When I step into the main gathering area, I hear a voice I would recognize anywhere.
“Where is she?”
I don’t stop to ponder the effect just the sound of his voice has on me.
I’d never even talked to him before the Rites, and now.
..I didn’t finish the thought. My mind’s too tired to even frame a response.
As soon as I enter the room, my eyes search out the couch Kaldar was sleeping on.
When I see it’s empty, my eyes scan the room and land on a certain tall figure.
Bright green eyes meet mine, and my entire body sags in relief.
“Kaldar.” His name is like a prayer from my mouth.
And then I’m moving. I move towards him as fast as my body will allow.
His long legs eat up the remaining distance between us, and he takes me into his arms. I wince at the pain, but I wouldn’t change it for anything.
I suck in a deep breath and breathe in the very essence of Kaldar.
For the first time in hours, my body relaxes.
“Are you okay?” he says in a rough voice against my ear. I nod, unable to find the words to respond.
“Are you?” I ask in a broken voice. I pull back so I can look up at him and reach a hand up to his jaw. It used to be clean-shaven but not after the Rites. “You were dying. I didn’t think...you weren’t...” Everything hits me at once, and I feel so overwhelmed with what could have happened.
He reaches his hand up and covers mine. “I’m okay. You kept me alive.”
Concern rushes through me. “Are you good now? Is the poison gone?”
“It will take a little bit for it to completely leave my system, but I’m fine now.”
I hear a cough and remember quite suddenly that we are no longer alone in the Rites, just the two of us.
I step back, putting distance between us.
And the bubble that Kaldar and I seem to be in pops.
“Your Highness, as soon as you feel recovered enough to travel, we need to leave. You’ve been gone too long. Our people need to know you’re okay.”
I frown both at the interruption and the words. “How many days were we gone?” I ask Kaldar.
“A month,” the same annoying female voice says.
My eyes widen in shock. “What?” I spin around looking for Farrah or Harper.
I make eye contact with Lox instead. He gives me a tight nod, and I register that Rysden’s friend doesn’t look nearly as easy-going as he normally is.
I turn back to Kaldar, who’s still watching me with an intensity I’m not used to from him. “I thought it was five or six days.”
“It was for us, but time works different in the Rites. I don’t know how it works, but the time goes slower there,” he explains.
I swallow hard. “So, we were really gone for a month?”
Kaldar nods, still watching me. I feel like the eyes of everyone in the room are on me, and it makes my skin crawl. As if I wasn’t already feeling off, Kaldar’s next words send me right over the edge.
“I need to get back to my kingdom.” His eyes never leave mine, and he watches me intensely.
I suck in a breath when I remember the promise I made to him.
It was probably foolish of me, but I thought he was dying.
I wanted him to have peace in those moments.
I wasn’t sure if he would even remember, but the look he’s giving me is too intense for him not to remember.
I pull a rein tight on my emotions and simply nod at him, even as my mind spins. I’m going to the Jaguar Kingdom.