Chapter 33
I stare down at him. “How did you know I was wearing her clothes?” I shake my head. “It doesn’t matter.” I shift my gaze to Auri. “Are you ready to head back?”
“Not really.” But the smile she gives me is worth everything.
“I’ll stay a few more minutes and bring her in soon,” Rauk says.
“Do you need help?” I ask stupidly.
He arches a brow. “Carrying my sister? I think I’ve got it.”
I sigh in exasperation as I crouch down and pat Solace’s head.
“Thank you.” Then I make my way out of the barn and back to the house.
It’s quiet when I step inside and close the heavy door behind me.
I walk into the large main room and sigh when I see the fire still roaring in the fireplace.
The warmth of the wolves was good, but I’m still chilled.
I sit on the couch near the fire, close my eyes, and let the fire warm me.
“Harpie.”
I don't even open my eyes. “You know I hate that name, right?”
“Yep, that’s why it’s my favorite nickname for you.” I feel the couch shift when he sits down. “You doing okay?”
I open my eyes and look over at him. He’s not usually serious, so it’s kind of unnerving to see him like this. “Yeah.”
He turns to look at the fire, and neither of us say anything for a minute.
“Don’t be too hard on Farrah.” I don’t say anything in response.
“Two weeks ago, Rysden and Brak got surrounded by three guivres. It was bad. The guivres worked together and backed them into an area where they couldn’t go anywhere.
Shade wasn’t close enough to help; he’d gotten separated from Rysden.
” He blows out a breath. “Brak didn’t make it, and Rysden got hurt.
Badly. He took a brush of guivre fire to his arm, his dominant arm.
He's just now recovering and getting use in that arm again.”
Shock rolls through me. "Brak is gone?” He was the captain of Rysden’s guard, appointed by Rsyden after his father died. I didn’t know him that well, but still. “I’m sorry. That's a lot. Farrah must have been...” I pause, trying to think of the right words.
“Yeah, she was a mess. I think having Rysden hurt messed with her. Add to that everything else she’s got going on, it’s a lot.”
I turn to him. “What else?”
He meets my gaze. “You know.”
“No, I don’t, Lox. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be asking,” I snap, getting tired of his games.
“The emotions, the crying, getting angry at little things...” he looks at me. “The exhaustion?”
“Just tell me, Lox. I’m not,” I pause as it hits me. My eyes go wide. “She’s pregnant too?”
“Can neither confirm nor deny, just saying she has a lot going on.”
“They’re both pregnant?” I’m trying to wrap my head around all this.
“I literally can’t confirm nor deny because Rysden and Farrah haven’t said anything yet, but it’s kind of obvious.
Not only the fact that her emotions are all over the place, but he’s taken his protectiveness up another level.
” He shakes his head. “I thought he and your mate were going to come to blows earlier.”
“What are you talking about and stop calling him my mate.”
He shakes his head. “Harper, Harper, Harper, you just don’t get it. Do you?”
I’m tired and annoyed. “Get what?” I ask shortly.
He shakes his head and smiles but doesn’t fill me in. “Just be gentle on Farrah. That’s all I’m asking.”
I blow out a breath and sit back against the couch. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
He pats my leg. “I know; that’s why I’m telling you.” He doesn’t move his hand, and I glance down at it pointedly and then at him. I’m just about ready to tell him to remove his hand when another voice does it for me.
“You like having two hands? Because you’re about to have only one.”
Because I’m already looking at Lox, I see that Rauk’s voice doesn’t startle him the way it does me. “You knew he was there,” I hiss under my breath.
Lox smirks at me and then makes a show of lifting both hands. “Yep. Kind of attached to both of these.”
“Then keep them to yourself and off my mate.”
I whirl around to face him. “And don’t you start that mate stuff with me. You know as well as I do that you want nothing to do with any of that. So don’t bother pretending now just because another male looked in my direction.”
I stride right past him, more than ready to end this incredibly long day and get some sleep.
I jog up the stairs and make my way to the room I share with Auri.
She’s sitting on the edge of the bed. “Hey, you okay? What are you doing?” There’s a knock on the door.
“Come in,” I call out over my shoulder from where I’m kneeling in front of Auri.
The door opens, and Rauk steps into the room, suddenly making it feel much smaller.
I lift my eyebrows. “Did you need something?” I ask pointedly.
“I’m just here to help her get ready for bed.”
“Harper can do it,” Auri says, surprising me. “Right?” she asks me.
“Of course.” I glance over at him. “I’ve got it.”
He frowns. “What about lifting her in and out of the tub?”
“Harper can do it,” Auri says easily.
I smile up at her. “Yeah.” When I look back at Rauk, he looks between the two of us. “We’ve got it.” I work at keeping the smile on my face when in reality, I am exhausted. But I don’t dare let Auri know.
“Okay, but I’ll carry you to and from the bathroom,” Rauk says to Auri.
His voice is gentle but with a hint of authority, and it takes me by surprise.
It always does; I don’t think I’ll ever get used to how he treats his sister and Elowen for that matter.
I don’t argue with him because I’m secretly glad for the help.
“All right. Let me get the water started.” I make my way into the bathroom and get everything set out that we’re going to need.
Then the door to the bathroom opens, and Rauk strides inside carrying Auri.
I stand up to make room for him, but it’s incredibly small with his large frame in here now.
He carefully sets Auri on the side of the tub.
“All right. I’m out; let me know when you need me again.
” He says the words to me, and I nod. I make quick work of getting Auri undressed and putting a towel over her and then proceed to try to get her into the tub.
It's a lot wetter than the last time. I end up getting soaked, but she gets a good laugh out of that. So, I’ll take it.
After she finishes washing her body and hair and rinses, it’s time to get her back out.
I lean over to get her, but I just can’t get a good grip on her.
I don’t know if it’s because I’m tired, but I just can’t do it and I don’t want to do something awful like drop her.
“Hey, Rauk, are you still out there?” I call out.
There’s a knock on the bathroom door a moment later. “You good?”
“Can you help us?” I hate asking, but I just can’t do it tonight. I make sure the towel covers Auri as Rauk opens the door and steps into the bathroom. He walks over to us. “Do you want a towel so you don’t get all wet?” I ask.
“I’m fine.” He bends over and picks up Auri as if she’s as light as a feather.
“Show off,” I mutter, annoyed at my own weakness. He carries her over to the bed and I put the extra towel on the bed so he can set her down.
“Now leave,” she tells him promptly.
He turns and looks at me. I shrug and point to the door.
He disappears, and I go to work getting her ready for bed.
Once she’s in her nightclothes and her hair is braided, I help her get settled in the bed for the night.
“What did you think about Solace and Shade?” I ask as I sit next to her on the bed.
Her face lights up. “They’re wonderful. That was so incredible.”
“They’re pretty special; I’m really glad you got to meet them and spend time with them. We’ll have to tell Farrah tomorrow. Tonight, you have to sleep.”
I start to stand up, but she puts her hand on mine, stopping me. “Did you really go fight guivres today?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
I stare down at her as I try to put my thoughts into words. “I guess because my friend lives in the Jaguar Kingdom, and they’re being overrun by guivres. And since Red can kill guivres, I thought why not?”
Her eyes stay on me. “Weren’t you scared?”
I don’t hesitate to answer honestly. “Yes, but being scared can’t stop us from doing what we know is right or from what we really want to do.” She stares at me so intently, I can almost see the gears turning in her head. “What are you thinking?”
“There’s something I really want to do, but I’m scared,” she finally admits.
“Being scared isn’t a bad thing; it’s what makes us human.” I watch her curiously. “What is it you want to do? Is it something you can tell me?”
She stares at me with those big, dark eyes that are so somber, just like her older brother’s. She seems to make up her mind because she gives me a tiny nod. “I want to walk.”
Shock followed by intense sadness rolls through me, but I keep all the emotion off my face. I nod, not wanting to crush her incredibly fragile hope right now. “Okay.”
She eyes me skeptically. “You’re not going to try to talk me out of it?”
“Auri, if that’s what you want, then that’s what we’ll work on.” We’ve already kind of started working towards that end, but I don’t think she let herself believe she could do it until now.
“Really?” she asks, and there’s so much hope in her eyes, it almost hurts me. She squeezes my hand. “I’m going to walk, Harper. One day. Thank you for believing in me.”
My heart cracks wide open. “Yes, you will, and I’ll do everything in my power to make that happen, Kiddo.” And then she shocks me when tears well up in her eyes. I go still and have absolutely no idea what to do. “What is it, Auri?”
She sniffles, and it just about breaks my heart. “You’re the o-only one that’s ever believed I could walk.”
My stomach drops, but I keep my face unchanged.
I take in the earnestness in her face and see how badly she wants this, and my resolve grows.
I have no idea if it’s possible for her to ever walk again, but I won’t rest until we’ve tried every single avenue.
“Hey.” I wait for her eyes to lift to mine.
“You're talking to a girl who rides a dragon. I know what it’s like to believe in the impossible.”
She shocks me by throwing her arms around my neck.
It takes me a moment to relax into her hug and wrap my arms around her.
I absently wonder if I should tell her older, over-protective brother what we decided or just keep it to myself.
Before we end the hug and I help her lay down, I decide I’d better keep this one to myself.
I’ve just stepped back from tucking Auri in for the night when there’s a knock on the door.
I walk over to the door and open it a crack, not really surprised to see Rauk.
I lift a brow in question. He pushes on the door and steps into the room.
“Come on in,” I tell him sarcastically. When he doesn’t say anything, I cross my arms over my chest. “Was there something you needed?”
“I’m sleeping in here tonight.”