Chapter 38
I try to catch my breath for a whole new reason.
My eyes strain to see past the bright light of the fire to make sure Redara got through okay.
“She’s safe,” a gritty voice says against my ear.
Noxlyn snorts and shoots into the air. The guivre is incinerated in seconds, and relief flows through me.
I pull forward, and the arm around my waist drops.
I stride over to Redara. Did it get you?
Of course not.
I’m glad to see her spirit is back; that should mean she’s on her way to healing. Noxlyn lands, shaking the ground, and Rauk turns to me. “Ready?”
I try to take a deep breath, but it hurts too much.
So, I take a shallow one and nod. I’m ready to be back at the castle.
I eye Noxlyn’s back, which suddenly looks so much taller than before.
“Come on. Last stretch.” I turn to face Rauk.
I nod and take my pain and shove it deep into that black box and begin to climb.
I finally settle in place. Seconds later, Rauk slides in behind me.
I don’t know if it’s my imagination, but it sure feels like he’s closer even than last time. “We really need to work on that.”
I frown and regret it when it pulls on my injured face. “On what?”
“On your attempt to climb Noxlyn or Redara for that matter.”
I huff. “Yeah, well not all of us are as tall as you.”
I expect a wise crack, but instead, he simply says, “I’ll help you with it.”
Nox lifts into the air, and I’m just as unprepared for it as I was the first time.
I'm knocked back against Rauk, but this time something is different. He locks a heavy arm around my waist, shocking me. I can’t move, but as soon as we level out, I push his hand away.
“I can keep my seat just fine,” I call out over the wind.
It doesn’t take long for the castle walls to come into view.
We fly over the walls and into the city.
The guards on the walls are used to Redara and I coming and going, and I’m sure Rysden gave them the heads up as soon as Rauk came.
When we finally land in front of the castle, I’m totally ready to be done with today.
Rauk dismounts first. Then it’s my turn.
I force myself to move. I basically just slide off his back and hope my feet catch me.
They do but immediately buckle beneath me.
Rauk steadies me. “You really need to work on that too.”
“I’ll get right on that.” The world seems to spin a little; but I keep pushing forward, hoping that a hot bath and maybe a nap is in my future. Oh, and maybe some food. I make my way over to Redara and pat her side. Can you rest and recover?
Pretty sure you need the rest more than I do, she says in return.
I can’t help my smile as I walk towards the front door. I open the door and step inside and smell the scent of something heavenly cooking. My stomach growls in response, and I want to walk into the kitchen and see what Hector is making. But I need to check on Auri first.
“Harper! You’re back! I swear to the moons if you—” I turn towards Farrah, and she stops talking instantly.
Her eyes widen in shock. She looks to the side, and I realize Rauk is standing next to me.
I glance over at him too and take him in the way Farrah is right now.
There’s literally dried blood all over his chest and arms. I glance down at my torn and bloody clothes and get why she’s looking at us like that. “What happened?” she demands.
“Guivres,” I tell her in response.
“Don’t insult my intelligence. Obviously, it was guivres! Harper, where did you go? I got up early, and you were already gone. And don’t tell me it was the Jaguar Kingdom.”
I take a shallow breath. “Okay. It wasn’t the Jaguar Kingdom.”
Farrah’s eyes narrow on me. “Did you go to the Jaguar Kingdom again?”
“Yes.”
She closes her eyes, like she’s trying to find her calm.
The door opens behind us, and I watch as Rysden and Lox step inside, followed by Jamik.
“Aw, it’s a welcoming party,” Lox starts, but his smile slips when he sees me.
“Whoa, Harpie, you okay?” I feel a presence at my back, but I don’t turn around.
“Where were you?” Rysden grounds out, and I realize he’s talking to me.
“She went to the Jaguar Kingdom. Again,” Farrah says, exasperated.
“It’s fine. Nothing happened,” I interject.
“Nothing happened? Have you looked at yourselves?” Farrah questions.
My head is hurting more now, and I really want to just go lie down. I need to check on Auri too. “Is Auri up in the room?”
“You are not leaving until we talk about this, Harper,” Farrah says.
I turn towards her. “I don’t know why you’re so upset.”
Farrah throws her hands up. “I’m mad because you keep doing this.”
I frown. “No, I don’t.”
Farrah drops her hands to her hips. “Yes, you do. You think your life doesn’t matter as much as everybody else’s. That’s why you do stuff like this.”
“Like what?” I challenge.
She meets my eyes. “Take on a bunch of guivres at one time without asking for help. You did it before when you were here, and you’re doing it now.”
“I didn’t choose to take them on; they came at me. Listen,” I put my hand up. “I really don’t want to do this right now.”
“Maybe when Harper’s not covered in blood, you could throw your little temper tantrum,” Rauk suggests in a low voice, effectively silencing the room. For all of about three seconds.
Farrah’s eyes widen, and Rysden is no longer over by the door. He stands next to her with his arms crossed. “I think this conversation is over,” he says, looking between the two of us.
“Your mate is the one who started all of this,” Rauk returns, not backing down. “And just why is it that my mate has to take on all the guivres around here? Are you not capable of protecting your kingdom without her help?”
Rysden goes still, and I know Rauk went too far. I put a hand on his arm, hoping he’ll get the clue to shut up and go upstairs. “Don’t mistake my hospitality for softness,” Rysden says in a deadly calm voice.
I turn to Rauk, but he’s not looking at me.
He’s staring down Rysden. I put my hand on his chest and push.
He doesn’t move, but he does look down and meet my gaze.
“Please.” I try to tell him with my eyes that this isn’t what I want.
He must see something, because he backs down.
My head is killing me, and I really want to lie down.
I turn around to walk over to the stairs, but I must have turned too fast because the room tilts on me and it feels like there’s pressure on my head, pushing me down.
“Whoa, Harpie.”
I’m not really sure what happened next. All I know is the world around me went a little haywire for a moment.
The next thing I know, Rauk has Lox up against the wall.
“I told you what would happen if you touched her again.” Rauk chuckles, but it’s cold.
“You really must not enjoy having two hands.” I hear the sound of a dagger being drawn from its sheath, and that sound gets me moving.
The world has righted itself mostly, though it still feels like there’s pressure against my head, pushing it down.
I move over to where Rauk has Lox against the wall.
I don’t even look at what Rysden’s doing, because this could get out of hand really quickly.
“Rauk, stop.” He doesn’t move, and I’m worried this is about to blow up and become a huge problem.
But then he steps back and turns his back on Lox.
I can see the anger as clear as day on his face, but he doesn’t fight me.
He puts a hand on my back as we walk over to the stairs.
By the time I get to the top of the stairs, I can barely walk a straight line.
I'm so off with the pressure on my head. I keep losing my balance. Rauk keeps a hand at my elbow. If I didn’t think I was going to fall over at any moment, I would have jerked my arm away. Sadly, though, I needed his help.
When we get to the room, he opens the door and we’re rewarded with Auri’s smile. Of course, it fades pretty quickly when she gets a good look at us. “Wow. You two have been busy.”
Rauk walks over to her and gives her a kiss on the forehead and then disappears into the bathroom. I walk over to her but don’t sit on the bed. I don’t want to destroy the furs or bedsheets. “Hey, I’m sorry we were gone for so long.”
“It’s okay. Farrah told me what you were doing.” Her eyes meet mine. “She was pretty mad at you, both of you.”
“Yeah. I got that.”
Auri eyes me. “It’s because she’s worried about you. That’s why my brother is a jerk to me sometimes. I know he’s just worried about me.”
I study her face. “Auri, sometimes you are so much older than your years.”
“Yeah. It’s the same reason he’s a jerk to you too.”
Her words startle me. “What?”
“My brother. That’s why he’s a jerk to you sometimes; he worries about you. But he’s a guy, so he doesn’t tell you that. You're just supposed to know that’s why he’s mad.”
I laugh. “Kiddo, that’s sweet, but your brother doesn’t worry about me in the same way he worries about you. It’s a little different.”
“It’s not,” she argues.
Rauk comes out of the bathroom, and I notice he’s clean once again. I watch him carefully. “Are you still mad?” I ask.
He faces me. “Mad? You don’t even begin to know how mad I am about today.
” I frown and open my mouth to argue, but he continues.
“I woke up to a dragon roaring at me and then had to listen to Noxlyn describe to me in real time the beating you were taking through Redara’s point of view. ” He’s towering over me now.
“Well, good. Glad you’re not mad.” I try to stride past him, but he stops me with a hand on my arm.
“I’m furious with you.” His eyes are blazing. “I thought we decided that you weren't going to go back there by yourself.”
“Did we? I guess I didn’t listen.”
“Harper,” he growls out. “Listen to me.”
And I snap. “No, you listen to me. My friend is pregnant and probably scared to death because the guivres won’t stop attacking.
You saw how brutal they are. Their kingdom is being overrun by guivres.
They’re pretty sure they’re trying to run out everyone in the kingdom so they can take over the kingdom and have a place of their own.
For whatever reason, they’ve decided that’s going to be the Jaguar Kingdom.
In the meantime, good people are dying.” I finally come up for air.
He doesn’t say anything for the longest time, and I fidget under his gaze. “Okay. Take me to their kingdom. Show me.”
His response shocks me. “Really?”
His nod is determined. “Take me to the Jaguar Kingdom, but without all the sneaking around. This time, we’ll go. Together.”
I stare at him an extra beat and then move on. “Fine. Are we done now, because I really need to take a bath?”
“Yeah. I already filled it for you.”