Chapter 47
What Rauk didn’t tell me was that we were simply free of the underbrush that we had to crawl through to get out, but we weren’t free yet.
We still have to make it through more underbrush and up the hill, but at least we could stand now.
Of course, that was easier said than done.
I took one step on my leg, forgetting for a moment, and I cursed myself for forgetting.
Rauk catches me before I can fall and holds on to my elbow. “How about you hop on my back?”
I give him a look of disbelief. “So, you can climb this hill with double the weight? Yeah, that’s not going to work.”
“You got a better idea?”
I try to put weight on my leg again, but it won’t hold.
Even if I could endure the pain, it simply won’t hold me.
“I don’t think—” My words are cut off by a screeching sound that turns my blood cold.
One minute I’m standing there, the next, Rauk barrels into me, taking me to the ground.
I feel the blast of fire, and I hear another screeching sound.
I try to lift my head, but I can’t because Rauk has me pinned down with the weight of his body.
There’s another sound, but it’s cut off.
Harper? Redara asks in a panic.
I’m okay. I’m safe. I try to catch my breath; it all happened so fast. Where did that guivre come from?
I don’t know, but it’s dead now. Noxlyn took care of it.
I try to lift my head, but I still can’t. “Rauk, can you let me out now.”
“Give me...a sec.” His words are spoken through clenched teeth, and I realize just how stiff his body is. Horror races through me, and my entire body tightens.
“Rauk, hey. Look at me. Are you okay?”
Redara?
His back, she sends back. It’s really bad.
Panic courses through me. “Rauk.”
“I’m okay,” he grunts out. “Just give me a minute.”
“You’re not okay. Let me up, so I can see what we’re dealing with.
” The fact that he doesn’t argue with me gives me an idea that this is really bad.
He finally moves slightly, and I start to push out from under his body.
His shoulder sort of falls forward, when I’m no longer under him, and I get the first look at his back.
I suck in a breath. His shirt is gone, and his back is dark red and even almost blackened in some spots. “Rauk, tell me what to do,” I breathe.
“It will...be...fine.”
“It’s not fine!” I snap at him. Noxlyn huffs smoke into the air, making it smell like sulfur.
“I know,” I snap at him too. I rack my brain, trying to figure out what to do.
I suddenly remember Sryena, the woman helped Kinsley when she was burned by guivre fire.
I glance down at Rauk. He’s face down, and I swear he’s barely breathing. “Rauk, I’m going to get help.”
“Not on a broken leg,” he counters in a rough voice.
“Watch me,” I retort. “I’ll be back as soon as I can with something that will help with the pain.”
“Harper...don’t.”
I push myself to a standing position, being careful to only stand on my good leg. Red, can you get me back? I have to find their healer.
Yes.
How close can you get?
I tried already to get down to you, but I can’t. There’s nowhere for me to land.
Okay. I’ll come to you.
I turn to look at Rauk, but his eyes are closed.
“Rauk?” I ask tentatively. I’m not sure whether I should be relieved or worried that he’s passed out.
I am glad that he doesn’t have to be awake for the pain right now.
I face away from him. I don’t look up at the hill in front of me.
I don’t want to know how far I have to go still.
I take my dagger in my hand and start up the hill.
I hop when I can and crawl when I have to, cutting down underbrush that’s in my way as I go.
It’s slow and tedious, but I know I'm making progress. When I finally get to the top, sweat drips into my eyes. I settle on my one good knee for a moment and take a breath. Redara lands as close to me as she can. I grab the side of her leg to help stand up. I eye her back, knowing somehow I have to get up there. She drops down and bends as low as she can go. Thanks, I send her. Then without another thought, I force myself to climb up her back. I ignore the pain screaming at me and remind myself that Rauk has it way worse. Somehow, I get on Redara’s back and manage to pull myself forwards with my arms until I’m settled behind on back.
I lean my head against her powerful neck.
Before we take off, I look over at Noxlyn.
“Please keep him safe.” Those obsidian eyes blink, and he snorts out smoke.
“Right. Okay.” I direct my attention to Redara. Ready?
Let's go. She takes a few running steps and launches into the air. I send a prayer that I can stay seated on her back. With one leg a dud, it takes all my focus to stay perfectly centered, so I don’t lose my balance.
We fly low and fast; my thought is she doesn’t want to attract the attention of any more rogue guivres.
When we get close to where the battle took place, I can barely look away from the carnage.
What an awful site. We quickly leave that open area behind and make our way over the forest that contains many of the jaguar homes.
I keep an eye out for anyone that can help us.
There are very few people out and about right now, and I get it.
I hear the screech of a guivre from somewhere a little ways away, and I shake my head in anger.
There are still some still alive. Not for long, I mentally commit.
When we get to the sand next to the water, Redara lands. This is as far as I can take you.
I notice she got me as close to the wooden walkway as she could. Thank you.
“Harper!” I turn my head and see Thorne, Shane, and Reneta coming out of the trees. They run towards me.
“Where have you been?” Reneta demands. “We’ve been searching for you guys for hours.”
“Where’s Rauk?” Thorne’s eyes are locked on me.
“I came to get help,” I start. “He took guivre fire to his back. Not direct contact,” I hurry to say. If it had been a direct hit, he probably wouldn’t be here anymore. “It’s bad. They have a healer here that can help. Have any of you seen Kaldar or Kinsley, his mate?”
“Yes, I just came from speaking with him,” Thorne says. “Follow me.” I hop after him, and it takes him all of about thirty seconds to realize there’s a big problem. “What’s wrong?” he asks, looking at my leg.
“It’s broken.” He stares at me.
“You flew here on a broken leg?” Shane asks incredulously.
“Yeah, well, there weren’t exactly any other options,” I snap. “I need to find that healer.”
“I’ll carry you,” Thorne suggests.
“No. No way.”
“It will take you forever to move on that leg. Either let Thorne or I carry you, or I’ll find Kaldar and bring him to you,” Shane says.
I look between him and Thorne and realize I’m not going to be going anywhere just yet because there’s not a chance that I let one of them carry me like some damsel in distress.
“Okay fine; you can get Kaldar. But be fast; Rauk was passed out when I left him.”
Reneta whirls on me. “You just left him there?”
“What was I supposed to do? Carry him?” I snap back. “Noxlyn is there. Believe me, he won’t let anything or anybody near him.”
Thorne glances at Shane. “Go.”
“Do you need to sit down or something?” Reneta asks, looking like it pained her to do so. I make a point of looking around, and she rolls her eyes and looks away.
“Why is everybody from your kingdom so nasty?” I ask Thorne. I don’t even care that my question will totally make the female next to me angry. I’m in pain, and I’m worried. The two of those make me more difficult to get along with than normal, and that’s saying a lot.
“Maybe you just think that because you haven’t done anything to get to know anybody in our kingdom,” Reneta snaps.
I narrow my eyes at her. “Oh, and when was I supposed to do that? Because you all have been so welcoming to me?”
“How can we be welcoming to you when we never see you! Have you made a single effort to get to know anybody in our kingdom?” Reneta continues.
“Reneta,” Thorne says in a low, warning voice that she completely ignores.
“You just show up one day and make no effort to get to know anybody. You hide behind the walls of the castle. And then when you need us, you just expect our entire kingdom to come fight this war?”
“Reneta, stop,” Thorne says again.
“No,” we both tell him at the same time.
Anger burns through me. “I don’t need you to protect me,” I tell him and then look at her. “I tried a few times, and everybody just stared at me. Nobody talked to me or said anything to me when I went into town a few times.”
“When?” she demands.
“When what?” I snap.
“When did you ever go to town or try to talk to anybody?”
I stare at her bug-eyed. “A few times, but not many because everybody just stared at me. Thorne saw me.” Reneta jerks her head to Thorne, and he gives a short nod. “Maybe instead of lecturing me, you could call out your own people who were so unfriendly to me.”
Reneta opens her mouth like she’s going to say something, and then snaps it shut. “Okay, I’m sorry people weren’t friendly.” I nod, but she continues. “But in their defense, they had no idea who you were. We don’t have outsiders in our kingdom.”
“No kidding,” I contribute.
She narrows her eyes. “But that doesn’t excuse you for ignoring us.”
My body is literally vibrating with anger, and the pain in my leg is pulsing into my entire body. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Stop speaking in circles!” I snap at her.
She levels a look at me. “Okay, let me put this easy for your brain to understand.” She continues before I can snap at her. “We showed up at the castle multiple times, and you refused to see us. So, you can get on your high horse about us not welcoming you, but—”
I laugh, cutting her off. “That is so not true.”
Her eyes blaze at me. “Yes, it is.” I stare at her and see the truth in her eyes, or at least she thinks she’s telling the truth.
I look at Thorne. “Is that the truth?”
He meets my eyes and nods. “What?” I look between the two. “How?”
Reneta crosses her arms. “Did you really not know we came to talk to you, or are you just being willfully ignorant?”
“Who answered the door?” I ask, ignoring her question.
“What?” Reneta asks.
“Who answered the door when you came?”
“Uh,” she pauses and glances up at Thorne. “Maybe Elowen once or twice and Rauk another time.”
“You tried to meet me three separate times?” I ask in surprise.
Reneta snorts. “I’m pretty sure Trinia tried like seven times.”
“Who is Trinia?” I ask, wondering if I’m losing my mind here.
“My mate,” Thorne says in that low voice of his.