47. Iolite
When I come to consciousness, there is a weight across my legs. Every part of me hurts even worse than before.
Ugly nightmares come rushing in. Ones of Mikal’s dying body, hanging above me, and I remember… Dying.
My eyelids fly open, and I find myself in the back of a wooden wagon. Mikal and Teo are sprawled out on either side of me.
“Oh gods!” I exclaim.
Mikalis here. He is filthy, but he is alive. And with me.
I pull his face close and kiss his head, despite the fact that all moisture has been leached from my mouth and lips.
“Easy, amor?1,” Teo’s grumbly voice says from behind me. I turn to see my husband holding a giant child.
Another breath pushes past my lips.
We are there, a stinking, bloody mess of limbs.
“He’s alive, and…” I press my hand to my stomach.
“The child is fine,” he murmurs. “We are all fine.”
Such fierce joy takes over me, but then my stomach lurches. The smoke and ash take their toll, and I lean over an empty space of the wagon and vomit.
“Easy,” Ulla’s voice cuts through my thoughts. “You are all right.” She brings a rag to my mouth.
Another voice calls from the front of the wagon. I look up to see Liana through blurry eyes.
“You are weak. You need to rest more,” she says. “This wagon will take us back to Enduvida.”
“My baby is really alive?” I say, my breath still rushing in and out of my mouth.
“Yes. Teo saved you both,” she says.
I let out a sob. “I?—”
“Sleep, or I will make you sleep,” Liana grits out. I almost miss the fear in her voice.
The wise woman withdraws an enormous crystal, hands it to Ulla, and they begin to sing. My eyelids grow heavy. I clutch my brother to my chest.
And then I sleep once more, despite the cart’s jostling.
My consciousness comesin and out over the next few days. Gentle hands force-feed me water and soup.
In the end, that fades, too.
It isn’tuntil the warmth of Enduvida’s air hitting me that I wake once more.
My eyes blink open, and I feel like I’ve come back from death itself. Everything is stiff and… disgusting. I try to swallow, and my throat burns.
My eyes open, and I recognize the ceiling above me. My arms are wrapped around an immense weight, and I look down at the filthy black hair.
“Mikal,” I say.
He stirs, then rolls over and lets one leg flop over the side of my old bed. I smooth his hair away and wince when I think of how they had him hanging in chains.
“Are you in pain?” my mate’s groggy voice rumbles next to me.
I look over to see Teo’s head peeking at me from his seated position on the floor of the room. From the looks of it, he’s just waking up, too.
We are all still stained with the remnants of the battle.
“I’m fine, but why are you on the floor?” I demand.
A ghost of a smile crosses his lips. “There wasn’t room on the bed, and you wouldn’t let him go.”
I look at Mikal and realize that he had grown since I’d seen him. I forgot how sixteen-year-olds grow like weeds.
I sit up to get a better look and find a basket on the ground next to my mate. In it is the giant child.
More emotion wells up. A part of me is shocked to see a giant in the under mountain.
They are synonymous with pain, but the baby is dirty and sleeping peacefully. It’s hard to believe this child is the heir to the giant throne.
“That’s… Keksej’s son,” I say weakly.
Our sound wakes the babe, and he immediately starts to cry.
Teo’s eyes snap open.
For a second, fear is stricken into my heart. He could be as much of a threat to us as that child was to Rholker. And yet…
“Please, don’t kill him,” I plead.
The lines on Teo’s face scrunch up.
“What? My star, I would never do that. I’m awake because he started crying.” As if to emphasize his point, he turns and then scoops up the whining child. Something new pings inside my chest. It was what I felt the first time I saw him holding Sama in the caves.
My eyes widen as he presses the baby to his chest and begins to gently pat its back. I realize he’s been caring for it while I slept.
“You… have a tender space in your heart for the enemy,” I say. Gods, that is just like Teo.
He nods. “I’m afraid I do.”
I think of what I discovered about Sama—that Teo wanted to care for him, too, but thought it best to give him to a mated pair.
The child burps and makes a contented coo that causes my heart to squeeze again. And then, the voice of reason inside of me reminds me that the babe is helpless. It knows nothing of the giants or their cruelty.
“Do you think me mad for wanting to raise a giant in an Enduar family?” Teo asks, softly.
“I’ve… raised a half-giant baby before. What’s a fully giant one?” I say softly. “But… giant lords will come for him.”
The thought of putting the Enduares in danger again feels like peeling my skin from my bones.
Teo looks up at me. “I don’t think we need to worry about the giants for a long while. We destroyed their court.”
We are interrupted by a knock on the door. Then, the door swings open anyway.
Liana strides in, and her nose curls up. “Gods, the stench in here is unbearable.”
Behind her, Svanna, Iryth, Vann, Arlet, Joso and Ulla follow.
My face brightens, and then I attempt to hide because I am utterly filthy.
“None of that,” Arlet says. “We’ve all seen worse these last three days.”
“Three days?” I repeat.
Liana nods. “Yes. You all have been sleeping, and it’s now time to air out the room, scrub you clean, and fill those bellies up with food.”
Svanna comes over and begins to extricate Mikal from me. I look at her, thinking of the way she hacked through her enemies.
“Were you wounded?” I ask.
She grins. “I broke my arm. But, thanks to Ulla and Liana, I’m all healed up.” I watch in awe as she picks up my enormous sibling like he weighs nothing. I feel a little jealous.
“I’ll take the big stinky half-giant,” she says proudly, and then takes Mikal to the tub in the corner.
Joso follows her over.
“Let me clean him,” he insists. “He’s nearly a man. He doesn’t want to wake to a woman washing his bits. Especially one inexperienced with male anatomy.”
Svanna rolls her eyes. “I have a son, remember.” But she concedes.
“Why hasn’t he woke yet?” I ask no one in particular.
Liana looks at me. “He’s still very wounded. His giant blood helps, but the process is slow.”
My brows furrow. “Why haven’t you put a Fuegorra in him?”
Arlet and Liana share a look.
“We didn’t know if you would want that. You were very upset when we gave you one in your sleep.”
I grit my teeth. “Give him one as soon as you can. He needs to heal faster.”
“If you want it done soon, he won’t be able to pick it, and neither will you,” she says. “You’re to stay in this room until you can walk without falling over.”
“I. Don’t. Care. I want him healed,” I insist, wincing in pain. It’s then that I remember they don’t know about who is growing inside of me.
Liana nods and tells Joso to fetch Ulla and have her get a stone. Then Melisa and Arlet are next to me, helping me to my feet.
“Can you walk?” Arlet asks, gently.
I nod as they support me underneath my arms. I feel how disgusting I smell, but they don’t so much as cast me a wayward glance. I look back to see Iryth and Liana take the babe.
“Be careful,” I call, and Iryth gives me an understanding smile.
“Of course, My Queen.”
Then I see Vann help Teo to his feet.
One by one, we are navigated to the baths, stripped and washed. Our small army of friends heal us, feed us—and gods, it makes my heart overrun with joy.
I never thought I would have more than Mikal and Arlet in my life.
And now…
I have a whole village.
When I sink back into sleep, I am cleaned, watered, fed, and… healed.
Whole.