Chapter 27 #2
Solflara dimmed her flames, allowing them to use their magic to float Kaia onto a stretcher. Hadrian followed closely as they carried her from the coliseum. She knew the soulwardens would need time to work.
Alaire didn’t linger to see who came in first for the Nocturne Crucible. She didn’t care. Her leathers, caked with blood and dirt, creaked with every step. Her hair was tangled, her stomach hollow. Her body needed to move.
If she stopped, even for a moment, everything would come crashing down.
Hours later, Alaire shielded her eyes against the stark shades of white covering every inch of the infirmary. It was impersonal, rigid, and stiff. Beds lined the rows, those occupied separated by curtains for privacy. Each makeshift cubicle bore a name card.
From the number of cards she sorted through, it was clear Kaia wasn’t the only one injured in the crucible—the only one attacked, Alaire was sure.
The metallic, coppery scent of blood stung her nostrils as she searched until she found Kaia’s.
Before she could reach for the curtain, a soulwarden stepped out and gave her a pointed look. “Not too long, okay? She needs her rest.”
Alaire nodded.
Satisfied, the soulwarden squeezed past her, moving on to the next patient.
“Hello?” Alaire called softly, not wanting to wake Kaia if she’d drifted off.
A throat cleared. “Come in,” Kaia said hoarsely.
Alaire pulled back the thin cotton partition and stepped inside. Her gaze swept over Kaia, checking for damage. Her skin, though pale, was free of the scrapes and marks from earlier.
Thank fuck. She’s okay .
She sank onto the small stool beside Kaia’s bed. “How are you feeling?”
“Much better, thanks to you.” Kaia managed a weak smile, her eyes alert. “I can’t believe that all happened. Everything is still so frazzled.”
“You scared the seven hells out of me. Don’t ever do that again.” It had been too close.
“Al, I’m okay.” Kaia tried to meet her eyes.
She swallowed down her emotion. “You’re not, though. We need to find out who did this.” Alaire leaned closer, making sure she couldn’t be overheard. “Do you remember anything about being attacked?”
Kaia’s brow furrowed. She closed her eyes and pressed a finger to her forehead.
“Hadrian and I were so close to the finish line,” she murmured, voice distant, locked in memory.
“I never saw their face, but…” She shuddered, fingers brushing her neck.
“Something about them was wrong. They kept sniffing me, rubbing their nose along my neck, whispering like they were fighting their instincts. They kept saying they weren’t allowed to taste. Not yet.”
She drew a shaky breath. “They had a purple-black blade. As soon as it pierced my skin, I felt hollow, like it was draining something from me.”
Alaire’s heart cracked. “Kaia…”
“Whoever it was struck us in the air, catching us by surprise. I clawed and fought to keep my balance, but when I couldn’t hold on, I dragged them with me. I didn’t want them getting away.”
“Do you think it could be a vampire?” Alaire asked quietly.
Kaia opened her eyes, confusion clouding them. “A vampire?”
“What other creature would want to smell your neck?”
Kaia pressed both hands to her gut. “Don’t make me laugh. It hurts too much,” she said, shaking her head. “Alaire, there’s no way a vampire got past House Aetheris and House Vitalis’s defenses. And even if one did, why interfere with an aerial challenge? It doesn’t add up.”
“Nothing about this makes sense,” Alaire muttered, trying to block out the image of Kaia’s broken body. “Which is why we need to be careful. Extra careful.”
Kaia leaned her head back against the pillow.
Alaire lowered her voice another octave. “Do you remember anything else? Anything at all?”
Kaia’s eyes widened; her hand instinctively went to her ribs.
“I was bleeding profusely. I couldn’t stop it.
The world was hazy. Everything felt cold.
Hadrian didn’t want to leave me, but I forced him to go for help.
I tried summoning lightning…” Her voice broke.
“There was nothing—like the blade took everything from me. Then there was numbness. No pain. No fear. Just stretches of nothing that felt… peaceful. Comfortable.” Her eyes fluttered open. “But then…”
What kind of weapon is that?
“Then what?” Alaire prompted.
“Then there was warmth. A flood of it chased away the cold. It felt like being wrapped in a long blanket, sitting all afternoon in the sun. And you were there somehow. I heard your voice telling me to hold on and stay with you. What did you do?” Kaia pulled up her thin gown; the gash that had once been puckered and raw was smoothed over, leaving only a faint pink line.
“We used an ember from Solflara to staunch the wound. It was the only option to stop the bleeding.” Alaire stared at the mark.
“The soulwarden told me I was lucky.” Tears spilled down Kaia’s cheeks. “That if I hadn’t gotten help when I did, the blade’s poison would’ve killed me. You got me here in the nick of time. They didn’t save me. You did.”
Alaire shook her head, breath catching. “I wish I could’ve done more.”
“Thank you for stopping. You rescued me when it cost you the win.” Kaia held out a trembling hand, squeezing hers weakly.
“Win-schmin.” Alaire laughed to cover the crack in her voice.
“You’re more important than any first place.
There’s no need to thank me. I couldn’t endure this place without you.
Your friendship”—she wiped a tear caught in her lashes, leaving a streak of dirt—“is a gift I hold in the highest regard. It means everything to me.”
Kaia smiled through her tears.
“You saved me,” Alaire confessed. “Though I refuse to go to any more parties. I’d much rather have a girls’ night in.”
Kaia settled back against her pillow, exhaustion etched across her face. She released a snort. “Deal.”
“I’m going to let you get some rest.”
“Thanks for coming by. And, you know, everything else.” She tried for a wink, but it looked more like a wince.
“Get some rest.” Alaire turned her head to smother her laughter.
Her spine went rigid as she spotted tan fingers curling around the entrance to Kaia’s room. A familiar swath of white hair appeared, grey eyes fixed solely on Kaia.
He nearly walked right into Alaire, but she shoved him back into the hallway.
“What do you think you’re doing here?” she hissed.
Caius towered over her, the scar at the base of his throat paler against all the white.
“Checking on Kaia,” he said matter-of-factly, as though that weren’t strange.
“Why?”
“Because she’s my partner. What are you, her guard?”
“As a matter of fact, I am.”
He scoffed. “As if you could keep me away.”
“Caius, is that you?” Kaia’s drained voice cut through the tension.
“Yeah, it’s me.” Caius pulled open the curtain. Kaia’s whole body relaxed at the sight of him. His eyes hardened at her fragile state. “I’ll be just a sec.”
“Okay.” She spread her arms across the blanket. “Guys, be nice to each other.”
Caius let the curtain fall. “See? She wants to see me,” he retorted smugly.
“I have no idea why,” Alaire shot back. “The only reason I’m letting you through is because she knows you’re here.”
“You can’t let me do anything. Lest I remind you, halfling, you lack the authority and ability to stand up to me. So back off.”
“If you so much as hurt a hair on her head, castrating you will only be the beginning of my payback.”
“I’d like to see you try.”
“Thought I already proved on the mat that I’m capable.”
His hands gripped the curtain. He gave her one last withering look. “Everywhere you go, destruction and death follow. Maybe you should reconsider your threats and examine how beneficial your presence is to your so-called friend right now.”
The words hit like a punch to the gut. Her insecurities rose with his taunts. He wasn’t wrong. First Blake, then Eloise, now Kaia. Her parents. Her kingdom. Guilt, sharp and unyielding, pierced her soul.
“Guys. Please tell me you aren’t fighting,” Kaia called.
“Not at all. Claire was just filling me in on how you were feeling.”
“That is not her name.”
Caius’s voice dropped to a murmur.
Alaire lingered outside the room a few moments more, making sure Kaia was truly comfortable with that wretch. Ugh .
For all she knew, he could’ve been the one who attacked her, come back to finish the job. But the look on his face when he saw her lying in that bed…
She left the infirmary, relieved that Kaia was healing and safe.
Kaia’s attack had proved something was stirring in the shadows.
And Alaire intended to drag it into the light.