Beloved (2 page)

Nigel stiffened, shaking his head from side to side while reaching for her.

Kira backed away and stabbed a finger toward his face. “Don’t touch me.” She held his questioning eyes for a few moments while trying to figure it all out in her head. Octavion said Darkords could snap—turn from someone you trusted into a monster in seconds. Had she misjudged Nigel? Had he only saved her so she could be his pet or some kind of trophy?

She shrugged out from under his cloak and shoved it at him. “You need to go back where you were. I need to think this through.”

The muscles in Nigel’s jaw tightened and his eyes darkened from their chocolate brown to ebony and back again—a quick flash of anger. He let out a huff of air then retreated to where he’d been sleeping, only this time he abandoned his cloak and exited the cave.

Kira let out a sigh of relief. The last thing she wanted was to anger him, especially since he was a Darkord, but until she figured everything out in her head, she couldn’t trust him. She couldn’t trust anyone.

What in Zi’ah’s name were you thinking?” Altaria barked as Octavion entered their father’s sleeping chambers—a place she’d come to call her prison cell.

He put his hand up in hopes it would silence his sister, but she continued without missing a beat.

“Have you no brain? King Tyrius is furious. You have caught him in a lie and embarrassed him in the process. He will never agree to stop hunting Kira now. He will be more determined than ever.” Altaria poked a finger at Octavion’s chest. “She is as good as dead and it is your fault.”

Octavion pushed her hand away. “I did no such thing. Draego is the one who could not keep his mouth shut. He let the truth out to his drinking cronies at the village pub. You cannot blame me for that.”

“You bribed the pub owner to serve Draego his strongest brew and to keep his mug full. You even paid the other patrons to bring up the subject of Kira’s death and to encourage Draego to tell them what really happened out there. It
is
your fault.”

“At least now we know she is alive. You have to admit my idea worked and was worth the price I paid.”

“You are missing the point. What you did put her in even more danger. And what about Draego’s family? They will seek to avenge his death as well—not to mention the death of his brother when she was attacked. And do not tell me you had nothing to do with Draego’s head adorning a pike in the middle of Kazedon’s village square.” She shifted her weight to one foot and propped her fists on her hips. “Well?”

Octavion slumped against the wooden door. That’s as far as he’d gotten before his sister came at him with her accusations. The last thing he wanted was to fight with Altaria. Mostly because she was right, except for one thing. “I had nothing to do with his death.”

“And his head?”

“What kind of a monster do you think I am? That did nothing to punish him for his crime, only tortured the innocent women and children who saw it. If it were up to me I would have ripped him to shreds with my bare hands and fed him to the . . .” He straightened and walked to the fireplace where large flames licked the cool night air. His imagined revenge was far worse than what anyone else could have done to Draego. Maybe he was a monster. “I did not kill him.”

Altaria softened her voice. “At least tell me you have a plan, that you know where to start looking.”

Octavion turned to face his sister. “Luka has sent out scouts to gather information, but has yet to receive word. Cade tracked Althros for several hours before it began to rain. The trail he did manage to follow took him north, toward Finvarra. We’ll start there.”

“So when do we leave?” Altaria twisted her long blonde braid between her fingers.

“
We?
” He moved closer, putting his hand on her shoulder. “Father would have my hide if I let you leave this room.”

He expected her to put up a fight, but she didn’t. Instead she shrugged out from under his hand and went to the window. She separated the drapes so she could peek out, causing a thin strip of light to splash across the room.

“Sometimes I can feel her.”

Octavion stepped to the window and placed his hand on the small of her back. “Kira?”

She turned and looked up at him. Though her eyes were the color of blue ice, warmth radiated from them. “My kindred spirit. It is as if we are both reaching, our fingertips almost touching, then she’s swept away into the darkness.” She lowered her head and leaned into her brother’s arms. “I feel empty inside, as if my soul has been taken from me.”

Octavion’s heart clenched. With all the concoctions he’d created in his lifetime, not one could cure what ailed his sister. He tightened his arms around her and whispered into her hair. “Have you drawn on your faith? Asked Felinea for her guidance?”

Altaria’s shoulders slumped as she slowly pushed away, her focus on her feet. “I haven’t prayed since I was a child. I had a fragile faith then, and I have none now.”

“Then perhaps you should start there.” He lifted her chin with the tip of his finger until their eyes met. “If you can’t believe in the gods, believe in Lydia. When she is ready, you will find her.”

He left her standing near the window, her arms sagging at her sides, eyes staring at nothing. What he wouldn’t give to see the Altaria he remembered, the one who never backed down from a fight and believed she could do anything. This Altaria was a stranger to him—broken and lost. And there was nothing he could do to help her.

Kira shook out the blanket and folded it onto her lap. She’d sat on a large boulder basking in the morning sun for over an hour and its warmth had finally soaked in. The rain stopped sometime during the night and with her head mostly healed, her memories seemed to be in the right place. Remembering every detail of the past few days wasn’t exactly a good thing, though. She knew she needed to stay away from Xantara—to make them believe she was dead—but the guilt that came with her lies ripped at her heart.

Now that she’d distanced herself from the situation, she knew Octavion loved her and that the scene she’d witnessed with Serena was innocent. She felt childish for reacting the way she did. How could she have been so stupid? He’d gone out of his way to prove his love for her, so the fact that she’d question that love made her feel unworthy of it.

She reached in her pocket and fingered the ruby pendant that lay there. She missed Altaria and wondered if Lydia had found her way back yet. As much as she hoped she’d had a full recovery, she didn’t dare lower the wall she’d formed to keep Al out of her head, it was too dangerous.

A solid
thunk
behind her made her jump to her feet and the blanket to fall to the ground. She spun around to find Nigel standing there. If he hadn’t been mute, she was sure by the smirk on his face he’d be laughing out loud. She glanced down at the saddle he’d dropped near his feet. She hadn’t seen it in the cave and couldn’t believe she’d completely forgotten about Althros.

“Where’s my horse?”

Nigel’s smirk quickly turned to a scowl. He kicked the saddle and motioned to the thick stand of trees that surrounded them. Then he pulled up his right sleeve to expose a dark crescent-shaped bruise. He huffed the air out of his lungs and pushed his sleeve back down.

Kira snorted, then covered her mouth to keep from laughing. “Althros bit you?” she asked through her splayed fingers.

Nigel nodded, then turned and went back into the cave. Kira picked up the blanket, shook the dirt off and refolded it. She had to get Althros back. No way would she walk all the way to—

She paused for a moment as several images flipped through her mind. Black pine trees covered with long thick vines. A quick flash of the forest floor as seen from up high.

Kira rubbed the back of her neck as the images faded away. Her visions were getting stronger and came more often, but they still didn’t make much sense. She had no idea where Nigel planned to take her. She hadn’t told him about why she wanted to leave Xantara, though she barely remembered mumbling something to him about faking her death as they swung through the trees during their escape from Draego and his brother. Or was that merely a thought in her head? Maybe her memory wasn’t completely intact after all.

A twig snapped in the distance, sending Kira into defense mode. Tossing the blanket onto the boulder, Kira grabbed the hilt of her knife with one hand and reached for her bow with the other. But before she could cross the two steps to where she’d left it leaning against the cave entrance, she saw Mahli romping through the mud toward her. A moment later, Althros came into view, his coat no longer its brilliant bright white, but a muddy matted mess as if he’d been wallowing in slop like a pig.

“You two are a mess.” Kira crossed her arms and leaned against the rock wall. “You’re not going anywhere with me looking like that. It’s embarrassing.”

Althros jerked his head up in the air and dug one of his front hooves deeper into the mud. But Mahli kept coming, closer and closer until Kira realized she was about to be lovingly attacked by two very muddy paws.

“Oh, no you don’t!” Kira pushed away from the wall and took a step back, but instead of putting distance between them, she tripped over the saddle and landed on her backside. The cub was instantly on top of her, mud everywhere, planting slimy kisses on Kira’s face with her rough tongue. Her breath washed over Kira’s face—the putrid smell of fresh blood and what, she had no idea, but it turned her stomach. She pushed the cat’s face away in time to watch her lick her face. A tiny piece of grey fur toppled out and hit Kira on the cheek.

“Ew!”

A dark silhouette blocked the sun’s blinding rays, then Mahli lifted into the air. Kira rolled to her side and stood, wiping her face with the hem of her shirt. Nigel stood a few feet away with his fist buried in the scruff of Mahli’s fur. He held her a few feet off the ground, their faces only inches apart. Kira wondered if they shared their thoughts, because they both stared intently at one another for several seconds before Nigel finally let Mahli down. She tucked her tail between her legs and wandered a few feet away before she plopped down on a slab of stone and began her bathing ritual.