Beloved (21 page)

“Okay, I think it’s set. Now I’m going to heal it. I haven’t done something like this for a while, so I’m not sure how my body will react or how painful it will be for me. If something happens and I black out, take some sturdy limbs and stabilize her leg so she can’t move it, okay?”

Lessa nodded. “What about you?”

“I’ll be fine. I may have to sleep it off, but I’ll recover.” She closed her eyes again. “Here we go.”

With the exception of healing Cade’s back, Kira had only mended cuts and scrapes she’d both gotten and dished out while training with Blayde. Those experiences did little to prepare her for what she felt when the Crystor took hold of Lydia’s leg. Like everything else since she’d reconnected with the charm, her bond with Lydia while healing was magnified, especially since Kira no longer blocked her thoughts.

With every beat of her heart, a surge of excruciating torture ran through her back and arms as it exited her fingertips and healed Lydia’s leg. Her plan was to go slow in hopes it would cause less pain, but as much as she tried, there was no holding back.

Lydia screamed, arching her back and breaking the hold Lessa had on her. She reached for Cyna, but Lessa was no one to be reckoned with. She yanked Lydia back down and threw her body across Lydia’s to keep her from moving again.

Kira’s entire body felt as though it were being sucked through a sieve and her breath quivered each time her lungs took in air. Her eyes burned so cold, they ached. Her night vision shone as bright as the sun at midday.

She looked down at the Crystor to find it glowing and the intricate design curling up her arm, growing and twisting as it snaked around her middle finger.

Her energy completely spent, she lifted her hands from Lydia’s leg and collapsed into the pod at her side. Darkness closed in around her until a tiny flicker of green light danced in front of her eyes. Kira watched it get smaller and smaller until it was snuffed out by her eyelids slowly closing.

Kira?
Lydia’s sweet voice crept into her thoughts.

“Hmm . . .”

Am I dreaming? Please tell me you’re really alive.

Kira’s mind drifted further into the darkness.
I’m alive. Now go to sleep
.

Kira woke to sunlight streaming through the gaps in her pod. She gave the lid a swift kick, thinking it would slam against the tree trunk. After all, she’d broken the flimsy hinge the night before. Instead, it stopped half way up and snapped back like the jaws of Jrak.

“What the . . .” She let her eyes light the space, finding Lydia gone and nothing familiar. This wasn’t her pod.

The lid slowly lifted, Nigel’s warm brown eyes peering in. He propped the lid up with a stick and offered his hand to help her out.

She hesitated. “What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be hunting. What about your cravings?”

Sadness filled his eyes and she understood. It was the last sign of becoming a Darkord—he no longer needed to feed. She remembered the story Blayde had told her about Nigel’s past and how becoming a Darkord also meant he’d lost half his soul. Kira couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. This was not his fault. He’d only wanted to love and be loved in return and it had cost him everything, including his daughter.

She took his hand and let him pull her out of the pod, and for the first time since knowing him she let herself express something other than gratitude—and frustration. She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned into his hard chest, giving him a much-deserved hug.

His body tensed, clearly uncomfortable with her show of emotion—his arms remaining at his sides.

“I’m sorry about your family,” she whispered.

His shoulders slumped. He gently peeled her arms from around him. His brow furrowed and she knew the question he wanted to ask.
Who
?

“Blayde told me, but don’t be mad at him. I asked a lot of questions and you know how persistent I can be.”

He smiled at that, then pointed to where Lessa sat on the edge of Kira’s pod. From where she stood, she couldn’t see Lydia, but assumed he was pointing at her.

“Is that why you’re here?”

Yes.

“Did Blayde come to get you?”

Yes.

“So you know about the trap and that Octavion and his cousins are close by?”

Yes.

She hated these one-sided conversations, especially now that she knew he could speak if he wanted to. “I had no choice. Blayde was the only one who could take the trap off her leg and no way was I returning to Xantara with the new moons rising. It was bad enough that Blayde had to help me. With all the blood, I know he was in a lot of pain.”

He pointed to Lydia again, then out into the forest.

“I know. As soon as I’m sure her leg is mended properly, I will ask her to leave.”

No
. He made a few more hand gestures, but she couldn’t understand what he was trying to say.

“Kira,” Lessa whispered. She motioned for Kira to come closer, so she did. “He’s afraid your friend will give away our location. We will have to move Lairdor . . . again.”

“She won’t.” Kira turned back to face Nigel, who’d followed her. “She would never tell, not even to Octavion. We can trust her.”

His expression said it all. They had no choice. It wasn’t worth the risk of someone learning their location. It was too dangerous.

Her stomach twisted. She swore never to put the ones she loved in danger again, but the first time she’d been put to the test, she’d failed miserably. “I’m so sorry. How long before we move?”

“We?” Lessa stood, nearly losing her footing on the branch. Nigel steadied her until she found her balance. “I thought you would want to return to Xantara with your friend.”

Kira could see Lydia now. Someone had lent her a dress and braided her hair. She seemed to be sleeping peacefully. The night before had been filled with the urgency of healing her leg and getting Blayde away from the blood. She hadn’t even considered how she’d deal with the choices she might have to make or her feelings. “I don’t know what I want.”

Lessa ran a gentle hand down Kira’s back. “We have all made hard choices and sacrificed living a better life to be with the one’s we love. It will not be an easy decision.”

But this wasn’t about choosing love over a lifestyle. She could have it all—the castle, her best friend and the man she loved—and there would be no sacrifice on her part. But that would be selfish. She’d left that life to protect the ones she loved, not to be with them like most in Lairdor had done. And now she had to choose again. She couldn’t leave Lairdor. They needed her as much as she needed them.

“I know,” she finally said. “I guess I have a lot to think about.”

Nigel helped Lessa across the tangled branches to where her pod lay empty. Kira had never asked her why she was here or what sacrifices she’d made in the process. And now that Kira thought about it, she’d never seen the woman act particularly close to any one individual. She made a mental note to ask her about it later.

Lydia adjusted her position and drew the blanket up around her shoulders, but she still seemed to be asleep. Kira carefully stepped into the pod and sat at Lydia’s feet, lifting the blanket in hopes she could examine her leg without waking her. She placed her hand against Lydia’s shin.

Lydia bolted upright, then relaxed when their eyes met. “Oh, Kira. Your hands are like ice. I thought maybe something had crawled under the blanket.”

“Sorry. How does your leg feel?” Kira rubbed her hands together to warm them.

“It’s still sore, but I can move it.”

She put her hands back on Lydia’s leg. “Is that better?”

“Yeah, thanks.”

Kira focused on the injury and found it not quite healed. The bone had fused, but the tissues around it were still damaged and swollen. “I need to mend this a little better, but it shouldn’t hurt much. You ready?”

Lydia leaned back and grabbed the sides of the pod, bracing herself for the worst. “Go ahead.”

Kira laughed. “I already did it. Kinda like ripping a bandage off, eh?”

Lydia laughed with her.

Kira smiled even wider. “You have no idea how much I’ve missed you.”

Lydia’s crooked smile lit up her face and there was a spark to her green eyes. “Oh, yes I do. We thought you were dead, ya know.”

Kira pulled the blanket back over Lydia’s feet. She wasn’t sure how to respond to that. “You need to keep thinking that.”

Lydia sat back up and scooted closer, testing her leg before curling it up to sit Indian-style like she always did. “What do you mean?”

“Look, me coming here wasn’t an accident. It was my decision. I needed everyone to think I was dead so King Tyrius would stop sending his goons to hunt me down. It was too dangerous for you and everyone else around me.”

“Well, it didn’t work. Draego blabbed to a couple of his drinking buddies and word got back to Tyrius. The next morning, Draego’s head was found at the end of a long stick in the middle of Kazedon’s town square.”

Kira’s heart sank. Not because Draego had suffered such a violent death, but because her plan had failed and now she was in the same position as before—on Tyrius’ hit list. “Then you need to go back and tell them you couldn’t find me, that you think I died some other way.”

Lydia lowered her eyes and began twisting her braid around her finger. “It’s a little late for that.”

Kira leaned forward and grabbed Lydia’s arm. “Oh, Lydia. Please tell me you didn’t give up my location. It’s not just my life at stake here.”

Lydia’s head shot up. “No, not even to Octavion. Not that he hasn’t been in my head trying to get me to tell him exactly where we are. He’s giving me a headache.”

“I’m not surprised.” She could imagine how frantic he was to get his sister back. Leaving her behind with a bunch of Darkords was probably driving him nuts. “Then why is it too late?”

“Because he’s found you. Even if he hasn’t told anyone, I’m sure Cade told Ussay.”

“Ussay can keep a secret.”

“Maybe, but what about Mara and Arela, not to mention any staff that may have overheard.”

Kira thought about that for a moment. There shouldn’t be any staff in the castle during the new moon phase, not even Ussay. “Ask Octavion. Tell him it’s important that no one know I’m still alive.”

“Okay, but I’ve been ignoring him. Once I let him in, he’ll expect to talk to you.”

“He can’t come here.”

“No, through me.” She tapped her finger on the side of her head.

“Oh. Right.” Little butterflies took flight in her stomach. She wasn’t sure she was ready for that, but he needed to know about the danger. “Tell him.”

“Okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Blayde’s spirit settled in around Kira and she began searching the trees for him. Something touched her hair and she spun around to find him perched on the branch above her, poking her in the back of the head with a twig. A smirk spread across his face. “Busy?”

Is he always that annoying?
Lydia asked.

You have no idea
. Kira grabbed the twig and broke it. “What are you doing here? Lessa will have your hide if she sees you back here.”

“She already did,” Lydia said. “Right before you woke.”
He’s been here several times and
keeps staring at me like he’s never seen a girl before.

Blayde leaned closer and whispered, “I need to talk to you.”

“I’m a little busy here.”

His smile faded. “Please. I will wait by the creek.” He didn’t wait for her to answer before vanishing so quickly, his wake made her hair swirl around her face.

“What’s his story?” Lydia asked.

“He’s actually really nice, just enjoys irritating the crap out of me.” Kira opened the basket where she kept her ration of food. “Are you hungry?”

“No, Lessa already fed me, but thanks.”

Kira looked in her basket to find her portion untouched. Lessa must have given Lydia some of hers. “What did she give you? I need to replace it.”

“Replace it? Do they only allow you to have so much to eat here? That’s barbaric.”

“It’s not like that,” Kira snapped. “You have no idea what it’s like to be hungry or to depend on others for your very survival. Between planting seasons, we could starve.”