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“Hello, Neev.” Hyva crosses the room and scrolls through a few readings on the monitors before pulling out his handheld sensor and running it slowly over my body. “How are you feeling?”

“Stiff and sore.”

“That sounds about right for fighting off an attack and then falling into the sea.” He hovers over my ribs and frowns. “Take a deep breath for me.”

Pain shoots through my chest as I inhale. Tears prick my eyes as I freeze and try to work through the pain. Raiz joins us on the other side of the bed and reaches down, threading our hands.

“Kodia and his mate pulled you from the water. I think you might have a soul-tied bond forming with her. She barely let me approach you, she was protecting you so fiercely.” Raiz shares the story so nonchalantly, as if it’s an everyday occurrence.

I look up at him. “Is that possible?”

“The soul tie?” His thumb strokes over my knuckles. “I don’t see how it wouldn’t be possible. They choose us, not the other way around. Kodia’s mate has never interacted with me before you were in the water with me. I had a feeling she was drawn to you, but her protectiveness confirmed it.”

“Does she have a name?”

“No. We only name our soul-tied creatures. It’ll be up to you to give her a name.”

My attention is jolted away from Raiz when I feel a sharp prick in my side. I look up at Hyva who gives me a brief tight-lipped smile. He sets aside the needle and wipes an antiseptic pad over the place where he injected me.

“What was that?” I ask.

“The serum to boost bone healing. For Zeahirians it usually only takes one dose, but you might require one or two more for your ribs.”

“Can you remember what happened?” Raiz sits back down beside me while Hyva pulls a rolling stool over.

“I was in the library and heard a loud noise coming from the hall. When I stepped out to check I saw,” my voice cracks as I remember everything with Uzold. The sight of his head resting in a pool of blood, severed from his body. Tears stream from my eyes. “I saw…”

“If it’s too hard to talk about, you don’t have to,” Raiz wipes a tear from my cheek. “We know what happened to Uzold.”

“Did you see who did it?”

I shake my head. “They were covered in all black head to toe. They had on helmets and gloves. I don’t remember seeing any skin at all. Who even knows if they were Zeahirian, although they were as big as you.” I look at Raiz. “Maybe even taller.”

“They were Zeahirian, based on the blood sample I pulled from a blade in Raiz’s room.” Hyva’s gaze meets Raiz’s over me.

“Good. I aimed for the spot Vynia showed me. Where you are vulnerable to attack.”

Raiz smiles down at me, pride gleaming in his eyes. “Good job. You saved yourself.”

“He still managed to throw me over the balcony. I don’t know if that counts as saving myself.”

“We’ll never know for sure, but had you not put up a fight, undoubtedly you would have been killed.”

Heaviness washes over me as I think about how Uzold put up a fight and he’s still not here. It doesn’t seem fair that I lived and he didn’t. Especially when he was truly fighting back, not whatever it was that I did with barely any training. How could luck have been on my side and not on his? He was such an honorable and kind male.

Whether it’s weariness or a side effect of the medication Hyva just gave me, my eyelids begin to droop. I blink slowly a few times, trying to stay awake knowing I’ve been out for days. Hyva’s hand falls lightly to my shoulder and squeezes.

“It’s okay to fall back asleep. You need to rest while the serum speeds your healing.”

I nod forcing the movement even though my head feels heavy. Hyva glances at Raiz and walks off toward his office leaving us alone. Raiz stands and cups my cheek, his thumb tracing my cheekbone as he stares into my eyes.

“I’m proud of you, little human, for being such a fierce fighter. You bring honor to your kind and family.”

“I don’t have a family.”

“Yes.” He presses a light kiss to my lips. “You do.”

My eyes drift closed before he even pulls his hand from my face.