Page 56

I stood silent and unmoving. My body numb and ears ringing.

There was no way Erovos and his army hadn’t escaped the crevice with that quake.

“Keira.” I heard my name, but it was a muffled call. The loss of Rowen by my side hit me like a crashing meteor. I might never see him again. He swore he would come back to me, but what if he was too late?

All my hopes hinged on the desert elves helping us. Yes, Rowen had gone to find another army, but realistically, how many soldiers could he find? Viltarran was destroyed; its people scattered to the winds. It would take months, maybe even years, to reunite his people.

Indrasyl said our joining was the only way to save Rowen—to save everyone. I had foolishly believed I would find another way. But I had officially run out of time.

“Keira!” someone shouted again, knocking me out of my stupor.

“I think Erovos just escaped,” Dyani said, standing in her beloved forest yet looking like a desert elve. “I’ll go get Nepta.”

The warrior sprinted away, leaving me alone with Maddock .

“What the fuck was that?” Maddock demanded from my periphery.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said stoically, staring at where Rowen had disappeared.

“Like hell you don’t,” Madds seethed, grabbing me by the shoulders and spinning me to face him. “You’re hiding something from Rowen and pushing it all to me. And it hurts like hell.”

“I’m not,” was all I could pathetically say.

He shook me by my shoulders. “What the fuck are you hiding?”

“Nothing.”

He huffed a laugh. “You’re a terrible liar. I hope you know what you’re doing.”

He dropped his arms from me, and with the loss of his touch, I felt more alone than ever.

I staggered on my bare feet as the flood of adrenaline faded. My body was shutting down. I hadn’t slept in over twenty-four hours, my wrist was sprained, and I’d been elbowed in the face. But I couldn’t rest; there was too much to do.

I took a wobbly step, but Madds blocked my path. “Where are you going?”

“Following Dyani,” I pointed after her.

“Oh no, you’re not.”

“And why’s that?” I asked, beyond exhausted.

“You need rest,” he said, his warm gaze dipping up and down my body. “You are covered in blood and bruises, and you look like you are about to collapse.”

“Dyani isn’t resting, and neither is Rowen,” I replied, my heart clenching as I pictured Rowen scouring the land for his people. Exhausted or not.

“In case you missed it, they weren’t the ones attempting an impossible challenge in the sky. That bastard king cut you and tried to collar you,” he said, his jaw twitching, and his eyes raging. “I’ve never felt so fucking terrified and helpless as when I watched you on that sphere.”

“Well, I failed. Time to move on to the next plan,” I said, turning my back to him.

He grabbed my wrist, the one that wasn’t screaming in agony, and spun me back around. “Rowen told me to take care of you, and that’s exactly what I plan on doing. You need rest and healing.”

“I’m fine,” I lied.

His face twisted in agitation. “No, you’re not. Now, go to bed, or I’ll put you to bed.”

My jaw dropped. “You can’t tell me what to do. I need to help.”

“Why does it always have to be you, Keira? Why are you the one who has to be everything for everyone?” he asked, his hands clutching me, holding me as if he never wanted to let go. “Dyani is perfectly capable of relaying what happened in Hara’dune by herself.”

“I have to?—”

“Don’t make me throw you over my shoulder,” he threatened with an unyielding expression, looking nothing like the man I once saw in a coma. “You know I will.”

I shouldn’t have poked the bear, but I was too tired to care. I wrenched free of his grasp and stared him down. “You don’t have the balls.”

Suddenly, his hands were on me, and I was thrown over his shoulder. “Okay, okay, okay,” I said, banging my good fist on his well-muscled back. “I’ll walk.”

“Too late,” he said, holding me like I was a sack of potatoes.

“Put me down,” I demanded, kicking my legs.

Maddock banded an arm across the backs of my thighs, holding me still. “Fight anymore, and I’ll spank you. Your ass is in the perfect position, and I don’t think Rowen will mind if it’s for your own good.”

I immediately went lax.

“Atta, girl.” He chuckled, then adjusted me more comfortably over his shoulder. My cheeks burned in outrage, but I was too tired to keep fighting.

His smug smile radiated off him as he carried me to my and Rowen’s dome.

Maddock opened the door with his foot, carried me into the room, and plopped me on the bed. I bounced before I stilled in a pile of tight silk.

“I’m going to get Takoda. Don’t move,” he ordered before turning to go.

“Wait,” I said, the boning of my dress pinching into my ribs.

He spun around with a dangerous look in his eyes. “Are you going to fight me on this, too? Do I need to tie you to the bed?”

“It’s not that,” I shot back, reaching to undo the dress, but the lacing was between my shoulder blades.

“What is it then?”

“I . . . I can’t get out of this dress,” I said through gritted teeth. I hated asking him for anything, but I only had one good hand.

His face softened, realizing the dress I wore was filthy, torn, and covered in my blood. “Oh. Here, let me help you.”

I scooted off the bed and gave him my back. Maddock cleared his throat as he swept my hair off to the side. After a moment, I peered over my shoulder. “Everything okay?”

“There are a million knots back here,” he said in shock. “Wait, hold on.” He grabbed his Ever-burn blade and severed the laces in one fell swoop. My eyes shot open as I clutched the top of the dress to keep it from falling .

“Was that necessary?” I asked, breathing comfortably for the first time in what felt like ages.

“The dress was already ruined,” he said, his voice suddenly deep and gravelly. His breath washed against the curve of my neck, and his knuckles brushed against my back. I sucked in a sharp breath as he traced his fingertips down the length of my spine.

His touch was nothing like Rowen’s, yet there were tendrils of my soul flame bond that ran through his veins and ignited my skin.

The fact that he was here and Rowen wasn’t made my blood boil. It was so wrong. If Madds didn’t leave, he could use the stolen bond against me—against my body, and my skin would cave at the familiarity. “You need to go,” I said, my chest heaving.

He backed away from me, his fingers slowly trailing away from my skin. “I’ll go get Takoda,” he said, clearing his throat again.

Once I was sure Maddock had left the dome, I changed into a slip and crashed onto the bed. Rowen’s woodsy scent encompassed me like an infinite forest. I rolled onto his side of the bed and clutched the sheets smelling of him.

I curled deeper into his scent as tears burned my eyes, but I was too tired and numb to even cry.

I woke to the familiar rustle of branches overhead and comforting light-leaks through the dome. The momentary calm vanished as panic set in. I darted my hand to the other side of the bed, hoping Rowen had returned, but his side of the mattress remained cold and vacant.

Emptiness expanded in my chest like a balloon .

“Star-touched,” a well-known voice said, and my eyes flicked up to Takoda.

“You’re a sight for sore eyes,” I said in a relieved exhale. This wasn’t the first time I’d woken up with the healer tending to me while I slept. But it may be the last.

“As are you,” he said with a gentle grin. “Always coming home with bumps and bruises. Nothing a few of your noxlily petals can’t heal.”

“Thank you,” I said, sitting up to hug him. My hands encompassed the healer’s lean frame, and I realized my wrist had been wrapped and my bruises tended to. I raised my hand to my face and felt the caked blood had also been cleaned.

“Maddock came to retrieve me,” Takoda explained, packing away some of his medicinal powders. “You were already asleep when I arrived.”

My gaze immediately shot up to the warm brown eyes watching me from across the room. His jet-black hair was in a state of disarray, as if he’d run his hands through it repeatedly.

My body stiffened under the sheets. He’d watched me sleep in the bed Rowen had claimed me in, over and over again in every way. Heart. Flame. Body. And soul.

Madds shouldn’t be here.

“You can go now,” I said curtly to Maddock. He may have tucked me in and fetched the healer, but I hadn’t forgotten how he’d thrown me over his shoulder and threatened to spank me.

“Do you see the thanks I get?” he asked Takoda incredulously, throwing his arms in the air. He gave me one last smoldering look before darting out of the dome.

My eyes shot to the healer whose long, white hair and tan skin were striking against his dark green vest. “Everyone knows everything?” I asked, my voice taut with emotion.

“Yes, but do not fear,” he replied, giving my hand a comforting squeeze. “We have been preparing for this. Our warriors are ready, and Nepta deployed them this morning. They march toward Erovos’ brood.”

“And Rowen?” I asked, fear clogging up my throat. I had no idea if he was alone or hurt. The only thing that reassured me he was alive was the steady flicker of our twin flames.

“He seeks the army of his people,” Takoda said, his eyes coursing with an undercurrent of worry. “Change quickly and meet me at the Vale. There is something you should know.”