Page 56 of The Keeper of the Kingdoms

I swallowed. This was my fault. I made her weak to it.

“Now don’t go blaming yourself. She wasn’t to know, and neither were you.”

I did blame myself. And Nyx. If I hadn’t been talking him down from acting irrationally again, I would have been by her side. I could have smelled the Dragon’s Bane before she even got near it. But because of Nyx’s selfish quest for the Goddess only knew what, she could die. “Will she be okay?” I pleaded, just needing to hear that she would.

“I think she will. How long was the exposure before you got her here?”

“Minutes. Five at most.” I said with confidence, although they may have been the longest minutes I’d ever experienced.

He frowned. “She must be very susceptible if such a short exposure did this.”

“What does that mean? Will she be okay?”

Her father patted my arm. “I believe she will be fine given some time. Her recovery may be long as the reaction was extreme, but once we cleanse her blood and finish the course of antidote, she should recover fully. I have you to thank that it’s not a more serious outcome.”

I blinked, not understanding why he wasn’t furious with me. I was furious!

The healers began to clear, having finished all they needed to do for now. “You may sit with her if you wish.” Her father said, bringing a chair over to the bed.

I gestured for him to sit instead. “You should be with her—sir.” I was suddenly awkward. Having never been introduced, I had no clue what to call him. Healer on High? His name, which I didn’t know. I was stuck in the void, with nothing but sir. Perfect.

He smiled sympathetically and held out his hand to shake. “Call me, Ophir.”

I shook his hand. “Jaxus.”

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Jaxus. I suspect our girl has been keeping you away from the rest of her life, but don’t put up with it. She can be stubborn, so you must stand your ground.” Ophir didn’t look unkind but serious. Like most of the healers I’d met.

I choked out a laugh, emotion closing my throat. ‘Our girl,’ he’d said. My chest tightened at the words. She was mine. I’d just never expected it to be so easily accepted by her father when she had resisted so hard.

“Now sit,” he insisted.

“Don’t you want to watch over her?”

“I will be monitoring her, but you are her bonded dragon. She will heal best in contact with you so you can share magic.”

I nodded, taking the seat he offered. I felt conscious as I took her hand. Would this be okay with her? Would she want me linking our fingers and holding her in front of her father without her consent? His hand patted my shoulder—in approval? Encouragement? I didn’t know, but it wasn’t a warning to stop, so I held her tight, watching her chest rise slowly and then fall in a much more regular pattern than how I’d found her.

Ophir checked on a few things, then withdrew, and without scanning the room, I knew we were alone.

“I’m so sorry,”I spoke into her mind, not knowing if she would hear or not.“Please don’t leave me.”

I couldn’t do any of this without her.

TWENTY-FOUR

JAXUS

Iawoke still holding Kiera’s hand. It was early evening if I had to guess by the light, and I’d obviously dozed off. The result of a stressful day and possibly the drain on my magic from trying to share with Kiera to heal her faster. Ophir had said that being in contact with me would help, so I’d figured it couldn’t hurt to push my magic towards her to speed things up.

But looking at her sleeping, nothing had changed. I reached over and stroked a strand of hair away from her forehead, running my fingers down her cheek.

“Kiera?” I reached out to her mind and sighed when I got nothing.

Earlier, as I’d sat trying to reach her, I’d grown angrier and angrier. With Nyx, for pushing and pushing until I was so caught up arguing strategy with him that I didn’t notice thatKiera was in danger. At myself for not protecting her. At the enemy for putting us all here. At the King, at everyone.

I had worn myself out on anger and fear. I assumed healers had checked on Kiera, but nothing had disturbed me once I was out. I looked around, but there was no sign of anyone. We were alone, and I felt it.

The door opened almost silently, and I glanced up expecting a healer, but was greeted by Nyx’s surly face. I immediately stood.