Page 140 of The Queen’s Shadow

“Well yeah. We just freed the Prince of Greed, killed Vespara and stole Kasha back. I have a feeling Ash Nevra’s going to be pretty pissed. Last time, all we did was free Cerenah and you almost blew my arm off so… the armor is staying on.”

“Fair enough.” She replied, suddenly looking tired and sad. A painful wave of heartache rolled through the bond. I was experiencing enough of it myself to recognize what it was she was feeling. I frowned at her, as she stared at a tiny bottle filled with fine gravel. The label read ‘Cloud Temples’ and had a little mountain sketched next to it.

“Hey,” I said, and she looked up. I wasn’t sure what I had been trying to do. Comfort her, maybe? I rubbed the back of my neck, trying to think of something to say that wouldn’t sound fucking stupid, when Meredith entered the room with a clean Kasha on her hip.

That tight leash that had snapped in my chest suddenly grew taut at the sight of her, and I immediately moved forward, pulling her out of Meredith’s arms. She was already reaching for me as I approached, as if she needed to be close to me too.

I checked her over carefully. Meredith had cleaned her nightgown, likely with magick, and all the nicks and scratches on her body had been healed. I glanced back at the green witch to thank her, but her lips were pursed, and her eyes were dark. I frowned and was about to ask what was up, but she shook her head and glanced at baby Kasha in my arms.

Loud and clear. We couldn’t talk about whatever it was she had to say here.

“Alright. How do you want to do this?” Raven asked, standing up and drawing her remaining shadowstone blade. I realized Cerenah still had the other one back at The Court of Greed. I briefly wondered how she and Zayne were doing with Ash Nevra’s army when Kasha started squirming in my arms. I frowned down at her, and she was looking at the knife in terror and struggling to push away from it.

“Kasha, what-” I tightened my grip on her, but she started to cry and twist harder, doing everything she could to get away from the blade in Raven’s hand.

“Put it away.” I snapped at her, and Raven slid the blade back into the sheath on her wrist, looking concerned. Kasha relaxed slightly, but tears still ran down her cheeks and she was stiff in my arms. I could tell she no longer felt safe, and the familiar feeling of rage rushed through me again.

I stalked over to the bed and sat her on it, kneeling on the floor before her, so we were on the same level.

“Raven’s not going to cut you. She’s just going to cut away the bond.” I explained gently. Kasha wrapped her tiny arms around herself and turned her huge brandy eyes on me. They glistened with unshed tears, and I felt like I might pass away from the ache in my chest.

“Hurt?” Kasha whispered; her child-like voice so soft I might have not heard her without my shifter hearing. I pursed my lips. I couldn’t lie to her. She had to trust me, and I would lose her trust if I said it wouldn’t hurt when it would.

“Yes. It will hurt. But I will be here the whole time, and when it’s over you will be free. I’ll make sure no one hurts you again.” The promise rolled off my tongue and I almost winced. We were going to war. That had been a stupid fucking promise to make. But a fat, shining tear escaped and rolled down her little freckled nose and I knew I would do whatever the fuck it took to keep that promise. Even if it killed me.

“Pomise?” She asked, her little toddler voice missed the ‘r’ sound. The innocence of it made me want to go back to Greed just so I could stab that guy’s corpse a couple more times. I nodded slowly.

“Yeah. I promise.” I said, and she reached out, placing her tiny hand in mine. I cradled her hand between my palms and gave her an encouraging smile. “Is that a yes?”

She nodded once, before squeezing her eyes shut and bracing herself. I let out a breath I didn’t know I had been holding. I made eye contact with Raven and gestured with my head for her to come closer. She drew the blade again and I felt her do something with her aura. I wasn’t as great with the metaphysical shit as the others, but even I could feel it when she pulled the slavery bond away from Kasha enough to slip the blade underneath.

Kasha tensed and began to curl into herself. I increased the pressure on her hand and inched closer to the bed.

“Hey,” I whispered. “Hey, look at me.” I said, and she opened her eyes, meeting my gaze. She was afraid. Terror filled every line of her tiny face, and I forced my own expression into one of calm reassurance. “I’m right here, Kasha. You’re going to be okay. You’re strong, right? You’re my strong girl.” I knew I was babbling, but I just wanted to keep her attention on me and not on Raven’s knife. Without warning, Raven sliced through the bond and a shockwave of energy exploded from Kasha’s body.

Raven threw up a shield, but I had been too close for it to do much for me. I felt the blast smash into my chest, and I grit my teeth against it, refusing to move even an inch away from the little daemon who was now screaming in agony on the bed before me.

The energy died down and Kasha was sobbing again. She collapsed on her side on the bed, her face red and soaked with tears. I resisted the overwhelming urge to launch myself at Raven and knock her the fuck out for hurting Kasha.

I knew it was irrational, not to mention stupid. I would have essentially been punching myself in the face with the bond open the way it was. I remembered when she had snapped, and I had done just that. It had been an… experience, to say the least. To punch someone else and feel it yourself. Besides, Raven had needed to do it. Kasha needed to be free, but seeing her in pain made me nearly black out with rage.

Instead of attacking my bonded, I pulled the crying Kasha into my arms and took her place on the edge of the bed. I pressed her against my chest and kissed her on her forehead, rocking her gently back and forth.

“Shh, it’s over. It’s done. You did so good… I’m so proud of you.” I hummed against her as we rocked. Soon her sobs slowed down and she hiccoughed a few times, before softly falling asleep in my arms.

I frowned down at her, brushing a piece of blue hair away from her face. I stood up and Meredith pulled back the blankets on her bed. I laid her down and tucked her in, making sure she was snug before turning to face Raven and the witch.

I tried to shake off the tense feeling and tell myself she was okay now, but there was still a tight burning rage running through me. She wasn’t okay. She wouldn’t be okay, probably for a very long time. It didn’t matter how many assholes I killed, the damage had been done, and there was nothing I could do to fix it.

“She didn’t change back.” Raven observed, looking concerned. I clenched my fists at my sides and forced myself to take a deep breath and beat back the need to murder something. Meredith looked at me, clearly asking permission to approach. I made myself step away so she could come forward and check Kasha over again.

She ran a hand above her sleeping form and her lifelines appeared in the air. Many of them were glowing blue and a vibrant healthy gold, but there were several that seemed completely broken and severed, flashing an angry red.

“What does that mean?” I asked, pointing to some of the broken threads. Meredith pursed her lips and sighed.

“I saw some of this with Cerenah. Kasha’s is much less severe, but she must have resisted the bond very hard to cause this much damage in such a short period of time.” The heat in my blood turned cold at her words, as I tried not to imagine what the bond had been forcing her to do to make her resist so hard that she literally hurt herself.

“See this line? This is her shifting line. It’s damaged but not broken. She should heal with some rest. With any luck she will be back to her natural state by morning.”