But, today was the day we were finally leaving the city where I had recovered from my injury, and I couldn’t say I was any less thrilled than my Lajaks were to be moving out of the hotel suite where, I swear, the cushions were beginning to have permanent indentations, showcasing where everyone’s favorite spots were, which meant we had been there way too damn long for anyone’s liking, everyone itching with cabin fever at this point. Luckily for them, the ride on horseback was going to be a three day stretch to the next major city, only cabana style rooms available along the lush, but deserted stretch of traveling, giving them a chance to unwind. Unluckily for me, I knew I was going to be sore as hell, since yes, I was healed, but no, I wasn’t a hundred percent. But, it didn’t matter. We were moving out.
I had handled the first stretch of the day…decently. I hadn’t whined or complained as I was apt to—at times—when I was ill. I knew everyone wanted to move, so I had. And I had kept moving…until the latter part of the day, when the world seemed to dim on me, tilting, appearing all askew. I had waved a hand then, telling them I needed a moment. To which, when I had felt I was far enough away from the mass, I had promptly puked my guts up all over very beautiful violet flowers, managed to wipe my mouth off, took a small sip of water before the world completely dimmed on me, and I had passed out in exhaustion and soreness.
Not entirely sure what had happened following those lovely moments, I only knew I had woken at some point in Leric’s arms while he was riding his horse…to promptly pass out again. The next thing I knew, I was being laid on a soft bed, the smell of succulent, sweet flowers filling my senses, Leric tucking a blanket around me, barking at unknown individuals, “Find me if she gets worse.”
A door somewhere slammed, then I felt Sin’s familiar warmth behind me as he brushed my hair from my damp cheek, crooning softly, “You were strong today, love.”
Closing my eyes, I breathed out a tired exhale. “Tell that to those poor flowers.” My white, satin skirt and top felt a bit rough against my skin as I snuggled against the bed, but I quickly forgot the oddity as a warm hand lifted mine from the bed, placing a cool glass in it.
I peeked my eyes open, and saw Cain squatting next to the bed, holding the glass steadily in my hand, face neutral as he stated evenly, “You’re dehydrated. You need to drink this.”
I blinked slowly. “You need a shower.” He had dirt and mud all over his face, hands, and black clothes. “What happened?”
“Her antibiotics,” my King mumbled at the end of the bed. “She needs those. Where the hell are they?”
Elder Samson voice was bland. “Her bag, I think, which is still tied to her horse outside.”
“I’ll get it,” King Zeller murmured, the door opened and shut not a second later, only to re-enter a moment later digging through my bag, a breeze wafting in with him of succulent flowers.
My slitted eyes narrowed further on Cain who was trying to get me to sit up to drink, noticing blood dried lines on his forearms. “Explain, please.”
Sin brushed hair behind my ear, also keeping a steadying hand on my back, and I noticed he also had some dirt on his clothing, the stuff flaking off on the white sheet over me, the room appearing to be a small cabana, the enormous bed taking up more than half of it. “You see, love, where you decided to…rest…was actually a very dangerous location. Underneath all those pretty flowers surrounding you, the ground was uneven. We raced after you when we heard a splash, and followed the crumpling of the flowers where you had apparently rolled…right off a rift.”
I choked on my water, my hand shaking to where Cain grabbed the glass from me. “What?”
My King was scowling, also wearing some dirt as an accessory. “Luckily, there was a lagoon at the bottom of it.” A hand ran through his neon blue hair. “I was able to pull your body up from the water while Sin and Elder Merrick went down the ravine to retrieve you, but you’d already swallowed too much water, so Elder Merrick gave you mouth-to-mouth until Sin brought me down to get the water from your lungs. You woke up briefly then, but passed back out. By this point, the One had caught on something was amiss…” he trailed off glancing at Elder Farrar in the corner.
The Elder cleared his throat. “He raced like a damn bull through us, saw you down there with the three of them, and apparently, couldn’t reach you through your connection, and,” he waved his hand high, then plummeted it quickly, “he jumped off the damn ravine into the lagoon.”
I blinked slowly. “You’re all lying.” They had to be.
Elder Samson snorted. “No. They’re not.” A dirty expression. “I almost fell off when the One rammed us.”
My King rubbed his chin. “Next…came a bit of a…brawl, I guess you could say.”
“A brawl?”
“Mmm-hmm,” Brann hummed, appearing mighty amused. “From our angle up top, it appeared pretty brutal.”
Elder Farrar snorted, glancing at Sin. “You…are surprising.”
I glanced hurriedly to Sin, wondering…but, he only gave me a look, calming me. “So…” I rolled a finger, glancing at everyone’s clothes, Cain appearing the dirtiest, “what happened during the…brawl?”
King Collins ran a hand through his hair. “Sin, the One, and I, all believed we had dibs on you, our protective nature, and all that shit, since you weren’t conscious.” A shrugged shoulder.
“And?”
Elder Bridges lips were trembling where he propped the wall up. “None of them won the prize.” He flicked a finger to Cain, who was making me take another drink. “While they were fighting it out against one another, he pulled you from the fray, tossed you over his shoulder, and snuck around a boulder and started climbing up the ravine.”
My eyes shot wide as I drank, again glancing at Cain’s previously injured arms.
Sin cleared his throat next to me, rubbing my back. “I did notice what he was doing.”
Dry words from Elder Farrar. “Yes, I believe that was about the time you started to create a mini-avalanche from the side of the ravine until you noticed…they were on said ravine.”
“I stopped it,” Sin stated instantly, then rubbed at his jaw. “Took a punch, too, during it.”
My King cleared his throat. “Yes,” flicked finger, “not really one of my finer moments.”
Sin shrugged. “I buried you. We’re even.”
Elder Samson gestured to Cain. “Elder Merrick made it to the top quickly, and I healed the arm and leg you had broken, probably during your fall.”
“You’re lucky you didn’t break your damn neck,” Cain stated steadily, calmly, as he straightened, carrying the water glass with him, refilling it, and taking the pills King Zeller handed him, making me take those as he eyed me pointedly, navy blue eyes hard. “The next time you’re too ill to carry on, you need to say something, so cases like this don’t occur.”
My face fell a bit, feeling guilty and nauseous and tired. “I knew you all wanted to leave.” I jutted my chin up even though I was feeling none of it. “And I didn’t want to be a pain in the ass, as so many of you have complained about. I’m not weak, but I’m not fully recovered, either. It was hard going, but I managed. For all of you.” I drank the rest of my water, not glancing at anyone, handing it back to Cain. “I’m going to sleep now, so I’m ready for tomorrow.” I lay down grumpily, hiding my face from all of them by turning to face Sin. “Thank you for saving me today. And I’ll try to not let it happen again.” There was quiet for a long moment, no one moving or speaking, so I murmured, “Good night, everyone. Enjoy your night in your own rooms.” Hell, they’d probably all love some privacy.
My King cleared his throat. “This is actually our room.”
I blinked slowly, then lifted my head, peering about the room again. “No way.” It barely fit everyone standing, much less lying on the ground. “There’s not enough room for everyone.”
Elder Bridges sighed heavily, appearing pained. “There are only four rooms to the place, since we’re in the middle of nowhere, and all of them are taken with the rest of our group.”
My head flopped back on the pillow, groaning in frustration. “Sin and I can share the bed.”
My King hummed happily. “It does look soft.”
“It is,” Sin muttered grouchily as he helped me move to the center, grabbing the pillows, claiming the ones we had already started using, resituating them and the blanket. “Anyone who gets in this damn bed wears clothes.” ‘Cause some of the men slept in the buff, which I had unfortunately learned one morning, yanking the cover off Brann.
Then, it became a contest of who could speak fast enough…