34
YELENA
I’d been torn apart. Pieces of me littered the ground. I felt like a stuffed toy whose stuffing had been ripped out. Owen dug for more. The sharp pain gouged and it hurt to form a thought. Mindless, I burrowed deeper into the tiny bit left, but it crumbled and soon nothing of me would remain.
Valek’s strident voice cut through my haze of pain. I didn’t understand all the words, but his emotions flowed into me like pure energy. And one word burned brighter. Survive. I could do that. I’d done it many times before.
Concentrating on the image of me as an empty toy, I gathered the clumps and crammed them into my mind, body and soul. Owen worked to drag them away, but I collected them just as fast. Survive. All I needed to do was survive. He’d get tired eventually, while Valek’s encouragement strengthened my efforts.
The attack increased in intensity, but I persisted, harvesting the pieces of me. My skull ached, and pain seared my skin and burned my muscles. Memories of the agony I suffered when I’d crossed into the fire world surfaced. I’d survived that without the help of my magic. Other recollections of survival rose unbidden. I’d endured Mogkan’s torture and lived through Reyad’s assault.
Owen yelled and power slammed into me. White light sparked behind my eyelids as pain exploded inside my head. I kept a tight grip on all I’d worked so hard to collect.
Another bolt of agony sliced through me. I fought to remain awake and teetered on the edge, enduring, surviving until the attack stopped. A cool hand touched my hot skin. Safe. I relaxed, letting a blackness wash over me.
*
I woke to a soft voice and a touch on my cheek. Opening my eyes required effort since my lids weighed a hundred pounds each. The lantern light seemed overly bright, but I squinted and my exertions were rewarded with a wonderful sight. Valek.
He sat on the edge of my bed, holding my hand and stroking my face with his fingers. The small room gave no clues as to where we were. But I didn’t really care at this point.
His worried expression disappeared into a smile. “How are you feeling?”
“Like a chew toy for a pack of snow cats.” My voice rasped and my throat burned with thirst.
Valek let go and I mewled like a kitten.
“I’m not leaving, love. Here.” He handed me a glass filled with a yellowish-colored liquid with bits of green floating in it. “Drink it all.”
Raising the glass up to my lips required too much energy. “Is this one of Leif’s concoctions?”
“Yes.” Valek supported me and guided my hand.
I gulped the lukewarm drink. It tasted like honey grass. “Is he here? And where are we exactly?”
“He’s here. Along with Opal and another magician. They arrived a couple hours after the ruckus and have been helping with the cleanup. We are in a bedroom of the compound’s farmhouse.”
I finished the potion despite the bits of green clinging to my teeth. Leif’s restoratives might not taste good, but they worked. “I’m still mad at them. Leif especially.”
“I’m grateful Leif’s here. Besides the drinks, he aided in your mental recovery. Owen had done considerable damage.” All softness left Valek’s face. “When I catch up to him, I’m going to personally ensure he stays dead.”
Not good. “He escaped?”
“Yes. He dropped down through the hatch and secured it on the inside. It led to a tunnel. By the time we broke in, he was long gone.”
“Did you know he was still alive?”
“No, love. The Commander hadn’t confided in me about him, the Curare or Maren’s involvement.”
“Perhaps he thought you’d tell me. It’s a game changer.”
“Perhaps.” Valek didn’t appear convinced.
“What are you going to do?”
Pain and betrayal creased his expression and he suddenly appeared to be exhausted. “I need to talk to him. Find out why he’s keeping things from me and determine if he still trusts me.”
I squeezed his hand. It would be a difficult conversation. “What about the others? Did anyone else escape?”
“We caught Loris, Cilly and Ben Moon. The others got away. I promise Ben won’t live for long.”
“Don’t kill him. We can use him as bait. Owen rescued him before and may again.”
“You sound just like the others.”
Which reminded me. “How are Janco and Onora doing?”
“They’re bickering like brother and sister.”
In other words, fine. “Reema and Devlen?”
“Devlen is coordinating with the authorities. Reema is safe in Ixia with Ari. And before you ask, Kiki is impatiently waiting for you in the local inn’s stable.”
Good. I told Valek about Owen’s confidence regarding the Commander’s continuing support. “Maybe something growing in the hothouse.”
“Leif’s already compiling an inventory of the plants.”
And what he couldn’t identify, our father would know. “There might be more of those hothouses in Sitia. This isn’t the end.”
“It never is.”
Depressing but true. “I’m sorry.”
“Nothing you can do about it. It’s the way of the world.”
“No. I’m sorry for not telling you about...you know. I didn’t want to worry you.”
Valek pulled the glass from my grip, set it on the table, then took both my hands in his. “When we’re apart, I worry about you. Even when I know you’re fine and doing some boring research for Bain or visiting your parents, I worry. Even though you are more than capable of taking care of yourself, I worry.”
“I was capable.”
“You still are. Owen couldn’t break you.”
“If it wasn’t for you, he would have. Your voice gave me the strength.”
“You used your own strength. I just reminded you that it was already within you.”
I didn’t know if I agreed with him or not. “Then it’s a good thing you showed up in time. How did you find us?”
“Later. You need your rest.”
He leaned in and kissed me lightly on the lips then tried to let go of my hands.
I wouldn’t release him. “Stay.”
“All right.”