“Ouch!” Alex hissed, jerking her leg away. “Easy, Kyia. I’ve just been stabbed by six inches of Myrox.”
The only reason Alex was able to string a sentence together and wasn’t just sitting there wailing or even passing out was because she’d been injured similarly during her training with Niyx—many, many times. Stab wounds were, unfortunately, a common experience for her.
“As it is,” Kyia continued, pushing the torn edges of denim aside and dabbing a clean bandage against the entry wound, “our supplies are alarmingly low, especially the amount of laendra we have on hand since we used much to heal those injured in our escape.”
After mopping up as much blood as she could, Kyia unstoppered a glass bottle and, without warning, poured its contents over Alex’s leg.
The pain was instant, and so much worse than when the dagger had pierced her flesh. Alex would take a repeat of that a thousand times over rather than the torture of the excruciating liquid.
“Deep breaths,” Kyia said, reading Alex’s agonised expression. “I know it stings a little—”
“A little?” Alex gasped, trying not to scream.
“—but Gaiel is notorious for coating his weapons with poison,” Kyia continued, ignoring Alex. “For Meyarins, the dose is just strong enough to make us a little sick; to incapacitate us in a fight so our opponent can get the upper hand. It doesn’t last long in our systems since our blood is quick to rid us of the toxins. But since you’re human, I’m not willing to take any risks.”
“So the liquid?” Alex wheezed, still affected by the burning pain.
“An antidote,” Kyia said. “Just in case.”
Given the agony she was in, Alex might have been willing to take that chance rather than endure the cure.
“I’m afraid this is all I can offer you,” Kyia said, handing a single silver petal to Alex. “You’re fortunate Gaiel didn’t sever an artery, since that’s the last of our laendra.”
Grateful—and a little guilty that she was using the last of their supplies—Alex put the glowing portion of the flower in her mouth, finding almost instant relief thanks to the sweet-tasting medicine.
“It’s not enough to heal you completely, but it should take the edge off and speed up your tissue regeneration,” Kyia said as Alex chewed. “Once you’re back at the academy, I suggest you visit your Doctor Fletcher and he’ll give you something to complete the healing process.”
“I don’t understand,” Alex said, swallowing her mouthful. “Why can’t you or Zain just zip down on the Valispath and pick up a handful of laendra and whatever other supplies you need?” Remembering then that neither of her friends were willing to leave Roka in case Aven decided to attack, she amended, “Or why not send one of the others?”
“It’s not as simple as that,” Kyia said, looking more exhausted than Alex had ever seen her. “We’ve tried and failed three times to retrieve supplies. The first and second Meyarins we sent out never returned. And the third made it back here with grievous injuries. It’s only because of her that we were able to learn Aven has teams scouring the forests surrounding Meya. Gifted humans—mind readers, mostly—are paired with Claimed Zeltora in search of anyone not yet bound to him. With the range of their gifts, we’re cut off from the Silverwood, since the moment we set foot down there, they know. And while Aven can’t access the Valispath, those Claimed by him can use it just as we can.”
Alex couldn’t believe how bad things were, or how quickly they were escalating. She felt so helpless. And yet…
“You can take the Valispath elsewhere to restock food and other supplies, right? Just not close to Meya?” Alex asked. At Kyia’s nod, she said, “Keep doing that, and next time I visit, I’ll make sure to bring some laendra with me.”
“Absolutely not,” came Kyia’s immediate and firm answer.
“My gift won’t let them read me,” Alex reminded her.
“That doesn’t matter—there’s sure to be a constant guard at Raelia by now.”
Kyia had a point. If Aven was smart—and, unfortunately, he was—he would definitely have people watching the only place where Alex could infiltrate his defences.
But… she never said she would be the one to retrieve the laendra from the Silverwood.
“Promise me you won’t set foot in Raelia, Alex,” Kyia ordered in an unyielding tone. “Not without backup. Preferably an entire army.”
Alex hid a smile at the image of so many people pouring through the Library and out into the mushroom-circled clearing. “I promise, Kyia. I won’t go on my own.”
Kyia pursed her lips. “Your friends, as courageous as they are, don’t count as acceptable backup. Am I clear?”
Alex actually laughed. “Don’t worry, I hear you. I’d never put Jordan, Dix or Bear in that kind of danger anyway.”
“Jordan?” Kyia’s golden brow furrowed. “Isn’t he…?”
With everything that had happened, Alex had forgotten she hadn’t yet shared that Jordan was free. But just as she was about to explain, Zain stalked into the tent, his face like thunder.
“You,” he said, jabbing a finger towards Alex, “had better start talking. Right now.”
Alex had seen Zain angry before, both in the past and in the present, but that didn’t mean she enjoyed being on the receiving end of his wrath.
Fortunately, she was prepared. In the few days since she’d last seen her Meyarin friends, she had decided that, while Niyx had advised against it, she couldn’t keep the truth from Zain and Kyia. She certainly wouldn’t be telling everyone, but they needed to know, since they were close enough to notice she was different now. It was better to confess and enlist their help, rather than deceive them and risk losing their trust.
“You’d better sit down,” Alex said, stretching out her leg and grimacing at the pain. The laendra had helped considerably, but she was far from healed.
Kyia noticed her wince and began wrapping a bandage around the wound, strapping it tightly.
“Seriously, sit,” Alex repeated when Zain didn’t move. “Because I’m going to tell you something that you’re going to have trouble believing. And I want your promise that you’ll hear me out before you decide I’m crazy.”
Six
Unsurprisingly, both Zain and Kyia did think Alex was crazy. The only thing in her favour was the fact that their memories of the past weren’t wiped entirely—they just remembered a blurred, forgotten face. That was how Lady Mystique’s memory modification had worked—keeping Alex there but also… not. To Kyia and Zain, she was an unidentifiable Meyarin of no importance, with not even the golden shimmer of her vaeliana bond present in their minds.