Lara felt like she awoke from a nightmare of stygian emotions. Even with the shield in place, she shook from the emotions stained with evil and loss striking at her. Not completely back from the maelstrom, she struggled to understand the words Skye spoke. Her headache didn’t help matters.
Her internal temperature had long since chilled to Siberian conditions, making her afraid her bones would shatter if hit too hard. She felt used up. Her insides oozed black sludge from the sheer length of time she had been swept under the evil and pain.
Once she’d embraced the evil making its way into her, time came to a standstill. Hazy flashes of what happened after were confusing and murky. Her perception of reality flickered back and forth, making her wonder whether she could trust her own mind to recognize the truth.
Lara had no idea how she ended up in the cell or how long she’d been here. She lifted a begrimed hand, but it didn’t tell her any more than what she already knew. The foul living conditions in the dungeon made it impossible to judge the days she’d spent there.
Lara was afraid she’d never feel clean. She’d been under so long, perhaps too long. A high-pitched giggle crawled up her raw throat, making Skye flinch and tighten his hold on her.
He whispered, “Stay with me. Fight it, Lara.”
She shuddered. A simple bath would never cleanse her. Lara wanted to torch her insides, cauterizing every dark, evil sensation holding court within her.
The blank space within Skye gave her a small reprieve, but she needed her bondmate.
She needed Chion.
Lara flexed her fingers, rubbing them up and down Skye’s neck and shoulders, trying to ground herself to reality. Was this reality though? She hesitated to trust that the masculine face just inches away really existed, afraid her lucidity played havoc on her hopes.
“Lara, trust that I’ll protect you.” Staring into his eyes, she saw his determination to save her.
With Skye’s words, memories cascaded from their short time on Earth. He had trusted her while they were on her world.
Quid pro quo, then.
As much as she feared the hulking Pyranni warrior keeping pace with them, Lara trusted Skye more. She stopped thinking, stopped worrying. She needed true rest. Her hastily bandaged mind couldn’t take much more. She knew she was too close to the edge. Her body felt somehow fragile, as if she’d been sliced with a dull knife and then haphazardly stitched back together.
Skye would take her to somewhere safe, where she could regain her equilibrium and scrape her sanity back into something recognizable.
If he was real. Oh God, he had to be real.
With every step Skye took, her mind cleared a little more. Pain struck hard, making itself known, throbbing through her entire body. She was injured and exhausted. Her soul needed rest.
Solara? My Lady, can you hear me?
Chion, she cried, unable to stop the tears from falling. Lara lifted her head from Skye’s shoulder, searching the hallway for the paka. Where are you?
You have returned at last. His relief tumbled through their Tal’Ai bond. I could not reach you, My Lady. A barrier kept us apart.
She thought she understood. The rabid animal within her was controlled, pushed behind a door, but it wouldn’t take much to let it back out. I am, barely, she admitted. I cannot tell what is real.
Use our link, Solara, and fight against the emotions however you must.
Her jaw clenched with growing tenacity. Chion waited for her. This was really happening. They’d somehow found her. She sniffed and blinked, fighting to see past the tears. After they climbed another set of stairs, they stopped. She peered down another hall past Dane’s muscular torso. In a voice rusty from disuse, she said, “They come.”
Skye put her down without hurry. With a small smile that did nothing to wipe the worry from his eyes, he reached behind him. Tears threatened to fall again when she saw the weapon he held out to her.
It was her sword, the sword Chion had had forged for her alone. With trembling hands, she reached forward.
At the solid feel of the scabbard, reality meshed more firmly in her brain. Strength flowed through her, snapping her spine and jerking her chin up with renewed resolve. Her breath evened out, and her heart steadied. She’d kill every single one of the bastards that stepped in her path. She quickly buckled her sword around her hips, absently noting that the usual notch was too loose.
Taking one last look to make sure Skye wasn’t a figment of her imagination, she reached out and gently squeezed his hand. The blond warrior’s head twisted back to her so fast, she was afraid he’d have whiplash. Aware that time ran out, she stared up at him with no small amount of awe.
He had found her and saved her.
Skye had saved her!
She reached up onto the tip of her toes, ignoring the lick of fire that traveled through her foot and up her right leg. She almost kissed him on the lips, but upon seeing the panic widening the stoic warrior’s eyes, she changed direction and placed a quick kiss on his cheek.
The man didn’t breathe or move, even when she was once again flat on her feet. He looked at her with something akin to shock. Feeling the need to explain, she breathed, “You saved me, Skye.” Lara closed her eyes against the tears once again trying to spill down her face. “Thank you.”
He nodded once before knocking his foot against the wall. A second later, a small door opened into a tunnel. With a sharp gesture, Skye whispered, “Hurry.”
Running footsteps echoed down to them, and she fell to her knees and slithered through the hole, uncaring how she landed. Air whooshed out of her when gentle hands gripped her hips and helped her down. The golden eyes of a Tal’Ai man filled her vision, and she missed Skye and Dane’s jump into the tunnel after her. When the trapdoor slid shut, she jerked her gaze back to Skye, waiting for him to say they were safe.
Skye motioned for silence while keeping his attention on the other side of the wall. A massive, white blur morphed into Chion, and Lara collapsed onto him, wrapping him in a fierce hold that belied her injuries.
She cried through their bond, a heartbroken sound that encapsulated everything she’d experienced. Oh, Chion. You came for me. She sniffed, a flood of tears finally spilled over.
Of course, My Lady. His worry, combined with his fondness, turned into a low rumble. He licked her face, his hot breath warming her clammy skin. At last, our bond has reformed. I lost you, My Lady. I felt the presence of our connection, yet you were not there. First, I blamed the sweeping range of emotions rampant in the city. But when I still could not reach you, knowing full well the distance between us was small, I feared the Malirrans had somehow altered our bond. I could not reach you, Solara.
Chion curled his body around her, exuding safety and warmth. Chion’s voice in her head allowed another chunk of her sanity to lock into place. She sniffled, then choked out a laugh. It wasn’t the Malirrans. Well, it wasn’t just because of them. She tucked her head under the paka’s chin, breathing in Chion’s earthy musk.
The feeling of unfamiliar eyes on her made her tense, but she didn’t budge from clinging to Chion like a vine. She was safe for the first time in what felt like a lifetime. The burden of the despair and evil had decreased enough to give her room to breathe. Lara shuddered again.
Speaking so the others could hear him, Chion said, There is one other waiting to greet you.
“Eiren,” she gasped. They had all come to rescue her. Her lower lip trembled with the beginnings of a fresh bout of tears. She wondered if they would ever stop falling.
A loud commotion startled her, and Lara bared her teeth, wrapping the dark emotions around her. Only Chion’s presence kept her from falling into the abyss again.
“You brought me here under false pretenses,” the Pyranni snarled. The man held an arrow nocked into his bow, and his eyes tracked each of them in a roving pattern. What was his name? His anger slammed into her, and she growled low. The wildness tried to regain traction. With the rising emotions, her pain disappeared. Inching forward, Lara crouched, waiting for the right moment to pounce on the enemy. She clung to her bond with Chion so she could follow the conversation.
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“I told you Kureto is my home. I did not lie.” Skye’s sigh sounded tired, though he kept his body between the Pyranni and everyone else. “What did you expect, Dane? I am an outcast from Pyran. Entering Gharra, in spite of the war, could have easily ended in my death. I didn’t know what to expect if I met you or the others.”
Lara watched as Eiren edged forward, moving directly behind Skye to offer him protection if necessary.
“You have sided with the accursed cats. They’ve turned you against the God and Goddess. They’re evil. Their glowing eyes attest to the sorcery they’ve used,” Dane spewed his disgust. His face a picture of horror and revulsion.
All three pakas turned to regard the man with unblinking eyes. Lara cackled as the man’s revulsion and horror became her own. Her face mirrored the Pyranni’s. She growled before she spat, drawing the man’s attention to her.
Skye raised a hand to halt her from attacking the angry man. “Lara, fight it. Work on your shield.” He shifted his weight, shielding the others from the Pyranni’s bow.
My Lady, Chion pleaded, using their bond to pull her back from the brink.
Lara sucked in a shaky breath and pulled her eyes from the standoff. After she took another breath, she nodded. I’m okay. I’m okay, but I don’t have any control. My shield is nonexistent.
In a voice full of command, Skye countered, “You know nothing, Dane. Every Pyranni’s fear and hate toward the Kurites is a direct result of the drivel our king spewed for decades.” Lara couldn’t see his face, but she heard Skye’s scoff, “The Purist King, indeed.”
Dane aimed his bow at Skye’s heart. “How dare you drag the king’s name through the mud. I should kill you for that alone.”
“I dare because it is the truth. Dane, you know me. I would never betray Pyran by joining Kureto if I thought otherwise. My banishment never changed my loyalty to the Pyranni people. I would never knowingly endanger those from my home.”
“You would if you didn’t have a choice. The foul magic has changed you against your will. Don’t you see?”
When Skye’s bark of laughter rebounded up and down the tunnel, the Pyranni stepped back, his back hitting the wall. Lara held her breath. The blond man’s emotions ricocheted so fast, she couldn’t define them. They rolled over her and drove through her, making her feel almost transparent.
Skye pleaded, “As your old battlemate, let me tell you a story. The real story. But you must swear on your family’s honor to listen. By my own oath, you are safe here.”
No one moved, giving the Pyranni time to make up his own mind, and Lara felt the turmoil of his emotions transmute into growing curiosity. She quaked under the impressions, unable to handle any more.
Dane lowered the bow and settled the arrow into the quiver looped over his shoulder. “I will listen if they sit apart. I will only listen to you, no one else,” he demanded.
Without feeling Skye’s emotions, Lara still knew he was disappointed in his friend.
Chion nudged her deeper into the tunnel. Come, My Lady. Rising to her feet, she used Chion as a crutch, digging her fingers into his coat. Before she turned the corner, she took one last look backward and saw Eiren rub against the back of Skye’s leg.
Uncomfortable with the two Kurite strangers, Lara focused all her attention on Eiren after the paka joined them. She said, “You came. You all came for me.”
Eiren’s kind eyes met hers before the paka nodded once. Leaning most of her weight against Chion, Lara scratched Eiren under her chin in thanks before turning to meet the Tal’Ai pair.
Chion introduced them, My Lady, Neal and Cai were our guides to Gharra.
Neal bowed to her, “Sare, it is an honor to meet you. To have survived while in the hands of the Malirrans proves that the Goddess has a plan for you.”
Her brain still muddled, Lara managed a small smile before it vanished.
Chion pressed against her, and she dropped her hand to the valley between his shoulder blades. Solara, he beseeched her, please sit. You are injured.
The paka’s gentle handling forced her to look down at herself. She did hurt, but it caught her off guard that wounds covered her arms and hands. When the man approached her, she shrank away with a whimper. “Don’t,” she breathed.
My Lady?
“My shield isn’t strong enough yet.” Another half cackle escaped before she shook her head. “Shield, shield. I don’t have a shield. No shield. If he touches me, I’ll succumb again. I’ll go under. Chion, I can’t let that happen.”
Her bondmate’s ears flattened against his head, and a growl filled the tunnel. It scared her that Chion wasn’t in command of his temper. The paka was her touchstone, the calm within the storm. What did it mean for her if her bondmate was half crazed himself? Lara realized she’d already forgotten the Tal’Ai pair’s names when their pity pushed at her.
Oh, God. She’d suffocate from their pity.
She cried out, “No, no. No pity. I can’t take it. No anger, no pity. Leave me alone.”
Lara dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around her chest, turning inward with desperation. She flung as thick a shield around her as she could manage, but the muddy water filled her with despair before she inhaled. She choked on another sob, scrambling to pull up another image of a shield. Finally, after an untold number of minutes, a shield floated in front of her, though it leaked sludge almost as fast as she could shore the holes. Holding her breath, she packed in all the holes, smoothing the shield’s surface until the emotions beat against it.
The blurry image of the man took a slow step toward her, his hand stretched outward. “Sare, if I may?”
She leaned away from him. Lara had to clear her throat several times before she responded, “I’m sorry, but you can’t touch me. You can’t, believe me.”
Chion’s deep voice soothed her. My Lady, the Ai’s magic could provide you with some relief. Allow him the chance to test his magic against yours.
Lara’s unfocused gaze settled on him while Chion’s words swam lazily through her mind. “Test? What’s your magic?” Lara asked after licking her lips, staring at the man’s hand like it’d strike her dead.
“Peace, sare. I give people peace.”
Peace? The word floated through her mind, echoing again and again. Evil was everywhere. Around her and in her. Even a small amount of peace sounded heavenly. Heaven. Maybe peace could save her from hell.
Lara’s hand met his halfway, and immediately, her body, mind, and soul relaxed. The emotions were still there, beating at the magical shield she’d put in place, but a balm swept through her, sweeping aside the nastiness.
She found herself on the ground, her muscles no longer able to hold her up. Heady from the instant relief, she gave the man a loopy grin. Everyone around her sighed at once. Her smile widened. Okay, so there was reason for concern; still, she now felt more like her old self.
Lara released the Kurite’s hand. “I think you are my new best friend.”
“Best friend?” Neal asked, standing back to his full height. “What is a best friend?”
Neal, you will soon learn not to ask such questions of My Lady. Chion stared down at her. You are wounded, he emphasized again. We must tend to you.
Her head bobbled a little, and before she knew it, her head was on the ground. Eiren’s concerned eyes studied her face, her cold nose touching Lara’s cheek, forehead, and neck.
“There isn’t a Tal’Ai healer here,” Lara protested.
Three different chuckles greeted her statement, and Eiren’s eyes danced above her. They waited for her to figure it out. Oh, yeah. She’d forgotten that tending to wounds didn’t require magic. She blamed her cotton-filled head. And her kidnapping.
Neal moved around the two pakas and said, “I can cleanse your wounds with some herbs. You’ll heal at regular speed, but at least infection won’t set in.”
Her smile was smaller this time, though no less real. “I’m okay, really,” she assured all four of them. “You can take the kid gloves off. I won’t crumble at the first sign of danger.” With her other hand, she latched onto Chion’s leg. “Tell me what I’ve missed.”
All three pakas—with Eiren tapping out words on her scroll—gave her a rundown of what happened since she was taken. Neal interrupted with a word here and there, but he spent the majority of the story cleaning and bandaging her wounds. When he finished, the Kurite handed her a piece of jerky.
After Chion stopped talking, Lara let the information settle before she asked, “What about Pyran?” When all four Kurites exchanged looks, she sat up with a groan. “I mean, we can’t let the Malirrans keep control of Gharra, right?”
My Lady, what would you have us do? The Pyrannis will not accept our help. You witnessed Dane’s reaction to our presence. They view Kurites as evil and the Pakas as foul creatures.
“The Pyrannis will fight against the Malirrans’ rule.” They all turned to look at Dane coming toward them. “They have taken enough from my people.”
Lara shifted her gaze to Skye and received a small nod in return. She said, “Okay, I’m game. Do you have a plan to eradicate those monsters from here?”
“It isn’t Dane’s plan, but mine,” Skye said in a deep voice filled with command and confidence.
Dane shrugged when Lara shot him a questioning glance. “He is the acknowledged strategist.” Despite his outward calm, the Pyranni hid a well of fear and trepidation. When his gaze skipped over the pakas, Lara realized he didn’t fear the coming battle but the cats.
Eiren broke away from them and approached Skye in slow, measured steps. The Pyranni’s fingers twitched but didn’t reach for a weapon. Dane was trying, and that was all that mattered.
Skye grinned and said, “Dane Ironside, this is Eiren from the Kurite city of Luthis, my bondmate and new battlemate.”
Eiren bowed with grace, thoroughly shocking the man if the way he stiffened was any indication. After a short pause, he bowed back.
Skye walked over and crouched down beside Lara, his face inscrutable. With a gentle finger, he traced the bandages on her arms, leaving a trail of goose bumps.
“Thank you,” she whispered, hoping he understood the depth of her gratitude.
For a long moment, he didn’t say anything, though his jaw clenched with an indefinable emotion. Nonetheless, she felt as if he touched something deep within her.
Skye sat down beside her and slung a muscled arm over a raised knee. “As Dane said, I’ve been developing a plan, but it requires someone to stay here.”
As he outlined his plan, Chion spoke to her through their bond, giving them some much needed privacy. You are mine to protect, Solara. You will stay by my side until the Malirran threat is gone.
Chion, you came for me. You all came for me. She ran her fingers through his coat.
You are mine, but you are also theirs. Skye and Eiren consider you theirs. We worked together, but I must admit that Skye created the plan. I was unable to provide aid in your rescue endeavor, much to my chagrin.
Why? What happened? Lara rubbed beneath one silky ear, then the other.
When I could not reach you through our bond, my ability to function disintegrated with each day that passed. I was not myself, as much as it shames me to admit. Your rescue would not have succeeded without Skye. I could not save you. Another shouldered my duty, My Lady.
The shame he felt traveled to her, and she gasped before shaking her head. Chion, she chided, we are not alone for a reason. Wasn’t it you that said the Goddess had a plan for all four of us? Of course, you couldn’t save me alone. We aren’t supposed to be alone. We’re supposed to work together—the four of us. We are destined for the Lan’Ai bond. She ran her finger down the middle of his brow line to the end of his nose. My head is still clouded, and I feel like I’m swimming in the ocean without a raft, but I’m certain of one thing. Even if you couldn’t save me without help, you are my touchstone. I count on you more than you’ll ever know or realize. You keep me sane. I can’t do this without you.
And I cannot live without you, My Lady. His contented purr filled their link, and they both listened to Skye outline his plan.