A full day’s rest did nothing to alleviate the strain Eiren could see lining Skye’s eyes and mouth. At first dejected by Skye’s unwillingness to discuss the problem, she’d turned increasingly concerned. Skye wasn’t healing. Whatever was wrong with his magic was still working against him in some critical way. She dropped her head and stared down at her front paws as she tried to work through the problem.
She knew Lara and Chion noticed Skye’s predicament earlier that morning when he didn’t rise to eat with them. After this morning’s awkward attempt to talk to Skye ended in disaster, she’d given up. Skye woke in time for midday meal, and they were now waiting for Lara and Chion to meet them in the hallway.
Deep in thought, Eiren didn’t hear the two exit their room until Lara heaved a heavy sigh behind her. Eiren turned in time to see Skye punched in the shoulder, making her bondmate grunt. Shocked by the move, Eiren sat down and looked back and forth between the others. Lara was glaring in disgust at Skye while he stared straight ahead. Chion was looking at her, though she couldn’t decipher the thoughts swirling through his eyes.
Lara grabbed Skye’s arm and hauled him back toward their room. When Eiren sat there in bewilderment, the woman huffed, “Well, come on. This conversation is for our ears alone.”
Chion bumped her with his muzzle, and she shot him a questioning look. The paka gave her a gentle smile, his tongue peeking out of his mouth.
She silently snorted in disgust. She was stronger than this. If her Ai wouldn’t speak to her of his own freewill, she’d make him. They were Tal’Ai after all.
Giving Chion one last, searching look, she followed Lara and Skye’s retreating backs. When they were all in the other Tal’Ai’s room, Lara turned on Skye, stepped into his space, and jabbed a finger into his chest. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
Skye body stiffened for a moment before relaxing. He crossed his arms and scowled in Lara’s direction. Eiren couldn’t hold back the small gasp of surprise. Skye’s eyes were off kilter from Lara’s face. If he wasn’t using his magic, there was something definitely wrong.
Lara sigh of exasperation drew her attention. The woman ran her fingers through her hair. After a quick glance at Chion, Lara scowled up into Skye’s face, bristling with indignation.
“Skye, Chion and I are sick and tired of watching you act like this when it’s obvious you need help. You are even more taciturn than normal. Eiren walks around like the entire world is on her shoulders. This ends here. I’m calling an intervention.”
Eiren was on the receiving end of two disgruntled gazes. She felt guilty for no reason. She couldn’t tell them, but she wholeheartedly agreed. The current situation had to end. However, as much as she wished otherwise, Skye made her voice powerless if he wouldn’t listen. She snarled at him, her frustration getting the better of her. He would rather suffer alone than ask her for help. Although he had come a long way, Skye still didn’t understand the power of the Tal’Ai bond.
Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Lara’s eyebrows shoot up. It made her feel horrible for her behavior. She was a mature paka, not a kit. Her head jerked back up with a proud sniff. Cooler heads had to prevail.
Chion said with blatant approval, You finally understand, little one. Now we must make the warrior understand as well.
Chion twisted around, rooting around in the corner until he lifted something up with his mouth. He carefully lowered it in front of her. It was her alphabet scroll. In the upheaval of learning about Skye’s affliction, she’d forgotten she wasn’t completely voiceless.
In an apologetic voice, he explained, I took this from your chambers earlier today. If I understand the situation, you are no longer communicating with Skye. I don’t know the reason, but if Skye will not share, then we must figure this out without him.
Eiren lowered her head in gratitude. She should have asked her friends for help this morning instead of waiting for her bondmate. She was guilty of the exact same thing her Ai was.
Lara fell to her knees beside her, giving her a comforting hug. She felt a tickle of air in her ear when Lara whispered, “Don’t worry. We’re here for the both of you.” Speaking up, Lara admitted, “We shouldn’t have waited as long as we did, but Chion felt it wasn’t our place to intrude.”
With one last squeeze, the woman leaned back and scratched Eiren’s neck. Eiren hadn’t realized how much she missed Skye’s touch. It had been a long day and night.
When she looked at Skye, his fingers were pressed against his forehead. Her heart leapt.
Forgetting their unspoken impasse, she asked, What is it? What’s wrong?
Eiren didn’t know why she expected an answer this time, but her patience reached an end when only silence met her query. Anger and helplessness made her lash out at her bondmate. Words spewed without forethought.
You are a true Pyranni. You stand alone, no need for assistance from anyone.
Even as the words spilled off her tongue, she knew her comment was unfair and childish in its accusation.
She swallowed down the bitterness she felt. Skye was still new to Kureto’s culture. His struggle was real on both a physical and emotional level. Her instincts told her a trigger was necessary to surmount the great wall Skye had built around himself. Their current impasse was damaging both their well-being.
She never doubted that the Goddess had destined their mating through the Tal’Ai bond. Skye had to willingly walk the path with her, trusting in the Goddess’s plan, sharing the difficulties he faced with Eiren. She couldn’t force him to kneel at the behest of their destiny.
She missed the pain and doubt that flickered across Skye’s face. Closing her eyes, she whispered a last plea, Skye, you must trust in our bond. Together we can overcome even the largest of hurdles. Remember, My Lord, I may not be able to speak like others around me, but I have listened and learned far more than my years. You need my help, our help. Let us help you with what you’re facing. We can’t help you unless we know what is wrong.
Skye’s gravelly voice registered in the room for its sheer lack of volume. He whispered on a long exhale of air, “It’s not you, Eiren. It is not any of you.”
He didn’t speak through their bond. Skye had reached a crossroad. Silence met his confession. Breathless, Eiren waited for him to say more, to explain to them what was wrong.
Alarm coursed through her when, before her eyes, dark red blood dripped from his nose and sweat was drawn from his pores.
Skye, she cried out, springing forward to twist herself around his legs, feeling more helpless than ever.
He moaned as if her voice was painful to hear. He fell to his knees, knocking her over on her haunches. His indomitable expression cracked under the onslaught of pain. His hands hovered over his head, never once touching skin to skin.
Their conversation forgotten in the presence of the dire circumstances, she scrambled up to lean her weight against his in an attempt to keep him upright. Afraid her voice would somehow make the pain worse, she used her physical body to tell him she cared. In her worry, she didn’t see that Lara and Chion had left the room until the woman came back in, slamming the door against the opposite wall in her rush to Skye’s side.
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Lara carried a cloth in her hand. In a tense, low voice, Lara said, “Skye, I’m going to grab your arm and help you up. You’re going to have to walk under your own steam to the bed. The bed is just behind you. All you have to do is stand up and take two, small steps backward.”
Eiren looked behind Skye to find the bed made. Without a word, she leapt over to the bed, and used her teeth to pull the blankets down to the foot of the bed. Skye’s pained moan had her spinning around. The sight that met her eyes increased her worry ten-fold. Skye wasn’t acting the strong, tall warrior. His façade had crumbled in the wake of his confession, leaving her to finally comprehend the level of agony he was under.
She hovered as Lara lowered him onto the bed. She snarled when Skye flinched when his head met the soft pillow. Lara murmured soothing words as she dabbed at the blood smeared across the lower half of his face. At the light touch, his hands curled into fists, his knuckles whitening with the strength he clutched the blanket bedding beneath him.
Eiren suddenly realized that Skye’s measured breathing mimicked that of warriors who were gravely injured in battle.
Oh Goddess, no. Skye had been practicing the breathing technique for weeks.
Why was she only now realizing the extent to which he tried to contain the pain? She had failed him when he needed her the most.
Her ears flattened against her head. She couldn’t take on guilt that was not hers. Skye’s incredible stubbornness was at fault, not her. She shook her head even as her eyes stayed locked on the warrior’s face.
Counting every breath he took, Eiren understood her Ai’s strength was far removed from ordinary men. She was proud in a way, but she also feared his strength would be his downfall.
With her heightened emotions, a commotion at the doorway had her flipping around, her lips pulled back into a hiss and her claws unsheathed. She blinked twice before the two in front of her registered. Chion and a stooped man stood at the threshold, waiting for her to regain control. A third blink of her eyes registered the colored robes of a healer. She dropped her head in both relief and gratitude.
Her body drooped of its own accord, and the healer took that as a sign he could enter the sickroom. The man moved to the bed, leaning over Skye to catalog the symptoms. When Eiren moved closer, the man gave her a distracted bow with his head, acknowledging her right to stand beside him. Unable to keep from touching her bondmate, she slipped onto the bed, squeezing in between Skye and wall. She tucked her nose against Skye’s arm, waiting to see if it caused him pain.
She was surprised when Skye’s fist unclenched and reached up to her head. He slid his hand down her neck and latched onto the loose skin.
The tight grip consoled her despite the pinch of pain it caused. She laid her muzzle down on his hip with new hope. She’d wait for him to explain why he didn’t reach for her sooner.
It did not matter. They were together.
After a thorough examination, the healer mumbled under his breath, making her ears twitch while she tried to pick up his words. The man glanced at her for a moment before turning his worried eyes back to his patient. He placed his hands on either side of Skye’s head and closed his eyes in concentration.
After an indeterminate amount of time, the tension left Skye’s body. His hand dropped with a muffled thud to the bedding. The strain smoothed away from his face. His breath came in slow and deep, telling her he slept deeply beside her. The healer motioned for all three of them to join him in the other room.
With his hands clasped behind him, the healer gave each of them a searching look before sighing. “I’ve put him in a deep sleep. The blond warrior is in an excruciating amount of pain, and from what I can determine, has been for quite some time. His brain has small lesions. It is what is causing the nosebleeds. I don’t know what caused the damage, but I’ll keep him asleep until I feel his body has had enough time to heal.”
Lesions on his brain? Goddess, what was wrong with him? Filled with both turmoil and guilt, she glanced over at Chion and Lara.
Lara asked, “You put Skye into an induced coma? Are you sure it won’t cause more damage?”
The healer arched his eyebrows in confusion. Lara threw her hands up, exasperation obvious in her response, “Fine. Are you sure the deep sleep will help him?”
“You saw the difference yourself once he was asleep. The strain left his body, and the bleeding stopped immediately.” He waved his hands in front of him like he was forming his thoughts from a visual only he could see. “I’ve never seen this level of damage to the brain. I’m at a loss to what would cause such an injury. There is no hint of disease anywhere in the warrior’s body. Aside from his head, he’s in perfect health.”
Eiren knew his newfound magic was the reason for her bondmate’s pain. Unfortunately, until Skye shared why and how the pain affected him, developing a solution was impossible.
Skye’s magic, and his inability to control it, demanded Skye’s immediate return to the Tal’Ai training school. She shook her head. Of course Lara and Skye needed to finish their training, but the school was in the distant future. He needed help now. Hopefully it’d keep him functioning until he was able to receive help from the Tal’Ai teachers. Eiren took a step back toward Skye, worried something might happen while they were busy in the next room.
Before she could reenter the bedroom, Chion’s deep voice distracted her from her thoughts, and she realized she’d missed what the healer said.
The healer instructed before leaving them alone, “I’ll return early in the morning to check on his progress. For any reason, you may call upon me. I will come.”
Lara came over to her, sliding down to the floor to hug her neck. Chion walked to her other side, giving her his friendship and support with his mere presence.
After leaning on her two companions for she didn’t know how long, Eiren shook herself and left the comfort they provided. Pointedly giving them a look, hoping they’d understand what she conveyed, she checked on Skye, then picked the scroll up from the ground.
They’d find a way to help Skye.
¤¤¤
Skye woke up vomiting, barely rolling to the side of the bed before he lost his stomach. The agony pressing in from inside his skull was too much for his body to handle. He’d pushed his body past its breaking point.
The magic’s impact was becoming worse.
He lifted his head in time for his stomach to relinquish the last of his meal onto the bare floor.
When he was done, he rolled back over, feeling every sliver of movement like a whiplash across his scalp. With a guttural groan, he shivered. Weakness pervaded his entire body, and he was wracked with fever.
Miserable, Skye lay there, his eyes closed against the unrelenting darkness. For once, the inability to see was welcome. Silence surrounded him, and he wondered with half a mind where Eiren was. The empty feel of the room told him no one was nearby.
Time passed, slowly or quickly he wasn’t certain. The combination of both the dark and silence alleviated some of the pain. Clearing his head eased the agony from the internal damage.
As minutes passed, he swam closer to unconsciousness than awareness. His thoughts swirled in waves. Events from the recent past flashed in and out of his mind in no particular order.
He was weak, vulnerable.
As a warrior, weakness was utterly unacceptable—a situation warriors refused to place themselves. It was drilled into them from a young age. Control the situation; control the outcome.
The beginnings of panic set in. Skye feared his magic was too much for him to control. Over the past weeks, he’d tested every feasible protective mechanism he could think of, and it was not enough.
It was nowhere near enough.
If he continued on his current path, death—like the crypt they resided in—would slowly, inevitably creep nearer.
He was failing his own creed.
Skye didn’t know whether it took a single breath of time or days while in the cocoon of his own meandering thoughts, but he reached a decision. One he perhaps should have chosen weeks ago. His pride suffered at the thought.
He needed help.
He couldn’t do this alone, no matter what the Pyranni tradition required.
Eiren was correct, though Skye didn’t understand how his paka could assist him. The Tal’Ai bond existed for a reason. If he believed in the Goddess’s plan for him, he must confide in Eiren all his failings.
His decision, however, did nothing to negate the agony he suffered, but his conscience was clear, which alleviated his stomach’s need to rebel. With one last shiver, Skye slid into sleep.
When he next woke, Skye wasn’t alone. Eiren snuggled against him, adding to the comforting weight of blankets piled on top of him. For once the pain was bearable. Though still present, Skye didn’t feel the overwhelming urge to curl into himself. He took a deep breath in and released it. Testing his head’s capacity for movement, Skye pried open his lids to find the inky darkness impenetrable.
His relief caught him unawares, and a deep chuckle escaped his chest. The absurdity of it all hit him. For someone who once disavowed the presence of good magic, he found himself in the middle of a confounding puzzle. Another chuckle found its way from his chest to his mouth, and before he knew it he was grinning like mad.
Eiren jerked awake with a soft gasp. When he saw her gold eyes peer down at him in concern, he chanced the pain and lifted a weak hand to stroke her ear.
My Lord?
He winced, jerking his hand away to press it against his temple. As soft as she had whispered, her voice resounded against his skull, sending a lick of pain across his brain.
His heart sank when she sprang over him without another word, leaving him to curse his head. His reaction had finally succeeded in turning Eiren away.