Yhkon opened his eyes to look at him. For a long moment, he just looked puzzled. “Where were you?”
Jaylee sucked in her breath, and saw Grrake do the same. Yhkon may have forgotten the recent revelation of Grrake being his father, but he was about to rediscover it. They exchanged a look with Larak. He moved closer. “Grrake stayed here, to keep an eye on things, while Resh and I went.”
“But…” Yhkon exhaled and wrinkled his nose, as if frustrated, or unable to solve a problem. This one time, she wished the hit to the head would keep him from figuring it out. It didn’t. His expression went from vulnerable and confused to stone cold. “Get out.”
Fresh pain lined Grrake’s face. “Yhkon, I—”
“Get out!” He tried to sit up, swearing in a slurred voice, groaning in pain even as he tried to get off the couch. Grrake attempted to calm him, or at least keep him down, but Yhkon shoved his hands off with surprising strength, face red with anger.
Larak, however, grabbed Yhkon by both shoulders and pushed him back onto the sofa without hesitation. “Calm down. He’s your father, he’s worried about you, he gets to stay. Got it?”
Yhkon stopped struggling, but he didn’t look any less savage. “He is not my father,” he said slowly, without a slur.
Larak just crossed his arms and gave him a stern, impatient frown. “Actually, like it or not, he is. Now lie down and rest.”
Jaylee inwardly cringed, knowing Larak’s words and tone would only add fuel to the fire. Yhkon was on his feet before anyone could stop him, still almost a head shorter than Larak but far less defenseless looking than he’d been lying on a couch. “You don’t get to t-t…” Unable to finish the sentence, he snarled out a string of inarticulate oaths instead. “To tell my-m-me what to do!” He flung a hand in the general direction of the door. “So you g-give out too!”
She wasn’t sure how Larak would respond, and she didn’t wait to find out. “Yhkon.” She moved closer, and put a hand on his arm. “You do need rest, to recover. Please?”
His glare fixed on her.
Suddenly he wasn’t just handsome and powerful, with that aloof mystery she’d found enticing. He was frightening. He was damaged, unpredictable. His bicep flexed beneath her hand and for a moment, she expected him to wrench free of her grip and strike her.
Then disorientation erased the anger. He grimaced, taking a step back as if he’d lost his balance. When she drew him toward the couch, trying to ignore her pounding heart, he didn’t resist, sitting down with her clumsily. Larak remained poised, ready to act, but Yhkon only mumbled something inaudible, closing his eyes and relaxing into the seat. She focused on easing the tension in her muscles and her quickened breathing.
Larak let down his guard and retreated a few steps, sighing. “Well, he just needs rest for now. You two stay with him and keep him on that couch, let me know if anything changes.” He set a hand on Grrake’s shoulder briefly, before leaving the cabin.
At some point Yhkon’s arm had ended up around her waist, and now tightened, pulling her closer. It almost made her flinch. But the brutal, frightening man of a few minutes ago was gone. So she adjusted accordingly and kissed his cheek, hoping he would stay docile and fall back to sleep. He did, within minutes, his expression so tranquil compared to how furious it had been only a short time ago.
She had almost forgotten about Grrake sitting at the other side of the room, until he spoke in an undertone. “Did that happen before or after he got the concussion?”
No doubt by “that” he meant the affection between her and Yhkon. That he would remark on it didn’t bother her. It was easy to share things with Grrake, there was little chance of criticism—and besides, in this case, there was nothing to be ashamed of. Yet the question still bothered her. “After, I guess.” She wanted to say that it had started earlier, that it had almost come to life in Aydimor. But she couldn’t. She knew why he had asked, and she knew…he was probably right.
He nodded, slowly, inspecting his hands without seeming to see them. There was something so…broken, about his posture, the weariness in his eyes. It made her wonder what all those years of being Yhkon’s father without him knowing had been like. Not easy. “I’m glad for both of you, if it works out,” he said finally. “Just…be careful, Jay.”
She fidgeted. “What do you mean?” Why she bothered asking, she didn’t know. It was clear enough without him saying it.
Grrake still didn’t look up. It wasn’t like him, to not make eye contact as he spoke. “When he recovers, he might not feel the same way about it.” He clasped his hands together, so tightly it looked painful. “Everyone who loves Yhkon either hurts him or gets hurt by him.”
~♦~
Jaylee woke confused. Something had happened…
Yhkon’s shoulder was her pillow. His arm around her was lax as he slept, so still that she straightened. Was he breathing? She put the finger of one hand lightly against his throat, the other she put just under his nose. A feeble pulse. His breath was so shallow she could barely feel it. Still, it was there.
The flare of panic she’d felt faded, letting grogginess return. She relaxed. Dimly, she felt like something was about to happen. Like she was missing something. But all was peaceful—Yhkon asleep, his skin hot where their arms touched, Grrake also having dozed off in the chair across the room. The cabin entirely silent.
Movement. Yhkon’s arm tightened around her. At first she thought he’d woken and was simply pulling her closer. But his arm continued to tighten painfully, compressing her ribs and stomach, making her suck in her breath. “Yhkon—” She still felt him moving against her, and fell silent as she looked. His eyes were rolled back, only the whites showing. Every muscle was rigid as his whole body spasmed.
She cried out in alarm, resisting the pressure of his arm to get upright and grab his shoulders. “Yhkon! Yhkon wake up!” No response. His body continued to jerk, the veins in his neck and forehead bulging, face flushed and glistening with perspiration. With effort, she got out from his hold. “Grrake!”
He had already woken and come to her side, shouting Yhkon’s name and trying to hold him still. He wrapped both arms around his son and held him, but the writhing didn’t stop. “Go get Larak!”
Jay scrambled for the door. She’d made it three strides toward the bunkhouse when Larak came out. “I was just coming to—” he cut off and moved faster when he saw her face. “What’s wrong?”
“He’s…he’s…” She gripped his arm without thinking, chest so tight it was hard to breathe. “A seizure…” was all she got out before they were back in the cabin.
Larak took only a glance and went to Grrake, taking his arm to make him loosen his grip on Yhkon. “Give him a second. He’ll wake up.”
Grrake backed up slightly but didn’t appear to relax. Jaylee couldn’t so easily assuage her own anxiety either, standing close to Grrake, hoping to comfort both him and herself. It felt far longer than it was before the seizure finally stopped, Yhkon’s body going slack. He stirred slightly and mumbled something, and didn’t open his eyes. Larak frowned. “He should wake up, at least for a few minutes…”