Daz’s nostrils flared. “He’s a traitor. We cast him out over fifteen cycles ago.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Well, people can change. It’s been fifteen fucking years.”
“Daz,” Ward spoke up. “He did save Reba and I from the hunner swarm.”
Daz’s chest heaved, and he watched me for a long time before looking over my shoulder, his gaze skimming each of his warriors in attendance—Gar, Ward, and Sax.
Finally, he dropped the spear at his side, and gestured to Ward. “Get him up. We’ll take them back and deal with this in the morning. Miranda needs to see Val for her wounds.”
“Drak’s in worse shape than me,” I said as Ward gathered Drak’s chain in his hands and tugged him to his feet. He swayed, and I wanted more than anything to wrap my arms around him.
“We won’t waste medis on—”
“Daz, if you finish that sentence, I’m going to grab that spear and gut you.”
He rolled his eyes to the sky and sighed heavily with his hands on his hips. Finally, he met my gaze. “Fine, we will treat his wounds, but he will be locked up until tonight.”
“Locked up!”
“That’s final, Miranda. I won’t put the whole clavas at risk on your single opinion.”
I wanted to stomp my feet and rage, but I had to pick my battles. My priority was getting Drak medical attention because he’d lost a lot of blood. It had pooled on the ground where he knelt, leaving behind a black spot that shone in the moonlight.
I let myself be led toward the Night Kings compound, watching Drak’s stumbling steps. My ribs screamed, my face throbbed, but nothing ached as bad as my heart.
His hut. I knew he’d built it with his own hands, because I’d seen him repairing it a time or two with the same materials. We’d eaten in the safety of the structure. We’d made love on the roof. He’d said his name in my arms while the stars twinkled above us. Another sob threatened to leave my lips and I stuffed it down. It wasn’t the time to have a mental break. Was Drak okay with watching his home go up in flames? The only home he had?
Earlier I’d been so worried about getting back to see my girls, and now that felt like a dream. My priority now was staying alive and seeing to Drak. I would help him rebuild. No way would I leave him when I was the reason his only home was now drifting to the forest floor in a pile of ash.
“Oh Drak,” I muttered.
His black eyes flicked to me before his jaw clenched and he trudged on, bound with chains like an animal.
Drak
I hadn’t understood everything that had happened in the forest. Miranda’s words were still gibberish to me, but from Daz’s response, she had fought for me. My brave, amazing female. My mate.
I could understand why the Night Kings thought I’d injured her. She’d been unconscious in my arms as I’d carried her to the compound. I wished I could remember what I’d done that they didn’t trust me. It had to have been unforgivable. Bits and pieces were coming back. I’d been friends once with Ward. But now he held the chain keeping me captive in one giant fist and didn’t make eye contact with me once. He’d known it was me who’d saved him from the hunner horde. It’d been my name he said. I knew that now. Drak.
When we reached the gates, they opened, and I was led inside directly to a sparse hut. There stood a healer and a female with light skin and yellow hair. She had kind eyes, and I liked her immediately as she placed gentle hands on my arm and led me to a fur pallet on the floor.
I had just sat down on the edge when Merr-anda burst through the door and threw herself at me. With my arms still tied around my back, all I could do was lean into her. I closed my eyes, relishing her warmth and touch. I’d gone without company for so long, but now that I knew what it felt like to fall asleep next to Merr-anda, I couldn’t imagine life without it.
I’d been prepared to deal with it though. When I delivered her to the Night Kings, I’d known they could potentially separate us and turn me away. I would have lived without her if it meant she got to live.
She shook as she burrowed her face in my neck. Ward remained stoic at my side, his hand loosely holding the end of my chain restraint. The yellow-haired female spoke to me in the same lilting language that Merr-anda spoke, but I shook my head to indicate I couldn’t understand her. She frowned, and then turned to say a few words to Sax. While her expression remained calm, her tone and look were firm. With a heavy sigh, he left, and returned a moment later with a gun-looking object. I flinched as he held it up to my ear. A bolt of warmth spread throughout my skull and when it was over, I blinked up at Sax in confusion.
“Done,” he muttered.
Merr-anda yanked her head back, eyes on the gun-like object. “Did you update his implant?”
I jolted in her arms, and she whirled to face me, eyes huge and round. “Can you understand me?” I nodded and she threw herself at me again, gripping the back of my head as she wet my shoulder with her eyes.
“Merr-anda,” the yellow-haired human said with a tap on my mate’s shoulder. With a sniffle, my mate rose and hugged the other human. The two females clung to each other for some time. “I’m so glad you made it back to us,” she said. “We were so worried. The men searched for you every day…”
“I was safe,” Merr-anda wiped at her face with a cloth the other human handed her. “I was safe thanks to Drak.”
The yellow-haired human turned to me. “Hi, I’m Val, Sax’s mate” she said.
“You can trust her.” Merr-anda perched on the bed next to me. “She’s a ners. Well, a healer.”
“You need to untie him,” Val said to Ward.
“Daz said—”
“I know what Daz said,” she said. “You and Sax can stand guard if you’d like, but I cannot check all his injuries with his arms tied behind his back. This is ridiculous.”
“He won’t hurt anyone,” Merr-anda insisted, swiping at my face with her cloth. The white fabric came away black and green with blood and dirt.
With muttered curses, Ward unlocked my bonds. My arms came away free, and I slumped on the pallet, the room spinning as the blood in my body rushed back to my limbs and torso.
“Help him lay down!” Val called out, and strong hands lowered me to my back.
Ward bent over me, his gaze searching my eyes. I flashed back to another time, us in battle against a foe. We stood side by side. Machets out. Arms crossed. Battle formation.
I blinked, and his jaw clenched. He moved away before I could read any more from his eyes. Val returned in my vision, but I shook my head, pointing to Merr-anda. She needed treated first. I would live. But my human mate was fragile with thin skin. Small breakable limbs.
Val gave me a soft smile, and I liked her, especially when she did exactly what I wanted and worked on Merr-anda’s wounds. I must have drifted off, because I came to with a non-bruised Merr-anda smiling down at me while Val poked and prodded me. A few needle pricks later, and my scalp itched as well as my shoulder. I glanced down at my wounds to see them sealing shut.
I tried to lift my head, but it felt heavy, too heavy. My cora beat faster as I began to panic. Had they tied me down again?