Caitlin knew he was right, that it was madness, but she also knew she couldn’t just stand there and wait for the worst to happen.
Kai studied her for a long moment, then nodded slowly. “I know ye do,” he said. “It’s who ye are.” He pulled her into his arms and held her tightly. “I swear to ye, I will find a way through to ye.”
Caitlin hugged him back tightly. “I know you will,” she whispered, before pulling away.
Before she could change her mind, she ran towards the wall, jumping onto a piece of debris to gain height. She reached up and grabbed a protruding piece of stone, her fingers and toes finding purchase on the rough edges and tiny gaps. She was used to climbs like this but she wasnotused to doing so without a harness or any kind of safety gear. She refused to look down or dwell on what would happen if she slipped.
As she climbed, she could feel her heart pounding in her chest, her breathing ragged and heavy. She could feel sweat trickling down her face and her hands slipping on the rough bricks. But she didn’t stop. She couldn’t stop. The fate of Alba depended on her reaching that hole in the wall.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, she reached the top. She peered into the hole, her heart sinking at the sight of the destruction inside. But then, through the smoke and debris, she saw movement: a hand reaching out, grasping.
She flopped over the edge and lay for a few moments on her back, trying to get her breath before flipping onto her stomach. Through the thick smoke, she could see that the apartment was completely destroyed. The ceiling had caved in and debris littered the floor.
And the room was on fire.
Caitlin’s heart raced as she saw the flames licking at the edges of the room, devouring the bedding and the curtains.
The heat was oppressive, and Caitlin felt her throat constricting, the memories of being trapped in the burning factory rushing back to her. The smoke seemed to fill her lungs with every breath she took, and she felt the terror rising inside her as the realization hit—she was going to be trapped in here.
It was happening again. Oh God, it was all happening again! She was stupid to think she could do this. She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t!
Courage isnae about not being afraid. It’s about being afraid and doing what ye need to do anyway.
She had come too far to fail now. Slowly, with shaking arms, she pushed herself into a sitting position. A few paces away, a body lay motionless amidst the rubble, partially buried under a pile of debris. She crawled towards it, ignoring the sharp pain in her hands and knees as she moved across the broken bricks and shattered glass.
As she got closer, she saw that it was a man. He was alive, but barely. Blood was seeping from a wound on his forehead and his breathing was shallow. She began to dig through the rubble with her hands, pulling away chunks of bricks and wood until she could reach him.
She checked his pulse—it was weak and thready, but it was there. He was badly injured—cuts and bruises all over his body—but the head wound was the most serious. She quickly lifted his shirt and noted a deep gash along his ribs that looked like it needed to be stitched up immediately or else infection would set in.
She grabbed a piece of fabric from the remaining bedding and ripped it into strips. Using them as makeshift bandages, she wrapped them tightly around the man’s wound and ribs, hoping it would be enough to stop the bleeding, then also bandaged his head.
The smoke was thicker now, and she could feel the heat becoming more intense. The fire was spreading, the flames burning closer.
She knew it was a bad idea to move a patient in this condition but she also knew that she had no choice. If she didn’t, they would both die. Gritting her teeth, she grabbed him under the armpits and heaved but he was a dead weight. She couldn’t move him.
“Kai!” she bellowed. “Kai!”
She screamed his name as loud as she could, hoping he could hear her over the roar of the flames. She screamed until her throat was raw, until her voice was nothing more than a rasp in the smoke-filled air.
But there was no answer, only the sound of crackling flames and falling debris. Despair washed over her. She was alone and trapped, with no way out. She hugged the injured man close to her, trying to shield him from the heat of the fire, and closed her eyes.
Then the door burst open, slamming back against the wall with enough force to send dust raining from the ceiling.
“Caitlin!”
“Kai!” she tried to shout but it came out as a croak.
Then suddenly his arms were scooping her up, holding her tight against his hard, strong chest. She felt the heat on her back and the smoke in her lungs as Kai carried her out of the burning room, Magnus and Oskar lifting the injured king. She clung to Kai, burying her face in his shoulder.
Kai stumbled out of the room and down the steps into the chaos of the castle courtyard. People were running and shouting, horses were neighing and rearing, and the air was filled with smoke and the stench of burning.
Kai set her down gently on the ground and she coughed, trying to clear her lungs of the smoke. She could barely see through the tears that were streaming down her face, but she could feel Kai’s arms around her, holding her tight.
“Ye are safe now,” he murmured into her hair. “Ye are safe.”
Caitlin leaned into him. She was shaking all over. “You...you came.”
Kai looked at her with such intensity that she felt like he could see into her soul. “Of course I came. I told ye I would find a way to ye,” he said. “I’ll always protect ye. Always.”
