“That’s a lot of questions.” Caly returned my chuckle. “You’ve only been out a few hours.”
“Well, that’s something at least.” I’m glad I hadn’t left her longer. The last thing she needed was to get caught up with them. If I alone wasn’t enough of a problem between her and the heir, this would be treason.
“But you have days of rest ahead of you before you can leave this tent, so don’t get any ideas.”
“You don’t have to worry about me flying away. I don’t think I could crawl out of here yet. I have no energy, and things hurt that I didn’t even know could.” It felt like I was still pierced with those things.
“No, Ryuu said there’s almost no power in the land, so your healing will be slow.”
“So you met Ryuu?” Not a very good start.
“Yes, you don’t remember?”
I shook my head and winced.
She recounted what happened. “He has taken personal responsibility for our being here. He’s?—”
“Terrifying,” I finished for her. That’s how most who met him reacted. But he was true, and I trusted him. We were lucky he met us, had it been anyone else, we might not have been taken to safety, and they might not have noticed the tracker.
“I was going to say, fascinating.”
“He’s a decent male and I like him, but be on your guard, Caly. The cause is all that matters to him, and he will accept any casualties to further it.”
She blinked up at me in the darkness, her bright eyes almost black in the shadows. “I think our causes align, so I understand the sacrifices he’s willing to make. He is willing to work with me once I arrive at the palace, and they will let us rest here as long as you need to. We are safe for now, so please, just focus on restoring your power and healing your wounds.”
“Caly…” I half sat like I could get out of bed or something.
“Don’t start please.”She sat beside me, speaking mind to mind.“I have to have a purpose.
I pressed my eyes closed and leaned into her, not sure I’d made the right decision in any of this, but what else could I do? We were out of choices.
“Are you okay?”I asked mind to mind after long moments of silence.
“I am now you’re awake,”she replied
I closed my eyes and sighed. Relief washing over me. I opened them wide again, remembering something. “You gave me power!”
“I did,” she smiled.
“How did you know to do that? Did you leave yourself enough?”
“Shhhh! You won't heal if you are stressing yourself. I’m fine. I have some reserves. I didn’t drain myself.”
I could tell from her expression that it had come close, and she would have done it willingly, which did not fill me with confidence in her will for self-preservation. “But how did you know you could?”
“For a few days, I have felt your power kind of…leaning into mine. Like an offer. I don’t know how else to describe it. It’s as if it’s letting me know it’s there in case I need to reach for it. So I just offered mine, and you took it.”
I pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I owe you my life.”
“You owe me nothing. Just get some sleep,” she said, her eyes heavy.
I didn’t feel like I could sleep, there was too much uncertainty rolling around in my mind. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to sleep peacefully for a long time.
THIRTY-EIGHT
CALYTRIX
The weather had turned in the barren mountains of the Desert Kingdom, bringing ice wind and sinking temperatures. The dry cold seemed to leech the heat from my bones. With as much sun as my kingdom had, and our palace on the sea, this was a type of cold I’d never experienced. Ryuu had found us extra clothing to keep us from catching a chill. Faolan was healing slowly.
