Shar's face fell. “Three people died?”
“Yeah. Hey, don't cry, baby. They knew the risks when they came to fight at our side, and they came anyway. The only one at fault for their deaths is Silas, and he's dead. It's his blood that coats my hand right now,” Kaia told her.
“He's really dead? He can't come after me again?” Shar asked.
“He's really dead,” Kaia assured her.
“Thank Goddess,” Shar breathed.
Everyone filtered out around them while they talked. “Let's go see our men,” Kaia told her. “Plus, I need to get cleaned up,” she added, looping her arm through Shar's before they headed through the compound.
Shar gasped at the hole in the wall.
“Don't worry about it. With any luck, Uhneas will bless us and work on it will go by quickly.”
“If you say so,” Shar said as they made their way inside.
Rafe was stretched out on the bed when they arrived. “There's my girls,” he slurred sleepily.
“You, mister, need your sleep,” Kaia told him.
Shar leaned over and brushed his lips with a kiss. “Rest, we're here,” she said gently.
Kaia cleaned up quickly while Baz and Shar undressed and climbed into bed. When she joined them, they curled up together and soon exhaustion pulled her into slumber.
Chapter Eleven
Kaia
Two weeks after the attack, repairs on the wall were well on their way. So far they’d had no trouble from reavers, thank Otris, the Goddess of Good Luck, but Kaia knew that their luck could run out at any time, so they were working hard and fast. Sadly, as the days passed, they were sapping more and more of Rafe’s strength and he was now bedridden.
“Fuck, I hate this,” Rafe groaned from where he sat propped up in bed.
Kaia sat on the edge of the bed beside him, wiping sweat from his brow.
“I know you do, love. I hate it too,” she said softly. He was dying. She was losing him and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Tears stung her eyes and she blinked to clear her vision.
“Hey, babe, please don’t cry,” Rafe murmured, lifting a hand to wipe away an errant tear. “I know this is hard for you, sitting here day after day watching me waste away. Why don’t you go check on the wall, make sure things are going smoothly?”
“No, I’m not leaving you. Baz is overseeing the rebuilding of the wall, just as I asked him to.”
“Then why don’t you go check on Shar. She’s started building her drill, right? I’ll bet she'd love to show you what she’s accomplished so far.”
“I can’t leave you. What if something happens while I’m gone?”
“Babe, it’s not healthy for you to just sit here all day,” he said gently.
“Stop it. I know what you’re trying to do, and I’m not leaving you alone so you can take those fucking pills. You’re not doping up and getting out of this bed, Rafe. Those things will kill you sooner! I’m not ready to let you go. Can’t you see that?”
“Damn it, woman, I hate just sitting here doingnothingday in and day out. Just let me take them this one time.”
“NO. I’m furious Doc even gave them to you in the first place! He should have known better.”
“He knew I was determined to be at your side one way or another, and he wanted me at the top of my game so I’d be a help and not a hindrance,” he countered.
“I don’t give a fuck. He never should have given them to you. I don’t know where you hid them, but I will find them, and I will get rid of them, Rafe. Now lie back and relax, damn it.”
He settled back with a huff of annoyance and Kaia shifted to lie down with him.
