“She is still a Darick. She will getin.”
“Tiara, you must look afterher.”
“I will, my brother,” Tiarasaid.
I woke up to Klyn continuously coughing. As I tried to sit up, I noticed my skin felt like it had been stretched and hardened. I had little energy but Klyn seemed so ill. Tiara was fussing with him and tried to get him to drinksomething.
“Klyn, you will succumb to this if you do not drink,” Tiaraurged.
He was dying. My eyes welled up with tears and I forced myself upright. From where I sat, I could see Klyn’s chest rise and fall rapidly. He was in pain and my heart was breaking. Tiara sat beside him and pressed a damp cloth to his forehead. As I slowly made my way to his bedside, Tiara held a charger to his lips. He tried drinking, but within moments of swallowing the fluid, it all came backup.
Gingerly, I sat down beside his cot and took hold of his hand. Klyn had always been by my side and I was overwhelmed with the thought of beingalone.
“Octavia,” he mumbled. His head rolled to the side to look at me. His eyes watered and ran down his cheeks. “Why are you out of bed?” heasked.
I looked at himincredulously.
“You are not well, Klyn. I want to be besideyou.”
Klyn’s eyes had closed and he had not responded to my voice or me shaking his arm. I looked up atTiara.
“Is he gone?” I carefully asked as Tiara felt hiswrist.
“No, not yet. He still has a heartbeat. He is passedout.”
“Why is he not getting better? I am doing better from that drink. How come he is not getting better? It has beendays.”
“You were able to keep the concoction down, dear. Klyn has not been able to keep anything in his stomach,” Tiarasaid.
“So, what do we do? Just wait for him to die?” Icried.
“There is nothing else that I can do for him, my Queen,” Tiara gentlysaid.
Queen?
That was right; everyone one was gone. I was now the Queen of the Darick Kingdom of Drishane. I eyed Klyn’s wrist, then tugged his arm towardme.
“Queen Octavia,” Tiara whispered as she looked across Klyn’s body at me. Her eyes were a glossy black and I knew time was limited. She knew what I had been thinking, I was certain. “I cannot ask you to do this. You must be certain of the choice you are about to make. Yourparents—”
“My parents are dead, Tiara. Klyn is all that I have. If I can save him, I will. He saved me and brought me to you,” Icried.
“Saving you was part of my duty, dear. Your father had been kind to allow me into the town and live my life as I chose to. The Darick Kingdom will go on. You will rebuild it and the town,” Klyn whispered as he groggily drifted in andout.
“I will rebuild,” I confirmed. “I will get revenge for what the Carpe Noctem took. And Klyn will be by my side,” I stated and looked up atTiara.
When Tiara nodded, I knew that she supported this and would help nurse Klyn back to health. Just as I had brought Klyn’s wrist to my mouth, Tiarainterjected.
“My Queen, might I recommend the neck? Your venom will get into his system faster.” Inodded.
“How will I know when to stop?” Iasked.
“The stories that I have heard all say that one will know when they have had their fill,” Tiaraexplained.
My heart pounded as I moved toward Klyn’s neck. I tasted the salt from his cool flesh the moment my lips touched his skin. He smelled just like I remembered. As a girl, if I fell and hurt myself, Klyn would pick me up and hold me until I stopped crying. I would bury my face against his neck, just like I was now. I closed my eyes and followed the advice of Tiara and did notlet up until I felt it was time. Klyn’s body writhed on the cot as I pierced his flesh. It was as though his blood energized me. I instantly felt better and released him from the clutches of my teeth when I felt completelyrefreshed.
I sat still and watched Klyn’s body react as Tiara helped him sit up partway.
“Fetch me a full charger, dear,” Tiara askedme.
