Instead, I remained out of sight until he was gone, then I raced over to my friend.
Throwing myself to the ground at Ram’s side, I breathed a sigh of relief as I saw his chest rise and fall, but his breathing was ragged, and I feared his healing power wouldn’t be enough. The rocks had crushed most of his bones, and I barely recognized the bloody, pulpy mess in front of me.
“Ram?” I heard a voice call moments before Cam emerged into the courtyard. “You are not going to miss my battle are you?”
His eyes landed on me then slid to Ram’s broken body. The wail he unleashed as he fell beside his brother chilled me to bone, and I hoped I never heard such anguish again.
My heart broke as tears streamed down Cam’s face, and I gathered him into my arms. “It’s okay, he’s alive. He’s going to be okay.”
Cam shook in my embrace, violent sobs racking his body. “He cannot fight. If he does not fight, he dies. There is no exception to the rules.”
I wouldn’t have believed him if I hadn’t just witnessed Harpyn murder someone while the kings sat back and let it happen. I doubted the Gold King would let my father spare his general when he had already lost one of his own.
I was not about to let Ram die, though. Not if I could save him.
I grabbed Cam’s face, forcing him to look at me. “Cam, do you trust me?”
Lost to his sorrow, he didn’t even acknowledge me. “Cam!” I shouted, slapping him in the face as hard as I could. “Do you trust me?” I asked again.
His tears slowed as he took in the determination on my face. “Yes, of course, but what does that have to do with—”
“Listen to me. Ram is not going to die today. Do you hear me? I am not losing anyone I care about, and I need your help if we’re going to save him.”
Normally I despised hope. It never did anything but disappoint me. Right then, however, I was grateful to see the accursed emotion flicker in Cam’s eyes.
“What do I need to do?” he choked out.
“First off, I need you to find Sin and send him out here. And secondly, you can’t miss your own battle. So I need you to go out there and fight.”
He nodded and wiped the tears from his face. “Do you really think you can save him?”
I nodded furiously. “I can, I know I can, but you have to do your part. You have to suck it up and stroll out there with all the confidence of the best aeriservian in Rivella.”
“Okay,” he said, climbing gingerly to his feet. He headed off toward the tunnel, then paused to look back. “Thank you, Princess, for whatever you are about to do… Thank you.”
I gave him a grim but determined smile. I just really hoped Sin was as powerful as he claimed because I would prefer letting Harpyn murder me to telling Cam that I couldn’t save his brother.
Chapter forty-three
“Rain!” Sin’s voice broke through my wallowing, and I jumped to my feet, rushing into his arms. He stiffened for a second, then pulled me in tighter.
“I’m sorry for everything that happened last night,” he murmured.
“None of that matters anymore,” I said before he could continue, our argument the furthest thing from my mind. “I need your help.”
He released his grip on me. “Cam mentioned that. What’s going on, Rain?”
Instead of explaining, I took a step back, revealing Ram’s body.
Anger seized hold of Sin, and fire flared in his eyes. He took a step toward his general, then stopped. “Who?” The single word held a world of violent promises.
“Harpyn.”
Sin’s eyes darkened even more. “I thought he might try something, but it wasn’t supposed to be Ram. Fucking coward knew he couldn’t take me.”
“Sin,” I said, stepping into his space and drawing his focus back to me. “I know that Ram will be killed if he doesn’t fight, but he's still alive, and I plan on him staying that way.”
Sin knelt by his friend and ran his healing magic over Ram’s body. “There’s nothing we can do. I can stabilize the worst damage, but not even the best healer could have him in fighting condition by his match.”
