“Whoa, Harpie.”
I’m not really sure what happened next. All I know is the world around me went a little haywire for a moment. The next thing I know, Rauk has Lox up against the wall. “I told you what would happen if you touched her again.” Rauk chuckles, but it’s cold. “You really must not enjoy having two hands.” I hear the sound of a dagger being drawn from its sheath, and that sound gets me moving. The world has righted itself mostly, though it still feels like there’s pressure against my head, pushing it down. I move over to where Rauk has Lox against the wall. I don’t even look at what Rysden’s doing, because this could get out of hand really quickly.
“Rauk, stop.” He doesn’t move, and I’m worried this is about to blow up and become a huge problem. But then he steps back and turns his back on Lox. I can see the anger as clear as day on his face, but he doesn’t fight me. He puts a hand on my back as we walk over to the stairs. By the time I get to the top of the stairs, I can barely walk a straight line. I'm so off with the pressure on my head. I keep losing my balance. Rauk keeps a hand at my elbow. If I didn’t think I was going to fall over at any moment, I would have jerked my arm away. Sadly, though, I needed his help.
When we get to the room, he opens the door and we’re rewarded with Auri’s smile. Of course, it fades pretty quickly when she gets a good look at us. “Wow. You two have been busy.”
Rauk walks over to her and gives her a kiss on the forehead and then disappears into the bathroom. I walk over to her but don’t sit on the bed. I don’t want to destroy the furs or bedsheets. “Hey, I’m sorry we were gone for so long.”
“It’s okay. Farrah told me what you were doing.” Her eyes meet mine. “She was pretty mad at you, both of you.”
“Yeah. I got that.”
Auri eyes me. “It’s because she’s worried about you. That’s why my brother is a jerk to me sometimes. I know he’s just worried about me.”
I study her face. “Auri, sometimes you are so much older than your years.”
“Yeah. It’s the same reason he’s a jerk to you too.”
Her words startle me. “What?”
“My brother. That’s why he’s a jerk to you sometimes; heworries about you. But he’s a guy, so he doesn’t tell you that. You're just supposed to know that’s why he’s mad.”
I laugh. “Kiddo, that’s sweet, but your brother doesn’t worry about me in the same way he worries about you. It’s a little different.”
“It’s not,” she argues.
Rauk comes out of the bathroom, and I notice he’s clean once again. I watch him carefully. “Are you still mad?” I ask.
He faces me. “Mad? You don’t even begin to know how mad I am about today.” I frown and open my mouth to argue, but he continues. “I woke up to a dragon roaring at me and then had to listen to Noxlyn describe to me in real time the beating you were taking through Redara’s point of view.” He’s towering over me now.
“Well, good. Glad you’re not mad.” I try to stride past him, but he stops me with a hand on my arm.
“I’m furious with you.” His eyes are blazing. “I thought we decided that you weren't going to go back there by yourself.”
“Did we? I guess I didn’t listen.”
“Harper,” he growls out. “Listen to me.”
And I snap. “No, you listen to me. My friend is pregnant and probably scared to death because the guivres won’t stop attacking. You saw how brutal they are. Their kingdom is being overrun by guivres. They’re pretty sure they’re trying to run out everyone in the kingdom so they can take over the kingdom and have a place of their own. For whatever reason, they’ve decided that’s going to be the Jaguar Kingdom. In the meantime, good people are dying.” I finally come up for air.
Hedoesn’t say anything for the longest time, and I fidget under his gaze. “Okay. Take me to their kingdom. Show me.”
His response shocks me. “Really?”
His nod is determined. “Take me to the Jaguar Kingdom, but without all the sneaking around. This time, we’ll go.Together.”
I stare at him an extra beat and then move on. “Fine. Are we done now, because I really need to take a bath?”
“Yeah. I already filledit for you.”
Chapter39
“Uh, thanks.” I brush past him and walk into the bathroom. I take one look at myself in the mirror and grimace. No wonder everybody’s being careful around me. There’s blood splatters all over my face as well as a big red spot on my cheek that should turn a fun color. Turning away from the mirror, I approach the bath. More than ready to soak in a hot bath, I start the process of removing my clothes. Surprisingly, it takes way more effort than it should. My ribs protest literally every movement and even more so when I take the wrapping off. Then there’s the task of actually climbing into the tub. By the time I get settled, my forehead has a sheen of sweat on it. I take a shallow breath and try to relax. The hot water soothes my aching muscles, and I feel like I can finally relax a little while. After a little bit, I reach for the soap, knowing I need to wash my hair and body before the water gets too cold. The body part goes okay, but my hair is another story. As soon as I try to lift my arms to wash my hair, pain erupts in my rib cage. I close my eyes and will myself to breathethrough the pain. Knowing it’s not going to get any better, I grit my teeth and quickly wash my hair. I manage somehow to get it washed and rinsed, but now my entire body hurts. I mutter under my breath and after I pull the plug to let the water start draining, I begin the process of getting out of the tub. I realize seconds into it, that this is going to be a lot harder than getting in. Every movement I try hurts like crazy. I take a shallow breath and blow it out. “Just do it,” I mutter to myself and grab the edges and pull myself up. But halfway up, my arm slips. I can’t catch myself, and I fall back into the tub and hit my back. Pain pulses through my chest at the impact, and I can’t catch my breath.
“Harper?” I hear Rauk’s voice but am too busy trying to get air back into my lungs to be able to respond. “Harper!”
The door opens, and adrenaline shoots through me. “What are you doing?” I shriek, or at least I try. It comes out in more of a wheeze.
