Rysden nods. “I get it. I’m going to try to keep Farrah behind, but—” he shakes his head. “It might be a lost cause.”
“Stubborn females,” Kaldar says, but there’s only affection in his voice. Both men suddenly turn to me.
“Present company excluded of course, right?” I offer.
They both shake their heads. “Pretty sure you’re the most stubborn of the three, Harper,” Rysden says.
“Where’s Rauk, by the way?” Kaldar asks. “I wanted to talk to him.”
They both wait for my reply, and I don’t want to be the one to say what needs to be said but there’s nobody else. I swallow. “He’s gone.”
Rysden scowls at me, but Kaldar frowns. “Where?”
Rysden watches me a moment and then says the words for me. “Back to his kingdom,” he says, still watching me. I nod, confirming it. I hate the feelings I’m feeling right now. I feel abandoned, and I told myself I’d never let myself feel that again. I hate myself for letting myself think anything would be different with him. I didn’t even mean to think that; it just sort of happened.
“I’m sorry,” I tell them, my voice devoid of any emotion. I take a deep breath that hurts like crazy in my ribs. “He told me he wasn’t going to help in this war.” I shake my head. “For what it’s worth, he does have some good reasons.” For some reason, I can’t get my mouth to stop talking. “He told me over and over again he wouldn’t help; I just thought—” I swallow hard, and my brain struggles to keep up.Stop talking!
There’s a cold look on Rysden’s face that I've seen before. He turns back to Kaldar, and I use that as my chance to escape. I walk over to Kinsley’s door and knock softly. I open it after I hear Kinsley’s voice. I force a smile to myself and step into the room. “How are the moms-to-be doing?”
“Man, that’s crazy to hear,” Farrah says wryly.
“How are you feeling, Kins?” I ask as I sit on the chair beside the bed.
She blows out a shaky breath. “So much better now.” She rubs her stomach with her hand. “I’m so relieved.”
“I can’t imagine,” Farrah says from where she sits on the bed next to Kinsley. “What happened, if you don’t mind us asking?”
Kinsley shakes her head. “No, it’s fine. I was walking to the main meeting room when I was grabbed by a couple of men.” A shudder runs through her. “I tried to fight back, but I was outnumbered. Then one of them shifted and picked me up.” Her breath shudders.
“You don’t have to relive it by telling us,” I tell her.
“No, I want to; I think it will help. It’s like not giving power to it, you know?” I nod because I get that. “It started to leave the ground, but Veyra and Jespar showed up. The guivre ended up dropping me, which is how I got this.” She lifts the arm that’s in the sling. “Honestly, I think I was more terrified for our jaguars than for myself. I was so worried the guivre would kill them with its fire, but it didn’t. By then, Kaldar and his team showed up. They took down all but the one that had already shifted; he got away. But,” she pauses and looks at both of us, the worry so evident in her eyes.
“What?” I ask.
“The fact that it was able to get to me and pick me up so easily when I was silent...”
It hits me I think at the same time it hits Farrrah. “They’re no longer blind,” Farrah says flatly, echoing my thoughts. I take that in and mull it over. “I guess it makes sense,” Farrah continues. “Part of the curse was their blindness, so if the curse is failing—”
“Then the blindness would be failing as well,” I continue. Weall let that settle a moment.
“I’m so glad you’re okay,” Farrah says, putting her hand on Kinsley’s shoulder, trying to move past the bad news.
“Me too,” I echo Farrah’s sentiment.
“Aside from all that, how have you been feeling?”
“Nauseous,” Kinsley says with a small laugh. “What about you?”
“I think it’s just starting to get me, and it hits at weird times,” Farrah says in response.
I only partially listen; my mind is whirling with the news from Redara. I honestly can’t believe it’s going to come to this. We’ve been talking about a war coming with the guivres for over a year now, but it’s always been just that...a talk. Now that it’s actually coming, I don’t know what to do about it. The image of Rauk flying away on Noxlyn comes to my mind, and my heart squeezes in my chest.
“Harper?”
I look up and realize the girls are both looking at me in concern. I force a smile. “I gotta say; I hope it’s not contagious. Getting pregnant?” I offer since they both look lost.
“What’s going on?” Kinsely asks.
