I bit back a curse at the bad timing of it all. Of course, when Zander needed a healer, the one we’ve got was out hunting. It wasn’t Sozu’s fault though. No one could have predicted this.
Vianna returned with a basket in her hands.
“Thank you,” Neelu said as she reached out a hand for the basket.
Vianna stood frozen as she stared at her brother bleeding out on the bed.
Orsu, who had remained in the cabin, took the basket from her hands and gave it to Neelu.
“Come, you can help me brew some healing tea for your brother,” the bear shifter suggested as he put an arm around Vianna and led her out the door.
“Goddess bless him,” Neelu sighed and quickly got to work stitching Zander back together.
Zander came too just as she finished.
“Fatima,” he wheezed and squeezed my hand.
“I’m here,” I assured him. “You’re going to be okay.”
“Fatima,” he said my name again and sighed with relief.
Just then Favalor burst through the door panting and out of breath. “I was out hunting with Sozu,” he began as he leaned against the door frame. “The big shifter ran past us, but suddenly stopped when he saw Sozu. I tried to stop him but he was too fast.”
“Stop him from what?” I asked.
“From taking Sozu. He snatched him up in one of his big hands and ran off again.”
My blood went cold. Gil had kidnapped a second person. Not only that, he’d taken the only shifter with any healing abilities.
“Liar,” Zander groaned. “What did you do to Sozu?”
“What? You can’t be serious.” Favalor straightened and his hands tightened into fists.
“I didn’t do anything. We were out hunting together.”
“Liar,” Zander croaked again. “No honor.”
“Go home, child,” Neelu commanded the young hunter. “Zander will not rest if you are here.”
Favalor looked to Neelu then back to Zander and nodded. He left without another word with his tail thrashing behind him.
The hours passed slowly as Zander slept. I thought the worst of it was over, but then his skin grew hot.
“He’s got a fever,” Neelu confirmed as she pressed the back of her hand to his forehead. “There must have been something on the bird’s talons that got into his blood.”
“Shit,” I cursed. My heart raced as a fresh wave of anxiety coursed through me.
“He’s going to make it,” Neelu said in a firm tone as if she were speaking his healing into existence and daring fate to defy her.
“He’s going to make it,” I repeated with a nod.
Neelu and I alternated putting cold rags on Zander’s body in an attempt to cool him down. We administered healing salvesand medicinal teas as best we could while he slept, but his fever would not break.
Finally, after many hours of being on my feet and watching over my mate, I gave into the exhaustion that had been weighing heavily on my shoulders.
I laid down next to my Zander and pushed his hair out of his face. “Please live. I need you to live.”
It was a prayer and a plea.
