“Yes. But we have to gonow,” he warned.
I eyed my brother and the red rims around his eyes. “It’s just a fever?” I asked him.
He chewed his lip. “Well, and a little rattle in her chest I heard just before I left.”
Dizziness washed over me.
Rattle in her chest.
No.
Creator no.
That was worse than a cough. Thedeath rattle,we called it.
I surged forward to slip through the gate and run to my mother, when two hands clamped my upper arms, yanking me backward.
I slammed into Kaelric’s chest, and he whispered into my ear: “You have to come now. Or this is all for nothing, we both lose. I can’t wait another five years, and I cannot lose everything.”
“Let me go!” I struggled against him, but he began to drag me backward.
Tyrus peered at me, panicked, clutching the backpack of food to his chest.
“I’ll send someone to help your mother and take her shifts!” Kaelric called out to my brother. “I promise!”
Tyrus looked so small, so terrified, that for half a second I envisioned grabbing Valkaryn and shoving it into Kaelric’s heart.
“You bastard. I hate you,” I turned and growled up into his face.
He peered down at me, sadness creeping across his features. “That’s not ideal, but it is what it is.”
He dragged me away from my brother. I felt so stupid to have trusted him. He told me day one that he would do anything to win, because it meant he got this sword on my hip. And now I knew thatanythingincluded the expense of my family.
But I knew a small part of what he said was right. If I wanted to save my family from a lifetime in the Dregs, I’d have to enter the trial. Still… I’d rather live life in poverty than lose my mother. But what could I do besides keep her hydrated and take her shifts? I wasn’t a doctor.
“If my mother dies, I’ll carve your heart from your chest,” I told him as I jerked out of his grasp and walked beside him. He released me, seeing that I was being somewhat cooperative.
“If your mother dies while we are gone, I’ll throw myself over your blade,” he vowed.
“What a stupid thing to say. I don’t believe a word out of your mouth,” I snapped.
His lips were set into a firm line as he ignored me and then began jogging towards the train. He didn’t even allow me a proper goodbye with my brother.
We barely made it into the back car before it started moving with a lurch. I fell forward, and Kaelric reached out to steady me.
“Don’t touch me!” I growled at him. I didn’t care if he saved my life last night. I hated him right now.
Some of the nearby initiates and their wolfkin snickered, and Kaelric let go of me immediately, his jaw clenching.
“You said you would get someone to help my family.” My tone was sharp.
He peered at the four others in our car. They were sitting in a luxurious booth, playing a card game. Kaelric’s gaze flicked to an open door. Pulling me into the private room with a sleeping bed, Kaelric shut the door.
“I will,” he promised.
“How can you? We’ve already left town? You didn’t speak to anyone or send a courier. You lied to me!” I spat, rage flushing through my body hot and fast. I could strangle him right now. He rushed us ontothis train without barely giving me any time to think, and now I was going to lose my mother. I eyed the exit, wondering if I jumped out now, how long it would take me to get back to my family.
Little patches of fur bloomed out of Kaelric’s skin as he glared at me through yellow eyes. I scowled back at the wild beast within him.
