The next fewminutes were a blur. Pain exploded in my neck, shouts roared around me, and the world went black. Consciousness left me. When I cracked open my eyes, it seemed as though years had passed. My entire body felt as if it had been put through a blender, and my neck throbbed with an impossible pain. I stared up at the ceiling, recognizing the unique pattern that ran along the top of each wall. I was in the infirmary. Again. And this time, I had a thick bandage weighing down on myneck.
Wincing, I cut my eyes to the left to find my four instructors dotted around the room, all passed out in uncomfortable chairs. Liam, the closest, must have heard my movement because he was by my side within an instant. He leaned onto the thin mattress, took my hand, and squeezed tight. Those fiery eyes of his had dimmed, worry erasing the passion and desire they usuallyheld.
“Norah,” he said in a rough voice as he rubbed my hand between his. “Thank the forest. You had us worriedthere.”
“What happened?” My voice came out a croak. Also, ouch. Even talking made rivers of pain run down myneck.
Liam’s expression went grim. “The Redcap girl attacked you. Somehow, she was able to shift her hands into claws without shifting the rest of her body. She ripped right through your neck. If Kael hadn’t been there, there’s no way in hell you would have…well, let’s just say the wounds would have been even worse than theyare.”
Frowning, I tried to think back. “Kael wasthere?”
I didn’t remember him being there atall.
A nod. “He decided to transform into his beast and went outside to catch the Redcaps from behind, just in case we weren’t able to hold them off. He would have gotten to the fight sooner, but he ran into a couple more beasts along the way. By the time he got the front doors, you were outside. He was there when you spoke to the girl.” A pause. “He filled us in on everything shesaid.”
I winched, leaning back into the soft pillow and closing my eyes against the pain. “She was right to be angry. She was right to hate me for what has happened to her all theseyears.”
“Maybe so, but that doesn’t make what she’s done right. Revenge is never the answer, no matter how powerful of a siren call it mightbe.”
“Where is she?” I asked. “What’s happened toher?”
“She’s in the dungeons, awaiting her fate, whatever that may be. Alwyn wants to get opinions from the other fae before she does anything. It’s not a particularly straightforward situation.” Liam let out a heavysigh.
“We should do something to helpher.”
“Norah.” His voice was pained. “She tried to kill you. She killed Boyd, and she killed the Hunter that we found in the forest. She’s viscous and angry, and it has nothing to do with the beast within. She can control it, just like Kael can. So, all of this? It’sher.”
My heart slammed against my ribcage. “Iknow.”
“And yet you still want to helpher?”
“We did this to her.” I took a deep breath and plowed forward. “The reason she’s so vicious and angry? It’s because of me. I took her place in the Tithe, and she was forced to be raised by the Wilde Fae. She’s been hunted all her life. And it’s all because ofme.”
My voice cracked on the last word, and a tear slipped down my cheek. How could I live with myself if I put the final nail in this girl’s coffin? How could I ever be the kind of fae I wanted to be if I let this girl be executed? Yes, she’d done some horrible things, but so hadwe.
“This is not your fault, my love. You cannot blame yourself for the decisions made by others far before you were evenborn.”
A sharp pain went through my neck, and I winced. Liam shifted up onto the bed, brushing a stray strand of hair off my cheek. His touch was electric, and a soothing heat began to spread through myskin.
“We’ll talk about this later,” he murmured. “For now, you need tosleep.”
* * *
The next time I awoke,Liam was gone and so was Rourke and Finn. Kael sat by my side, staring out the window with a hollow look in his eyes. My neck was better, at least. It no longer felt as though every single nerve ending had been torn inhalf.
“There she is,” Kael said with a smile, though I could see the pain and worry hiding behind his attempt atlightheartedness.
“Hi, Kael.” I reached up to touch the bandage on my neck, one that was much lighter than the one that had been there before. “Where’sLiam?”
“He had to rest.” He glanced back out the window again. “Alwyn had to practically drag him away from you. He’s drained himself trying to heal yourwound.”
My heart clenched tight. “I wish he wouldn’t have donethat.”
“There was no talking him out of it,” Kael said with a slight smile. “He’d do anything for you, you know. And so wouldI.”
“I heard.” I gazed up at him and reached out to touch his hand. “Thank you for savingme.”
He stiffened and glanced away. “You shouldn’t be thanking me. If I’d been quicker to see what was happening, you wouldn’t be in this situation right now. You wouldn’tbe…”
