Unchained Hearts

by Ash Night

  Bolting straight up, I nearly fell out of bed. Liam was instantly by my side, his arms holding me up as I concentrated on getting the room to stop spinning.

  "How are you feeling?" Liam asked with a warm, tired smile. He looked exhausted. How long had I been out? Why wasn't he in a bed? He was the one who needed sleep.

  "The wolf!" I shouted. "Are you okay?" I scanned him up and down. No blood. He did have bruises running down his arms from wrestling with the beast, but other than that, he appeared fine. Part of me wanted him to lift up his shirt so I could check for possible internal injuries—he had hit the wall really hard—but I was afraid he'd ask for a head check for me the next time a doctor walked in.

  He hugged me tight, pressing his face against my non-injured shoulder. "I'm so glad you woke up..." he mumbled. "Cam was kneeling over you when I got the doctor over to the restaurant and you...you weren't moving. You were so still I had to hold my breath to see if your chest was moving up and down. The doc said something about wolf toxin bein' a system suppressant. Eventually, if you hadn't been seen by a doctor and treated, your body would have shut down. I'm so sorry..." His grip on me tightened and I felt him shudder.

  "It's okay, Li. I'm fine." I wasn't even sure if that was true. My body still felt heavy. I couldn't move my arm, which had been wrapped in a large swath of spiderwick silk. Dark blood stained the white material in various places, but the pain was gone. Every part of me felt numb. Even my brain felt slow.

  The beeping sound was coming from a Heart codex on the table beside me. The black pen was scrawling a wavy line across the pages of the book and automatically flipping pages once the previous ones were filled. It must have cost an exorbitant amount of gold for the magic ink alone. Could I ask to keep the pages after I was discharged? It would be a cool keepsake.

  A thought made the pen jump. Liam's eyes widened as he searched my face for pain.

  "Do they...know about my Seal?" I asked slowly. They had to have taken a blood sample or two. They would have seen the abnormal magic levels.

  I felt him relax. "Yes, they know. I heard the nurses whispering outside the room. But it's okay. By law, they can't release medical info. The magic levels in your blood are considered medical information so no one but the doctors and nurses who took care of you will know, I promise."

  Sighing, I lay back against my pillow. "That's a relief. You never answered my question. Are you okay? You look exhausted."

  He laughed. "Speak for yourself. Are you hungry?"

  I stared at him.

  "Dammit, Mom, I'm fine. Happy?"

  I smiled. "Yes."

  "Good."

  Shouting in the hallway caught our attention. "That's not good enough! No, I don't want a free meal! I want all of her medical bills paid and anything else she wants I want you to see that she gets! Her life was put in danger today just for spilling some fucking glasses of water!"

  "Sir, we're very sorry, but—"

  "But nothing! Is that really how you run an establishment? I didn't see a sign anywhere that said Come eat here, but be careful. Our staff may attack you at any moment!"

  Cam sounded pissed. The sound made my stomach turn. He was usually so calm and collected. Why was he so angry? I was fine. What had happened was an accident. Besides, the wolf who attacked us had already paid with his life. What more was there to take? I certainly didn't expect anything.

  "Cam sounds mad..."

  Liam snickered. "He's going to kill me if he finds out I spilled the water."

  "But I was gonna smack you,” I protested. "It really was my fault."

  He shrugged. "I was the dumbass who stole your breadstick."

  I sighed. "So, when can I leave? We should probably go before Cam blows up the whole building."

  "Look at it this way. If he does, no one will have to worry about paying their bills."

  He ducked when I threw my pillow at him and it bounced harmlessly off the huge Broadcast Monitor on the wall opposite the bed. "You are the worst!"

  "You'll always love me," he said as he placed the pillow back behind me and gently pushed me backward so I was laying down.

  Smiling at him, I let out an exaggerated sigh. "You don't deserve it, you know."

  He laughed. "Absolutely not. Good thing I'm cute, right?"

  Cam opened the door, looking drawn and on edge. His face lit up when he saw I was awake. "Serena, are you all right?"

  I smiled. "Of course. Thank you for taking care of me. I really owe you two."

  Sitting down beside me on the bed, he touched my cheek. The look in his eyes made my heart flutter. "Do you remember what I told you earlier about you not being weak forever?"

  It took me a moment, but then the whole conversation came back to me. He had apologized. Well, sort of. Something told me Cam Crossfire never fully apologized for anything.

  I nodded. "Yes, I remember."

  "Good, as soon as you're healed up, we'll start your first day of training!" He wrapped his arms around me, his hug on the verge of smothering. Energy entered my body as he wrapped his magic around me. The tiredness I had been feeling vanished and I felt revitalized, like I could take on a giant. Fear and worry seized me. The Heart Codex jumped. Cam released me and the flow of energy stopped.

  "Something wrong? Are you in pain?" he asked.

  "No, but I felt—"

  "Oh, that. Don't worry about it."

  I clutched his sleeve safely above his cuffs. "Have a doctor look at your wrists. Please."

  He shook his head. "I'm fine." Pulling away, he tugged down his sleeve.

  "Dammit, let me see."

  "No, I said I'm fine."

  Glaring at him, I huffed. He couldn't lie, but I knew he was just twisting the truth. That probably just meant he was fine now or some semantic bullshit like that. "Boys and their fuckin' pride!"

  "Serena Roseheart?" a nurse asked, peeking her head in the room. "Ah, you're awake. Any pain?"

  I stared at Cam as I answered, "No, I'm fine."

  Cam's mouth dropped.

  That's right. I'm lying through my teeth, my arm fucking hurts now that you aren’t pumping magic into me, but I'll be damned if I let you know that. I'm irritated with you, you bastard.

  I smiled as the nurse asked me more questions. I answered those truthfully, feeling slightly bad I had lied about the first one. Cam sulked in the corner the whole time, his arms folded tightly across his chest. I noticed he made sure to hide his cuffs from the nurse's view. That made me feel bad for him. I could tell he was uncomfortable.

  For as angry as I was at him, I hoped he wasn’t in pain. His face gave no hint if he was.

  After the nurse took some notes on my vitals and checked to make sure I was still hooked up to everything correctly, she gave me some more pain meds before leaving the room. I was thankful for them. My arm was pulsating fire. Liam was studying the hospital menu she’d left me to look at for lunch.

  "Hey, shouldn't the patient get to look at that?"

  "Well, since you're right-handed, I figured I'd fill out the order sheet for you." Liam replied, grinning as he set the pen down and handed back the sheet. "I got you all your favorites."

  "Thank you."

  "Plus, I added some things I knew you didn't like so you'd give them to me."

  I chuckled. "So that's why beef stew is checked."

  He smiled broadly. "Of course. Although, I heard meat can help heal you faster so maybe..."

  "I have no interest in eating meat. I ate it once and I didn't like it."

  "Female Fae are less likely to crave meat because male Fae are genetically stronger and built to do hard labor," Cam said. "Two thousand years ago, it was actually illegal to consume meat and was considered sacrilege."

  "I'm glad I was born in this time! I love barbecued chicken too much to ever not eat meat." Liam was practically drooling as he thought of his favorite food.

  I giggled. "I just don't have a taste for it, I guess."

  Cam fluffed my pillow. "Are you co
mfortable? The truth, please."

  "Yes," I replied honestly. "Seriously, Cam, you should tell them. Maybe they could give you some of that salve that the master had."

  His nose wrinkled. "That stuff stunk. I really don't need it."

  "Are you sure you can't lie?"

  He grinned. "I can't."

  "Then how can you say you're fine? Your wrists had burns on them from the Cyclops after you cast that huge spell."

  Cam nodded. “It felt like hell.”

  "Then you aren't fine!"

  The Heart Codex jumped again. Liam laughed. The flower in the pot next to my bed grew a few inches. Cam wore that amused smirk again. I wanted to slap him.

  "I assure you that I am fine, Sunshine. You don't have to worry."

  He sighed and strode over to my bed, holding his arms out in front of him. "See for yourself." A muscle in his jaw ticked, but he stayed still as I pulled up his sleeves.

  The burns were gone.

  "They're gone," I said, dumbfounded.

  "Yup. I paid a healer a few silver to heal them. That's what I was doing while you two went out to lunch."

  I smacked him on the back of the head as hard as I could. He was lucky I had to use my non-dominant hand.

  "Ow! What was that for?"

  Groaning, I ran a hand over my face. "Why didn't you just say so?"

  His eyes sparkled with amusement. "Because annoying you is fun."

  "If I wasn't numb from pain pills, I'd strangle you!"

  He looked at Liam. "Make sure they keep her medicated."

  Liam held up his hands. "This is your fight, dude. I am not getting in the middle of it."

  Cam chuckled. "I'll be back in the morning in time for checkout."

  "But where are you—"

  Hugging me tight, he whispered, "We still have to talk about that kiss, Sunshine."

  The Heart Codex jumped for so long that it started beeping.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Liam camped out in my room on the chair all night so I guess that solved our room problem at the inn. I lay in bed, unable to sleep despite how tired I was. The flowers that Zenda had dropped off earlier made the whole room smell like lilac. Staring up at the ceiling, I wondered what Cam was doing. He sure liked to do a lot without telling us what he was doing.

  My right arm was itchy. I was informed by the nurses that all the toxins had been cleared from my body, but they wanted to keep me overnight just in case my wound got infected. It would take a few weeks to heal completely and I needed to keep it wrapped, which meant washing myself with a rag and I would need either Cam or Liam to wash my hair for me. More importantly, it meant no swimming.

  I could deal with everything else, but I had been looking forward to swimming.

  Lights flickered in the hall. The nurse had forgotten to close the door before leaving. Liam was snoring away. Because of the needle in my arm, I was unable to get up and close the door myself. A few staff members were whispering at the front desk.

  "Did you hear about the boy in here earlier?"

  "Half the hospital could hear him. Geez, can he yell."

  Suddenly I was glad the door was open.

  "I saw a glint of Shadowsilver."

  "Oh...Big spender, huh?"

  "Not exactly. He looked like he was trying to hide it. It looked like it was activated."

  "Activated?" The woman pushed up her glasses. "Are you serious? There's no way he'd be standing. I've taken care of a few patients with Shadowsilver burns. That stuff is no joke!"

  "He was!" the older woman insisted. "I don't know how, though. The bigger question is, why did he have them on in the first place?"

  "Are you sure they weren't painted? Painted Shadowsilver is a thing. Lots of rich kids add it to jewelry to make them look tough," said a kid in scrubs. He and the woman with glasses didn't look much older than us. Were they medical students?

  "The only one I've even seen wear actual activated Shadowsilver was you-know-who and he was a total badass!"

  "Shh! Do you want to get in trouble?" asked Glasses Lady as she looked around wildly to make sure no one overheard. I smiled. Yes, Kalden was indeed a badass.

  The older lady just frowned. "Now that's enough! Don't you two have rounds to make?"

  "Oh, come on, El, you were having just as much fun gossiping as we were!" The boy snickered.

  El huffed. "Well, I was until you started talking about things that could get you thrown in jail! How do you even know about him, anyway?"

  He grinned. "My old man got drunk one night and told me all about him. Ya know, he has a permanent limp from those days."

  "Be grateful that's all he has. I saw too many good young men robbed of their innocence from that Goddess-damned war. Nothing good came of it! Nothing! Now, shoo! I have paperwork to do."

  I resumed staring up at the ceiling. Kalden really was that hated. I knew the government hated him enough to ban his name, but other creatures hated him too? He was a hero! He fought for what everyone wanted but was too afraid to take back. How could anyone hate him?

  "You heard that too, huh?" Liam asked as he shut the door.

  I rolled over to face the chair he'd been sitting in. "Yes, how could anyone hate him?"

  Liam sighed, sitting back down. "Maybe because he incited a war that left millions dead.”

  "Yeah, but it was to help everyone!"

  Liam's expression darkened. “That doesn't excuse the fact that they died, Serena. To the people that lost them, the goal meant nothing. Accomplishing the goal wasn't going to bring them back."

  "I know..."

  "Then you can't be mad at them for what they believe."

  "Kalden tried his best. If he hadn't died, he'd still be fighting.”

  "He'd probably be too old to fight. He wouldn't be able to."

  "How do you know that? Cam will probably be fighting when he's a million and six."

  “Yeah, probably. That guy never sits still."

  “You don't either. You'll probably fighting right alongside him, or against him. You two do love to argue.”

  “We have vastly different opinions about almost everything. But we do agree magic is for everyone so I suppose that's all that matters, right?"

  "True," I said with a smile. "Thank you, by the way, for staying the night. I appreciate it."

  Liam rolled his eyes. "How could I resist? It was a much better option than having Cuff Boy for a bunkmate."

  "Are you happy?"

  He thought for a while. "Yes and no. I'm happy we get to make a difference, but I'm mad at myself for not being able to keep you safe today."

  "That wasn't your fault. We were goofing around and an accident happened. It's no one's fault.” I shifted uncomfortably in bed. I was dying to get out of it. After dinner, I'd been allowed to walk around a little but my strength hadn't fully returned and even that little bit of exercise had wiped me out. Cam was right. Werewolf toxin was nasty stuff.

  He yawned, stretching his arms toward the celling. "I still feel responsible."

  "Well, stop it."

  A smile stretched across his face. "You make it sound so easy."

  I nodded. "It is if you'd just do it. I may be a girl, but I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

  His eyes flashed. "Still, you are a girl. As a man, it's my job to take care of you."

  "Let me guess, another one of those stupid pride things?"

  "Exactly." He chuckled. "Plus, your dad would kill me if I didn't protect you. I don't doubt you can take care of yourself if you had to, though. I felt your magic rise to the surface when that wolf attacked us."

  I looked down at my lap, ashamed. "I wanted to use it so badly. I really did. I was just scared someone would see..."

  He rested a hand on my knee. "I know. But isn't magic about freedom? We should use it freely and maybe it'll inspire others to do the same. Besides, we're wanted now so it's really a moot point."

  Looking up at him, I smiled. For as much as an idiot as Liam was
most of the time, he really knew what to say when it mattered. "That makes a lot of sense. Are you sure you don't want to get your head checked while we're here?"

  He laughed. "No, your medical bills are covered. I'm pretty sure all the testing they would have to do on me would drain the rich boy's bank account."

  "Are you sure you don't want to get your head checked?"

  Liam stared at Cam. "Roseheart said the exact same thing last night."

  "He said the testing would drain your bank account."

  "No, it wouldn't. The hundreds of articles written about Snowflake would be more than enough to cover the testing and buy us several vacations to the moon. Everyone will want to read about the Fae living with half a brain."

  Cam grinned at me as he handed me a change of clothes and my hairbrush. His hand lingered on my forearm until he was sure I wasn't going to tip over getting out of bed.

  I blushed. "Cam, I'm fine. You heard the doctor clear me."

  His eyes burned into me. "I'm not entirely sure, which is why I rented us a magicart to ride to the next town."

  "Awesome!" Liam cheered. "Walking was getting tiring."

  My mouth fell open. "You rented a what? Cam, that's so expensive! I'm fine! You did not have to do that!"

  He smirked, raising an eyebrow. "Would you prefer I'd have stolen it?"

  "Of course not!"

  "Go get dressed. You can continue yelling at me once we're riding in style, okay?"

  Rolling my eyes, I walked to the bathroom. My shoulder throbbed as I pulled my white long-sleeved shirt over my head. The nurse had changed the bandage before discharging me and it had been the first time I'd seen the wound for myself since the attack. It had scabbed over already.

  The nurse wasn't surprised it was healing so quickly now that she knew my Seal was broken. Cam had explained that the healing process was accelerated, thanks to the magic flowing through me constantly. As long as I was careful and kept it clean, it shouldn't need any more medical attention. I was grateful for that, though I was still livid Cam spent money unnecessarily. He knew it made me uncomfortable.

  "You okay in there, Sunshine?"

  "Just fine."

  Raking a brush through my hair until I pulled out all the knots that had formed since I last brushed it, I sighed and summoned the courage to look at myself in the mirror. Dark circles ringed my eyes. Sleep hadn't come easily last night and morning had come too early.