Now I was lying in Ryker’s bed. The skin on my arms looked fresh and pink, like a newborn baby’s. I wore a white shirt without a drop of blood marring the soft fabric.
Ruck walked over and perched on the side of the bed. He wouldn’t look me in the face. His back was stiff and his fingers were tapping on his legs. “How you feeling? Burn and Sneak filled me in last night. You were a bloody mess when you got back here.”
“Considering? Pretty good.” I flexed sore arms but was feeling whole. “What happened after we got back here?”
Ruck waved a hand. “It was crazy. Out of nowhere, Ryker popped into the middle of the street with you in his arms dripping blood. He stood there and screamed for the healer, baring his teeth at anyone who tried to get a closer look at you. Between you and me, he was scary as fuck. I’ve never seen people scramble so fast to do what he said.
“By the time I climbed down the tower, the healer was already running over to him. He locked the three of you away in his place. Thankfully, Burn and Switch showed up and filled me in before I had to bust the door down. Course, I wouldn’t have had to wait to find out what the hell happened if you’d told me the truth about what you were going to do and taken me with you.”
He paused, waiting to see if I’d respond. His hurt ripped through me as badly as that creature behind the ward had.
“I’m sorry,” I said, not for leaving him behind but because I’d hurt him.
“Ryker didn’t come out again until this morning, and they finally let me in.” His eyes ran my length for the first time since he’d walked in the room. His face paled, as if what he’d seen last night was burned into his memory. “You didn’t look like you had any blood left.”
My fingers went to my arms, the horror of my skin being shredded fresh in my mind.
“Have you seen Ryker?” I asked, not ready to talk about what happened.
“He went to the border. Said something about shoring up the wards.”
His eyes went to my hand, where it was still running over the new flesh. I was thankful he didn’t push me for more details. Ruck might be mad, but he was my family. He knew me. He knew when to push and when to leave things be. And I knew he’d always be there for me, no matter how mad he got.
“Are you hungry? Want me to grab you some breakfast and bring it back here?” Ruck asked.
“Nah, I can get up.” I sat up slowly, the muscles in my arms and chest feeling like they’d gotten a hell of a workout. Ruck clasped my hand, helping me ease the rest of the way up.
“I have to know one thing. Did you not take me with you because I’m a dull?” he asked.
“I left you behind because your life matters too much to me. It mattered more than my own. I had to go. You didn’t. And if we went there together and I came back alone, I couldn’t have handled losing you. I did it because I was selfish.”
“And how do you think I would’ve managed if you didn’t make it back and I knew I might’ve been able to save you?” He leveled a hard stare at me.
Of course he’d have to turn this around on me. “Fine. I’ll keep you in the loop more, if I can. It’s not always my choice.” Ryker didn’t know it yet, but he was going to start getting blamed for a lot more crap.
Ruck nodded.
“I’m glad we cleared that up,” I said.
His smile only made me feel slightly guilty.
“Give me a second.” I ducked into Ryker’s bathroom and pulled the shirt down, afraid of what I’d see. The skin looked similar to my arms, tinged pink and raw, as if it were brand new. It was. I hadn’t had much left after last night.
I finished up in the bathroom and made my way back, wobbling on my feet until I got to the bed. “You still want to bring me breakfast?” I asked, dropping back on to the messy covers and knowing I couldn’t have made it a few feet further.
Ruck stood, looking me over. “Yeah, rest. I’ll grab you something. Even with all the crap you pulled, you’re okay now, and it was worth it for the bean.”
Yep, we were going to be okay. Until I left him behind again and he hated me. Ryker had said to me once that the dead didn’t have the luxury of hate. I hadn’t truly understood it until now. If I had to choose between Ruck hating me but staying alive, there was no choice.
It shed some light on what Ryker might’ve been thinking when he’d said it. Except that didn’t make any sense. Me and Ryker didn’t have that kind of bond.
And speak of the devil, I could feel him close by. He appeared in the doorway. His arms were crossed and he looked like if he could kill someone, he would. “The bean didn’t work. The healer said we can’t see the mark, but it’s still there.”
I sank down into the bed. If I was the type to cry, I might’ve been shedding tears right now out of frustration. It wasn’t all lost, though. That stone had been the real deal. It felt like it, anyway.
“Maybe it needs more time to work?” Ruck asked.
Ryker took a few steps into the room. “Or maybe that weasel never gave you the right bean in the first place. The healer has seen them before, and what she described didn’t resemble what he gave you.”
“At least we have another stone,” I said, shoving my hair from my face. As long as I could kill Bones first, he couldn’t kill me.
“There’s other options as well,” Ryker said, staring at me. “How many more chances do you want to take? How long do you want to let this go on?”
“I’ll get you some breakfast and be back,” Ruck said quietly as he slipped from the room.
Ryker stepped to the edge of the bed, looking as if he were about to go to war.
“The bean didn’t almost kill me last night. The stone did.”
“The only reason we went for that stone was because of the bean. I would’ve found a softer target otherwise.”
“I know what you think I should do, but I can’t do it, not yet. And you can’t tell me you’d hand over all your magic to a stronger Wyrd either.”
He still looked as angry as before, but he stopped arguing. That was how I knew I was right. He wouldn’t have been able to do it either.
“Thanks for keeping me alive.”
He nodded.
“How many years did it cost you?”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll catch up with you later.” His clipped reply left me sorry I’d tried to be nice and thanked him.
He walked out still mad at me. You would’ve thought he’d been the one to almost die. Didn’t change anything, though.
31
I walked to the watchtower and could feel eyes on me. I looked around but couldn’t match any bodies to them. It could’ve been paranoia, but I didn’t subscribe to that emotion anymore. If I got a weird feeling in my gut these days, I was probably going to be fighting for my life soon.
“You going to make it?” Ruck yelled down as I got to the ladder.
“Don’t worry. I’ve got this,” I shouted back, in case the eyes watching me also had ears pointed in the same direction. Didn’t want them to think I was an easy target.
There were beads of sweat on my forehead by the time I got to the top. I took a seat beside Ruck, letting my feet dangle over the ledge.
“How you feeling?”
I shook out my arms. “I’m good.”
He laughed. “When did you start lying so well?”
“I’ve always lied well. You’re the one who needs practice.” I scanned the streets below me, using the bird’s-eye view to see if I could spot anyone suspicious. “By the way, someone, maybe a few, are definitely watching me. I felt their eyeballs on me even as I walked here. I’m starting to think every time I survive something, it makes somebody else want to kill me.”
“I told you I thought people were watching. Do you think they want you gone from here?”
“I don’t know, but I’m not going anywhere, whether they want me to or not.” I looked around the platform. “You don’t have any snacks?”
“No. I was hoping you’d bring some.”
Damn. Maybe I should go get something.
Ruck leaned forward, the line of his back tensing. I’d spent so much time knee deep in shit with him that I knew when his hackles were up.
“What?” I leaned closer, trying to pick up his line of sight.
“There’s someone heading this way that I don’t know, and he’s not giving the signal. I think I need to set the alarm.”
I stood, getting up to do it for him, when I spotted Burn and Sneak walking over.
“Hey,” I yelled down to them.
They both stopped and looked up.
“We’ve got a stranger heading in.” I pointed in the direction he was coming from.
“Ryker already picked up on him. We’re heading there now,” Burn said.
I looked back to where the guy was and realized Ryker must’ve extended the territory with his last ward.
Ruck and I watched as the guy made his way closer. Burn and Sneak greeted him, and I saw nodding on both sides, but that was the extent of the good vibes. They turned and walked toward us, Burn and Sneak on either side of the newcomer, and a chill shot down my spine.
Maybe I was paranoid. Every sign of danger wasn’t directed at me.
They walked past the tower, and the man looked up, his eyes landing on me, as if he’d been scanning people for someone who fit my description. They continued to Ryker’s, and the door opened before they got there. Ryker moved to the side, and Burn, Sneak, and the man walked in.
The stranger was out of sight, but the feeling stayed. Ryker glanced up at me before he followed them in. In that second, every tingle of warning felt like it had been stamped and approved. Ryker thought this was going to be about me too.
“You seeing all this?” I asked Ruck.
“Yeah.” Ruck leaned over the rail and called to Ben, who was also watching the happenings from down below.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Ben will cover for me. We need to hear what’s happening,” Ruck said.
I didn’t want to get anywhere near that man, but I’d still go. Better to know what was coming at you than to sit ignorant.
By the time Ben climbed up and I climbed down, Sneak was there waiting for me before my feet hit the ground.
“Ryker asked me to come and get you.” He waved a finger at Ruck. “Only you.”
“Why?” I asked.
“The guy’s here to give you a message.”
I paused, then looked at Ruck. “Hang here. I’ll be back.”
“I’ll be watching.” Ruck pointed to the top of the tower, where he’d have the best view of trouble.
I nodded and then walked toward Ryker’s with Sneak.
As soon as we were out of Ruck’s earshot, Sneak said, “Ryker said it’s your call. Either way, he’ll back you.”
What was I walking into? I nodded, keeping my face blank and my breathing as even as the water in the lake on a balmy day. I pulled my magic tight to me, as best I could. From my quick read, the guy had been a dull, but that didn’t mean I wanted to walk in magic ablaze. If Ryker was on edge, or if Burn or Sneak were, I didn’t want to push their buttons, because I was bouncing all over the place.
I opened the door, Sneak behind me. The man was standing in the middle of the room. Ryker was a few feet from him, glaring. That was the only good word for it.
Burn had a sneer on that said, I don’t fucking like you. How could we all get the same feelings and be wrong? This guy was bad news.
“What’s going on?” I asked, keeping it light—for now.
Ryker nodded toward the guy. “He’s got a message for you from the Queen of Cacoy.”
I turned my attention to the man but said nothing. Why would the Queen of Cacoy have something to say to me? Did the Mushroom Man rat us out and get her involved? But wouldn’t he want Ryker? Why me?
The man assessed me silently for a minute. He definitely wasn’t Wyrd Blood, but he was looking for markings as if he’d been trained. “I’m from the queen. She said she can provide you with real seeds from the Elibell plant if you provide her with a lock of your hair in exchange.”
I immediately put another foot of distance between us. “Why does she want a lock of my hair?”
“Because it travels easier than blood but provides the same proof. She wants to know if you’re from her lineage.” His words were without emotion. He was a messenger. Paid to do a job. That was all.
The seed I needed for a lock. It seemed simple enough, but I’d already been tricked once. What if this queen decided that I was from her lineage? What then? Would she want a piece of me too? Did she kill off anyone from her bloodline?
No. We had the stones, and that would have to be enough. Hopefully, I’d turn down his offer and that would be the end of it, but I didn’t think it would.
“I had very humble beginnings. I’m not related to any queen, so you can go back and tell her that.”
“Word has reached her about your markings. She believes you might be.”
“And I’m telling you I’m not. You can keep your seeds.” I felt Burn and Sneak step behind me.
The man reached into his pocket and held out a case. He opened it, and there was a single shiny black seed. “It’ll be easier if you give me a lock of hair.”
I saw the bean and wanted to snatch it from his hands. I also heard the threat.
Ryker stepped forward. “Is that the bean the queen sent you with?”
The messenger looked at it as if making sure himself. “Yes.”
“The only reason I’m letting you live right now is so that you can take whatever that thing is back to your queen and tell her that the next time she tries something like this, I’ll view it as an invitation to war.”
The messenger looked at the bean again and nodded. “I’ll forward that message.”
“You do that,” Ryker said, holding the door open for him.
The man walked out, and Ryker nodded toward the door while looking at Sneak to follow him.
Ryker shut the door, and I could hear a fly buzzing about the room. It wasn’t a metaphor. There really was a fly, and it was pretty loud. But still, no one was talking.
“It was a fake?” I asked.
“The healer said it would be a deep purple. It was closer than what you got from Marlin, but not the real thing.” Ryker walked over, each step sounding like a countdown until he stepped in front of me. His eyes traced every angle of my face. “Is there any reason you are aware of that the Queen of Cacoy would believe you are a relation?”
Burn leaned in, making sure he heard the answer.
I shrugged. “No.”
Ryker turned and walked a few paces, scratching at the stubble on his jaw. “I’ve never pressed you on your history, but could it be a possibility?”
Ryker was so calm that I had to look a little bit closer. Had we found this mysterious middle ground I’d always heard of? We didn’t often tread there, but I’d heard lots of people met in the middle all the time. Had he come to the conclusion that, just like him, I had secrets and things I didn’t want to discuss?
“I don’t remember much of my family, but none of my memories lead me to believe we were royalty in any way. We were too poor. If we were related to a queen, someone kicked us out of the castle decades before I was born.”
Ryker nodded, looking as conflicted as I felt. The queen of a place riddled with Wyrd Blood was not someone you wanted to notice you.
“How bad is this?”
“I don’t know,” Ryker said.
“I do,” Burn said. “it’s pretty fucking bad.”
32
I left Ryker’s, my head already bursting with new questions, and saw the commotion near the third watchtower. I picked up my pace. It was probably nothing. Everyone’s nerves were on edge. There’d probably been a fight and people had stepped in to break it up.
I got closer and saw some people were squatting around something; others were backing away. I broke into a run and saw Ruck’s legs sticking out o
f the group.
It was a haze after that. For some reason I didn’t understand, I might’ve screamed Ryker’s name. It was the only thing that would explain how he got to my side so quickly as I shoved through the crowd.
Ruck had no visible signs of injury, but he was barely breathing. I felt like my lungs had stopped altogether. Or maybe I wished I would. He couldn’t leave me here alone. Not now. I’d lost too many and I couldn’t lose him. I’d break.
I grabbed his hand. I knew he was a dull, but I gave him everything I had, trying to throw all my magic at him and juice some life into him if it were possible.
“Ruck, don’t you dare die. You hear me?” I was nearly screaming it at him as Ryker kneeled down and lifted him in his arms.
“Get the healer now,” he yelled into the crowd.
Ryker carried Ruck to his place, and I followed, never letting go of Ruck’s hand, even as Ryker was laying him on his bed.
“Keep talking to him and holding him. I think it might be working enough to keep him breathing,” he said.
Ryker left me alone for a few minutes before he walked back in with the healer.
She stopped as soon as she saw Ruck. “He’s a dull. I can’t fix him.”
“You’re going to try,” Ryker said, rolling up his sleeves.
The healer was huffing all over the place but pulled out her instruments, carrying on and saying we were more work than we were worth.
Ryker’s voice chilled the air as he warned her to shut up and get to work.
She pointed to me. “You need to leave. I can’t have you affecting him. It’s going to be tricky as is, and I don’t need you pulling at his magic while I’m working and needing it all.”
Ryker moved to my side and took Ruck’s hand from mine. “I’ve got him. I won’t let him die.”
I nodded, but Ryker still had to pry my fingers from Ruck’s. Burn grabbed my shoulders and pulled me the rest of the way out of the room.
Full Blood (Wyrd Blood Book 2) Page 20
