BOUND (#1 in The Crystor Series)

by C.K. Bryant

Chapter Thirty Two

  The sun had barely risen when Kira woke. She leaned forward and pulled the curtain back so she could see out. Octavion lay peacefully in his shelter, but Lydia was gone.

  Lydia?

  Oh good, you’re awake. I’ll be there in a sec. I’m getting something for us to eat.

  Okay, take your time. I’m not awake yet. Kira flipped the edge of the curtain over the top of her shelter, propped her pillows up, and pressed her back against the side of the lean-to. She wanted to watch Octavion sleep.

  The crisp morning air felt good rushing through her lungs, clearing out the cobwebs from a long and peaceful sleep. As she waited for Lydia to make her appearance, she thought about how scared she’d been the first time she’d seen him. So much had changed since then, so many wonderful things that filled her mind—and her heart. She wondered if her life would ever be the same—or if she wanted it to be.

  As a morning chill crawled up her legs she let her gaze leave Octavion’s face long enough to retrieve her quilt and pull it over her legs. When she returned to watching him, his eyes were open.

  “Are you cold?” he asked. His first words after waking sounded rough and broken.

  She simply nodded, then went back to memorizing the contours of his face.

  He pulled his covers to the side and patted the empty space beside him. As if tethered by an invisible thread, she felt pulled toward him as she snuggled to his side, and draped her arm over his chest. He replaced the covers and pulled her close. The warmth of his skin felt good against her cheek as the air she drew in mixed with his scent. They lay in silence until Lydia stepped into the clearing from behind a tree. When she didn’t see Kira in her shelter, she froze. Kira?

  Octavion cleared his throat causing Lydia to jerk her head in their direction.

  “Ugh! Why did you wake him?” Lydia asked.

  “She did not wake me. I heard you trip over that bench in my lair fifteen minutes ago. You are as quiet as a mule.” He tried to slip out from under the covers. Kira protested by letting out her best impression of his growl.

  “I need to stoke the fire.” He gently released her and let her body sink to his empty bed. At least his warmth remained. She felt so at peace that she stayed there, watching him do his chore. She had no desire to move. Unfortunately, Lydia had other ideas. She sat on the blanket next to Kira and laid out a breakfast of the usual fruit, cheese and bread.

  “Sit up, lazy,” Lydia ordered.

  “I don’t want to,” Kira complained. “Can’t I just stay here?”

  “A lot of good it did to build you your own shelter. Now get up and eat with me.” Lydia grabbed the covers and yanked them back.

  “Lydia, I was comfortable.” Kira pushed herself up, brushed her hands through her tangled hair and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She was still tired and even though she was hungry, she would have preferred something else, like bacon, eggs and a huge portion of hash-browns. She reluctantly bit into an apple.

  “I want to ask you something,” Lydia said.

  “Do I have a choice?” Kira asked after swallowing her first bite.

  Lydia didn’t answer, just continued speaking as if Kira hadn’t said anything. “We never really talked about all this.” She gestured to their surroundings with a wave of her hand. “I was just curious about, ya know, how you feel.”

  “You mean besides the fact that there’s no shower and I’d give anything for a juicy burger and fries?” She held up her half-eaten apple and frowned.

  Lydia smiled. “Yeah, besides all that.”

  Kira shrugged. “I’m not sure what to think. I mean, you being from another world is kinda cool and it’ll take me some time to get used to all the magic and stuff, but the rest . . . I don’t know. I guess it’s the unknown that’s got me worried. I’m terrified of what’s coming—of Shandira. I don’t understand why she wants you dead or how Bastian fits into all this. It doesn’t make sense to me.”

  “We’ve been trying to figure it out for years and it doesn’t make sense to us either. At first we thought she was jealous because I had Bastian and she didn’t have anyone to love her like that. But then we found out it was all a lie and he was actually working for her, so that theory was thrown out of the mix. It’s so confusing. If she’d make a demand or tell us what she wanted, we’d tried to work it out so we could be done with this and go home.”

  Home. Kira tried not think about what that meant—that they might go back to Xantara and she’d have to find a new place to live. A little piece of Kira’s heart broke when she thought of Lydia and Octavion leaving. “At least you have a home.”

  Lydia touched Kira’s hand. “If it makes you feel better, I’m sure Octavion will find you someplace safe before we go.” She withdrew her hand and lowered her eyes. “Being my friend has ruined your life. He warned me, but . . . I felt so connected to you, I couldn’t resist.”

  “You didn’t ruin my life. I felt a connection, too. Almost like we’d always been friends. Sisters.” Kira fingered the tiny strand of silver that sealed their friendship forever. “Will the Crystor still work . . . between worlds, I mean?”

  This time Lydia shrugged. “When we’re not blocking our thoughts to keep Shandira out of our heads, we can communicate with our father, but I don’t know about the Crystor. It’s different between you and me. You’re—”

  “A commoner?”

  “I was going to say, ‘not Royal’.”

  “But it might work?” Kira asked.

  “You have to admit it would be kinda cool. We could chat anytime we wanted.”

  “Yeah. Cool.” Kira couldn’t quite get as excited as Lydia seemed. After all, Lydia would return to a father who loved her and a home where she probably had a ton of friends. What did Kira have?

  Nothing.

  “Look on the bright side. At least we’re getting out of school.” Lydia grabbed an orange and dug her thumb under a section of peel, stripping it away from the fruit. She tossed the chunk of rind toward the fire, not quite hitting her mark.

  “But I like school,” Kira said. “And I want to graduate. At least I did.” If for no other reason than to accomplish something her mother never cared about. She’d dropped out when she was a junior because she was pregnant with Kira.

  Lydia stuffed a huge section of orange into her mouth and bit down, squirting juice down her chin. She used the hem of her shirt to wipe her face. She mumbled something, but Kira didn’t quite catch it. Her attention had switched to Octavion.

  At some point during their breakfast, Octavion wandered off. Now he’d returned with an armful of leather and steel, most of which looked lethal. “Whenever you are ready.”

  “You’re seriously going to teach me to fight?” Kira asked.

  “I gave my word.” He dropped the weapons to the ground in a heap, making a loud clank. “To teach you,” he said with a little too much emphasis.

  Kira jumped to her feet and tossed her apple core into the fire. She wiped her hands on her pants. “I’m ready.”

  Lydia cleaned up the breakfast mess, then sat on a nearby log to watch—or keep score—as she put it. While Octavion systematically divided the weapons between Kira and him, Lydia gave her unsolicited advice on how he should teach Kira to fight. Octavion ignored her, which only increased her comments.

  Octavion strapped a dagger to Kira’s hip and instructed her to tie the small leather strap around her leg.

  “You’re not serious about using real weapons, are you?” Kira asked. “What if I get cut?”

  “You said you wanted to learn how to fight. What do you think they will bring with them?” Octavion pulled out a long sword that was almost bigger than Kira. He threw it effortlessly onto his back and fastened the straps of the leather sheath across his chest, making an X.

  He handed her a long, much thinner sword, and fastened it to her in much the same fashion as he’d done his own.

  “Is this really necessary? I thought you would teach me how
to defend myself with my hands or something. I don’t know anything about these weapons. They’ll just get in the way.”

  He paused for a moment and looked at her. “Do you really think you can ward me off with your bare hands?”

  “No, but—”

  “Are you ready to be done with this nonsense?” Now the truth was out. It was all a show to convince her not to fight.

  She straightened and propped her hands on her hips. “Not a chance.”

  He raised one brow and she thought she caught a glimpse of a smirk. “As you wish, my lady.” He bowed, making her laugh.

  The first thing he taught her was how to draw the sword by reaching behind her head and pulling it straight up out of the sheath. In the beginning, it was awkward, but after a few tries, it felt more comfortable.

  Next, he positioned himself in front of her, drawing his sword. “Now, when you face your opponent, you must keep your eyes on his. Do not look at his sword, just watch his eyes. You will learn to sense his next move by the way he drops a shoulder or moves his feet.”

  Kira nodded. Her stomach twisted.

  “Watch my eyes,” he repeated. He swung the sword directly at her and she cowered, barely meeting his weapon with her own. The loud clang of the metal echoed through the clearing as the vibration from the swords striking one another weakened her grip. Her sword fell in the dirt at her side.

  “Kira! One blow and you would have been dead. Now fight back. You can do this.”

  She retrieved her weapon, took a deep breath and tightened her grip on the sword with both hands. Planting her feet firmly on the ground and widening her stance, she looked him in the eyes with more determination. “Do it again.”

  This time he came at her from the other side, but she was ready. She swung the sword as hard as she could and deflected the blow.

  “Good,” he said. “Now lean forward. You are smaller than me. Throw all your weight into each blow.”

  He came at her again, but unlike before he didn’t stop. They danced around the clearing, exchanging blows—the clank of metal on metal ringing through the trees. She thought she was doing okay until he hit her sword closer to the hilt and sent it sailing into the air. Thinking he would stop and let her retrieve her weapon, she relaxed, but he didn’t let up. He drove his sword into the ground, pulled his knife from its sheath and came at her. When she backed away, he yelled.

  “Kira! Be aggressive! Don’t back down. They will see your weakness.”

  She’d forgotten about her knife. Her first thought was to take full advantage of her smaller size, so she dove for his knees, tripping him. He stumbled to the ground, rolled over and jumped back to his feet. When Kira got up, she went at him again, but this time he grabbed her arm and spun her around, holding his knife to her neck.

  “Right here, you die.”

  Kira, grab your dagger and stab his leg. Hurry, came Lydia’s thoughts.

  No way!

  Do it! You can heal him later.

  Kira was too afraid to hurt him, so she drew her knife and thrust the handle against his leg instead. He dropped his arm and released her, but as he grabbed for his leg, his forearm caught the tip of her blade.

  “Aaah!” he roared. “You cut me!”

  “Oh, Octavion, I didn’t mean—” But then she saw the rage in his eyes. When he came at her again, she heard Lydia tell her to jump to the side and sweep her foot out, so she did, sending Octavion into a tree.

  Lydia came out cheering. “Nice, Kira. Very nice.”

  Octavion smacked the ground with his fist. “You cheat!”

  “I won!” Kira had retrieved her sword and now held the tip an inch or two away from his neck. “Admit it. Or I will cut you again.”

  “She’s got you, brother.”

  He growled. “I will concede—on one condition.”

  “What?” Kira asked.

  He looked at Lydia and smiled. “My little sister is next.”

  “Deal,” Lydia said without hesitation.

  Kira replaced her sword in the sheath and offered her hand to help him, but he refused. His pride was showing. He stood, rubbed his shoulder where it had hit the tree, then retrieved his sword and slid it into place behind his back. “I still think you are a cheat.”

  “What difference does it make if I cheat, as long as I live?”

  “Good point,” he said, holding out his arm. “Would you be so kind as to fix this—so I can teach your friend a lesson?”

  “Be happy to.” Kira grabbed the water jug from his shelter and poured it over his wound. It wasn’t deep and only a couple inches long, but he winced when the water hit it.

  “Baby,” she teased.

  He grunted.

  Kira held her hand over the wound. It was the first time she’d ever healed him and the sensation somehow seemed different. Instead of just burning, it tingled and made her feel warm inside. It was as if a part of him had seeped into her skin—and she liked it.

  He brought his hand up and cupped her chin in his palm. “Thank you.”

  Kira nodded, but only because she couldn’t speak.

  Lydia leaned against a tree, sharpening her dagger on a stone as if preparing to skin a wild beast—Octavion. “It’s been a while,” she said. “You sure you can handle this?”

  “Shall I let you win? Or would you prefer to do this my way?”

  “You let me win and I’ll slit your throat while you sleep.” She dropped the stone and came at him. Instantly, she transformed into Altaria and the fury in her icy blue eyes caught Kira off guard. She knew Altaria was ruthless, but to see the change happen so rapidly—and the drastic difference between her and Lydia—it scared her.

  Octavion jumped back, barely escaping Altaria’s blade. “Remind me to sleep with one eye open.” He still had his knife out from his confrontation with Kira, but instead of using it, he slipped it into its case and pulled his sword from the sheath on his back. “If you want to win, perhaps you should be more prepared.”

  Kira! My sword! As Altaria gracefully avoided his blow, Kira drew the sword and tossed it into the air. Altaria didn’t look to see it coming, just reached out and caught the handle, swinging it from one side of her body to the other. When she’d finished with her playful display, she took a stance and held her weapon out in front, ready for his blow. The game was on.

  Kira backed herself between two trees, in hopes of staying out of their way. With every blow, came more ribbing and taunting. To them it was a game, but to Kira it made the possibility of them coming face to face with their enemy more real. Would she watch a similar scene from her hiding place or would she fight side by side with them? The thought terrified her.

  When they were both too exhausted to care who won, they called it a draw. “Well, I guess that concludes our lesson for the day.” Octavion stood and picked up his sword, sliding it back into its sheath.

  “Not by a long shot, mister.” Kira stepped to her shelter and retrieved her bow. “Did you get arrows for this thing or am I supposed to shoot sticks.”

  He looked at Altaria and back at Kira. “I’ll see what I can find.” He crossed the clearing and walked toward the cave.

  Altaria brushed the dirt from her pants and took her hair out of its braid. “I could teach you a few things, if you like.”

  “To fight with my hands?” Kira asked.

  “Yes, and your feet. It takes practice, but it is not hard. A woman is much more limber and can defeat a strong man if she keeps her wits about her.” She finger-combed her hair and began braiding it again.

  As much as Kira wanted to learn how to fight, she felt nervous about Altaria teaching her, especially since they hadn’t exactly gotten along. “Umm . . . does Lydia know how to fight, too?”

  Altaria flipped her braid behind her back and planted a scowl on her face. “Lydia is capable, but has not mastered it. If you prefer to learn from her that is fine.” She snatched her sword from the ground and stabbed it in the dirt just in front of Kira�
�s feet.

  Oh great. Now I’ve made her mad. “Uh, no. That’s okay. I was just curious. I, um . . . I’d like you to teach me, actually.” I’m an idiot and now, I’m gonna die.

  Altaria grinned.

  Kira couldn’t tell if pleasure shone behind Altaria’s smile or mischief. Either way, she had a feeling she was in for a rough lesson.