Rule (The Draax Series Book 2)

by Elizabeth Kelly

  Evie, stop. You’re delirious from the pain and the infection. You don’t have to steal it. These Draax aren’t the king, remember? They won’t care if you’re sick and can’t breed. Just ask them for a glass.

  But they might tell the king. If they did, I was screwed.

  Evie! You’re not thinking straight. If they give you the glass of juice, you’ll be healed, and you can fuck the king. Just ask them for some juice.

  I croaked out a laugh. My inner voice obviously had a death wish. I couldn’t just ask them for juice. Maybe the fever was making my inner voice delusional? Probably. Yeah, it was the fever. Just ask them to give me juice… that was crazy talk.

  I had to steal it and I had to do it now before they woke up.

  Despite the pain that infused my whole body, I pushed myself up into a sitting position. I shoved the covers down and leaned against the headboard, my hand slapped over my mouth to muffle my moans of pain, while sweat slid down my forehead and into my eyes.

  My entire body was coated in a slick layer of sweat. My tank top was sticking to my chest and my thin cotton shorts were soaking wet. I was freezing cold and shivering madly but I couldn’t stop sweating.

  I took a deep breath and lowered my hands. A flash of purple caught my eye and I turned to see Bella sitting on the bed next to me. I froze, my hands halfway to my lap, as I stared wide-eyed at her.

  “Girl,” she said before giving me a shy smile. “Hi, girl.”

  “H-hi,” I whispered. I glanced at the door to my room. It was open just enough for a small girl to slip through. “You shouldn’t be in here, honey.”

  “What’s your name, girl?” She scooted a little closer and when her hand reached out and touched my thigh, I made a low moan of dismay.

  “Don’t do that, honey,” I said. “You can’t touch me, okay? It’ll make your daddy mad.”

  “What’s your name?” she said again. Her fingers were tracing the pale skin of my thigh and she lifted her fingers and studied them intently before tracing my skin again.

  “Evie,” I said.

  “I am Bella.”

  “I know. You need to go back to your own room now, okay, honey? Before your daddy and uda wake up.”

  “Uda and Papa,” she said gleefully and loudly.

  Too loudly.

  “Shh.” I tossed another nervous glance at the door as her tail flicked out from behind her and brushed against my arm.

  “Pretty girl,” she said.

  I squeaked out another moan of dismay when she climbed into my lap and sat on my thighs. “Hi, Evie girl.”

  “Hi, Bella.” I kept my hands at my sides. “You need to go back to your room now, honey.”

  She studied the bruise she could see on my shoulder. “Ouchy.”

  “A little,” I said. Shit, I needed to get her out of my room immediately.

  “You play with me, Evie girl?” she said hopefully.

  “Um, I can’t right now,” I said. “Can you go back to your room? Please?”

  A scowl crossed her face. Her skin, the loveliest shade of purple I’d ever seen, darkened and her bottom lip pouted out. “Why you not play with me?”

  “Honey, I can’t, I… oh shit.”

  The little girl had leaned forward and pulled the neck of my tank top out so she could peer down it. She studied my naked breasts with frank interest before staring up at my face. “What are those, Evie girl?”

  “Um…”

  The door banged open and Bran, followed by Court, stormed in. Both of them wore just sleep pants and nothing else, and Court’s hair was sticking up in the back again. They stared in shocked silence at us as Bella let go of my shirt and grinned at them. “Hi, Papa. Hi, Uda.”

  “What are you doing to my child?” Bran’s voice was low but the anger in it made fear flood my entire body.

  Adrenaline kicked in, dulling the pain enough for me to scramble out of the bed like I’d been bitten by a poisonous snake. The punishment would be severe, he’d said. In the state I was in, if he punched me now, I was dead. I had to try and explain before he punished me.

  “Whee,” Bella said as she tumbled off my lap and onto the bed. She sat up, giggling wildly, as I backed away from the two angry Draax.

  I held my hands out. The room was spinning out of control and there was a strange ringing in my ears. “Please,” I rasped out. “I didn’t touch her. I swear I didn’t touch her. She came into my room and I was sleeping and I…”

  The Draax were starting to go burry. I blinked rapidly trying to bring them into focus, but the spinning of the room was growing worse and my legs were folding under me. The adrenaline had faded, leaving the worse pain of my life. I couldn’t catch my breath, I couldn’t think, I couldn’t feel anything but the horrendous burning agony of my side and lower back.

  Blackness was edging around me, the Draax were being swallowed by it, and I took a stumbling, staggering step forward.

  “Please don’t hurt me. Please…”

  Darkness descended.

  * * *

  Bran

  Court was quicker than me. He shot forward and caught the human, his tail lashing around her waist, before she could land face-first on the hard floor. He sank to his butt on the floor, cradling the human in his lap as I crouched beside him.

  Heat was radiating from her. Her cheeks were bright red, and the skin under her eyes was a dark purple. The rest of her face, including her lips, was as white as a maluken in the cold months.

  “Bran, she is burning up,” Court said.

  I pressed my hand against her forehead, wincing at the heat. It was like pressing my hand against the engine casing of our deocatcraft. I studied the bruise on her shoulder. It was large and a deep, dark purple that made me hurt just to look at it.

  “What happened to her shoulder?” I asked.

  Court shrugged. “How would I know?”

  “Ouchy, Papa.”

  Bella had joined us, and I gave her a distracted nod. “I know, meena. Her shoulder hurts.”

  “No, Papa. Look.”

  Bella was pointing at the human’s side. Her tank top had risen and something that felt a little like horror washed over me. “Court, sit her up.”

  He sat her up. Her head lolled on her neck before falling forward into Court’s throat, her body limp against his. I lifted her shirt a little higher, as Court craned to see.

  “Krono.” He sounded as horrified as I felt. “Her side, Bran. How is she even still standing?”

  “She is not,” I said. “It is not just her side either.”

  I tugged her shirt higher until it was just below her breasts and studied her lower back. Dark and malignant bruising covered her lower back and her flesh was swollen.

  “What in Krono’s name happened to her?” Court said.

  I studied the bruise on her side, the shape of it making anger rise inside of me. “Someone did this to her.”

  “How do you know?” Court said.

  I pointed to the footprint-shaped bruise. Court stared at it for a long time before glancing up at me, his skin dark with anger. “She is so fragile. Who would beat her like this?”

  “I do not know,” I said. “But she needs gallberry juice. She is burning up with fever.”

  “Papa, what are these?” Bella tugged on my arm with her tail.

  I looked down, heat rising in my face, and I heard Court make a soft groan. Bella had pulled the neckline of the human’s tank top out, giving us all a view of her naked and – I didn’t want to admit it but perfect looking – breasts.

  “Bella, no.” I pulled her hand away from the human’s shirt. “Do not do that.”

  “What are they, Papa?” Bella said again. Her tail poked me in the ribs, and I stood and picked her up.

  “Court, put the human in her bed. I will be back with the gallberry juice.”

  I carried Bella to her room and placed her on the bed. “Meena, you must stay in your room for a little bit. Play with your toys and then I will come get you fo
r breakfast.”

  “All right, Papa,” she said.

  I kissed her forehead and stroked her dark hair. “You are a good girl, and I love you very much.”

  “I love you,” she said.

  I left her playing on her bed and ran to the kitchen. I grabbed a glass and the jug of gallberry juice and returned to the human’s room. Court had placed her on the bed, and he studied the juice in my hand.

  “She is unconscious, Bran. What will we do? Pour it down her throat?”

  “We need to wake her up.”

  “How?” he said.

  I poured some juice into the glass and set it on the nightstand before taking Evelyn’s arms and pulling her into a sitting position. Her head fell back and even unconscious, she groaned in pain.

  “Prop her up.”

  Court slid behind her on the bed, letting her head rest on his broad chest as I patted her thigh. “Human, open your eyes.”

  There was no response and I squeezed her smooth leg. “Human, wake up now.”

  “She is not going to wake up that way,” Court said.

  “Do you have a better idea?” I said.

  He didn’t reply and this time I patted her on the cheek. “Human, look at me.”

  “Her name is Evelyn,” Court said.

  I cursed under my breath and gave him an exasperated look before patting her cheek again. “Evelyn, wake up.”

  Her eyes rolled behind her eyelids, giving me some hope. “Evelyn, can you hear me?”

  Her eyes continue to roll, and she made a soft moaning sound, her hand grasping weakly at Court’s thigh. “Hurts,” she mumbled.

  “I know,” I said. “Open your eyes, Evelyn.”

  Her eyelids fluttered and she gave me a hazy look. I immediately pressed the glass of juice to her lips. “Drink, Evelyn.”

  She didn’t move, in fact her eyes were starting to close again, and I shook her leg roughly. She cried out and Court glared at me.

  “You are hurting her, Bran!”

  “I have no choice,” I said. “She must drink. Evelyn, look at me. Now.”

  She opened her eyes again, her look one of dazed confusion.

  “You need to drink,” I said. “Open your mouth and drink.”

  I pressed the glass harder against her lips and tilted it. Some juice spilled down her cheeks, and I breathed a sigh of relief when she opened her mouth and drank a few swallows.

  “Good girl,” I said. “Drink some more.”

  She drank more. Her eyes closed, but she continued to drink until the glass was empty. I quickly refilled it as Court wiped the juice from her mouth and chin.

  “Open, Evelyn,” I said as I pressed the full glass against her lips.

  “Cold,” she moaned.

  “I know you are cold,” I said. “Drink this and then we will warm you.”

  She drank the juice obediently, falling back against Court with a small groan, when she was finished. I set the glass down and held my hand to her forehead. “She still has a fever.”

  “It does not work that quickly,” Court said. “At least not in juice form. She needs a kadana who can administer it by IV.”

  “This is the best we can do,” I said as the human shivered in Court’s arms. “We will wake her up and make her drink the juice every few hours.”

  Court nodded and slid out from behind her. He eased her onto her back on the bed and climbed off of it before picking her up.

  “What are you doing, Court?”

  “She is freezing. This is the coldest room in the house.”

  He carried her out of the room and down the hallway to his room. Like me, he had a fireplace in his bedroom, and he motioned for me to turn it on as he tucked the human into his bed. He pulled the covers to her chin, studying her pale face for a moment before turning around.

  He scowled at the look I was giving him. “Do not look at me like that, Bran. We need to heal the human. She is our future queen. What do you think the king will do to us if we let his queen die?”

  Chapter Seven

  Court

  I studied the human in my bed. The fever had finally broken just after dinner, but she was still pale, and the bruising had not lessened. I’d piled two extra blankets onto my bed and kept the fire going all day, but she still shook so hard the bed frame rattled.

  Was she cold because she was sick or because she wasn’t used to our cold months? Dana had complained bitterly during the cold months, but I couldn’t remember if she’d shook from the cold the way this human did.

  Probably because I’d done my best to purge every memory, every thought of the wretched female from my head.

  The human shifted to her side and I winced when she cried out in her sleep. I wondered if her shivering made her body hurt worse. Probably. I glanced at the door to my bedroom. Bran was putting Bella to bed and based on how long he’d been gone, she was fighting her sleep ritual as usual.

  The human made another soft groan of pain and I studied her trembling, shaking, blanket-covered body before making a sudden decision. If the female died, who knew what the king would do to Bran and me. I had to do whatever it took to keep her alive and well.

  I stripped off my shirt and pants and slid into the bed beside her. Moving gingerly, I put my arm around her, being careful not to touch the bruise on her side, instead resting my arm on her hip. I grunted in surprise when the little female immediately shifted closer, pressing her entire body against mine like a lover, slinging her arm around my waist, and burying her face in my throat.

  I knew she was only seeking out my heat, but my cock was already half-hard. I muttered an earth curse, hating the way my body reacted to the female. But I couldn’t blame it. It’d been over three years since I’d fucked anything but my own hand, and while my head might hate the human females, my cock had no problems with them.

  She was still shivering madly despite the added warmth of my body heat and, without thinking, I rubbed her back. Her sharp cry of pain and the way her soft body stiffened against mine, made guilt wash over me and I snatched my hand from her back.

  “Krono,” I said. “I am sorry, human.”

  I could feel wetness against my throat and more guilt covered me. I’d hurt her so much she was crying in her sleep. I rubbed her hip as she shifted against me again and her dark hair brushed against my chest like strands of pure silk.

  “I am sorry, little human,” I murmured even though she wasn’t awake. “I did not mean to hurt you.”

  “What are you doing?”

  I twitched guiltily as Bran stood next to the bed. He was giving me a look of disbelief and… was that a little bit of jealousy in his gaze?

  As much as I hated to admit it, a certain amount of satisfaction went through me. If Bran really was jealous, perhaps now he had a better understanding of what I went through with Dana. Now he was the one standing on the outside looking in and wishing he could have the same love and affection.

  What is wrong with you? The human is not in your bed because she wants to be, and she did not ask you to join her and dismiss Bran. You’re acting like a froden.

  My sense of smugness faded, and I gave Bran a weary look. “The human is still cold. I am trying to warm her.”

  “Is that right?”

  The doubt in Bran’s voice made my anger flare.

  “Yes, Bran. In case you have forgotten, this woman is our future queen. If she dies -”

  “How could I forget? You have been mentioning it all day,” Bran said.

  “Because our lives depend on keeping her alive,” I snapped.

  He snorted irritably and I scowled at him. I didn’t want to fight with him, and I hated that even two years after Dana, our friendship was still not the way it used to be.

  It never will be. You should leave. Leave Bran with his daughter and find your own path.

  Like always, that thought sent panic skittering through me. The moons I’d spent on my own had almost driven me mad with loneliness. I would rather live with Bran and be re
minded every day of what I’d lost, then return to living alone.

  “Court, did you hear me?”

  I made myself focus on Bran. “What?”

  “I said it is not working. The human is still shaking.”

  Bran was right. The little female was still shivering wildly. She was hitching in breath in weird, erratic motions and every few seconds, she made a low moan.

  “I just climbed into the bed with her,” I said. “She will warm soon.”

  Bran glanced at the fireplace before stripping off his shirt. I watched in shock as he yanked down his pants and left them on the floor before sliding into the bed behind the human.

  “What are you doing?” I asked.

  Bran grabbed my tablet from the nightstand and scrolled through the screen. “Setting an alarm so we can feed the human more juice in a few hours.”

  “No, why are you in the bed?”

  He gave me an impatient look before sliding closer to the human. “Helping to warm her.”

  “If you touch her back, you will hurt her,” I said.

  “I am aware of that.” He left only a sliver of space between his chest and her back. “But it will still help.”

  I didn’t reply and he closed his eyes, resting his head on the pillow behind the human’s. I closed my eyes as well, only vaguely aware that my hand was still rubbing her hip. To my surprise, her shivering ceased after a few minutes. Her breathing evened out and the small cries she made in her sleep stopped.

  Bran was already asleep. The sound of his rhythmic breathing filled me with both an aching sadness and contentment. It had been years since Bran and I had shared a bed with a woman and the familiarity of it was almost overwhelming.

  Krono, I had missed this. If I tried hard enough, I could pretend this was our life again. The way it was before Dana destroyed us.

  * * *

  Evelyn

  I became aware of two things simultaneously. I was finally warm for the first time since I landed on the Draax planet, and the horrifying, vomit-inducing pain in my side and back was gone. I was still not one hundred percent, my back and my ribs ached, and my shoulder felt tender, but I was no longer in the agony I was.