by Zoey Draven
Eve wiped away another tear that leaked from the corner of her eye. She’d been an emotional wreck all week. Mostly because of Khiva, but also because she was saying goodbye to her old life, to the life she’d shared with her father. It felt, in a way, like she was mourning him all over again, but she liked to think that he would be proud of her decision to leave. He’d always spoken highly of Gorkan, the friend Eve had contacted. She knew she could trust him and trust his judgment, and at least she would know one friendly face on Dumera, as she found her footing and started a new life.
A large part of her just wished she was starting that life with Khiva.
Eve jumped when her Nu device alerted her that someone was at the front door. The mechanical chime from the doorbell made her heart stutter. She frowned, rising slowly from her bed, before going to the tablet imbedded in the wall to see the video feed.
She gasped when she saw Valerie and a dark, hunched over, hooded figure, whom she would’ve recognized anywhere. Eve immediately raced down the stairs to the door, pulling it open.
“What are you…” Eve trailed off when she finally saw Khiva, saw the drawn expression on his face, and the way his skin seemed lighter, leeched of some color. She gasped. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
She’d just seen him earlier that night, had thought that it would be the last time she would see him. Her treacherous heart leaped in her chest, but then it quickly turned to alarmed concern when he stumbled over the threshold of her front door, Valerie keeping him from falling completely.
“He needs to lie down,” Valerie said with urgency as Eve shut and locked the door. Eve immediately came to Khiva’s other side to help hold him upright. He hissed when her hand touched his back and she jerked it away when she felt wetness. She looked down at her hand, her face draining when she saw blue blood coating her palm.
“What happened?” Eve cried out.
“Do you have a healing laser?” Valerie asked, ignoring her question.
Think later, act now.
Eve nodded, “Yes. Let’s get him upstairs.”
Her mind raced but she knew that somehow, this was Madame Allegria’s doing. Had this been what Khiva wouldn’t tell her, wouldn’t allow her to know?
Somehow, they both managed to guide Khiva upstairs, though it took time and energy. Every step made Khiva groan in pain and Eve wanted to cry every moment because of it. She’d never witnessed physical pain like this, especially in someone she loved. Never like this.
When they eventually got to her bedroom at the top of the stairs, they maneuvered Khiva onto his front on her bed. Eve swallowed, catching her breath, before grabbing a pair of shears from her cabinet to cut away his clothes.
The clothes, even his coat, were drenched in blood and they landed with a wet plop onto her bedroom floor as she cut them away. And when they finally peeled away the final layers, nothing prepared Eve for what she saw.
Every inch of his back was bloody, every inch was stripped away, leaving a mutilated mess of skin and muscle and tissue.
He’d been whipped. He’d been whipped, over and over and over again.
Saliva filled her mouth, her stomach threatening to vomit up the contents of her meager dinner, but she breathed deeply through her nostrils. Khiva needed her. She needed to be strong, for both of them.
“There are clean towels in the hallway downstairs,” she told Valerie. “Go get them.”
Valerie raced from the room and Eve immediately ran into her washroom to retrieve the healing laser, wraps, and salve. Valerie returned the same time she did and Eve covered her hands in the disinfecting salve before gently placing them on his back, thinking that her hands would be more gentle than the towels.
Khiva hissed, his whole body shaking with pain, and Eve whispered, “I’m sorry, Khiva. I’m sorry.”
She didn’t realize she was crying until her vision went blurry. Blinking to clear it, she finished spreading the salve over his back, her chin trembling as tattered skin fell away and he groaned.
“Can we give him anything for the pain?” she asked Valerie, desperation coloring her tone. “Anything at all?”
Valerie shook her head, handing Eve a towel to wipe her hands. “We have nothing strong enough for them. I’ve tried.”
Which implied that this had happened before. Multiple times, judging from the look in Valerie’s eyes.
Oh my God.
Valerie picked up the healing laser. “Truthfully, I do not know if this will help much,” she admitted, turning it on. “I’ve never seen it like this.”
“It was her?” Eve asked. And even though she knew it was true, she could hardly believe it. She could hardly believe that a person could do this to someone, could deliberately hurt them in this way.
Valerie swallowed. “Yes.”
Eve bit her tongue, feeling another wave of nausea.
“This will the pain worse,” Valerie said softly. “Go comfort him while I do this. He’ll want to see your face, hear your voice.”
Eve nodded and went to the head of the bed, kneeling beside it so she would be in direct eye sight of Khiva. His face was turned to the side but his eyes were open, his breathing ragged.
“Khiva,” she whispered, reaching out to take his hand. With her other, she smoothed her fingers down his cheek.
“Leeldra,” he rasped. “I…” he hissed and even without looking, Eve knew that Valerie had begun lasering his skin closed. Or at least trying to. His eyes were bright with pain as he said, “There is much I want to tell you.”
“Shh,” she whispered, giving him a soft, wobbly smile. “It’s okay, Khiva. We don’t have to talk now.”
He shook his head, or at least tried to. “You…you are leaving soon, leeldra. We need—” Another hiss as Valerie lasered another section of skin and his hand tightened around her palm.
“I promise we’ll talk, Khiva,” she whispered, more tears falling from her eyes, hating to see him in pain.
That seemed to make him relax, if only slightly. His breaths whistled through him, deep and choppy. But when he saw her tears, he seemed to still. “I cannot withstand seeing you cry, leeldra. I hate knowing I am the cause.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, leaning forward to kiss the back of his hand. “I can’t help it. I wish I could take away your pain.”
His eyes closed, his brow bones drawing together. When he opened his eyes, he whispered, “I thought I was making the right decision, Evelyn. I thought I was. Even when you came to me tonight, I thought I was.”
Eve swallowed. “Khiva, you should rest. It’s going to be a long night.”
“Veki, I need to say this,” he murmured, even though he was short of breath with pain, as rivulets of blood ran from his back and pooled on her sheets. “I do care you for. Deeply,” he growled. Eve’s breath hitched. “I should have told you that morning. I should have told you earlier tonight. Leeldra, I love you. The nuvur’u drava, pax? You have had me from the beginning.”
Eve’s head spun, her lips parting. “Khiva.”
Another sizzle of pain from the laser made him groan. She squeezed his hand, more tears falling, and she brought her lips to his knuckles.
“I was frightened,” he said, his voice softer. His eyes closed briefly, his voice fading a bit.
Eve kept her lips on his cold hand. It scared her how cold he was, since he’d always been so warm.
“Khiva,” she whispered.
When he didn’t open his eyes, alarm went through her. Placing a hand on his side, where she knew his other heart was, Eve felt only slight relief when she felt it beating strong.
“He’s unconscious,” Valerie soft voice came. “It’s probably for the best.”
Eve looked at her, a sudden thought making her sweat, “Is he going to recover from this? Should I send for a healer?”
“No,” Valerie replied, shaking her head, focusing on the last area of skin. “Keriv’i are strong, much stronger than humans. It would take a lot more than this.”
“But this is…” Eve whispered, shaking her head, as her eyes went over the expanse of his back. Some of the cuts were simply too deep to close with the laser.
“I know,” Valerie said quietly and they said nothing more as she finished up.
When she was done, Eve helped her put more healing salve over the wounds before they wrapped his back with clean cloth bandages.
Valerie blew out a sharp breath, wiping her forearm over her forehead since her hands were bloodied. “There. That should help begin the healing process. Typically, their wounds were closed up by the next morning, but this…I’m not sure. You’ll need to change the bandages and put more salve on in the morning.”
It appalled Eve how easily she spoke about it because it told her that this had happened often.
Valerie stood, disappearing into the washroom to clean her hands, as Eve softly stroked Khiva’s hand. When Valerie returned, the blonde murmured, “I have to get back. Before she realizes I’m gone.”
Eve walked her downstairs on shaking legs, seeing a trail of Khiva’s blue blood every other step. Once they reached the door, Eve saw that the driverless car outside never left.
Eve caught her hand before she opened the door. “Why did it happen? Tonight? What was the cause of this?”
Valerie hesitated and Eve felt dread pool in her stomach. The woman answered her honestly, however, “Because Madame Allegria somehow found out he was here. That he’d left to meet you.”
Eve blew out a breath, thinking she would be sick again. This had happened because of her.
“He knew he would be punished, if for no other reason because he cancelled his client that night,” Valerie told her. “But he didn’t care. He just wanted to see you. He always does.”
Eve held back her sob, though more tears rushed into her eyes.
Had this been one of the reasons why he’d seemed to pull away? Because he’d known the consequences if they’d been discovered? Had he been afraid that Madame Allegria might come after her too?
“One more thing,” Valerie said quietly. “His Rut started tonight. Has he told you about it?”
“Yes,” Eve said.
“I think the pain has suppressed it, for now. But in the morning, once he’s recovered some of his strength…it might return. I just don’t know. She’s never done this during their Rut.”
Eve’s lips pressed together and she nodded. “Thank you for bringing him here, Valerie. For helping him.”
Valerie squeezed her hand and then without another word, she slipped through the door. Eve secured it and double-checked to ensure the windows were locked and the shielders were activated. Then she raced back upstairs to Khiva.
The room smelled of metallic blood, of the dull tang of the healing salve. Eve carefully maneuvered herself onto the bed, careful not to jostle the mattress, so that she was curled up near his side. The bandages they’d put on him were already beginning to turn blue with blood.
She took his hand in hers and pressed a kiss to his turned cheek. He was still unconscious but the steady, shallow breaths he took soothed some of her nerves.
Gently, she stroked over his bare scalp because he’d always liked that, her chest swelling with too many emotions that they all just jumbled together in one big ball.
She didn’t know what to feel. She didn’t know what to think.
The only thing she knew for certain was that she loved him too and she would do everything in her power to never have to see him in pain again.
Chapter Thirty
Khiva woke when he felt tugging at his back and he groaned, fighting through the fog of deep sleep to resurface.
“I’m sorry, Khiva,” he heard a soft voice whisper. “I’m almost finished changing your bandages.”
Evelyn.
The knowledge that she was there with him gave him slight clarity and he blinked his blurry gaze, realizing that he was not in his own sleeping quarters, or even at Madame Allegria’s for that matter. He recognized the bed he was in, if for no other reason because he could scent her there.
He was in Evelyn’s home.
Once he remembered that, everything else returned to him as well. Including the dull, throbbing pain that radiated down his entire back.
Madame Allegria. The whipping. Asking Valerie to take him to Evelyn. After that, only brief flashes of memory. Going in and out of consciousness.
But he remembered, most importantly, that last night he’d told Evelyn he loved her. Beyond that, he remembered nothing.
Had it been real? Or had he just dreamed it?
Khiva felt Evelyn spread a cooling gel over his back and he closed his eyes in slight relief. His whole body felt cold, except for his back. His back burned like his skin had been set on fire.
After she secured fresh bandages over the healing salve, he sensed her move. In the low light of morning that filtered in through her windows, he watched as she knelt by the side of the bed, so he could see her face.
Khiva gave an automatic trill, pleased, relieved to see her. But then he realized how red her eyes were, evidence that she’d been crying again, and that she looked exhausted.
“Leeldra,” he rasped, his voice unrecognizable, his fingers reaching out to touch the softness of her cheek.
She turned her face into his palm and pressed a kiss right in the center. “How do you feel?”
“Better,” he replied, wanting to soothe the worry and concern he sensed in her gaze.
“Some of the cuts have begun to close, just as Valerie said they would,” she said. “But some of them are too deep and will take longer. There might be permanent scars.”
“I never,” he said quietly, “wanted you to know, to see this. It was my pride once again.”
“Khiva,” she whispered, her face morphing into an expression he’d never seen before. “You know I never would’ve…I never would’ve looked at you differently for it. I wish you had told me.”
“I know,” he said. “Last night, when Valerie found me, all I wanted was to go to you. It was the only thing I wanted. To see you. There was so much I needed you to know.”
Her fingertips traced down his scalp and Khiva closed his eyes for a brief moment, savoring her touch. “What do you remember about last night?” she asked quietly.
“Most of it,” he responded. “I remember telling you that I love you.”
Eve’s breath hitched, her cheeks going slightly pink. Khiva was glad to see the color on her otherwise pale face.
“I apologize, leeldra,” he said quietly. “I made you think otherwise. I should have told you.”
Eve swallowed and she said, “You said you thought you were doing the right thing. Why?”
“I believed that a future would be an impossibility for us,” he said, his voice deepening with the regret he felt. “You are human and I am a Keriv’i, a Krave, on an Earth colony with restrictions about such things. I believed that I would be keeping you from having a future. I feared what Madame Allegria would do, if she discovered us. And I foolishly held onto my pride instead of placing your happiness, my happiness, first.”
“Khiva,” she whispered, her eyes softening.
“It only took you leaving to make me realize that I could make you happy. I could give you a future. My pride means nothing when it concerns you. Since my planet was destroyed, it seemed my pride was the only thing that sustained me, the only thing that made me feel whole, like the Keriv’i male I used to be. Not anymore. You made me realize that I cannot be him any longer, that I do not want to be if it means losing you. It is you who makes me feel whole again.”
Evelyn’s slow smile made him forget his pain and for once, the tears that shimmered in her eyes didn’t make him feel like roaring in agony.
Softly, he asked, “Will you take me with you, Evelyn? To Dumera? Because I never want to spend another night apart from you again.”
It had taken a lot to ask that, to slice open his pride and let her see inside it. But she was worth it. She always had been.
“I do not want to hide anymore, slinking around in shadows,” he continued. “I want to walk with you in daylight, I want to wake next to you and know that I will never have to leave our bed, I want to give you the universe because you deserve it.”
Khiva waited. He only thought afterwards that perhaps she wouldn’t have wanted a declaration of love while he was staining her sheets blue with his blood.
But he knew better. His leeldra wouldn’t care about something so trivial.
“I don’t need the universe, Khiva,” Evelyn finally whispered, leaning forward to press a sweet kiss to his lips. “I just need you.”
Khiva trilled in response, hope exploding in his chest.
“So yes, come with me to Dumera,” she said, pulling away so she could look at him. “Because I love you too. And I want to begin our lives there. Together.”
“Pax, leeldra?” he rasped, cupping her cheek.
Evelyn smiled, a brief, happy laugh bursting from her lips and the sound made his two hearts soar.
“Pax, Khiva.”
Eve was still in disbelief over what a difference a single night could make.
The day before, she’d been nursing a broken heart, preparing herself to say goodbye to the male she loved, as she continued to make arrangements to leave Everton.
And now, she was experiencing the warmth, the strength of mutual love and understanding, knowing that she’d soon be leaving Everton with Khiva, for a fresh start together.
It seemed unreal.
By that evening, some of the cuts on Khiva’s back had healed, but not all of them. Eve guessed some of the lashes would take days to heal fully, as deep as they were, so she kept him confined to bed after she’d changed the sheets, so he wouldn’t reopen any cuts trying to mend.
And throughout their morning and afternoon together, whenever Khiva wasn’t resting, he told her everything about Madame Allegria’s abuse, about the room underneath the first floor of the brothel, that punishments were regular, but she’d never whipped him that hard before, in fear that he wouldn’t be healed in time for his client the next evening.
