by Wylie, Jen
"What is it?"
Unable to speak she waved a hand at Avery. Prince hurried over and dropped to his knees, bending to listen for a moment before sitting up with a sigh.
She choked on a sob before turning suddenly at the sound of coughing outside the door. She sprang to her feet and rushed over, jerking the door open just as Bo was reaching for it.
She saw Cain stood behind him and quickly moved out of the way as Bo nodded and they came in.
"Did you find anything?"
Bo looked at her quickly. "What's going on?"
Cain handed her a small packet. "You grind this up and make tea. It's supposed to bring the fever down."
She rushed across the room and busied herself making the tea. "I need more water. And snow." She glanced over at the others. "Cain you're late for work."
He grimaced but nodded. "Come get me if..." He trailed off as he looked at Avery.
She nodded sharply and looked away. "We will."
"I'll go get your water," Bo said, grabbing an empty bucket and following Cain out.
She could hear him asking for details as they went down the stairs. Waiting for water to boil she checked Avery again. Resting a hand on his chest she could feel the heat radiating from it. "Prince, help me get his shirt off."
Without comment he did, and she busied herself wiping Avery down with cool water over and over again as if she could wipe the sickness out of him.
Bo returned with the bucket full of water and snow and she made him eat and rest.
Near noon, loud bumping sounds coming up the stairs signaled the return of Kei. She met him at the door, wishing she could hug him. She waited impatiently as he removed the ax from his belt and set it by the door. He untied a bulging bag made from an old shirt at his waist and handed it to her. "Workers are digging," he said as he struggled to tip the large bundle of wood strapped to his back onto the floor. "Just outside the city."
Tears started to streak her cheeks as she nodded. "There's a sickness going around."
He looked up at her, worry clouding his face. "I can smell it." He froze. "Avery!"
She stepped out of the way as he raced past her to drop to his friend's side. She carried the bag he'd given her over to the stove and dragged out a large pan. With shaking hands she started putting the skinned and gutted small birds and animals into it, added water, and then shoved it into the side compartment of the stove to bake. She tried not to cry as Bo spoke quietly to Kei, telling him what had happened.
Tears did spring to her eyes when Kei started talking gently to his friend, telling him he had to get better, begging him to wake up.
She prepared another cup of tea and took it to Kei. "Here, see if you can get him to drink some. It's supposed to help with the fever." She left him to go sit with Bo and Prince.
The day passed with agonizing slowness as they sat and listened to Avery's labored breathing. She took turns with Kei wiping him down and trying to get him to drink water and tea. Cain came home early and quietly joined their silent vigil.
She knew Avery wasn't getting any better, but it still shocked her to the core when he just suddenly stopped breathing as she wiped his face.
She stared at his face, resting a hand on his bare chest, waiting for him to take another breath. "Avery," she whispered, patting his cheek lightly. "Avery!"
Kei suddenly appeared at her side, pushing her away as he reached for his friend. "No no no no no no..."
She turned and stared blankly across the room. Her breath came in ragged gasps. She raised her hands to cover her face. This couldn't be happening. He couldn't have died. She couldn't have lost someone else. She'd built herself a new family to replace the one taken from her and now they were dying, too. First Kendric, and now Avery.
Something between a wail and a scream tore itself from her throat as she scrambled to her feet. She pushed past the men milling around Avery's body and stumbled to the far corner, as far as she could get from him.
Leaning her forehead on the rough wood she banged her fist against it as sobs tore out of her. The pain was so good she started hitting the wall over and over again as hard as she could. The pain felt better than the agony that screamed through her, unraveling her from the inside out.
It was so easy to fall apart completely. The sobs, the pain inside, became too much and she slid to her knees and just cried.
Kei's arms wrapped around her and she didn't protest as he pulled her over onto his lap. They were nearly the same height now. He'd grown a little over the winter, but she had more. Somehow, she still fit perfectly against him.
He didn't say anything, merely held her and rocked her and let her cry. When she could finally look up at him she saw lines of tears down his cheeks as well. "Don't die," she choked out quietly. "Don't die, too."
He held her tighter as he dipped his head to rest it against hers. "I won't. We Fey are immune to human sickness." He gently kissed her forehead. "You don't have to worry about me. Understand?"
She nodded as he brushed tears from her cheeks. She sniffled and when she moved to get up he let her. She fumbled in her pocket for a cloth to blow her nose, turning her head to cough.
She looked up at Kei's swift intake of breath and grimaced. "I'm fine. It's just from crying." She sucked in a breath suddenly, as she noticed everyone else was gone. Her eyes went to where Avery had slept and saw only a rumbled blanket. "Kei?" Her voice came out a frantic screech.
He sprang up and put his arms around her again. "He couldn't stay here. You know that."
She nodded and lowered her head as the tears came again. She hadn't really gotten to say goodbye. She sniffled and coughed again.
"You need to lie down."
She grimaced. "I need to check on dinner."
He shook his head vehemently and forced her to bed. "Stay. Rest. I'll finish dinner."
Grimacing again, she nodded. His eyes had started glowing a faint orange. She wasn't about to argue with him. Her own eyes sore and burning from crying, she found she couldn't keep them open no matter how hard she tried. With another cough she rolled over and tried to think of anything other than Avery.
Tossing and turning, she absently heard the others return and snuggled further down into her blanket. She didn't want to talk to them. She awoke slightly when Kei took her hand before passing again into sleep.
* * *
When she cracked her crusty eyes open again she groaned and then sat up as coughs suddenly wracked her body.
A hand tentatively touched her thigh and she slapped it away.
"Aro?"
She grimaced over at Kei. "What?"
He sat up, a worry line between his brows. "You're sick."
She glared at him. "I know."
His cheeks flushed as he looked down and she scrambled out of bed, too annoyed to apologize. She quickly saw Cain curled up asleep, everyone else was gone. Panic set in before she realized Prince and Bo must have gone to work and weren't back yet, and Avery...
She choked and started coughing again. Ignoring Kei, she set about her morning chores. Cain woke up, Prince returned, Cain left, Bo returned. So their little world went.
She worked silently, and for the most part everyone else remained quiet as well. Except for her and Bo coughing. At least Bo still was; it was when the cough suddenly disappeared you had to worry.
No one spoke about Avery, about his sudden death. She didn't try to delude herself they wouldn't. They just all needed time to deal with it in their own way.
Sometime after Cain had returned and they had eaten dinner she realized she hadn't coughed for a while. She paused as she washed dishes in one of the buckets and bit her lip. Surely a cough didn't come and go so quickly. But she couldn't be sick like Avery, it couldn't be that fast.
She squeezed her eyes closed, holding in tears, before taking a deep breath and faking a cough. She continued to do so until Prince and Bo both left for work and she curled up in bed. She'd be fine. She had to be. Her men needed her. As Kei joined her
she squeezed his hand tightly.
Hopefully she'd wake up in the morning.
* * *
She had strange dreams. It took her a long to time to realize she wasn't dreaming at all, but drifting in and out of consciousness. She'd gotten sick then, like Avery had been.
Sometimes she could feel cold on her face and neck. She drank when someone urged her to do so. She wanted to talk to them, to be able to understand what they were saying, but their voices remained distant mutterings. At least the cough stayed away.
She found it odd she didn't mind being sick. It felt like she simply drifted along. Perhaps it was the tea, or just the fever itself. As the fever grew, the voices fell away entirely and became replaced by old familiar nightmares of slavers and the ship and chains. She dreamed of the wreck and their escape, and being thrown into the cold waters. She could feel the water around her, pushing her down, dragging her deeper. The water crushed her, making it hard to breathe as she struggled against it. Prince didn't come to save her and she panicked, thrashing in the water, calling his name. She didn't want to die. She didn't want to be fish food.
"I'm here, Aro."
She relaxed immediately at his voice, but the crushing weight, the inability to breathe still remained. "Help me," she begged him.
"I can't help you this time."
She whimpered at his words and because his voice had started growing more distant. He couldn't help her and she was drifting away.
"Wake up," he told her. "Wake up and Kei will help you. Wake up."
Kei. He wasn't trapped. He had escaped. She fought against the water, struggling to rise above it, to find Kei. Kei lived, he would save her. She just had to get to him. When she finally broke the surface, gasping for breath and opening her eyes, she was surprised to find herself in bed, Prince holding her.
"That's my girl," he whispered, gently stroking her face.
She stared up at his sad face. Why was he so sad? His eyes were red rimmed, glassy, almost as if he were about to cry. She realized despite everything they had been through, all the pain he had endured, she had never seen him cry.
He leaned down, briefly resting his cheek on her forehead and squeezing her tightly before she had the strange sensation of falling.
He turned his head away from her as he sat back. "This had better work," he said sharply.
"We don't have anything to lose do we?" Kei's voice cracked, gruff and angry.
Were they fighting again? The last few months they had been so good, too. Everything started to drift away once more.
"Aro! Stay with me," Kei called to her.
She opened her eyes again. "Strange Fey. I'm right here." His face now filled her view and she saw he had been crying, and recently.
He turned his head. "I need you all to leave now."
She could hear voices answer, but couldn't make out who it was or what they said.
"Now!"
She started under Kei, fear starting to rise within her as she stared up at his blazing red eyes. "Kei?"
He turned back to her, his eyes immediately fading to a golden light as he smiled. "Don't be afraid."
She suddenly was, but she nodded. She trusted Kei, always.
"Do you remember the magic we did together?" His eyes searched hers.
"Fey magic," she answered quietly, no longer afraid. "A magic of the heart and soul. A magic of binding and promise and intent."
He grinned. "Yes. Good memory." His face grew serious. "There are three such bindings. What we did was the first. It was the bond of friendship. I want to do the second with you, Aro. The bond of family. Will you allow me to?"
She stared up at his hopeful eyes, stunned. He wanted to be family? "Yes!"
He let out a deep sigh of relief, briefly closing his eyes. "Thank you." He reached out and pulled up her hands.
She remembered and opened them, palms facing him.
"Good girl." He placed his palms against hers; however instead of keeping them flat together he threaded his fingers through hers. "It's only a little different," he explained as he shifted over her and pulled their linked hands together and placed them at level with their hearts. "I'll say the words, and you repeat, but change brother for sister. Understand?"
She nodded and sucked in a startled breath as his eyes shifted from golden to orange.
He smiled encouragement. "Ready?"
She nodded again, forcing her eyes to stay open. Happiness and excitement filled her. A knot formed in her belly and her throat grew dry.
"As family I shall bind my heart and soul to yours. Forever beside you I shall stand. Together or apart, always will I be with you. Your Eternal brother I shall ever be."
She smiled at the words as he said them, remembering to keep her eyes locked with his. She repeated the words slowly, struggling to remember them and get them right.
As before their hands grew warm and heat rushed through her whole body. This time she felt a strong tingling sensation too that was not at all unpleasant, and followed the warmth as it traveled.
The little lights came again as well, lighting the area around them, but this time they were much larger and brighter. It seemed there were many more dancing around the two of them. It was hard for her to tell, as she became lost in Kei's glowing eyes.
As the lights settled over her and Kei and then faded away she let out a little sigh. "Did it work again?"
He leaned forward and brushed his lips across her forehead. "Yes, sister. It worked again."
She smiled and let her eyes drift closed. "I'm glad." Her smile grew a little larger as he settled down next to her and took her hand. Drifting off to sleep she realized she could breathe easily again.
Chapter 21
On the Road Again
When she opened her eyes she smiled to see Kei sleeping beside her, facing her and holding her hand near his cheek. What surprised her was she could feel a body behind her, a familiar arm across her waist.
She bit her lip, suddenly remembering she had been sick. Sick like Avery, but she hadn't died. Her eyes flitted over Kei's face as she remembered the magic they had done. Had it saved her? She felt perfectly fine, if a little stiff. Her breath caught at the thought he had only done the magic with her to save her life.
"Aro?"
She lifted her eyes to look at Kei. He hadn't moved but was watching her, a small smile on his face. "Did you do it to make me better?" She searched his face, looking for the truth. "Is that why?"
The smile grew a little and he squeezed her hand. "Silly human," he taunted. "I've wanted to do it for a long time. I just didn't know how to ask."
She grinned back at him, the weight of her worry lifting and making her almost giddy. "Thank you, brother." She flushed, a silly happiness washing over her.
He chuckled quietly.
A question occurred to her suddenly. "What's the last one?"
His grin twisted into a smirk. "Ah. Yes. That would be the one for love, for mating." He laughed as her cheeks reddened. "It's similar to marriage. Our version."
"I see." She managed to choke out. "I don't think...um..."
He grinned and squeezed her hand. "Two is enough."
She nodded quickly. Marriage. Mating. She wasn't ready for such things. Even if she had been, unfortunately Kei wasn't the person she thought of that way. "Do the others know?"
He grimaced. "They know I used Fey magic. On you. Only Prince knows what I did."
She nodded again. Since she really didn't know what he did either, she didn't say anything. "Are they angry, that you didn't save Avery?"
He blushed. That she didn't expect. "I said...it wouldn't have worked on him."
"Would it have?" She hated to ask, but she needed to know.
He shook his head. "If we'd shared the first binding, yes. But we didn't. It takes a lot of power to do, I don't have enough to do both bindings one after the other."
"So they know this is the second–"
"No," he interrupted. "I didn't want them to know. No
t anything about the bindings."
"Then what did you say?"
"I could use my magic on you because I love you," he admitted, blushing furiously.
She gaped at him and pressed her lips together as laughter sputtered out of her. "You are such an idiot. They believed that?"
He shrugged a shoulder a little. "Yes, they did."
She shook her head, not believing it. She sighed though, as she saw things from their view. She and Kei had always been together. He had gone into a fury because of her, and returned for her. Perhaps it was believable after all. "Well, thank you. For whatever reason you did it."
"I wasn't lying," he said. "I do love you. You're my family."
A smile spread across her face and she didn't try to stop it. "Exactly. I love you, too."
He smiled in return, his eyes slightly glowing with his happiness.
"Are you two done yet?" Prince muttered in her ear. "I'm trying to sleep."
She bit her lip trying to hide a smile as Kei chuckled. "Cranky prince."
"Troublesome child," he replied.
She elbowed him in the ribs, making him grunt in surprise. "I'm not a child."
Kei sat up and she did the same. It was time to get up and start cooking. As she stood it surprised her to see both Bo and Cain starting to get up as well. Everyone had stayed home.
Stretching sore muscles, she headed to the bucket of water and splashed herself awake. When she turned around Bo surprised her by pulling her into a tight hug.
"Glad you're feeling better, pup," he mumbled.
She wasn't quite sure how to respond but hugged him back briefly before smacking his arm. "I'm not a pup!"
Everyone laughed and she glared at them all. "Well I'm not. I'm sixteen now. Legally I can join the army or get married, or...well do whatever I want!"
Bo frowned.
"The laws may differ here," Cain began, clearly grasping at whatever he could.
Prince shook his head. "Actually, in most cities a child it considered legally mature at fourteen."
She swung to glare at him. "And you're just telling me this now?"
