Page 81 of Starkeeper of the Fractured Crown

“I’m fine,” she mumbled, her throat swollen shut. From blood or from something her attacker had done, I couldn’t be sure. If Trick hadn’t made his sick claim on her, I would have pushed to be out there searching for the male who had done this. As it was, I knew Trick would kill everyone he even suspected of hurting her, which brought me some sort of quiet peace.

I nodded. “Okay, I’ll get what I think is right then.”

I made it halfway to the kitchen before she spoke up again. “Asilos Root and Antler.”

I knew she had more than that in her cupboards, but if that’s all she wanted to use, fine.

I gathered the items, letting the water warm up before I filled a bowl, grabbed an empty one, and picked up a rag. With everything balanced in my arms, I headed back for her, wondering if Trick had gotten a name.

If he had, I hoped he didn’t ease his blows. I hoped this torture session was long and brutal. I had neverhoped that for any of his victims save for one, but this was Kyra. She didn’t deserve this.

I set the things down on the coffee table and pulled it forward. Opening a jar of Allure Antler, I pulled out a good chunk, much more than she had spared for me, and held it out for her.

She eyed the piece, probably thinking through how long it would take her to gather more.

“I’ll replace it,” I assured her. Despite my race, I was friends with Penny. Not so much friends, I supposed, then acquaintances. We were friendly. I held no doubt that Penny would help if I asked.

Her eyes lifted to mine, that gray ring around the iris so black now, I wondered if Trick’s shadows hadn’t infected her.

After another second, she finally took it and carefully placed it in her mouth, wincing at the small movement.

What would she tell her brother when she went home tonight with bruises? Surely, he wouldn’t believe that she had earned all of this by thieving.

I began washing out the cuts on her face. Washing away the blood, mud, and dried tears. She didn’t flinch once, not even when I started spreading the Asilos Root across her open wounds.

Her pain tolerance was incredible for a human, and I couldn’t help but wonder in that moment how often her bruises had been from thieving and how often they had been from someone else.

How long had this truly been going on?

I set the bowl to the side and found her eyes. “I’m sorry, but this is going to hurt.”

She nodded again, revealing nothing in her eyes.

I picked up the tweezers and began removing the splinters.

When the seven largest chunks were on the table, I began to spread the remaining root on her hands, the color turning a brownish green as it mixed with the blood. The rest of them would come out with the mixture.

She hadn’t said a single word, and I couldn’t handle that. I couldn’t handle the silence that overpowered this. I couldn’t handle thinking about how this person was walking around Therian thinking he had gotten away with this.

“The first time,” I finally began quietly wanting to give her something else to focus on, “that I ever talked about what my father did to me, it was with Rose. It had been six years after they had given me a home. She had never asked about it, no one did. I knew they wondered. Wondered about the scars they had seen, but no one ever asked.

“When I was finally ready to tell her, we were having dinner at this little place called Ophelia. I found myself unable to eat, just staring at her. She had been talking about something. I can’t remember what it was, all I remember was suddenly feeling this…overwhelming emotion. Like a dam ready to burst, and I just…told her.

“She stopped talking, didn’t get angry, wasn’t irritated that I had cut her off. She simply gave me her full attention. In that moment, her eyes were the only thing keeping me from disappearing into those memories. People always say that talking about it makesyou feel better, but I realized then that it truly doesn’t. It doesn’t change a single thing.

“When I was done, I didn’t feel better. The weight hadn’t eased, nothing had changed except for the fact that my best friend now knew the truth of what happened, and I was angry. I was angry that I still felt alone in my pain.”

I cleared my throat, picturing Rose as clearly as if she were the one sitting before me. “She didn’t apologize, she didn’t try and comfort me. Because what can you say in those moments? I actually feel bad for the people you confess to because their default is ‘I’m sorry’, but you both know that it means nothing. You both know that there isn’t anything you can say or do to make it better.

“Rose,” I went on, moving to her other hand, “she just shrugged and shook her head, eyes glimmering. She always felt things on a deeper level than most. You two are the same in that sense.”

Kyra’s breath caught. It was the only emotion she had shown since I had picked her up and part of me felt extreme relief at that. It wasn’t much, but it was something. It meant something.

“Rose, all she said was ‘that really sucks’,” I chuckled, remembering it fondly, missing her more than I could ever describe. “It wasn’t sarcastic or in that funny manner people usually say it, she meant it. She meant it from the very depths of her heart. ‘That really sucks’. And then she ordered another round of drinks.

“The point of this is that if you don’t want to talk about it because you’re afraid of our reaction, that’s acceptable. No one can blame you for that, but one day,that dam will break, and I just need you to understand that it’s not going to help anything.”

My eyes finally lifted to hers and I willed her to understand, to really listen. “But eventually, saying it out loud will help in whatever way the gods choose for it to help. For me, the confession led to a stream of events that eventually made me General, able to help hundreds and hundreds of men and women learn how to fight for themselves. It led Rose and I on a path that I will never regret, not for anything in the world, and if I’m being completely honest, confessing those horrible nights led me to this moment. To meeting one of the most interesting and surprising people I have ever known.”

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