Page 156 of Bloodguard

I leap backward. Caelen jolts. Giselle curses. Toso continues to move his head, hissing and snapping his small fangs.

“Toso,” I say. “It’s me, Leith.”

He stops snapping, and his ears perk up. But then his head tips and falls back to the ground, his strength waning.

“I’m going to touch you,” I tell him.

His head pops up, and he hisses, showing his fangs.

“Donotbite me,” I warn.

Toso makes a pathetic sound. He’s so close to death. I take my chances and stroke between his ears. He whimpers, his wide, blank eyes blinking several times.

There’s no hint of the trademark yellow irises of a healthy estrella. His blinking increases. He’s crying but too dehydrated to form tears.

“Do you think he’s blind?” I ask.

“Partially but not yet completely,” Caelen says. “If we restore his strength and tend to his wounds, maybe his vision will clear.” If he lives, that is.

I change positions and lift him toward me. Stab marks cover his chest. Toso wasn’t beaten. He was brutalized.

“Those damn monsters,” I growl. “Look at what they did to him.”

Caelen whips around. “Did you hear that?”

“What?” Giselle asks. He closes his eyes, his ears twitch, and he drops down, his hands clutching his knees as he breathes deep. Then he sighs as something in the brush catches his attention. “Leith, you better show the estrellas. They’re worried sick for him.”

I carry Toso to the edge of the lawn and hop down to the brush near the start of the path to the now-obliterated stables.

Little feet bounce away like a herd of frantic newborn lemurs. “Don’t go, little ones. It’s Leith,” I say. “Maeve’s Leith.”

The steps halt. I kneel and hold Toso out. “We’re going to help him,” I say. “And we’ve come to help you, too.”

One by one, sets of glowing yellow eyes press through the darkness.

“That’s right,” I say. “I’ll watch over you until Maeve returns.”

It’s Maeve’s name that allows me to gain their trust, and probably my scent, too—that of her healing herbs. One of the smallest in the group, not much bigger than Bethina, ventures out first, a prominent limp slowing her pace. Her sad, frightened eyes remind me of Gunther. I wish they didn’t. I’m no longer certain I can help him.

The little one inches closer. She holds up her tiny hands and presents a giant bejeweled ring.

Giselle gasps. “That belonged to the queen,” she says. “It was her wedding ring. She gave it to Papa after the king died.”

More estrellas follow the first, their hands carrying gold and jewels. Like many magical creatures, they’re known to pilfer shiny things, which in this case is extremely useful.

They surround me now, some hopping onto my shoulders as though they can’t wait to see the view from their new home. Even if that home is atop a dangerous gladiator like me.

Giselle gasps again. “Caelen, look,” she tells him.

We both turn to see where she’s pointing. The little ones managed to save a pile of jewels and riches under the cover of the bushes.

Caelen nods, appearing relieved. We need gold and jewels with everything else destroyed. “It’s plenty to hold us for a time.”

A chuff comes from off to the left.Knight.My eyes widen. It’s Maeve’s horse and Hilltop, Jakeb’s steed. They’re both still saddled, their heads drooped as if injured and hungry. With only grass to eat, these massive horses are likely starving.

“Star!” I call.

My mare is their daughter. With a series of snorts, she races from the front lawn, bypassing me when she catches sight of her family.

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