Page 15 of Saving the Sautiitions

Vahru lifts himself up, his hands falling to his sides. A tear slips down my cheek, and as I go to reach for him, to comfort him in his loss, Criido’s body shudders and gasps, his breaths full as he gulps in air. I involuntarily scream with joy and grab Vahru’s arm, shaking it as my tears fall freely, this time out of relief.

Criido’s eyes roll a bit before his head turns and he takes us all in. “Thank you, Son. Kari, dear, those tears aren’t for me, are they?”

I sniffle, wiping at my face to dry it, laughing awkwardly as I struggle to stop the torrents from running down my cheeks. “Of course not, Chief. I’m just not ready to take your place.”

He chuckles and reaches for me, gripping my hand tightly. “That’s my girl. Don’t worry, I’m tougher than I look. And Vahru here is smarter than he looks.”

“Thanks, Dad. Very encouraging. You scared me half to death. Now isn’t the time to make jokes.” Vahru’s tone is serious, irritated by Criido’s lack of sensitivity to the situation.

I run a hand down his arm, and he turns to face me. “It seems our dear Chief here knows it wasn’t his time. He had full faith in you, in us.” I give his hand a gentle squeeze, trying to show him that everything will be okay, that we understand his feelings, but he pulls away, his eyes snapping back to his father.

“She’s right, Son. The Guardians met me as I was headed for the other side. They told me to wait, that you would bring me back. I had nothing to fear.” He smiles encouragingly, but it’s quickly dropped as Vahru loses his composure.

“But I did! Still do! Who did this to you? Will they come back? What will they try next time? Your life is in danger, Father. This is serious.” Vahru stands, his fists clenched at his sides. Criido sighs, and Vahru shakes his head, storming out of the house.

I stand and turn to follow him, but Criido’s hand pulls mine, stopping me. His eyes droop as exhaustion overtakes him. “You’ll figure this out, together. I trust in you. I’m sorry to have frightened you all.”

I pat his hand gently and smile. “Get some rest, Chief. We’ll make sure you’re safe.”

His eyes close, and his hand goes limp in mine as he gently snores. I set his hand on his chest, looking at my close friends. “We need to keep someone here with him at all times, make sure that no one comes in without our supervision. We’ll monitor what he eats and drinks, and make sure it comes from a safe source. Until we find the culprit, we’ll have to keep a close eye on him. He’s probably going to need help getting around anyway as he recovers from this.”

“We’ll stay, Cap. Go calm your man, let Tonya know what happened. I’m sure she’d help. She was getting pretty close to the Chief before we left. We’ll help you figure this out. Promise.” Jeff stands tall like he’s ready to take on the world, Willa smiling and nodding beside me. My eyes almost well with tears to have such loyal people by my side.

“Thank you.” My words are barely a whisper before I swiftly turn and head out to find Vahru.

Chapter 10

Kari

I don’t have to go far to find Vahru. He’s seated on the porch steps as I walk out of the Chief’s door. I slowly step beside him, lowering myself to sit. I don’t speak as I let him think. His head is in his hands, his hair falling around his shoulders. I brush some behind his ear so I can see his face.

He sighs and glances at me from the corner of his eye. “Sometimes, it’s very hard to have a father like him. He’s so in tune with everything around him, almost as if he’s omniscient, that he forgets what it’s like to be blind to the future. That was terrifying for me, and he just starts cracking jokes like it was all a fun time.”

I rub his back and give him a sympathetic smile. “I understand. He may not have handled that the right way, but if you see it from his perspective, he had absolute faith in you, in your abilities, in your love as his son. He wasn’t worried about not coming back to you. That’s high praise, honey.”

He sits up, running his hands through his hair. He grips his horns and groans. “Why did you encourage him? Were you not just as scared that he’d die?” His hands drop to his lap as he glares at me.

I raise one eyebrow and try not to sound too snotty. “I was terrified for him, for all of us. I’m not ready to step fully into the leadership role here. But the immense relief that I felt when he took that deep breath was overwhelming. Seeing him alive made me so happy that if he wanted to joke and smile, then so be it. He was alive, I’d give him anything he wanted.”

He looks to the ground, sighing. “Maybe I was wrong to be angry. I mean, we did save him, so maybe it’s not so bad that he was happy to be here.”

I give him a moment to think about that, keeping my tongue tightly bitten between my teeth. When he sighs and relaxes back on his hands, his eyes sweeping around us, I finally speak, letting my own more positive mood shine through as I tease him.

“That’s right. Let’s just focus on the positives while we try to get everything sorted out. We still have to get the Sautiitions settled and welcomed. I need to tell Tonya what’s happened, and we need to figure out who tried to kill the chief. We have a lot to do, so stop moping, put on your big boy slacks, and let’s get moving.” I nudge his shoulder and grin, knowing that my crack is going to piss him off.

I jump up, hopping off the last step to stand in front of him as he squints his eyes at me. “My big boy slacks? I think you and I both know my ‘slacks’ are plenty big enough for you.”

I fight the urge to laugh and lean into his face. “Honey, your slacks are much too big for me. Next time you want to make a cock reference, maybe wait until there’s a lack of slacks being mentioned, okay?” I give him a wink before standing straight and chuckling.

He stands up, towering over me, an incredulous expression on his face, and I squeal as I take off running toward the lake. I hear him growl, his footsteps pounding the dirt behind me. I know I don’t stand much of a chance to get away from him, his legs are longer than mine, but at least he’s in a better mood.

He catches me as we reach the trail, entering the trees. He scoops me into his arms, cradling me to his chest. I’m panting for breath, and he’s barely winded. I glare at him as he chuckles, that adorably cocky grin on his stupidly handsome face.

“Already breathless for me and I’ve barely even touched you.”

I scoff and roll my eyes. “Here we go. Vahru’s getting all cocky again, guys. Get ready to see some feathers!”

“Feathers?” His eyebrows knit together as he looks at me, his pace steady as he continues walking down the trail with me in his arms.

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