Page 38 of Fated Unkindness
I see Trent's smiling face before I see anyone else. His huge personality takes up most of the space in the room, and just how big he is compared to others. He nearly has the same bulk as Dax. As I let my gaze wander the room, I realized that I'm truly happy. These Fae have accepted me and all of my flaws and have helped me through some of my toughest times. My eyes flick between the faces now trained on Dax and me. Maki stands near Trent, a smile just as wide displayed on his face, then Miles, sitting up on a cot at the far end of beds, a smug grin on his face as he sees me, then Dax… He looks at our hands and the bond marks on our forearms.
“What the actual fuck…. I knew something was up with you two!” Trent stomps and claps his hands one loud time. It makes a giggle bubble up from my chest.
Dax lets go of my hand and closes in on his brother, bringing him into a tight embrace. My shoulders sag with relief seeing Trent standing and whole. I turn to walk over to Miles, but my attentionis snagged on the two cots before him. The still-sleeping females that were brought in. I recognize Kait, but her face… oh, Kait. My brows stitch together as I gape at her butchered and broken face.
“It was Cano or his men. I'm not sure which; she won't talk about it… my guess is on Cano, though. He was bragging about his artwork at one point, and I'm thinking this is what he was talking about.” Trent says this through clenched teeth as he walks to stand by her side. He wipes his thumb across one of the purplish-pink scars there. Sadness clouds his eyes as he looks down on her still form. She wasn’t like this when I left them at the cabin. If only I could have helped them escape with me.
Dax comes up behind me, placing a hand on the small of my back. The buzz in my chest warms at the contact. It calms my racing heart as I watch Trent’s heartbreak while looking at Kait.
“Ella?” Dax whispers, looking to the other cot. “Is she ok?”
“She hasn’t said much, brother, but she seems to be ok for the most part. Considering what they did to Kait and me in the short time we were there, I’m honestly surprised; she’s more whole than I would have imagined. At least before the Raskin attacks.”
“Trent, I'm so sorry.” I start to tell him. He struts up to me, bringing me into a tight bear hug.
“Shhh,” he says, his mouth pressed to the top of my head. “You have no reason to be sorry, Rae. Look at that man right there.” He leans back and points to Dax. “My brother is alive because of you. You did that. You brought him back from the brink of death. If it weren’t for all that has happened recently, we never would have learned who Canoreallywas. What he was capable of. We never would have found Ella.” His throat bobs as he swallows audibly, then blinks away the sadness I could see building in his eyes. Hesmiles over my shoulder where Dax is, and I don’t even have to turn to know that Dax has a smile just as wide on his face. I feel the emotions vibrating off of them. It's overwhelming, but so happy I don’t even try to shut it down.
Trent releases me, and I continue toward Miles. His smile is warm, and his emotions bounce to me with relief.
“You scared me back at that willow. I didn’t know what happened to you, but I see now.” He gestures to my arm and then nods in the direction of Dax. “Divine intervention. The gods brought together what was meant to be for those who were worthy.” He smiles knowingly as recognition dawns on my face. “I had a feeling about you. Something pulled me to that cabin to help you all. If it weren’t for that pull, I would have been sitting at Dax’s side the whole time.”
“We all would have been dead had it not been for you, Miles. You are the true hero here. All of this… All of us… we owe you our lives.” I tell him, tears welling in my eyes.
“Nonsense. You would have managed.” He chews his bottom lip as the corners tilt up a fraction. He opens his arms, and I just about jump into them. His hug reminds me so much of my father that tears spill over and run salty wet trails down my cheeks. The emotions in the room overwhelm me, and my lip trembles as the tears flow freely from my eyes. Wiping the evidence from my cheeks, I build a wall blocking out everyone's emotions, and when I'm alone with only what I'm feeling, I know that I succeeded. However, when I feel a surge of pride, I know that Dax has poked through that wall. Our bond is stronger than any shield could be.
Our gazes meet from across the room, and we both light up, the corners of our mouths tilting up, for in that moment we arewhole. While Kait and Mel sleep, we are all safe; we’re together. That in itself is reason enough for happiness. My heart swells as I think about all I have gained. Though I may have lost memories and my family died, I've found family in these Fae that surround me, and I will be forever grateful for them and continue to build relationships with them. We will plot to take Cano down after we bask in the glow of our joy, even if only for a moment.
Chapter thirty-seven
Waking up strapped toa bed, disoriented, was fucked up. The rush of panic I felt was all-consuming. The last thing I remembered was almost being to Loema before a Raskin attack. We were so outnumbered, it’s a miracle that we all made it out alive. Some soldiers that came to our aid didn't. My first thoughts upon waking up went to Ella, Kait, and Miles. I didn’t know if they were okay. I didn’t know anything other than it appeared that I was captive again. Thank the gods, that’s not the case, and we are all together, including Dax and Rae.
I knew I had witnessed something brewing between Rae and Dax a couple of times back in Ravendene before shit hit the fan. Ididn’t get to even question it, though, with Mel being kidnapped, Dax being cursed, and us leaving on our unsanctioned mission. Even Rae losing her memories… all the fucking things. I take a deep breath and release it in a huff before shoving more roasted chicken into my mouth. Being put into a magical coma to heal rapidly was freaking awesome when you think about the brains behind it, but damn did it leave a guy starving. Since waking up, I swear I’ve eaten enough to feed a small village. Lucky for me, Maki has plenty of food, and his cooks are amazing. I lick my fingers as I finish the dish.
Rae and Dax are together, like irrevocably together. The first true bond that I have heard of since the kingdom fell. I guess there could be others, but it's kind of a big deal. That kind of news would spread quickly if there were. After our brief reunion in the infirmary, Dax said that he and Rae were going to go out to speak with a seer, but as soon as they were finished, they would come to see how we were all doing and hopefully get to talk to Kait and Ella. The vampire in charge here runs a tight ship and has been pushing herbs and elixirs at me every half hour for the last three hours. I'm ready to get the hell out of here.
There is a moan to my left, and I hop out of my cot to go to Kait as she wakes. Her eyes flutter open slowly, becoming more aware of herself and her surroundings.
“Hey there, beautiful. Careful sitting up; the magic they had us under is a doozy to come out of. I felt like I was going to vomit for at least an hour.” I give her a coy smile and reach up, taking her hand in mine.
“W—where are we?” Her voice is heavy. A wince forms on her face as she attempts to sit up. Taking her hand, I gently guide herup, and offer her a drink of water. I vividly recall the mouth of sand feeling I had when I woke up.
“We’re in Loema. We’re all okay.” I bent over her and placed a kiss on her forehead, and her eyes crinkled at the corners. “Are you still hurting? I can get the healer.” I say as a frown tugs at my brow.
“No. Thank you, Trent; it's not something that a healer can help. Your lips touched some of the scarring on my face. I can't bear for you or anyone else to see it, let alone touch it… I'm sure it will be like you said; I will get over it with time.” A moment of silence passes, her face falling blank as she thinks. “And revenge.”
“You are beautiful regardless of the scarring is what I said, but revenge could help get your mind over it…” A smirk spreads across my face, and she rolls her eyes. A good sign.
“Dax? Is he?”
“Alive and well. Rae did it. There is more, but that is not my information to share. They will be back soon and can fill you in.” She narrows her eyes at me, my smile making her suspicious, but I just shake my head with a twitch of my brow. “I’m not spilling anything.” When she rolls her eyes again, my smile widens. I know she feels better if she has an attitude.
The doors clang open, and Maki stalks into the room, arms wide, zeroing in on Kait. “Kait Divins! You’re awake. Thank the gods!” He laughs, stepping right between Kait and me, and I can't help but laugh too as I step back, giving him room to greet her. He dives right in, hugging her tight, and she smiles wide in response, curling her arms around him in return. It reminds me of the years I spent growing up with them and any time we were away from each other for an extended period of time. Giving them a moment to themselves, I step over to the next cot to check on Ella.
She hasn’t woken since we arrived; the healer said she was unconscious when we were all found. A head wound seems to be the reason. They placed her under a magically induced coma anyway to speed up the healing process. A process this healer here said she’d come up with on her own. As impressive as it is, I still worry about my baby sister. I sit in the chair at her bedside and take her small, delicate hand in mine, resting my forehead on our joined hands. I close my eyes and send a plea to the gods to watch over her. To let her return to us whole and unbothered by this head injury and any other physical or mental injuries she could have sustained since the time she was taken from us in Ravendene. I don’t even want to think about the atrocities that could have happened to her.
My eyes are still closed as I let memories of my younger years flood my senses. When times seemed simpler even though they weren’t. Our parents tried to protect us the best they could from the stresses they were under, but sometimes we overheard things that weren’t meant for our ears.
“He needs to be secluded, Travis! You know it as well as I do! He should be separated from the others and taught at a higher level. He is strong—unbelievably so. A power so raw at such a young age? I have never, in all my years, felt something like that. He has the potential to be a weapon of war! He could claim the kingdom if taught right!” Soren Croix bellowed.
