Page 33 of Veiled Fate
The pain rose to incomprehensible levels, paralyzing me and stealing my breath and voice. I arched in silent shrieking agony, my body twisting as the muscles spasmed. There was no singular source, nothing I could pinpoint that would stop it.
“Jada …” Kiel was worried. He didn’t know what to do. Whatcouldhe do?
My vision blurred, going double, then darkened around the edges as my oxygen-starved brain started to shut down. If I couldn’t steal a breath, I would pass out. Or worse.
“Shit,” Kiel hissed as I collapsed into a heap.
Things began to melt. It was the only way to describe the sensation spreading throughout my body. I melted. Came apart. Came undone.
“Kiel,” I whispered as my lungs started to work again, the pain fading just enough for me to exert some control.
“Shhh, quiet. Save your strength,” he said, cradling my head.
“What are you talking about? I’m—”
Warmth spilled down my left side, then my right. Fresh pain localized itself in my stomach.
And then my forearm. The same place I’d been stabbed. Horrified, I lifted that arm to where I could see it. The terrible knife wound was back. I stared uncomprehending as my skin unknitted itself. Blood oozed from the gaping hole, leaving streaks down my pale skin.
Other bruises and welts reappeared as well. I tried to lift my head, but the sheer incandescent pain in my stomach stopped that effort before it truly began.
“My stomach,” I whispered, coming to understand the warmth pouring down my sides, coating the rock. “What’s going on with me?”
“I don’t know,” Kiel said, his composure shaken. “But you aren’t healing, Jada. You aren’t healing. You’re unhealing. It’s coming undone.”
“Yeah.” I lay back with lidded eyes, lacking the strength to keep them open.
“I need to get you to a healer,” he said, making a decision. “Now.”
“Where will you find one of those?” I mumbled.
“Lycaon,” he said. “It’s our only hope.”
“I won’t live through that journey,” I told him. “And even if I did … Kiel, you can’t. They would find us. They’ll kill us. Just let me die.”
“Fuck you,” he spat. “I just found you. I’m not going to lose you. Not like this!”
He scooped me up. I screamed, and blood poured down my back. We had no clothes to use as a binder to staunch the flow. The only thing he could do was put his hand over it. So, he did. I thought.
I woke up an unknown amount of time later to bouncing and jostling as Kiel raced down the cart trail, heading in what I assumed was the direction of Lycaon. The pain had faded somewhat, but I could still feel the ragged tears in my skin. They weren’t healing.Iwasn’t healing.
“Kiel, stop,” I told him, noting the set of his jaw, the intense determination of his gaze, staring forward, watching. “You can’t take me in there.”
He ignored me and ran on until we crested a hill. There, in the far distance and slightly below us, Lycaon spread out around the banks of the lakeside on which it had been built, much like Arcadia. Only it was bigger.Muchbigger. The towers stretched higher, the walls spread farther, and even from a distance, I knew more people roamed its streets than someone who had never been there could comprehend.
“Look at it,” I heard myself whisper. “So grand.”
“Oh, sure,” Kiel spat icily. “It’s wonderful. A beautiful city built on the backs of lies and Lycaon’s enslaved enemies.”
“I …”
“The thing is a stain on our kind, and while I know better than to think it can be wiped out, the truth must be told. Everyone needs to know what really propelled us to our current position of power, and it certainly wasn’t the ‘greatness’ of the Alphas.”
“Perhaps,” I agreed.
“We have much to atone for as a race,” Kiel said heavily. “Starting with this abomination.”
“Nice speech,” I said. “But how are you going to get me in there?”
