“You must rest,” he said, his voice soft. He moved over to the large double bed and laid her on one side. She was asleep before he could cover her with the blankets. He watched her for several minutes before he turned and faced the room. “I am not leaving.”
Jaeha frowned before he glanced at Jake. “I assume that you feel the same?” Jake only nodded and Jaeha shook his head. “I wish you luck if Lyra finds you in here and I shall bid you goodnight.” He shook his head again before he disappeared through the door and closed it behind him.
Once he was gone, Jake stood up from the chair and had to grab the arm to keep from falling over. He was still quite unsteady from the blood loss. Sara hurried to his side and put his arm over her shoulder. She helped him cross the room, but he stopped before they reached the double bed. He glanced around and when he realized there was only one single bed and a couch in the room besides the large double bed, he frowned.
“I’ll take the couch,” he said. “You should share the large bed with Paige.”
“No,” Sara said, her voice quiet. “I can sleep on the couch. You were injured and need the rest more than I do. You’ll be much more comfortable on the bed.”
Jake looked down at her before he sighed. He could tell by her expression that she was serious. “All right,” he mumbled. He allowed Sara to help him the rest of the way to the bed before he wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. The two held onto each other for several minutes until Jake leaned down and kissed the top of her head. He released her and sat down on the edge of the bed. She gave him a small shy smile and took an extra blanket folded at the end of the bed before she headed over to the couch. After moving several of the decorative pillows, she spread out the blanket and laid down. Once she was settled, she glanced over at the others and noticed they were all asleep. With a heavy sigh, she stared up at the ceiling for a while. Her racing thoughts were keeping her awake. She wondered what was going to happen to them now and whether Rin and Wren were doing okay. Her worry was threatening to overwhelm her when her eyes finally started to grow heavy. She drifted to sleep with those thoughts running through her mind.
Ronin yawned as he entered his study the next morning just after sunrise. He paused partway through the door when he noticed that Wren was already waiting for him. The elf was sitting in a chair and looked out over the balcony. He was watching the sunrise and so deep in thought he did not notice Ronin had joined him.
“Did you get any rest?” Ronin asked.
Wren jumped, and his gaze turned to Ronin. It took him a few moments to collect his thoughts before he spoke. “A little.” His attention returned to the sunrise and the two fell silent until Wren sighed. “How is Rin?”
“I am not certain,” Ronin said, his voice sad. “When I looked in on them last night she was asleep. Kaedin took her to another room shortly after so that I could retire.”
Wren nodded, he did not appear surprised that Kaedin was still with his sister. “He shall take care of her.” His gaze did not leave the sky.
“He has always been good for her,” Ronin said with a faint smile when a sudden thought occurred to him. “They were inseparable from the moment they met.”
A nostalgic smile crossed Wren’s face. “I remember that day quite well. They left no room for any other when the young dragons were brought. There was no dragon she would allow near her but Kaedin without screaming.”
“Do you remember when he bit your father?”
“Oh, yes,” Wren said with a chuckle. “He was quite cross with the whole situation. Kaedin should never have been brought and he found the fact a noble dragon was not a match for her unacceptable.”
“Rin and Kaedin gave him no choice. She would scream if they took him away and he would bite anyone who attempted to touch her.”
“Only my mother and I could touch her,” Wren said before his expression darkened. “He would not allow father to take her from the crib. Perhaps, he has always known what we did not. He never trusted my father even as a hatchling.”
Ronin hesitated before he took a deep breath. “What is going on, Wren?”
Wren tore his eyes away from the sunrise and looked back up at Ronin. He regarded him as he slowly pieced together his thoughts before he exhaled hard. “My father intends to attack Caradthrad.”
“What?” Ronin gasped. “Why would he do such a thing? We have been allies for millenniums.”
“I believe he has been driven mad by his guilt, though, that is only my own speculation. I do not know for certain the reasons; all I know is that he in league with several of our enemies and we must stand together.” He paused, and his expression grew serious. “If we do not, we shall all perish.”
“I must know everything that you know so that I may protect my people.”
Wren nodded, “I shall tell you everything that I know, however, Riku, Rin, and the humans that accompanied me must be present. They will all be needed to determine how best to handle this threat.” He paused and looked back up at Ronin. “I need to know anything that you know about Rin’s magic.”
Ronin hesitated, and his eyebrow rose. “I am afraid that I know very little, but I shall reveal everything that is known.”
Wren did not appear pleased, but he nodded. Once he did, Ronin moved to the door of his study. He pulled it open and one of his men appeared beside him. Ronin sent him to gather the others before he headed over to his desk. After sitting down, he looked back at Wren.
“There is breakfast on the table if you wish to eat,” he said. “The others should be arriving shortly.” Wren only glanced at him before he looked back out over the balcony. The two fell silent while they waited.
***
Rin woke just after dawn. She laid staring up at the ceiling for a while before she dragged her body out of bed. Wrapping her arms around herself, she headed out onto the balcony with downtrodden steps. Both of her eyes were red and puffy with large dark circles under them. The night had been long for her.
When she reached the balcony railing, she rested her hands on it as she looked out over the merchant area of the city. Her eyes followed the scarce movement within the city. It was still too early for most of the merchants to be preparing their shops for the day. After observing for a few minutes, she breathed a long, sad sigh as she closed her eyes and her head bowed. She could not believe that her mother was gone. Pain threatened to overwhelm her again and she struggled to push those thoughts out of her mind. She wrapped her arms around her body again when unbidden tears started to well in her eyes.
A sudden scraping sound behind her caused her eyes to open, but before she could turn an arm grabbed her from behind. It locked around her, pinning her arms down. She tried to kick at her attacker when he lifted her off her feet as if she weighed nothing.
“Kae--!” Another hand clamped down over her mouth and nose with a cloth covered in a strong-smelling potion. Rin held her breath and tried to wiggle free. She knew that whatever was on that cloth was going to knock her out if she breathed it in. After only a few moments she could feel her head starting to spin and her vision blurred. She tried again to call for Kaedin, but the cloth muffled her cries. Kicking as hard as she could, she managed to hit the man in the shin. He grunted at the blow but did not loosen his grip and she lost consciousness.
The man kept the cloth over her face for another few seconds to be certain that she was really out before he put it back in his pocket. He tossed her over his shoulder and moved toward the edge of the balcony. After only a couple of steps, he gasped in shock before he dropped to the floor dead.
Kaedin pulled his katana free and moved to check on Rin when he staggered backwards to avoid the blade of a great sword. He regained his footing and found that he was surrounded by seven more humans. They were all huge like the one dead on the floor. Their great swords were in their hands as they rushed him. Kaedin dove to the side and managed to get out of the middle before he rotated in an attempt to get them in each other’s way. It was difficult to maneuver
in such tight quarters and Kaedin was forced to jump back to avoid a blade. After dodging it, Kaedin slipped forward causing two of them to stab each other. He slipped under both blades and brought his katana up to block another. Risking a split-second glance, his face paled when he saw one of the humans trying to climb over the balcony edge with Rin. Cursing under his breath, he tried to make his way toward Rin but two of the humans launched at him. He was able to block one of the blades, but the other caught his arm. Twisting to his right, he stepped back to keep the blade from going deeper into his arm while bringing his katana around. He sliced the closest human across the chest, dropping him to the ground.
A sudden cry from the edge of the balcony caused Kaedin to look toward the sound. A momentary sense of relief washed over him when he saw that Hikaru had joined him, but it was short lived. The human carrying Rin fell backwards with Hikaru’s blade through his chest. He lost his grip on her and she fell onto the railing before tumbling over the edge. Kaedin’s heart felt like it stopped for a split second before Hikaru leapt off the balcony after her. Kaedin turned his attention back to the remaining three humans. He knew Hikaru was going to need his help to get Rin back up safely.
The remaining humans were being much more cautious as they tried to edge around and surround him. He shifted and mirrored their steps so that one of them was between him and the others. Taking a quick step to the right, he swung his katana at the nearest human. The human brought up his great sword and blocked the blow before he tried to swing it to the side. As soon as he was open, Kaedin stabbed his blade into his chest and the human crumpled to the ground. Kaedin pulled his katana back and barely managed to block a blow from one of the men left. He stepped to the side and just kept from being ran through by the third man’s sword, but it caught him across the stomach, leaving a long, deep gash. Twisting to the left, he brought his katana around and killed the man who had just injured him. He staggered and dropped to a knee. The last man rushed in and raised his sword over his head to deliver a killing blow. Kaedin forced himself to leap toward him and he stabbed his katana into the man’s stomach. The man stumbled backwards and Kaedin pushed him with his shoulder. Unable to stop his backwards momentum, the man tripped and tumbled over the balcony railing. Once the man was gone, Kaedin ran to the rope that was attached to the railing and peered over the side.
Hikaru jumped over the edge of the balcony when he saw the human drop Rin. He fell a short distance before he was able to get a grip on her. As soon as he did, he grabbed the rope beside him to stop their fall. He grimaced as it shredded the skin on his palm, but he did not let go of it. When he finally got them to come to a stop his grip on Rin slipped. Glancing up, his face grew concerned when he realized he could not move. His grip on Rin was not good enough for him to put her over his shoulder and he could not climb with one arm. Cursing under his breath, he tightened his grip on the rope and kept a close eye on everything around them. By the time he saw Kaedin stick his head over the balcony edge, his entire body was beginning to shake.
“Hurry,” he called. “She is slipping.”
Kaedin did not hesitate and grabbed the rope. He started pulling them up but frowned when he was struggling to keep a good grip on it. Ignoring his injuries, he looped the rope around his waist and started walked backwards. Now that it was anchored around him, he could pull them up. It was still difficult to lift both, but it only took him a few minutes to get Hikaru level with the balcony.
Hikaru glanced at Kaedin before he grimaced. He lifted Rin over the edge and was forced to drop her unceremoniously on the balcony before he pulled himself up the rest of the way. Sitting down with a loud thud, he glanced at his hand while he tried to catch his breath. It would not have been long before his grip gave out. After taking only a moment, he got back to his feet and picked Rin up off the ground.
“We must get out of here,” Hikaru said. “There may be more, and you do not appear to be in any condition to continue fighting.”
Kaedin grabbed his and Rin’s armor and weapons off the floor and the cloth out of the dead human’s pocket before he followed Hikaru to the door.
“Lord Wren and the others should be in Lord Ronin’s study. We should head there,” Kaedin said with a grimace.
Hikaru nodded in agreement and they headed down the hallway toward the stairs. Kaedin was winded by the time they reached the correct floor and he had to pause at the top of the stairs to catch his breath before they could continue. When they entered Ronin’s study, they found the rest of the group was already assembled. Kaedin half fell through the door and dropped their gear on the floor. Wren leapt out of his chair and grabbed Kaedin by the arm as he stumbled toward the nearest chair. His shirt was soaked with blood.
“What happened?” Wren asked once he was sitting.
Kaedin pressed both hands against the large wound across his stomach. “Humans attacked us in our room.” He moved one hand long enough to give the cloth to Wren. “They used this on Rin.”
Wren looked at the cloth before he held it closer to his face to smell it. He jerked his face away from it and coughed a couple times before he glanced at Ronin. “I cannot tell what this is, but it is quite strong.” He moved to hand the cloth to Ronin when Hikaru’s raised voice interrupted.
“Where were you? We needed you!”
Raven looked up at him from where he was sitting beside Paige. “I was wit--.”
“I know you were with her,” Hikaru snapped. “There are duties that you should be seeing to and she is not one of them.”
“He was injured,” Paige said giving Hikaru a dirty look.
“Unless he is dead, he has a duty to protect Lady Rin,” Hikaru’s voice was hard. “A duty that he has ignored since we returned home. We nearly lost our lady this morning because he was not where he should be.” Hikaru paused, his gaze returning to Raven. “I, for one, do not wish to lose my position as her guard. We have been by her side since she was born. Will you ruin this because of her?” His eyes flicked to Paige.
Raven looked back and forth between the two. “I do not wish to give up my position nor do I wish to give up Paige.”
“I do not believe that you shall have that option,” Hikaru said with an irritated sigh. “You may be forced to choose and if you do, who will you choose Raven?”
Raven did not answer as he stared back at Hikaru. He glanced over when he noticed movement and the color drained from his face. Wren was standing beside Hikaru.
“Is what Hikaru says true?”
Fear flashed across his face as he bowed his head, “Yes, my lord.”
“How was Raven’s assistance needed?” Wren’s voice was hard and stern as he observed the rider pair in front of him. Hikaru looked up at him before he told him everything that took place. When he was finished, Wren’s face was filled with severe disapproval.
“I am quite certain that I have already given you a warning about neglecting your duties,” Wren said. He paused when Raven glanced up at him and he could see the concern on his face. “This is your last chance. I should replace you now, but I know that my sister cares for both of you. If anything like this happens again, you and Hikaru shall be replaced. Do you understand?”
“Yes, my lord,” Raven said as his gaze returned to the floor in front of him. Wren was not satisfied with the answer but the door of the study opening drew his attention. He watched Lyra hurry into the room and make her way over to Kaedin. When she finished healing him and Hikaru’s hand, he handed her the cloth.
“They used this on Rin,” he said. “Do you know what it is?”
Lyra lifted it but before she got it anywhere near her face, she jerked it back. “That is quite strong. She could be out for days without the antidote.” She paused with a frown. “I am not certain that I can get it. The ingredients for the antidote are difficult to find.”
“What is it called?” Wren asked. His brows furrowed when he could see the frustration on her face as she thought.
“I cannot remember the c
ommon name but the substance on the cloth is derived from a night lily. It is a highly poisonous flower. The antidote is a mixture of several herbs but predominantly makae tree bark, which is quite rare.”
Wren opened his mouth to reply but paused when they heard a draw open. He looked over and saw Ronin rummaging through a small drawer in his desk. When he found a tiny bottle that appeared like it was centuries old, he held it out to Lyra.
“I believe this is made from makae bark,” he said. “This was my father’s.”
Lyra walked over and took the bottle from his hand. She pulled the stopper from the top and smelled the contents.
“This will do to wake her,” she said with a satisfied nod. “I shall have to give her the additional herbs once she is awake.” Moving over to Wren, she held the bottle out to him. His eyebrow raised in confusion. “Waking up after a night lily potion can be confusing. It would be best for someone close to her to wake her.” She paused and glanced at Kaedin. “I do not believe it would be wise for Kaedin to attempt it since he was just injured. She might accidentally harm him.”
Wren took the bottle and sat down beside Rin on the couch. “What do I need to do?” He asked as looked back over his shoulder.
“Hold the bottle in front of her face,” Lyra replied. “She will attempt to get her face away so be prepared.”
Wren frowned again before he got a gentle, yet firm grip on his sister’s face before he put the bottle close to her nose and waited. After a couple of minutes, he looked back up at Lyra.
“She is really out,” she said, her voice concerned. “Stay with it, she shall wake eventually.”
Several more minutes passed before Rin began to cough and tried to get her face away from the bottle. Wren kept her head still but the longer it continued Rin started to breathe in wheezing gasps between coughs.
“Do not stop,” Lyra said. “She should wake any moment.”
Wren’s eyes were filled with worry, but he did what Lyra instructed. Another couple minutes passed and Rin’s breathing eased before she finally opened her eyes. She pushed at the hand holding onto her face. Wren let go but he could see that she was disoriented and agitated.
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