"Here," the princeling said, unfolding the blanket and wrapping it around me with a gentleness that left me warm inside. "I'm worried you might go into shock, so you need to keep your body temperature up. Do you have any supplies on your ship?"
Supplies? What a laugh. Rave could barely afford to feed its own people, let alone put supplies on a ship that was more than likely going to be blown up.
He must've read my mind, because he thrusted the box in front of me. Inside were a few bags of food.
"This will have to do for today. But I'm hoping we'll be found before nightfall."
Ah, I thought, so I was right. He intended to bring me back as a prisoner of war.
"And if we aren't," he sighed, looking at the sky as if listening for the sound of jet engines, "we might just have to cuddle tonight, as that's my only blanket."
I bared my teeth at him. I knew he'd been trying to feel me up.
"Take your stupid blanket," I snapped, ripping it off and throwing it at him. I immediately missed the cover on my legs and I cursed my teeth for chattering.
"No, you need it more than I do," he said, picking it up off the ground and placing it over my bare, chilled legs. "I was mostly kidding about the cuddling thing, you know."
"You make too many jokes." I hated how much I loved this blanket. This Kylaen blanket.
"That's what my father says, too." He smiled. "But when you're the youngest of three brothers, you make your own defense mechanisms."
I said nothing. If he was looking for pity from me, he was barking up the wrong tree.
"So, Theo. That's a boy's name, innit?"
I continued my silence.
"My mother wanted a girl," he said with a long sigh. "That's why they had three of us, you know. Though, my father was quite happy he had a spare second son!"
I looked up at him, unable to hide my surprise. He spoke about his dead brother with such nonchalance, such ease, that it made me question if he had a soul at all. It was no wonder his kind had no issues murdering us.
He sat down next to me, too close for my comfort, but seemed oblivious to everything.
"I didn't even want to be a pilot," he said, his voice softer. "I wanted to be a doctor. But after Dig died, my father basically forced me to join the military."
"Poor you." I remembered the day that the Raven military had come for me. I'd endured the first of many bruises that day.
"She speaks!" He grinned at me and my heart did the tiniest of flip-flops. If he hadn't been a Kylaen scumbag who I hated with every fiber of my being, I might've found him attractive, the way all my lieutenants did.
"Well, in any case, they should come find me soon," he said, scanning the sky again.
I scoffed, wrapping the blanket tighter around myself.
"You doubt Kylae's search and rescue forces?"
"On the contrary," I said, my voice laced with acid. "I fully expect them to find us within the day."
"So why the face?"
"I'm not looking forward to when they get here."
"Why?" he asked innocently.
"What do you think will happen when your rescuers arrive?" I spat at him. "I'm a Raven soldier. They're not just going to drop me off back in Vinolas! If I'm lucky, they'll just shoot me dead right here on this island."
He looked at me like he'd never considered his people might hurt me. How could he be so out of touch? Stupid princeling.
"I won't let them," he said, his face strange.
"If they don't shoot me, they're taking me back to Kylae," I said. "As a prisoner."
"They'll do neither of those things. You will be treated with respect like a human being."
I couldn't help the sardonic bark that came out. "You could win an award for naivety."
"It's not naivety! I'm the prince, and they'll do as I say."
No matter what he said, my fate was sealed. I wasn't making it off this island, and if they tried to take me, I would off myself before they had a chance to put me to work in one of their infamous death camps.
I stared into the woods. Why didn't I just slit my throat right there? If my death was an inevitability, why not take control and end it? The ultimate act of freedom and rebellion against Kylaen rule.
Selfishly, I knew why. I had grown quite accustomed to living and I wasn't too eager to give up the privilege. The small flame of hope that I could make it out alive was still there, the beacon of light that kept me moving. I'd survived the Raven military, I could survive this. It was possible, although improbable, that the Raven forces would find us first. Perhaps Lanis would pull some strings—I was a seven-year veteran of the force, a captain. Or perhaps they'd send out a search party. I wasn't ready to give up until I'd exhausted all my survival options. There was a chance, however small, that I could see my country again.
And if the Kylaen forces found me first, I'd deal with it at that point.
Galian
She was silent, but I could see worry etched on her face. In hindsight, telling her she'd be treated respectfully by my father's army did sound incredibly stupid and naive. She had just shot me out of the sky and tried to kill me. She was my enemy, and would probably slit my throat if she had the chance.
And yet, when I looked at her, I saw a human being. Flesh and blood with fears, hopes, dreams. She bled like any Kylaen patient I'd ever had. It was easy to pretend that the person in the other plane was a monster, but now, it was much harder when she was sitting there breathing next to me to wish for her death.
A loud grumbling interrupted my thoughts. After donating blood, I needed to eat soon or risk passing out.
I picked up the box of supplies and cracked it open, looking for anything decent to eat. I truly was not expecting to be there for long, but just in case, I wanted to spread out the rations as long as possible. A bag of nuts was my choice—protein and salt.
"Want one?" I offered to her.
In response, she pushed herself to her feet and hobbled away from me. I kept my seat, knowing she wasn't going to get far, especially since the anesthetic injection wasn't enough to dull the pain completely. As expected, she collapsed to the ground, and let out a long string of words I'd never heard before.
"What are you trying to do?" I called after her.
"Find shelter," she croaked back. "And water."
"I have water here," I said from my seat.
"Bully for you." I could tell she was in an immense amount of pain, and I couldn't help admiring her gumption.
"I meant, we can share it."
"It would probably kill me."
"Well, you look like you're about to die anyway, so why not go out in style?" I drawled, pushing the rest of the handful into my mouth. I was tired, and my blood sugar hadn't yet stabilized. And damn it, she was starting to piss me off. "For your last drink, why not drink some filtered Kylaen sweet water, instead of the chemically-laced shit you Ravens are forced to drink."
"Oh, go to hell," she hissed at me. "I'd rather drink my own piss than accept anything from you."
She pulled herself upright again and limped into the forest.
I sat there for a moment, angrily chewing on the peanuts and trying to keep myself seated. I owed her nothing, and she was being a real jackass about everything. Besides, it was her fault we were stuck there in the first place.
Still, I could hear Dr. Maitland in my ear, telling me it was my duty to get up and go after her. I was a doctor, she was my patient, and she was probably very scared right now. Not to mention concussed.
"Guh." I rolled my eyes and tossed the empty bag away. Pulling myself to my feet, I headed into the forest the way she went.
It didn't take me long to find her, curled up in a ball on the ground and crying in pain. A red stain was leaking through the binding around her thigh. She didn't even acknowledge my presence, but I kneeled down next to her anyway.
"So," I said gently, "you probably should stay put for a while, let that leg heal a little bit before you start walking on it."
"I'm as good as
dead anyway," she whispered back. "I can't walk. I can't run. I have no food, no water, no shelter. And if the Kylaens find me first..."
"I'm not giving up, and neither should you." I grabbed her hand to pull her upright. It was small and cold, but mine was just as frigid. "I promise you, Theo of Raven, I am not going to let you die."
Disbelief was plain on her face, so I grasped her other hand.
"I give you my word, as Galian Neoptolemos Helmuth, third prince of the Kylaen nation, son of Grieg, that I will not let you die. All right?"
FOUR
Theo
I didn't trust the princeling, but I had no other options. I refused to let him carry me—although I was sure he would've had no problems with my small frame—so we hobbled back to where our supplies were, me on my good leg and leaning against him. He helped me sit back down on the ground against the tree. He wrapped the blanket around me and I had to admit, it felt nice to be warm again.
"Here," he said, unzipping his dark green uniform, revealing a thin white t-shirt and khaki pants underneath. He pulled it off and handed it to me.
"What?"
"You need it more than I do right now," he said. "We need to keep your body temperature up." He bent down and slid the soft material over my cold, bandaged legs. It was at least three sizes too big for me, and still warm from his body heat. I looked down at myself and nearly vomited at the sight of the Kylaen crest where the Raven one normally sat, and the name Helmuth in place of mine.
"Hey, it beats hypothermia," he said, noticing the look on my face as he tossed the blanket back over my legs.
I nodded and pulled the blanket higher, covering up the offending patches. "Are you even a doctor?"
"Yes," he said, looking perplexed. "I thought it was pretty common knowledge that I graduated from medical school?"
"Was that between your socialite girlfriends and embarrassing debauchery?"
His eyebrows shot up so fast I thought they might leave his face, and a small blush appeared on his pale cheeks. "I... Yes, I am a doctor," he said after stammering for a few moments. The blush deepened and he spun around to look toward the forest. He mumbled something about going to his ship then disappeared through the trees.
Even though I was in pain and still lightheaded from the ordeal, I couldn't help the smile twisting the corners of my mouth. He was every bit the spoiled brat that I had pictured him to be—supposed medical training aside—and it pleased me to get the better of him. It was a small Raven victory against the Kylaen royal family.
And yet...I could land an even stronger blow if I simply killed him.
After all, if by some miracle the Raven forces found us first, they might have some questions about why Prince Galian wasn't, well...dead by my hand. They wouldn't care that he'd saved my life; rather, they would've expected me to give my life in pursuit of our independence as long as I took the princeling out with me.
For some reason, I couldn't see myself ending his life there on the island. I couldn't count how many Kylaens I'd shot down over the years, but the prospect of taking a human life when it was sitting next to me? The thought made me queasy. It seemed my humanity was overpowering my Raven pride.
And of course, my injury was quite severe, as I was reminded when I tried to move. A broken leg was definitely troublesome, and limited my movement and ability to fend off predators. I had no idea where my pistol was, and even if I found it, I was most likely running low on bullets.
Bullets, I reminded myself, that I'd used to try to kill the man who'd saved my life.
My ship was still smoldering in the clearing nearby, twisted beyond recognition. Thanks to the princeling's blood transfusion, my mind was clearer and I saw how close I had come to my own end. Perhaps there was still more for me to do before I moved to the next life.
That is, if I made it off this island.
The princeling returned from his ship with two more water bottles in his hands. He seemed to have walked off whatever embarrassment he felt from my comments on his party-boy past had caused, as he smiled handsomely and handed me one of them.
"As promised, Miss."
"Captain," I responded, taking the water and sipping it. I'd worked too hard for my rank to not be addressed by it.
"Captain, my apologies." He took a seat next to me, gulping his water without any concern for rationing, staring up at the sky and expecting Kylaen ships to appear at any second.
But enough time had passed that if they had been close behind him, or known where he had crashed, they would have been there already. There was the distinct possibility that we would be spending the night, and based on the sun's position in the sky, I knew it was better if we prepared than be caught off guard.
"So, Princeling..."
"I'm sorry, what?" He blinked at me.
"Princeling." The horrified look on his face tugged a smile onto my lips. "It's what we call you in Rave."
"I have a name, you know," he said, turning to look at me superiorly.
"I'm not calling you Your Highness," I spat at him.
"That's not my name either. It's Galian."
"Whatever," I huffed, vowing never to call him by anything other than princeling. "We might want to consider that we won't be found today."
"Do you think?" he asked, giving me a curious look.
"I think we're at least a couple hundred miles away from either Kylae or Rave," I said calmly. "I think there are a smattering of islands this far north, and planes or ships only rarely come up here. It may take the Kylaen forces some time to comb through all the possible areas you could have landed in—"
"You don't think the Raven forces will find us first?" he asked. "You're a captain, aren't you? Surely they'll send out a search party."
I bit my tongue as I wondered how to respond. Would it be devastating to our national security to tell him that we barely had the resources to defend our shores, let alone send out a search party for one wayward pilot? To be safe, I decided against answering his question at all.
After a moment of silence, he half-smiled. "Well, that's good news for me, I guess. I'm sure they'd have a field day if they found me here."
"Back to the issue at hand," I said, not wanting to dwell on Raven forces finding the princeling alive. "We should make preparations for tonight before it gets dark. How much food is in your box there?"
He glanced inside and poked around. "Probably enough for the two of us for one night."
"Good, and I would ration your water as well." I nodded to the bottle in his hand. "Until we can find more drinkable water, that is. Or I can make some from the sea water."
He stared at me with a blank expression. "How long are you planning on us being here?"
"We need to gather wood for a fire," I said instead of answering his question. "And see if we can find some shelter. It's not too cold now but once it gets dark, we'll need to be protected." I shifted and winced at the pain. "And unfortunately, I'm not going to be much help to you."
"No, you sit here," he said, popping up. With a grin, he added, "Doctor's orders."
"Gather kindling and bigger logs as well. We'll need enough to last us through the night." I was beginning to feel more comfortable as I approached our present situation as I did a flight mission. With the princeling healthy and his ship full of supplies to last us at least until the morning, things didn't look quite as grim. "What other supplies are on your ship?"
"I-I don't know," he stammered.
"Gather whatever we can from your ship and bring it here so we can see what we have and what we'll need to," I grimaced, looking at the wilderness around us, "figure out."
"Just in case," he added, and for the first time, I heard his nerves.
Galian
"Just in case," she confirmed, but I didn't hear the conviction I was looking for. For some reason, Theo thought we were going to be there a while. It unsettled me.
But she was right. With only a few hours before the sunlight was gone, it was better to be safe than sorry.
I think she took some pleasure in barking orders at me as I set up our makeshift camp—building a fire, checking all our supplies, using our one blanket as a small tent. Theo seemed to be regaining her faculties which made me less concerned that she had a concussion. She also wasn't suffering any adverse effects from the blood transfusion, so I didn't mind that she corrected almost everything I did.
"Not like that," she huffed, hobbling over to the pile of leaves I was trying to light on fire. She wouldn't accept my hand to help her sit, instead falling hard on her broken leg and hissing loudly. She seemed to get over it quickly, leaning forward to hit the two stones together harder than I was. In almost no time, the dry leaves were smoking.
"Thanks," I said, dumbly watching the kindling wither and die. She ignored me in favor of tending to the fire. "I usually have people do that." I laughed, trying to cut the silence with my awkward brand of humor.
She paused, and a look flitted across her face: a mixture of disgust and hatred. Not one I was used to seeing from a woman, especially when I reminded them of my status. Obviously, being royalty wasn't going to get me very far with this girl.
When the fire was a healthy size, I felt confident enough to take the stick from her. "You need to rest. Doctor's orders."
She snorted derisively.
"Problem?"
"I can't believe you're qualified to give medical advice," she muttered.
"Now hold on a second," I said, letting my voice raise in anger. "I spent four years in the Royal Kylaen University medical program and was about to start my residency when..."
She turned to look at me when I trailed off.
"When my father pulled me out," I finished darkly.
"For embarrassing the country?"
"No, actually, because you guys blew my older brother out of the sky, and he wanted me in the military. So, Captain, I suggest you quit the smart-ass remarks." I finally felt like I had the upper hand. She clammed up, but that self-satisfied smirk remained on her face. She was infuriating but...also alluring; I always had a thing for women who weren't afraid of me. And it had not escaped my notice that she and I were the only ones there, and we could find lots of fun ways to stay warm.
The Complete Madion War Trilogy Page 4