His sisters cried softly, no doubt reliving the nightmare.
“Then I heard Nika, and I poked my head out. Princess Mia and Mr. Knight were with him.”
“Wait.” Dakota jumped up and ran to Harrison. “Princess Mia was with my dad?”
“Mhm.” He nodded frantically. “I chased after them, but then I saw another savage, and I ducked into a corner.”
“Where’d Mia go?”
“Mr. Knight pushed Princess Mia and the pups onto Nahara’s back, and then she flew out the window, but the savages had bows and arrows, and one of them shot at them and hit someone.”
“How do you know one of them was hit?”
“I saw the blood on Nahara’s side.”
“Nahara was hit?”
“I don’t know. I couldn’t see. Mr. Knight was shooting arrows off the balcony, and then he tried to go after her, but Nika ran back in and found us.” Harrison hugged his sisters tight and sobbed. “Mr. Knight tried to take us out the window, but the savages kept shooting, and they hit Mr. Knight and Nika, so they came back in and hid us down here. Mr. Knight said as long as we didn’t move the savages couldn’t find us.”
He looked up at Jackson. “So we stayed really still. Mayana didn’t even cry. She was really brave and so was Rory.”
The girls nodded their agreement.
“Do you know what happened to the savages?”
He shook his head. “It was really loud for a while, but then it got quiet, and we couldn’t hear anything. Until you came.”
“Okay.” He had to get the kids out of there. Darius needed a healer. He had to check on Vaughn. And he had to find Mia, Harrison’s parents, Trey, and the others. “Did you see Queen Ryleigh anywhere?”
Harrison shook his head.
“All right. Come on.”
“But what about Dad?” Dakota had called his father Darius for as long as Jackson could remember. He’d wanted so badly to make it on his own, to become a Death Dealer without any special favors because of who his father was. “I’m not sure we should move him.”
Jackson clapped him on the back, the best he could do to offer reassurance. “We don’t have a choice. With no way to know when or if Chayce and the savages will return, we have to get everyone out of here.”
He and Dakota hoisted the kids onto Nika’s back, then hefted Darius up behind them. They walked on either side of the hound, weapons drawn.
Silence beckoned as they climbed the stairs, Jackson leading the way. Eerie silence. Tomblike.
Dakota followed behind, keeping a hand on Darius’s back to keep him from falling.
Jackson longed for the usual chaotic activity, the turmoil that would intrude on his thoughts, keep him from thinking of Ryleigh. The thought she’d been scared, and he hadn’t been there to protect her, ate at him. The idea of her fighting to her death to defend her kingdom brought emotions he couldn’t make any sense of, couldn’t even begin to sort through. Pride among them. And utter devastation.
They picked up the other Death Dealers along the way. When they reached Vaughn and Ranger, they pushed Vaughn onto Nika’s back beside Darius. Three of the Death Dealers shifted the kids onto their backs and carried them.
Nika’s legs buckled a little, but he caught himself.
They walked out the back door, and Jackson whistled for the dragons. But where could he take them that would be safe? He had to get everyone out of the castle.
The dragons landed in the courtyard, and the Death Dealers climbed onto their backs, three of them settling the children in front of them.
Jackson stood in front of the blackened remnants of the Tree of Hope. The one tree in all of Cymmera that had held any sign of life after Queen Dara’s death now stood smoldering amid the ruins. All hope lost. The tree had held three buds until Ryleigh had touched it. Then a few more had grown. And a few more. They’d never had a chance to blossom, to reach their full potential. And now they never would.
Jackson turned his back and climbed onto Ophidian. “Take them to the dragon caves.”
As they flew, Jackson searched the shadows below for any sign of life. They’d have to return and do a thorough search, but he had to tend to those he’d rescued first. He could only hope Mia and the others had escaped to the mountains, and that they’d be safe until he could find them.
Dead savages littered the mountainside. Someone had taken them down, so there had to be survivors. A flicker of hope tried to ignite, only to be dampened by the realization Ryleigh wouldn’t be among them.
Savages lay still on the platform below the first of the dragon caves, Cymmeran Guardsmen scattered among them.
He gestured two of his Death Dealers to check for survivors.
Something glinted at the base of the caves. He waved the others ahead, and lowered to the plateau outside the first cave. Dakota and Ranger circled back toward him, but he sent them ahead with Darius and Vaughn.
Darius and Vaughn needed healers, and Jackson didn’t have any immediate sense of danger. He was certain the glint had come from this area. He searched the plateau and found a pile of bows, arrows, swords, a mace, flails.
Beside the pile was a cloth. He picked it up. A sweatshirt, covered in blood. Ryleigh’s sweatshirt, the one she’d been wearing when he’d left. Could she have made it this far? He wanted desperately to believe she had, but the scorch marks in the throne room beside her sword were pretty damning. Besides, Ryleigh never fought wearing a sweatshirt. It hindered her movements. Unless she was attacked with no warning, she’d have stripped it off immediately. More likely someone had used it for a bandage.
He clutched the sweatshirt to his chest and fell to his knees, his burning kingdom spread below him, dropped his head into his hands, and wept. “Forgive me, Ryleigh. I failed you.”
Chapter 5
Ryleigh wound her way through her people, offering what comfort she could to those who were frightened and fending off hysteria before it could take hold. She did what she could to console those who had lost loved ones. There were too many. Hopefully, some would be found alive later, when they returned to Cymmera. If they returned to Cymmera.
The gash in her side still hadn’t healed properly, so she didn’t have the energy to heal anyone, but most Cymmerans could heal their own injuries, as long as they weren’t too severe.
Since Kiara was their strongest healer, she tended to the worst of the injuries. Thankfully, no one had been too seriously injured transferring through the portal, but several women and soldiers had serious wounds from the attack on the castle and the battle afterward.
The boy who’d been dragged from the castle by a guard sat alone on the far side of the clearing, head down.
Her soldiers had just finished a thorough search of the clearing, and she’d asked them to search the perimeter before she decided whether or not to move everyone. Something about that buzzing she felt every time she approached the edges of the clearing nagged her. She should have a couple minutes before they reported back.
She approached the boy slowly, trying not to startle him. “Hey, Marcus.”
He stayed perfectly still, hands folded on his crossed legs.
“Mind if I sit?”
He shrugged.
“You okay?”
He shrugged again.
Ryleigh sat facing him and crossed her legs. She wasn’t sure what she could say to him. Lucas had told her Marcus had witnessed a savage murder his mother. When she lost her sword, he took it up and fended him off, but he couldn’t save her. It had taken two soldiers to drag him from the room. “I know how bad you’re hurting right now.”
He lifted his head only long enough to glare at her.
“My mom died when I was young too. Even younger than you. And I still miss her.”
A tear dropped onto his hand, then rolled off into the grass.
The one thing that had saved her had been taking care of Mia. Maybe Mia was right. Maybe she had babied her. She’d
needed Mia, needed to take care of her. It had allowed her to avoid the worst of the pain and grief that pummeled her every time she was alone. “You know, there are little kids here. Kids who can’t find their moms and dads.”
He looked at her. Tears pooled in his big brown eyes.
“They don’t yet know if their parents are alive or not. I’ve talked to a few of them, and they are really scared.”
She wished she had more time to sit with him, but her soldiers had gathered at the other end of the clearing. She stood and kept an eye on him while she brushed off her jeans. “I bet they could use someone brave to take care of them and protect them.”
He studied her a moment, then wiped his tears, stood, and squared his shoulders. “I could do that.”
“Go to Kiara, and tell her I sent you. She knows who needs help.” She put a hand on his shoulder. “Thank you very much for your service.”
“You’re welcome, Your Majesty.” He bowed in the traditional way and strode toward Kiara. Hopefully, he’d be okay for a little while.
When he reached Kiara, he spoke to her for a moment.
She glanced over his head at Ryleigh and nodded. Good. She understood he needed something to do.
Confident Kiara would take care of him, Ryleigh headed toward her army at the edge of the clearing.
At least some children had started to perk up a bit. They chased each other in the center of the clearing. Though they remained unnaturally quiet and cast glances toward the adults often. The women kept a close eye on the kids, even while they worked on healing everyone and chatted in hushed whispers.
As soon as she reached the border of the clearing, the buzz of the undercurrent intensified, startling Ryleigh. Not that she hadn’t expected it, but it’s power seemed to be increasing. “Do you guys feel that?”
Tristan frowned. “Feel what?”
“It feels sort of like an electrical current. Beneath my feet, in the ground, but in the air as well.” A shiver coursed through her, and she wrapped her arms around her for warmth.
Noah shook his head. “I don’t feel anything.”
“Me, neither,” Tristan added.
“Have either of you had any magic training yet?”
“No. Elijah was going to work on it soon, but he hadn’t started yet.” Tristan scanned the jungle surrounding them. “Do you think it matters?”
“I don’t know, but I have a bad feeling it might.”
Noah, who was still barely speaking to her, propped his hands on his hips and squinted past the edge of the clearing. “We’ve already done a thorough search of the clearing and walked the perimeter. There’s nothing here. No sign anything’s ever been here.”
“I know.” The vegetation surrounding the clearing was thick, with no visible trail for them to follow. And plenty of shadows large enough to conceal, well, just about anything.
“What do you want to do?” He wiped sweat from his forehead on his sleeve.
“We’re going to have to expand our search into the jungle surrounding the clearing.” Not an inviting idea, but she had no choice. No way could a hundred and seven people go traipsing through the jungle with no weapons. “Some of us will search the area immediately surrounding the clearing. Leave a few soldiers here and split the rest into teams of three or four.”
He nodded once and walked away.
She’d loved Noah once. In another lifetime. And his continued anger and strained silence hurt. But there was nothing she could do about it right now. “Tristan and Jimmy, would you find Tatiana and Mia, please? We can’t do anything about food and water until we can explore past the edges of the clearing, but we can try to make some kind of shelter. Tell them to have the kids stay with an adult and collect some of these branches, vines, and fronds.”
She had no idea if they could make any sort of shelter, but it couldn’t hurt to try. If nothing else, it would give everyone something to do besides wait and worry.
Tristan and Jimmy left to do as she asked, and the remaining soldiers started collecting branches and sticks.
Ryleigh ached with the need to curl into Jackson’s protective embrace. To hold him. To share her grief over Elijah, and to ease the pain and sorrow she knew he’d suffer when he found out the prophet had been killed.
Kiara’s gentle hand fell on her shoulder. “Let me look at your side.”
“Is Marcus okay?” She wiped tears from her cheeks.
“He’s fine. He’s helping a few of the younger kids heal their minor injuries.” She offered a tired smile. “Now let me have a look at you.”
She nodded. “Thanks, my energy is fading a bit.”
“You’ve been favoring your side all day, and your shirt is covered in blood. I’m sorry it took me so long to realize it was yours.” She lifted her long skirt to her knees and started toward the far end of the clearing, then stopped and glanced back. “Aren’t you coming?”
“Uh, yes. Sorry. Thank you.”
“Since I assume you’ll be part of a team searching the jungle, I’d like to heal any open wounds before you start. If they get infected, they’ll be much harder to heal.” She resumed her trek across the clearing. When she reached the farthest boulder, she leaned a hip against it, slid off a shoe, and massaged her swollen ankle.
Certain she wouldn’t rest until everyone had been healed, Ryleigh leaned against the boulder.
Kiara peeled Ryleigh’s shirt away from the few small scabs that had begun to form, reopening the deepest part of the gash.
Warmth poured down Ryleigh’s side.
Kiara gasped. “Did you make any attempt to heal yourself?”
“Yes, but for some reason, I’m having a hard time. I was able to slow the blood flow, but I can’t seem to seal the wound.”
Beneath Kiara’s fingers, heat radiated from the center of the wound. “You’ve lost a lot of blood.”
“I kind of figured when I started feeling weak.”
Kiara frowned. “Weak?”
Ryleigh shrugged, suddenly uncomfortable, unsure if she’d said something wrong. After the day she’d had, feeling weak seemed appropriate. “Maybe not weak. More like drained of energy. I’m probably just exhausted.”
“Hmm. No doubt.” Kiara studied her eyes, then placed a hand on her forehead as if checking for a fever. She lowered her hand to Ryleigh’s chest and pressed it against her heart, breathing in and out slowly, forcing Ryleigh’s heartbeat and respiration to match her own.
Ryleigh relaxed into Kiara’s touch. Her legs quivered beneath the strain, and she pushed up onto the boulder and settled more comfortably. Streaks of purple, red, and brilliant orange, painted the most beautiful sunset she’d ever seen. If that’s what it was. Calm flowed through Ryleigh. She closed her eyes, relaxing.
Kiara massaged Ryleigh’s temples with her fingertips.
Her mind wandered, lost in vivid images of the new sunset. Dazzling colors, shades she’d never seen before. Gorgeous. She longed for the weight of Jackson’s arm around her shoulder, sheltering her, protecting her.
Whoa. She jerked upright, pulling away from Kiara’s touch. She loved Jackson, of that she was absolutely certain or she’d never have allowed him to claim her. But the desperation to see him, to feel his touch, to inhale his scent, was too overwhelming.
Kiara frowned. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.” Her hair had come loose, and she tugged her fingers through, trying to separate the worst of the tangles, not quite ready to meet Kiara’s knowing stare. “Thanks.”
The desperate need for Jackson’s presence had assaulted her before. It had started during his struggle not to claim her, when he’d been lost in Argonas and she’d feared for his safety. She’d already lost almost everyone she’d ever loved. Now, Jackson had become so much to her. Too much. The thought of spending eternity without him brought pain that was too unbearable to contemplate. And in Cymmera, eternity meant exactly that.
The realization she mi
ght not be able to escape their refuge, might not ever make it back to Jackson, made their sanctuary feel more like a prison. Claustrophobic. Confining. She had to get out of there. She jerked away from the boulder.
“Can I ask a personal question?”
Though she wanted nothing more than to escape her too observant friend, Ryleigh nodded.
“Have you and Jackson completed the claiming ceremony?”
“Does that matter?”
“Of course it does. It might explain the weakness you’re feeling.”
“What do you mean?”
Kiara climbed onto the rock and patted a spot beside her. She sent healing light through her swollen ankle, and some of the bruising started to fade.
“I don’t have time for this, Kiara.” That wasn’t really true. They still had to work out a search grid, and they wouldn’t leave until she was comfortable everyone would be all right in the clearing.
“Don’t worry. It’ll be quick.”
“I think it might be getting dark.” If that were the case, they’d have to wait. No way was she sending anyone into the jungle at night.
“Perhaps.” She patted the boulder again. “Please, just for a moment or two. I wouldn’t ask if it weren’t important.”
“Oh, fine.” She obviously wasn’t going to escape Kiara’s scrutiny that easily. But she still wasn’t all that comfortable with the whole claiming thing. Even though she didn’t want to discuss the issue, her respect for Kiara kept her from saying so. Besides, maybe if she understood the whole concept better, she’d be more comfortable with it. She slid onto the flat boulder beside Kiara.
“Now, do you mind answering my question?”
Heat crept up Ryleigh’s cheeks. The claiming ceremony had been nothing more than a kiss. Well, that wasn’t exactly true. It had been an amazing kiss. And then there’d been the chanting, the beautiful chorus of voices that had celebrated their joining. “Yes.”
Battle for Cymmera Page 9