Bound (33 page)

When Altaria returned from hunting, Octavion
went to the creek to feed and wash up, leaving the girls to talk.
Kira filled Altaria in on what had happened with Octavion’s blood.
An instant later Lydia took over their body. She wanted to see
Kira’s eyes for herself.

“Whoa! Can you, like . . . see
through
things?
” Lydia asked.

Kira laughed. “Not hardly. But they feel
cold, like when you apply ice to a burn.”

When Kira reached for one of the water jugs
an image flashed through her head. It was of a man. He was dressed
much like Octavion and stood just beyond the clearing. Kira grabbed
Lydia’s arm and pushed her to the ground.

Stay down. And call Octavion. I think
someone’s here.

Kira crouched beside her and waited. Lydia
grabbed her ruby and Octavion appeared near the fire, completely
transformed. Kira tried to warn him of the intruder just as the man
stepped from behind a tree as a wild beast—a Royal. He crossed the
clearing in one giant leap and took Octavion down in a ferocious
display of primal aggression.

Something deep inside Kira took over—an
instinctive force she’d never felt before. She sprang to her feet,
grabbed an arrow and her bow from the top of her shelter, pulled
back the string and let the arrow fly. It hit Octavion’s opponent
in the shoulder. The next thing Kira knew, she stood over him, her
foot pressed firmly to his chest. She had her bow pulled back and
another arrow an inch from his jugular.

“Give me a reason,” she said. Her heart raced
and she breathed heavily, but she felt in complete control.

“Kira, Stop!” Octavion yelled. She heard his
voice, but she didn’t move.

Kira don’t shoot him. He’s Octavion’s
cousin
.

Kira’s head shot up to find Octavion standing
beside her. He forced her bow to the side so it aimed at the
ground. She relaxed the tension, but kept the arrow taut against
the string.

“Kira. Let go of the bow. He is my cousin. I
asked him to come. We need his help.” Octavion said the words slow,
as though she were deaf and had to read his lips. “Kira, can you
understand what I’m saying?”

Kira didn’t answer, just looked back at the
man lying on the ground.

His cousin held his shoulder with the shaft
of the arrow sticking out between his fingers. “Your
wench
shot me?” he asked.

Kira pressed her foot down on his chest
making the barbs of the arrowhead cut into his shoulder from
behind. He cried out.

“I’m not a wench,” Kira said before removing
her foot and turning to Octavion.

“If he’s your cousin, why were you
fighting?”

Octavion tried to touch her arm, but she
pulled away. “Kira, I’m sorry. We used to do that as kids. It was a
game.”

“
A game?
” Kira threw her weapon to the
ground, doubled her fist and hit him square on the jaw. “That’s
what I think of your stupid game.” She turned on her heels and
walked away.

“You’ve done it now, brother,” Lydia said.
“Serves you right for not telling us they were coming.”

A few seconds later, Kira passed the cave
entrance and kept walking. When the glow of the fire no longer
helped her see, she stopped, took out her dagger and drove the
blade into the trunk of an Aspen. “Aaaahhh!” she screamed.

Kira, I’m sorry. I didn’t know.

Leave me alone, Lydia.
What was
happening to her? Some of the feelings she’d had after healing
Octavion had returned—not the pain, but the increased senses and
she felt as though ice flowed through her veins.

Please, you need to come back to the clearing
so we can explain.

No!
Something moved behind her. She
wiggled her dagger loose from the tree and turned to find Octavion
standing a few feet away.

He threw his hands up in surrender. “Drop the
knife, Kira.” He took a step closer. “I’m not going to hurt
you.”

She pointed the tip of the blade in his
direction. “Get away from me.”

He took another step. “Breathe, Kira. You
need to take slow, deep breaths. Try to calm yourself.”

Even in the dark, she could see into the
depths of his indigo eyes. She saw fear in them and it didn’t make
sense to her. Why would he be afraid of
her?
But at this
point, she didn’t care. “Leave me alone.”

When he took another step, she lunged forward
with her blade. Octavion jumped to the side, grabbing the knife
with one hand and her with the other. Part of her wanted to sink
into his warm, loving arms and be comforted, but the other part of
her wanted to fight back with every ounce of energy she had. For
the first time, she had a glimpse of what Lydia’s life must be like
with a kindred spirit fighting to get out, always being in conflict
with her inner self and not knowing which way to turn.

“Let go of me.” She drove her elbow into his
ribs and stomped on his foot, but he only tightened his
embrace.

“Kira, stop. You’re going to hurt yourself.”
He dropped the knife, turned her to face him and pulled her close.
“Shh . . . do not fight me.” His voice was barely a whisper.

She didn’t understand what was happening to
her. She heard his words, but they did nothing to calm her. She
wanted to fight. She wanted to hurt someone. She’d never felt
anything like it and deep down she
craved
the rage that
flowed through her veins. “I hate you.”

“I know. Calm down and I’ll let you hit me
again.”

Although the warmth of his body seemed to
soothe her, his words ground against her backbone and got her riled
up again. How dare he tell her to calm down? This, coming from the
master of rage and losing his temper—he had a lot of nerve. She
slid her hands up between their bodies and tried to push him away.
“Let. Go.”

“Kira, please. I am not trying to hurt you. I
think you may be having a reaction to my blood. Stop fighting me
and I will release you.”

Kira tried doing as he’d instructed
before—taking deep breaths and concentrating on calming what made
her feel so insanely annoyed. It seemed to help a little. She
focused on the warmth of his skin and let it soak into her pores.
The rush of adrenaline crept back into the hollow it had created
and she felt some peace. She leaned her head back to gaze into his
eyes. “I’m sorry, it’s just . . . please let go of me.”

He studied her eyes as if searching her
sincerity. “If I let you go, will you behave?”

“Maybe.” There was still a little spark left
in her.

He released her and let her stand on her own.
“I need to ask you something. Can you understand what I am
saying?”

Kira looked at him curiously—and with a
little frustration. “Of course I can. Why do you keep asking me
that?”

“Because I am not speaking English. My words
are in Elador—our native tongue.”

Kira took a step back. “But how?”

“I am not certain. Did you understand my
cousin in the clearing?”

Her temper flickered and she clenched her
fists. “Yeah, he called me your
wench
.” Kira took a deep
breath. She had to gain control.

Octavion began to pace. “Perhaps it is my
blood.”

Her mind wandered back to the journal and how
the translation of his words on the page had whispered to her mind.
That happened before she healed him. “I don’t think that’s it—or at
least not all of it.”

He stopped and turned to look at her. “Why do
you say that? Has something else happened?”

Kira cringed. “Well, I got bored while you
were gone and went exploring.”

Octavion smirked. “Oh? And what did you
find?”

“I wanted to see what was behind that stupid
blanket. I knocked your journal on the floor and it opened to a
sketch of me. It wasn’t like I could read any of it, I wanted to
look at the pictures, but when I ran my finger across the words
under the sketch of me sleeping, I somehow knew what it meant. It
was like someone whispered it in my ear.”

“So it is the Crystor that has somehow been
teaching you Elador. And my blood flowing through your veins has
made it stronger.” Octavion seemed pleased with the news. He smiled
genuinely and offered his hand to Kira. “We need to go back to the
clearing. Shall I carry you?”

She wasn’t sure if he was teasing or serious,
but his tone caused the attitude she’d worked so hard to suppress
to rise up in her again. “
No.
I can walk.” Picking up her
knife, she slid it into its sheath and marched past him.

When the glow of the fire came into view,
Kira heard several male voices mingled with Lydia’s joyful squeal.
The image that flashed in her head showed three others. One knelt
next to the man she’d wounded. They both had dark hair and brown
eyes, but the younger of the two had his hair cut a little shorter.
Brothers, she guessed.

“More
cousins?
” she said
sarcastically.

“Two are my cousins,” he said. “I sent word
to them before going to the creek. They guarded the portal until
they could slip through with the others. We need their help.”

“And who are the other two?”

“How do you know there are four?” They’d been
walking side by side, but now he stood in front of her, blocking
the way.

Kira shrugged. “I can see them—in my
head.”

He raised a brow and grinned. “Seriously, how
did you know? Did Lydia tell you in her thoughts?”

“Fine, don’t believe me.” She folded her
arms.

“Explain it to me then.”

“It’s like when I see Lydia. I don’t do
anything to make it happen. I’m minding my own business and an
image pops into my head.”

“When did it start?”

She propped her hands on her hips and let out
an exaggerated sigh. Was he really that dense? “When do you think?”
She tried to get around him. “Can we go now?”

Kira stepped into the clearing ahead of
Octavion, stopping suddenly when she saw intense anger register on
the injured man’s face.

“That is her,” Kira’s victim accused,
pointing a finger in her direction. He still sat in the dirt, a
teenage boy by his side.

Octavion took her hand and motioned toward
the two on the ground. “Kira, this is my cousin, Cade. And you have
already met his brother, Luka.”

Kira nodded, but didn’t say anything. Now
that she’d calmed down she could see Luka’s face more clearly. He
didn’t seem to be much older than Octavion, but his features were
harder, his jaw chiseled into a sharp angle with the slightest
shadow of stubble. Cade was almost an exact duplicate—minus the
stubble—she guessed him to be maybe fifteen or sixteen. His eyes
held a certain innocence that Luka’s lacked.

Cade stood and gave a bow. “My lady,” he
said. When his eyes met hers, they widened and held there for a
moment.

Kira looked away.

“You are right, brother,” Cade said. “She is
a charmed one.”

Kira sent Octavion a questioning look.
“What’s he talking about?”

“He is just fascinated with your eyes. It is
nothing.”

“They are the eyes of a Sensitive,” Luka
said.

“What?” Kira pulled her hand away from
Octavion. “My eyes are fine.”

Luka gave a hoot. “Is she also blind, cousin?
Has she not seen her own eyes?”

“No, she hasn’t.” Lydia came up beside Kira.
“This happened only this afternoon. We had a . . . mishap.”
Since when do you speak Elador?

Kira brushed Lydia’s hand away.
Since five
minutes ago
.

Cade had been watching the exchange, but said
nothing. He crossed the short distance between them, reached behind
his head and pulled out his sword. The blade made a loud ringing
sound as it exited its scabbard. Kira grabbed the hilt of her knife
and took a step back, only to feel Octavion’s hand on her arm.

“Easy,” he said.

Kira kept her hand in place, but let some of
the tension out of her shoulders.

“Allow me, my lady,” Cade said. He laid the
sword across his palms and raised it in front of him, twisting the
blade until Kira could see her reflection.

Kira’s eyes slowly focused on her face. It
had been several days since she’d seen her own image. The face
looking back at her was barely familiar. Her skin was tan from
spending so much time in the canyon. She’d always been told she had
a full face—baby fat, she’d heard others say, but that was no
longer the case. The outline of her jaw was defined—as were her
cheek bones. Her auburn hair reflected the glow of the fire and her
eyes—were
not
her own. Octavion’s description of sparkling
emeralds didn’t do them justice. It looked as if someone had set a
sparkler behind them, with tiny specks of light dancing around
inside. They were electrifying.

As she looked closer, they began to fill with
tears. She’d seen enough. She pushed the blade away, turned her
face to avoid their stare and leaned into Octavion’s arms.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked.

“I tried. I could not find the words.” He
stroked the hair away from her face and softly kissed her
forehead.

Luka cried out and mumbled something Kira
didn’t understand. Lydia knelt beside him trying without success to
pull out the arrow while Cade stood nearby giving his unsolicited
advice.

“Well, if you’d hold still I could get this
out,” Lydia scolded.

Luka growled. It reminded Kira so much of
Octavion that she snickered. The clearing fell silent as everyone
turned to look at her.

“Sorry,” Kira said. She looked up at
Octavion. “I know you told me not to heal anymore, but it
was
my fault.”

He paused for a long moment before answering.
“You will stop if it becomes painful?”

“Yes.”

The crease in his forehead deepened as he
studied her eyes. “Then I shall allow it.”