Bound (37 page)

“I promise.”

Altaria unfastened her ruby necklace. “Would
you hold this for me again?” she asked, extending her hand.

“Sure.” Kira opened her healing pack and slid
it inside. She could have left the pack behind, but since the guys
would be leaping, she thought it wise to keep a few vials of
Octavion’s strengthening concoction handy. She also had the Gyllrue
if someone lost a lot of blood and a few other herbs for helping
with pain. Regardless of what Octavion thought about her healing,
she wanted to be prepared for anything. Hopefully, she wouldn’t
need them.

Altaria slid her hand into her pocket and
pulled out her mother’s heart-shaped necklace. “I’ll wait to wear
this until we are ready. I don’t want her trying to read my
thoughts. I think that’s where we went wrong last time.”

Octavion nodded. “I believe you are right. Is
everyone ready?” They all stood. For an instant—no one moved, as if
saying a silent prayer. Octavion squared his shoulders. “Let’s do
this.”

The box canyon was beautiful with the early
morning rays streaming over the mountain. A fine white mist settled
into the meadow, giving it a feeling of heaven. It would have been
a great day for a picnic if it weren’t for the clouds rolling
in—and of course the imminent battle. Octavion pointed out the
group of trees where he wanted Cade, sending him on his way. He
took Kira to the rock outcropping and found the best place for her
to hide. She had a full view of the canyon and every position where
the others waited.

“I want you to stay here.” He took her hand
and pressed it against his chest. His heart sped almost as rapidly
as hers. “I mean it, Kira. I cannot be wondering where you are. You
have to promise me you will
stay here
.”

“I promise.” But deep inside she knew if
something happened to any of them, nothing would hold her back.

“Whatever happens, you
wait
. It will
not take long for this to be finished. When it is over, I will come
for you.” He looked at her for the longest time, as if memorizing
every detail of her face.

And then she saw it. In the depths of his
eyes, she saw doubt. Not for their love, but for their survival.
With all his strength and confidence, he was afraid he would fail.
Afraid he wouldn’t be able to protect his sister. Afraid he
wouldn’t be able to protect her.

Bile rose up in her throat and she had to
swallow hard to keep it down. “We’ll be fine, Octavion. You’ll
see.” She rose up onto her toes and pressed her lips to his. She
tried not to think the kiss might be their last. “Don’t go getting
yourself hurt, you hear me?”

“I will be fine. You are the one I am worried
about.” Octavion cupped her face in his hand and gave her a look
that almost broke her heart. A few seconds later, they were all in
position and Altaria sent Kira a message.
Are you ready?

As ready as I’ll ever be.

Kira’s heart raced as she felt the strange
eeriness that surrounded her whenever a Royal was about to appear.
She alerted the others just before she caught something moving on
the cliff. It was out of their point of view so she warned
Altaria.

Movement on the cliff, above Cade
.
Kira watched intently. A dark figure broke through the trees.
Shandira. She’s alone
.

Get down. I don’t want her to see
you
.

Kira repositioned herself, careful to retain
a partial view of the canyon. A few minutes passed before she saw
three men—one of them, Bastian. Octavion was right—they entered at
the far end where the canyon opened into the meadow. Bastian stayed
where he was, only a few yards from Luka, while the others moved in
the other direction. If they stayed their course, Octavion could
take them both down. A split second later, Bastian began his
advance.

Altaria. Bastian is just ahead of Luka, he’s
coming fast. The other two are headed right for Octavion.

I see them. Stay down!

Okay, okay.

Their movement was swift and methodical, like
a cat stalking its prey. Kira kept peeking at Shandira to make sure
she hadn’t moved. Her thick mane of long, black hair blew back from
her face in the increasing breeze. Her black leather pants fit snug
against her lean legs, but her dark blouse rippled loosely around
her as the air caught the thin fabric. She had the same leather
cuffs on her wrists that they all wore, with the addition of black,
fingerless gloves. If it weren’t for the evil scowl on her face,
Kira would have thought her beautiful.

As the two men got closer to Octavion, Kira
noticed movement to her left. Two more men approached from behind
Cade.

Two more
. . . But there wasn’t time.
“Cade! Behind you!” Kira screamed. As Cade spun around, the first
man attacked. Kira grabbed an arrow and pulled back her bow. The
arrow sailed through the air, striking the partially transformed
Royal in the chest. He fell to the ground and didn’t move. If she
were in any other situation she would have been sick—she’d probably
just killed a man. But there was no time to think about that
now.

By then, Cade had transformed, but so had the
other man who stepped over the body of his comrade and approached
Cade with a growl. They’d both abandoned their swords and were
engaged in a ferocious battle of claws and teeth. They were too
close to each other and moving too fast for her to get off another
shot.

She looked up the canyon to check on the
others. Luka and Bastian were exchanging blows with their swords.
Kira searched to find Octavion, but all she saw was one of the two
men who’d gone in his direction lying lifeless on the ground.
Altaria ran out from behind a tree, but Kira couldn’t see anyone
pursuing her. An instant later, Octavion and the second man
appeared not two feet in front of Altaria. They were also
completely transformed. Altaria drew her sword, but kept her
distance, letting her brother wrestle with the man.

Kira turned around to check on Cade. The
opposing Royal lay on the ground halfway between the cliffs and
Kira. Cade turned toward her as his attacker rose up on his elbow,
grabbed his dagger by the blade and threw it, hitting Cade in the
back.

“Cade!” Kira screamed as he collapsed to the
ground.
Altaria, Cade’s hit
. Kira raised her bow, but before
she could get off a shot, her senses shut down, and a foreboding
darkness engulfed her. It was as if she stood in a thick fog.

“Ground your weapon,” Shandira said from
behind her.

When Kira felt the pressure of a blade to her
back, she released the tension on the string and dropped her bow.
For a split second, she saw Cade struggling to get up. His panicked
eyes met hers.
Tell Cade to stay down. I’m okay. Tell him I’m
okay.

Kira turned her head to see if she could
catch a glimpse of the others, but before she could focus on the
scene, Shandira threw her arm around her waist and the canyon faded
away.

The leap was violent. Shandira’s malicious
spirit clogged Kira’s senses and filled her mind with visions of
dark figures, all with black eyes. When they appeared in the meadow
they were only a few feet from where Altaria and Octavion battled
it out with the Royal. All Kira could think about was getting away
from Shandira. She wiggled free by kicking Shandira in the shin and
driving her elbow into her ribs. Kira felt Shandira’s presence
shift from behind her to in front with barely a second passing.
Altaria was right about her speed of traveling. Shandira grabbed
Kira’s hair, spun her around and pulled her against her chest,
aligning the tip of her blade with Kira’s heart.

“Stay your weapons!” Shandira shrieked. “Or I
will gut her like a fish.”

Octavion and Altaria froze and slowly
released their weapons to the ground. Bastian, who had been
fighting with Luka, ran up and stood beside Shandira.

“Here, I got you a little present,” Shandira
said, shoving Kira toward Bastian.

He took Kira’s arm, twisted it behind her
back and pressed the blade of his knife to her neck. “You will not
get away from me this time, wench.”

The Royal Octavion had been fighting jumped
to his feet and joined Shandira and Bastian. He was at his maximum
transformation, growling and snarling like a wild animal. He paced,
reminding Kira of the caged tigers she’d seen in the zoo. How she’d
love to see him in a cage. All of them actually. A very small
cage.

“Let her go Bastian. This is not her fight.”
Octavion took a step toward them, but stopped when Bastian put more
pressure on the knife.

“You made it her fight, brother,” Shandira
said.

Kira, hold very still. There are too many
Royals here—you do not want to get cut
.

Kira tried not to think about herself. The
image of Cade lying on the ground with a knife sticking out of his
back wouldn’t let her. If he hadn’t been coming to save her, he
never would have turned his back on his attacker.
Where’s
Luka?

Altaria shifted her eyes ever so slightly to
Kira’s left, focusing on the scene behind her.

He just got to Cade
. Luka’s ferocious
roar echoed up the canyon and the color washed from Altaria’s face.
She closed her eyes for a few seconds before looking at Kira.
It’s bad.

For a brief moment, Kira wanted to cower to
the ground and give up—go back to her ways of being a mouse—but
she’d vowed never to let herself be in this situation again. Not at
the hands of this monster. She would rather die.
Altaria. I’m
fighting back. Be ready
.

No!
Altaria grabbed the air at her
side where the hilt of her dagger should have been. She swore under
her breath. It lay with her sword at her feet.
Kira, don’t you
dare. He is mine!

Then you better be ready, ‘cause I’m doing
this.
Kira slowly gripped the handle of her knife and slipped
it out of her sheath. No one seemed to notice.
Remember what you
told me to do to Octavion in the clearing—a blade to his thigh. Be
ready.

Octavion moved to one side, distracting
Bastian, while Kira gathered her strength and thrust the blade into
his leg as hard as she could. She pulled it out at an angle to do
as much damage as possible.

Bastian cried out, lowering the blade from
Kira’s throat, but kept his grip on her arm. Kira tossed her knife
to Altaria as she lunged forward. With one swift move, she drove
the dagger up under his ribs. He let out a roar, but still didn’t
let go of Kira. He brought the point of his knife to her neck and
grinned, paying no attention to who had really stabbed him. His
eyes were empty and dark.

That’s all it took to release that part of
Octavion’s beast that now flowed in Kira’s veins. Her eyes burned
cold as she laid her hand over Altaria’s, both girls twisting the
blade and driving it deeper. Bastian slumped to the ground in a
bloody heap.

Kira looked over to find Lydia by her side, a
tear rolling down her cheek. She looked at Kira and simply nodded
before her face shifted back to Altaria’s.

Kira picked up Bastian’s knife from the
ground, and spun around in time to see Shandira coming at them in a
rage. Octavion was under attack by the Royal again. Altaria jumped
in front of Kira to take Shandira’s first blow, a cut to her arm.
Shandira pushed Altaria to the side and swung her blade, catching
Kira in the side. She stumbled back, but didn’t fall. Kira healed
the wound quickly.

When Shandira came at her again, Altaria
attacked, knocking Shandira off balance and slicing her arm above
her leather cuff. It only made Shandira angrier. Kira had never
seen Altaria completely transform like Octavion, but when the two
girls began to fight, both changed into ferocious beasts. Their
full lips pulled back in a snarl, exposing their sharp feline teeth
and their eyes, so fierce, seethed with ravenous loathing.

Octavion still battled it out with the Royal,
who had clearly caught scent of Kira’s blood. When he broke loose
from Octavion’s grip, the man dove at her, bearing his teeth.
Octavion disappeared only to reappear between them an instant
later, knocking both off balance as they rolled to the ground. This
time the men vanished, leaving a heavy mist swirling in their
place.

Kira turned to see the two sisters, each
struggling to gain control. When Shandira drew her hand back to
swing her blade, Kira leapt forward, grabbed her hair and pulled
her away. Shandira twisted around and knocked Kira down. She landed
against a boulder, forcing the air from her lungs. It took her a
moment to catch her breath, but when she did, she was up and ready
to fight. She got to Shandira as she pulled her blade from between
Altaria’s ribs.

“No!” Kira screamed.

Shandira grabbed the heart necklace and
ripped it from her sister’s neck as Altaria fell to the ground.
“
This
is mine,” Shandira cried. She turned toward Kira. Only
this time, Kira was ready. She lunged forward, driving her knife
into Shandira’s stomach. Kira pulled it out, but instead of falling
to the ground, Shandira simply faded away.

“Octavion!” Kira yelled. She searched the
canyon, but there was no sign of him or the Royal he’d taken with
him. She looked toward the rocks to find Luka and Cade gone as
well.

Altaria sat propped against a tree. Even with
her hand pressed against her wound, blood still seeped between her
fingers and soaked her shirt. Kira knelt beside her and tried to
pull Altaria’s hand back so she could get a better look at the
damage.

“I’m all right. It isn’t that deep,” Altaria
said, pushing Kira’s hand away.

“Let me see it. I need to get it healed
before you lose any more blood.” Kira opened her healing pack to
retrieve the Gyllrue and was overcome by the fumes. Sometime during
the battle the tiny glass bottle had broken and the inside of her
pack was saturated with the liquid. She looked at Altaria. “It’s
gone. I’ll have to work fast.” Once again she tried to pull
Altaria’s hand away from the wound.