I turned in fright when I heard a voice behind us, a feminine tone that carried across the air. Relief flooded my system when I realized that walking towards us was Tristan with a small girl in his arms and a woman next to him speaking in quick, worried whispers, a bag over her shoulder.
“You guys made it.” I slumped into Kolvar, as both of them looked at me, the little girl continuing to sleep in his arms.
Tristan nodded. “Told you we would get out of here.”
The woman next to him gave me a smile, her cloak hiding a bit of her face as she gently reached out to me and offered her hand. She smiled softly as I met it. “You must be Kyella.”
“I am,” I whispered. “What’s your name? I’m so relieved to see you all here.”
“Bailey,” she replied. “Thank you for being so brave, Kyella. Our chance for freedom is because of you choosing to trust my husband.”
Emotion caused my throat to feel strangled. “I wouldn’t have escaped without Tristan’s plan.” Also the three men behind me, but all of them seemed content to quietly observe the interaction without getting involved.
“Let’s make sure we actually get out of here before you all cry in relief,” Elijah finally rumbled, grumpy as usual.
I nodded, and suddenly Kolvar picked me up so easily, something that caused me to feel incredibly safe in his arms. I closed my eyes, feeling like I could finally take a small breath of relief after years of being in hell.
I was leaving this chapter of my life behind, and I couldn’t wait to see what the next one held.
ChapterNine
Kyella
For just a moment, I dozed off, completely giving into the exhaustion and warmth Kolvar provided. But when I was suddenly placed on the edge of a soft surface, my eyes fluttered open. My heart tightened at the sight of Kolvar kneeling in front of me, his face serious as he gently removed my cloak and placed down the bag he’d taken from my arms.
Normally, I would’ve been defensive with someone so close to me, but I found myself captivated by watching his expression as he pushed up my sleeve and looked over the bite marks covering my skin. Anger flashed across his face, but he didn’t say anything about them. Instead he kept his voice low and quiet, as if concerned he’d spook me.
“We’re going to be leaving soon. Are you hungry? Thirsty? I can get you food and water. Our captain is human, so I’m positive we can find something outside of our storage of blood.”
Once again, I was hit with a warm wave of relief that they didn’t have Thralls, not liking the idea of them biting into another human.
I glanced around the room with interest, finding that it was a small but neat space. The bed I was sitting on and the sheets around me smelled like cedar.
Was this his bedroom on the ship? That concept should’ve made me uncomfortable, especially since we were alone, but instead I was appreciating what a cozy space it was and how close it meant I could be to him. I was blaming these odd thoughts on my blood loss. I could feel myself leaning even closer to him, soaking in his warmth.
“Kyella,” he said in a soft rumble, “focus on me.”
Oh, but Iwasfocused on him; I could practically hear every breath he took. I was just trying to not make it obvious how fixated I was.
Turning my gaze back on him, I realized that despite the fact that he was still kneeling, Kolvar was eye-level with me.Just how tallwasthis guy?
Frustration welled inside of me, suddenly feeling overwhelmed by everything that had happened to me in the past few days—my first attempted escape, getting locked in the dungeons, the party where I’d been fed on by so many vampyres, and finally leaving the castle walls… It was a lot. Plus, the sudden rocking of the boat made me realize that this was, in fact, happening. We were actually leaving Malakai’s lands.
Holy shit.
It was a lot to take in. These past few days felt like weeks.
So many emotions hit me at once, all of them tainted with the dark pull of hunger. My vision was dotted with black spots in a warning that I was getting far too close to passing out again. I was so caught up in the sensation that I didn’t realize Kolvar was talking to me until he gently cupped my jaw in his large hands.
“Breathe,” he said softly. “Just focus on my question. When was the last time you ate?”
The last time I ate…
“Right before the party, I had a sandwich. But the two days before, when I was in the dungeon—I was hardly fed anything there.”
When he stilled, I worried I had said something wrong. Darkness flashed his gaze, and a dangerous noise caught in his throat. But when he spoke, his voice was measured and comforting. “You haven’t eaten anything but a sandwich in nearly three days?”
How did he do that? How did he keep so calm?
