Kaelen’s brow furrowed, and he tried to push himself up, his movements sluggish but insistent. “I should be . . . out there . . . with him.”
She gritted her teeth.Stubborn Sunborn.
“No.” She pressed him back down, her voice firm despite the tremor in her hands. “You’re staying here. You’ve done enough.”
His fevered gaze burned into hers, raw and unguarded, each word tumbling from his lips like an unspent prayer. “Annaïs . . . doesn’t matter,” he rasped, his voice cracking under the weight of his words. “Never did. You’re the only one . . . for me. For us.”
The confession hung heavy in the air, louder than the muffled battle cries outside. Her chest constricted, the truth of his words cutting through the chaos and anchoring her. He’d been carrying this guilt all night, she realized. Even as the sandshrike attacked, even as his blood spilled, he wanted to tell her.
Her fingers tightened over his, grounding him as much as herself. She leaned closer and whispered, “Now you have to survive, so you can tell me.”
His gaze lingered on hers, something raw and unspoken passing between them before his eyes drifted shut again. His grip on her handslackened, and for a moment, she thought the worst, but his chest rose and fell in uneven rhythm.
But Ru Rong was still trying to stem the bleeding. She pressed down on the wound with a thick cloth, but it soaked through within seconds.
“Damn it,” she cursed. “The venom’s done its work. His blood’s thin. It won’t clot.”
Kaelen’s skin was too pale, his respiration too shallow. If they couldn’t stop the bleeding, if he lost too much?—
Reiya’s throat tightened.
“Su Lian,” Ru Rong muttered, glancing up sharply. “You know what we have to do.”
The daughter-in-law hesitated for only a heartbeat before nodding. “Heat the blade.”
Ru Rong was already moving, grabbing a dagger and thrusting it into the brazier’s embers. The iron began to glow, a dull red brightening to searing orange. The heat warped the air around it, distorting the edges of the wagon’s dim light.
Reiya turned back to Kaelen. His eyes were open now. Two slits of gold, glassy with pain. He must’ve heard them. Must’ve understood what was coming.
“Kaelen,” she whispered, a hand still bracing his trembling shoulders. “We have to cauterize the wound.”
A ghost of a smirk flickered at the corner of his mouth. “Trying to see how many ways you can break me, love?”
Reiya swallowed hard, something clawing at her throat. It was just like him to make light of the situation.
“You’re impossible.”
His fingers flexed weakly against hers. “If you hold my hand, I’ll do it.” His glazed eyes found hers. “Don’t . . . let go.”
A tremulous smile flickered across her lips, even as tears burned at the edges of her vision. “Silly Alpha. What else would I be doing?”
She gripped his hand tighter, as if sheer will alone could anchor him to her.
Ru Rong turned, the dagger glowing hot in her grip. He barely had the strength to brace himself. His muscles twitched beneath Reiya’shands. She pressed down harder, steadying him as tremors wracked his body. Every instinct screamed at her to stop this—to find another way—but there wasn’t one.
The hot iron met flesh.
His body arched violently, a raw, agonized roar ripping from his throat. The force of it nearly knocked Reiya off-balance, but she held firm, anchoring him as his muscles spasmed beneath her grip. The acrid scent of seared flesh filled the wagon. Smoke curled upward, the sickening sizzle of cauterized skin and scorched blood sending bile to the back of her throat.
She wanted to look away, but she didn’t. She owed him that much—to bear witness to his pain, to see him through it.
“It’s almost over,” she whispered. “Hold on, Kaelen.”
His body finally slumped, his strength spent as he sagged against the cot. His breaths came in broken gasps, his skin slick with sweat. His eyelids fluttered once, then stilled.
Reiya’s pulse roared in her ears. “Is he?—?”
“He’s alive,” Su Lian said tightly, wiping her damp forehead with a rag. “Let’s give thanks for that.”
