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“Cord, your duty is to Akrhyn, not your bonded,” Marcus reprimanded him.
“Like your duty was to the Lycan and not the Ravens?” Cord snapped heatedly.
“We were too far,” Marcus answered easily. “You know this, and when Council Elder Farsin reached out to me, it seems you were already called. We would not have made any difference.”
“I know,” Cord relented. “Sorry, I’m just so, ugh, I don’t know.”
“Angry,” Salem said quietly. “The feeling of helplessness is overpowering. I know,” he said as he ran his hand over his daughter’s hair. “I know it well.”
The room fell silent as the Principal Elder watched his children sleep the healing sleep. Michael had his arm and leg in a cast. Tegan had wrappings around her side and chest, while her right arm was heavily bandaged and splinted. Both of them had cuts and bruises on their faces, Tegan’s knuckles were bruised, and Michael had a scar along his neck.
“They haven’t been healed well,” Marcus said cautiously as he looked between Cord and Salem.
“We don’t know who to trust,” Salem bit out. “Only Rorik has the power to heal what they need, or Jameis, and they are both with Leonid.”
“You cannot doubt the entire Pure Cast?” Marcus asked, slightly incredulous. “You let them heal me.” He tried to lighten the tone, but his humour fell flat.
“You healed yourself,” Tove said quietly. “You healed Elrick mostly as well.”
“I did?” Marcus grunted as he considered it. “I didn’t know I could.”
Tove snorted out a laugh as she leaned her back against the wall before her gaze returned to the restless Castor. “Cord, I know you love her, but youareneeded,” she said gently.
“If she wakes and I am not here,” Cord bit out as he stared at the blankets.
“When she wakes and finds out you have refused to aid Leonid, you’ll be the one in the medical wing,” Marcus told him bluntly.
Cord chuckled and raised his head to look at the Lycan as he brushed his hair out of his eyes. “She would.”
“And if you are in Russia, you can send Rorik or Jameis back here,” Salem added cautiously.
“How is Sloane?” Marcus asked as he watched the Castor struggle between his heart and his duty.
“Learning to swim with sharks,” Cord muttered.
Marcus leaned back. “I’m going to need more,” he admitted.
“The Great Council have remained at House Ivanov,” Salem explained. “They have taken up residence, and Sloane…” He sighed heavily. “Actually, I should be with him, he’s been flung in at the deep end, and we have left him to drown.”
“You are with your children,” Tove said gently. “No one grudges you that.”
“We are at war,” Salem said with a heavy sigh, “and I sit here, not even helping, as my Second has just reminded us all.”
“You’ve stopped me killing several Akrhyn,” Cord said with a faint smile.
“That is true,” Salem said with a slight grin. He stood and looked between the two beds. “Castor, I would have you take me to your brother?”
Cord’s hands tightened on the bed frame. “It wants me to stay,” he muttered. “I can feel it tightening in my chest.”
“The bond? Or is it your own anxiety at leaving her?” Marcus suggested quietly. He met Cord’s tortured stare until the Castor forced himself to step back.
“Salem,” he said as he straightened his shoulders. “You ready?”
“You’ll know when she’s awake,” Marcus told the young male. “You’ll feel it.”
Cord looked to Tove, and she cocked her head as she waited. “Do not leave her alone, either of them. Please.”
Tove smiled at him for the first time that she could remember. “I’ll be right here, I promise.”
