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He’d gone limp again, breathing shallowly through open lips. His eyes were still open, but they had the glazed look of someone who wasn’t really seeing anything before them. Still, it was an improvement.
Carefully walking with him through the halls toward the ballroom where the sick and the slaves were being cared for on dozens of makeshift cots and pallets, I became aware of how much commotion and noise there was in the palace. It had been so quiet a few hours ago - what was going on?
Rounding the corner, I stopped in my tracks as I took in the scene in the ballroom.
Vampires rushed from slave to slave, feeding their open, screeching mouths like mother birds bringing worms to their chicks. Kas was there, and Blaise, though I didn’t find Rush in the crowd.
“Kana! They’re awake,” Blaise cried, spotting me. She hadn’t even paused long enough to notice Cade in my arms, but Kas whipped his head around when he heard my name.
“Kana,” he gasped, hurrying to help me get Cade onto one of the few empty cots.
“He’s awake,” I said unnecessarily, my eyes sweeping the room in disbelief. It was madness in here.
“They all are. And fucking hungry,” Kas added, something like a laugh in his words.
“This is good, right?” I asked, still fighting the feeling that this was a compromise. A mid-point, when we’d been striving so hard for the end.
“It’s better,” Kas said, pausing to cup my cheek in his hand. “Hey. Don’t run off like that.”
I looked down at the floor, noticing how blood-spattered it was. “I’m sorry. I freaked,” I murmured. He crushed me to him, wrapping his arms around me tightly.
“You’re not alone,” Kas whispered into my hair.
I allowed myself to soak in his words and his love, keeping still even though my natural instinct was to pull away and show how strong I was. Ihadbeen alone for so long that it still felt shameful to need to depend on anyone, much less want to depend on them.
“I’m working on that,” I managed, leaning my head back so I could catch his gaze. “Do... do any of the slaves seem to know what’s going on?”
Kas frowned, scanning the room. “It’s so chaotic, but I don’t think so. But they’re awake, princess. It’s a step.”
“I think it might have been Khione,” I admitted, gesturing down to Cade as I described how cold he’d been and what I’d actually felt on the balcony, besides my own embarrassment.
“This is good, Kana,” Kas said, reinforcing the idea. Finally, I nodded in agreement and turned to survey the slaves. Most of them had quieted down, and several were still sucking blood from the wrists of other vampires. Everyone - both slaves and volunteer blood donors - looked exhausted.
“We’re going to need extra blood to keep everyone healthy,” I predicted, knowing the kitchens were already strained from what Merden had taken when she left.
“They need time,” Kas corrected. I sighed. Of course, vampires could survive a long time without blood, but that was when they were healthy and active. The dozens of former blood slaves might not have the strength to heal themselves before their bodies gave out, or danger invaded the palace again. For all we knew, Merden was on her way back here for the final Trial.
“I’ll see if Valanga is willing to have her wolves bring home any animals they find. After they’ve hunted for themselves, of course,” I added, realizing the wolves needed to be fed and healthy too. I cursed under my breath and ran my hands through my messy, oily hair, quickly tying it back in a slightly less messy braid.
“You’re doing a great job,” Kas said, smiling down at me and skimming my thoughts.
“Thank you, Captain Optimism. I’ll try to stop being such a perfectionist,” I said, keeping my voice light. Even though I knew that nothing productive ever came of over-judging myself, I still indulged in it more than I wanted to admit.
And there I went again...
Huffing, I turned and did another quick check over of Cade. He seemed stable enough, if not exactly coherent, and the entire room seemed to have reached the same sort of delicate balance.
“Like sleeping babies,” I murmured, struck by the image of the hospitals on Earth, where the newborn babies were lined in little plastic boxes, screamed when hungry, and went back to sleep right after being fed. “I’m going to find Valanga,” I repeated, giving Kas a quick kiss.
“Then later maybe we can finish that massage,” he teased, nipping at my lips.
I grinned against his mouth, then shot away to the gardens, taking a shortcut to the guards’ quarters, where the wolves had taken up temporary residence.
I never made it.
Standing in a clearing in the garden, twenty feet from the palace walls, was Rush. Wide-eyed and still, he stood transfixed, arms out, palms up, and head tilted up at the moon. As I got closer, calling his name, I could see that his eyes were solid white, rolled back in his head.
“Rush? I’m here,” I whispered, gently slipping my fingers into one of his outstretched hands. He must be receiving another prophecy. I waited, nerves humming in my chest.
