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“Yes, I’m fine, thanks for asking.” I couldn’t keep the bite out of my tone. No matter how many adjectives she threw at me, I was fully aware of the absurdity of a Slimack attack.
“Weknow you’re fine, becausewe”—Kaori gestured between her and Raven—“were here when you showed up unconscious.”
“We needed their help. None of us knew how to deal with Slimack poison.” Kost stretched his arm, likely for the first time in days.
Bitterness died on my tongue as I forced myself to meet Kaori’s hardened stare. “I’m sorry.” She gave an imperceptible nod. She was satisfied for now, but I had a sinking feeling she’d have more to say to me later when we were alone. “I’m still not even sure how I’m alive.”
“You can thank Effie for that.” Ever the picture of ease, Calem leaned indolently against the doorframe. “Her life magic saved your ass.”
“And then we tapped Kost for blood and flushed the poison out of your system,” Raven added. The hard edge to her words were a sharp reminder that while my apology had mollified Kaori, it’d had little effect on Raven.
“We spent hours wringing your arm like a blood-soaked rag,” Ozias said. “It wasn’t pretty.”
“It was vile.” Calem shuddered. “But seems like it worked.”
Leena parked her hip on my cot as if she were merely a friend instead of my leader. “What’s going on with the Kitska beasts?”
I didn’t know how to answer her. I was in a room with too manyeyes, but I feared if I told them it wasn’t my fault, they wouldn’t hear my words. They’d see what they wanted, a man not wholly in control. If I were them, I wouldn’t believe me, either.
“I don’t know why they’re acting out.” I gripped the edge of my sheets and worked the fabric between my fingers.
“They’ve never behaved this way before.” It wasn’t accusatory, but Noc’s words stung just the same. His gaze bored into my very soul—or rather, perhaps, he was studying the shadows that lingered there. The awful, horrendous mess living in my core that would explode without warning. After he’d peeled back every layer of my being with one simple look, he pursed his lips. “There have been more attacks.”
A dull ringing sounded in my ears. “Where?”
“All over.” Leena wrapped her fingers in the chain of her bestiary. “We’ve been getting reports from towns all along the Kitska Forest. We had to cut our trip to Rhyne short.”
And now the political well-being of two freshly allied countries was my fault, too. Words refused to surface in my mind, so I opted for staring at the floor in the hopes the room would stop spinning.
“They’ve attacked Charmers, too. In Hireath,” Kaori said softly.
“Hireath?” I jerked my head toward her and finally met her gaze. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
“We know.” The anger in Raven’s tone ebbed away only to be replaced by frustration. “We assumed that, with the barrier gone, we’d have more encounters. But nothing like this.”
A headache throbbed behind my eyes. I didn’t know if my presence made things better or worse. At first, I’d thought I’d offered the undead beasts some reprieve. They’d flocked to me in the days prior to our war with Varek, the former king of Lendria, and Yazmin. But since then, fewer creatures had sought me out, and clearly their behavior was becoming more erratic.
Like your shadows.
That tacit connection hung heavy in the room as we all settled into an uncomfortable silence. I didn’t know how much Kost had shared with Leena, Noc, Kaori, and Raven. Maybe he didn’t have to. Maybe they theorized that I was the problem, just like everyone else. I needed help. I needed someone to come to my aid, someone to tell all these people that I was trying. They had to know that I wasn’t just sitting back anymore. I didn’t want anyone else, beast or otherwise, to get hurt.
“Gaige is making progress with his shadows.”
A current of electricity bolted through me. All gazes roved to Kost—including mine. He looked at me for a long moment, and I didn’t know if it was because of my near-death experience or simply an emotion I’d missed all this time, but I saw something in his eyes I hadn’t noticed before: yearning. Not romantically—at least I didn’t think, couldn’t hope for such a thing—but a soft desire, as if he wanted nothing more than for me to be okay. It was so counter to all his coldness, to his blunt speech and emotionless assessments, that it made it impossible for me to speak. And then he schooled his expression into one of calm surety as he turned his focus to the group. That look was just for me. Only me.
All at once I’d wished I hadn’t thrown his gift against the wall in the Wooden Flower.
Leaning over, he retrieved what must have been a pair of backup glasses from his bedside table and slipped them onto the bridge of his nose. “Not great progress, but some.”
All right, maybe just a gentle toss, enough to rattle the contents but not break the frame or lenses. Still… I cut a glance to Calem and Ozias, who nodded in unison. Whatever progress they saw, I didn’t. All I’d done was maintain a flimsy shield for a few minutes and quicken my movements. And both times I’d sparred, I’d lost control, only for some sort of attack to occur shortly thereafter.
“We’re uncertain as to whether or not that has anything to do with the Kistka beasts, but we’re watching it closely.” Kost kicked back the sheets covering his legs and stood. “For now, we’ll continue to investigate areas where they have attacked.”
“We’ve dispatched a number of Sentinels to a few of the towns to help with protection,” Noc said. “Charmers have joined the effort as well, but we plan on visiting each location ourselves.”
Sentinels. I fought the urge to squeeze my eyes shut. They were Wilheim’s most elite forces, normally tasked with protecting the capital or the royal family. They hardly ever left the city’s walls. Just how bad were these attacks?
“Hopefully I can help assuage any growing fears about beasts and the dangers they pose,” Leena added. She unwrapped her fingers from the chain of her bestiary to lay her palms flat against her thighs. “After we visit Hireath, of course.”
