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His whole face lights up, tension releasing from his body as he steps forward to meet me with his arms open wide. It feels like coming home as we meet in a clash of limbs.
“Laelia.” My name is like a prayer on his lips, and I’m in his arms, crushed against his chest in the blink of an eye.
The bond does cartwheels in my chest, and I’m finally able to feel him properly through it, like my soul is complete now that he’s here with me. Our lips lock together, and for a brief moment, the rest of the world falls away. There’s no one and nothing else as my bond fully takes control, needing to feel his touch after such a traumatic trial.
When we finally come up for air, we only part long enough to take each other in, my hands tracing the lines of his face like I’m trying to commit it to memory.
“I was so worried,” I whisper, needing to reassure myself that he’s here and that he’s alive. “I couldn’t feel you.”
His entire body shudders, and he squeezes his eyes shut as he takes in this moment. It’ll be over soon, and reality will return. However, these few short minutes can be ours as we revel in being alive and together. “I think there must have been some sort of dampener over the arena, because I couldn’t feel you properly either.”
His words make me frown. The amount of magic that’s being used since we arrived in town has been bothering me. Nullifying a mate bond isn’t possible in the natural world, and it certainly isn’t a skill that we possess as werewolves, which means it has to be magic. For people who are so disgusted by witches that they want to execute me, how is there so much magic here? Now that I think about it, there are many examples, including the transportation from the arena to the clearing via the stone, and even the ability to make the hotel rooms soundproof.
There’s a cry from behind the curtain, and I feel like the worst friend in the world as I remember why I came back here in the first place. “Nicolai!” Gasping, I untangle myself from Joel and push past the curtain.
I wasn’t ready for what I see.
Nicolai is thrashing around on the bed, his face deathly pale as he grits his teeth, his body bucking in pain, and he’s making sounds I’ve never heard before. He has to be held down by three healers, while another attempts to inject him with something. Seeing him in this much pain makes my knees weak. Nicolai’s always been so stable and calm. I’ve never even seen him shout before, so seeing him like this…
“What happened?” I ask Joel, who’s now standing behind me with his hand on my shoulder in comfort. My eyes widen in horror as Nicolai shouts in pain once more.
“What are you doing to him?” I shout at the healer jabbing him in the thigh with a large needle, injecting a clear liquid. I’m sure they are trying to help him, but seeing him being restrained this way looks so barbaric.
The lead healer who just administered the drug looks up at me with a slight frown. “It’s a pain reliever and sedative.” Stepping back to dispose of the needle, he takes a deep breath and returns to Nicolai’s side, lifting his stethoscope to listen to his chest. “We need him to rest so we can work on healing him. We can’t do anything if he’s thrashing around.”
The drug seems to work quickly, and Nicolai’s movements start to slow. He must have heard my voice, because his head turns and his eyes lock onto me. He mouths my name, calling for me although no sound comes out. I know I need to be with him, so without checking if it’s okay, I walk up to his side and take his hand in mine, brushing his hair back from his sweaty forehead. Pain shines back at me as I stare into his eyes, murmuring quiet words of reassurance. His skin is hot, like he’s burning up from a fever, and now that he’s not thrashing around, the healers start working on his wounds.
There’s a healing bite on the arm I’m holding, the one I saw him limping on when he was in wolf form, but otherwise, I can’t see anything major. The healers seem confused too, not sure what’s causing his symptoms, so they systematically work their way down his body, looking for a source. A towel has been hastily thrown over his naked body, but as one of the healers moves it slightly to examine his arm, they curse loudly. Looking over sharply, I see the reason.
On his left forearm is what looks like a puncture wound, only instead of pink flesh, it’s swollen and black, with track marks trailing up his arm, following the course of his veins. What the hell is that? I suddenly don’t blame the healer for cursing, and I want to as well. However, Nicolai meets my gaze, and I see the fear in his eyes, so I know I can’t react how I want to. He’s barely awake, but I don’t want his last memory before he slips under to be of my frightened face, so I smile down at him, squeezing his hand.
After a few seconds, he falls into unconsciousness, but I don’t let go of his hand. I don’t know how much of this he can hear or feel, and the last thing I want is for him to feel alone. I couldn’t help him in the arena, but I can do this.
Keeping my voice soft in an attempt to stem my fear, I lift my gaze to the lead healer’s. “What’s happening to him?”
My eyes keep returning to that awful wound on his arm, and I feel sick to my stomach every time I see it. I don’t know what it is, but it doesn’t feel natural.
“He’s been poisoned by something,” the healer replies as he prepares another medication in a vial. “We’re not sure what or how, but we can’t rule out foul play at this point.”
It takes a moment for this to sink in, and when it does, my mind suddenly becomes quiet, focusing on those last few words.
“You mean someone did this to him on purpose?” Deathly calm, I work on keeping my rage locked away. Now is not the time for the presence within me to try to take over. Although, right now, the thought of her smashing up something makes me grimly happy. No, I need to stay calm for Nicolai. I can’t risk him getting hurt because I lost control.
Despite my best effort to keep everything locked down, the atmosphere in the tent shifts, and the healers look at me anxiously. They can sense the otherness about me in a way no one ever has before. I don’t know if that’s because of the situation or if I’m getting stronger.
The lead healer must feel it too, because he looks up from his task, wariness flashing across his face as he realises I might be more of a threat than he first thought. “We don’t know that for sure, but there’s nothing in that arena that would cause this kind of reaction.”
Before I can react, I feel Joel moving towards me, the bond between us trying to lull me into a sense of calmness.
“Laelia,” he calls, meeting my gaze as I turn my attention towards him.
“What happened out there?” I ask again. There’s no blame in my voice, I just need some answers.
Taking a deep breath, he nods and steps closer so he’s in front of me. He’s close enough to touch, leaving that decision in my hands. Honestly, I’m glad he doesn’t touch me. I need to stay focused, and his touch will only make that difficult.
“After I left you, I ran over to help him. Bates had some allies hidden in the trees in an attempt to ambush me. I fought them off easily and joined Nicolai. He was slowing down but holding his own.” He pauses, glancing at the unconscious male in the bed beside us. “I’m not sure where his trial partner was hiding, but after I chased off Bates and his cronies, he conveniently showed up in time to get to the lake with us.”
A low snarl escapes from my lips. Coward. Nicolai’s trial partner was a coward, and it could have cost my friend his life. It’s a good thing he’s not in here with us, because I couldn’t guarantee that I could control myself around him knowing that he left Nicolai to fight off Bates on his own.
