Bound by C.K. Bryant Read Free Book Online

bottle. But her face was far from healthy, taking on a
ghost-like pallor that bordered on death.
    “Lydia,” Kira whispered, taking her hand.
    Lydia moaned, then opened her eyes just
enough to reveal their dull gleam. Even the glow of the candles
gave them no life. But then she looked at Kira and the corners of
her mouth twitched in to a brief smile.
    Kira leaned closer and made a frail attempt
to smile back. “Hey, you.”
    Lydia swallowed hard and licked her dry lips.
She opened her mouth as if trying to speak, but nothing came out.
Instead, she pressed her hand against her side and cried out. Toran
adjusted his position and laid his head across her thighs, which
seemed to calm her a bit.
    “What’s he doing?” Kira asked.
    Octavion circled around to the other side and
knelt next to Toran, burying his left hand in the tiger’s fur.
“Toran has a gift. He can take pain, actually feel it for her. He
is making it easier.”
    “Take her pain?” The hairs on the back of
Kira’s neck pricked her skin. For the first time in her life, she
didn’t think she was the craziest person in the room—or cave. There
had to be a logical explanation. But before she could ask, Lydia’s
eyes fluttered open and she began to move around.
    “Octavion,” Lydia whispered. “Don’t . . . do
this.”
    A small wooden crate sat near Lydia’s head
where three flat rocks served as a pedestal for a metal washbasin.
In the middle, just an inch or so under the basin, sat a single
candle, the flame warming the water. Octavion rung the excess
liquid from a cloth and washed the beads of sweat from Lydia’s
forehead.
    “Be still,” he said, his voice soft and
comforting.
    “Please,” she said. Her request was barely
audible, but the intensity of her emotion tugged at Kira’s heart.
Lydia grabbed Octavion’s hand, pulling it away from her face.
“Promise.”
    Octavion’s brow furrowed as if he were the
one in pain. “I made a vow to protect you. You cannot ask me to go
against that.” He pried her fingers loose from his hand and lay
them at her side.
    “What’s she talking about?”
    Octavion didn’t answer at first. He watched
as his sister closed her eyes and drifted back to sleep. With his
voice full of emotion, he whispered, “She is dying.” He dabbed the
moisture from Lydia’s face and neck. “Her body is already beginning
to warm with fever, and with the swelling in her abdomen . . . I
believe she is bleeding within. Even if I had the power to heal the
flesh wound, it would do nothing for that which will take her
life.” He took in a deep breath and let it out slow. “She knows
this and has asked me to take you home, to help you forget.”
    “What do you mean, help me forget ? I’m
not going anywhere. We have to do something. If we take her to the
hospital, they can stop the bleeding and fix it. You can’t just let
her suffer like this.” She grabbed his arm, forcing him to look at
her. “If you think I’m just gonna sit here and let her die, you’re
out of your freakin’ mind.”
    Octavion jerked his arm out of her grasp.
“You do not understand. We are of royal blood, and it is different
than yours. There would be questions. I cannot risk putting us in
more danger.”
    “Danger? How much more danger can she be in?
You just said she’s gonna die. To hell with your stupid blood! If
you’re not willing to go for help, I am .”
    He tossed the cloth into the washbasin,
making the water splash over the edge, dousing one of the candles
and spilling wax on the box. “There are things you do not know
about us.” He stood and paced the cavernous room. “We have enemies
who seek our lives. If word of her injury has trickled back to
them, they will be watching the hospitals. I have not yet
questioned the men who did this, nor found out what information
they have. Until then, we must be cautious.”
    “You mean they’re still out there? I thought
you took care of them.”
    “I merely bound them. My priority is