Page 135 of The Blood Traitor
Lips were touching her cheek.
Blue-gold eyes were staring down at her.
A broken voice was whispering in her ear, telling her how loved she was, telling her to hold on.
Jaren.
She wanted to comfort him. To wipe away his tears.
But the darkness claimed her again.
And this time, it kept her.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Kiva awakened slowly, her eyelids feeling weighted down. She fought to open them, blinking once, twice, three times until her blurry vision cleared enough for her to see where she was.
Silverthorn, whispered an exhausted part of her mind, the small window in her private room revealing the familiar garden sanctuary at the center of the healing campus.
Part of her wondered how she had come to be there, her weary thoughts attempting to fill in the blanks of her memory, all while making her aware of the muted ache in her middle. But the other part of her was more insistent, demanding that she focus on the person sitting in the chair beside her bed — the last person she expected to see there.
Because it was Caldon.
He was paler than a corpse, his golden hair a tousled mess, but his cobalt eyes were sparkling as he drawled, “I leave you alone for a few hours, and look what happens.”
Kiva stared at him.
Stared and stared and stared.
And then her face crumpled and she burst out crying.
He swore and leapt up from his seat, sliding onto her bed and carefully — so very carefully — drawing her into his arms.
“We talked about this,” he said into her ear, one hand moving soothingly up and down her arm, the other holding her close. “No tears while I’m hugging you. That’s our rule.”
“I th-th-thought you w-were d-d-dead,” Kiva blubbed, the muted pain in her middle becoming less muted as her body heaved, but she couldn’t hold back the tide of what she was feeling. Everything she’drepressed upon learning of Caldon’s death rose to the surface, fear and horror and anguish, all now overcome by relief so acute that she could barely breathe.
“I nearly was,” Caldon said quietly, using his voice and his touch to comfort her. “I’ll tell you what happened, but only if you calm down. Your body needs to rest, and if you get too worked up, Healer Maddis is going to storm in here and yell at me again.”
“A-Again?” Kiva asked, hiccupping.
“I’m technically not supposed to be out of bed,” Caldon shared. “But Jaren was needed at an emergency Royal Council meeting, and I promised him you wouldn’t be alone, even if sitting here has been as entertaining as watching paint dry.” His eyes caught hers, mirth filling them as he said, “You drool in your sleep — did you know?”
Kiva didn’t have it in her to be embarrassed. But she was finally able to stop her tears and ask, her voice hoarse with disbelief, “How are you here? Galdric said —”
“Ah, yes,Galdric.” Caldon’s eyes darkened. “Aunt Ariana told us what the rings did to him. Couldn’t have happened to a nicer man.” His anger fled as quickly as it had arrived, and he answered, “I’m here because of Tipp. He saved my life.”
That wasn’t what Kiva had expected, especially since it was Tipp who had told her of Caldon’s demise. He hadn’t been acting — she’d seen the grief in his eyes, the tears streaming down his face.
“He didn’tknowhe’d saved me,” Caldon said, noting her confusion. “I think he cracked one of my ribs when they went to collect my body and found me breathing. For someone so small, he sure is strong. Like a leech.”
“But,how?” Kiva asked, still not understanding. “Galdric said he used necros venom. There’s no cure for that. He said — He said —” She strained her mind, feeling fatigue press in on her. “He said Tipp tried to give youwater.There’s no way that —”
“It wasn’t water,” Caldon said. “Do you remember when we were at the Midnight Markets, how Tipp snuck away while you were getting the ring?”
Kiva wouldn’t forget that night in a hurry, and she nodded.
“Well, while you were off serenading the moon or whatever the hell you were doing, we ran around in a panic looking for him, only to find him back with the Mystican. Apparently, they enjoyed quite the conversation, which included her handing him a vial of liquid and telling him to put it in his waterskin ‘on the morning of the ninth day,’ and that he was to use it ‘when the snake strikes.’ Poor kid thought he was out of his mind and didn’t tell any of us, not wanting us to think he was crazy for listening to her. But he kept track of the days and followed her instructions, and then when Galdric got a lucky slice in” — Caldon lifted his shirt to reveal a white bandage just beneath his rib cage — “and gloated about the venom, Tipp realized that was what he’d been warned about, and he tried to force the entire contents of his waterskin down my throat.” Caldon’s face shadowed. “That wasn’t pleasant, let me tell you. But I choked down a few mouthfuls before Galdric hauled him away.” He shrugged and finished, “And now, here I am.”
