Luka
No longer numb, my mind swam with unfrozen thoughts. I heard Rhen saying my name, felt her squeeze my hand. But it was Baz that I saw behind my eyes.
He stood in the dark corner, wearing his comfortable clothing, his head slightly tilted at an angle. His voice seemed to float through the air like a feather; it was so light and pleasant to my ears. Despite the fact I couldn’t see him clearly, I could feel that he was looking right at me with a gaze that was both inquisitive and understanding.
“Luka.”
So much emotion in just a single word. It made my chest ache seeing him standing there so perfectly intact, with not a shred of the beast within his eyes.
“Luka,” he said again, taking a single step forward. “I’m so sorry. I never would have left if I would have known—”
Light bathed over his shoulders and a delicate breeze blew his long silky white hair.
Not Baz, I realized.
I tried to move, tried to form my lips, to say the words that clogged my throat. There was a slight weight on my chest, and I focused on it. Steadied my mind on the rise and fall of my breath.
“I’m a coward,” Elm whispered. “Telling you this while you’re doped up, but I’m sorry that I didn’t say goodbye. I knew how you felt, Lu. I knew, and it scared me, so I ran. Facing you would have been too hard, so I just left. Mother save me, I hate myself for letting things get this bad. He did this to you, didn’t he?”
Elm sobbed against my body, and I wanted to reach my hand up and pat his head. Wanted to, but my arms weighed a thousand pounds. It was like they encased my entire body in stone, forever frozen.
“It’s all my fault, but I’m gonna fix it, okay? I’m gonna make him pay for what he did to you, Lu. I swear it.”
The weight on my chest lifted, but I begged for it to come back. Prayed to the gods to let me answer him.
So many things I wanted to tell him, but my hold on reality slipped through my fingers. A cold liquid raced down my arm like ice, followed by a rapid sense of bliss. My mind melted into drops of gold that collected and formed a curtain over my eyes.
And I dreamed of when we were children—Baz, Elm, Emeri, and me—chasing each other through the grounds. With both hands out, I almost grasped Baz’s shirt before he bolted to the right. I swiveled, my tail keeping me balanced. I reached out again as Elm passed, and my fingers grazed his shirt tail.
Always on their heels, but never quite running beside them.
One day, I would catch up.
One day, I could be standing beside them.
The last thing I remembered was the sensation of being enveloped in a cold, ghostly white space; and that was the first thing I noticed as my eyes slowly opened. As my vision became clearer, I could make out a small room with soft lighting dotted around me. It took me a few more moments to take in my surroundings.
Too bright.
I squinted, shielding my eyes from the luminescence overhead. My head throbbed with pain, but it was dull compared to the sharp agony I felt in my abdomen.
Blinking, I tried to adjust to the pure white of the walls. It was almost like snow, a bright and endless stretch of blinding light that felt cold and lonely. Despite the snow-colored walls, the room was warm enough that I felt I could breathe freely again, no longer numb with cold. And my arms seemed to be working. I pressed both palms against the firm mattress and heaved myself up from the cocoon of blankets.
Pain shot through me like a knife, so intense my every muscle felt like it was aflame with a searing, burning heattense up. The unbearable pain seemed to linger for an eternity, even though it had only been a few moments since it began. Every nerve in my body felt raw and on fire, leaving me feeling completely overwhelmed.
“Easy.” a male voice to my right said. “Don’t overdo it.”
I immediately lifted my head and inhaled a sharp breath through my nose in response to the voice. My heart was beating quickly as I focused on the source of the sound. A guy with medium length silver hair sat on the cot next to me. He offered a kind, half smile, but my eyes darted to the massive set of gray wings behind him.
My mouth hung open, but the thoughts I wanted to articulate were left unspoken. No matter how hard I tried to form them into words, they seemed to evaporate with my breath.
He adjusted himself, his wings twitching almost imperceptibly, as if he felt my gaze watching him. He rolled his shoulders to try to stretch out the cramped muscles there, the sight of his majestic wings temporarily forgotten. “I’m Kol.”
I nodded once, trying to push myself into a more upright position by planting my hands firmly on the bed. Kol released a low groan as he shifted off of his bed and came to stand in front of me. As soon as I saw him reach out his hand towards mine, my heart started to hammer uncontrollably in my chest. His gaze seemed so intense that it felt like he could see right through me.
“Here,” he breathed, his warm hands sliding around me. “Let me help.”
Relaxing my muscles, I let Kol heave my body into an upright position. It only hurt a little, but by the time I was leaned back and settled against the pillows, the pain was almost nonexistent.
“Uh,” My voice crackled. “Luka.”
Kol nodded, his lips tightening into an indecipherable line. “Yeah, you’re pretty popular around here.”
I furrowed my brows, and the sylph laughed.
“Rhen and Elm have been taking turns checking on you since they found you.”
Found me?
“I’m pretty jealous. They were doting on me before you got here.”
But the plainly plastered smile told me he didn’t actually care.
“How—” My tongue felt thick and dry, like it had been stuffed full of cotton. “Long—”
Feathery wings curled behind his back as he perched back against his own mattress. He looked like an angel perched on a cloud. “You’ve been asleep for three days. I sewed your gut closed myself.” He paused, his face wincing slightly as I gently peeled back the thin sheet and exposed the long, angry pink mark strewn across my stomach. “Sorry about the scar.”
I shrugged, and the movement tugged at the stitching. I groaned, “It’s okay. Really, thank you.”
A vivid image of Baz’s claws piercing through my skin appeared in my thoughts, making me shudder at the reminder of the pain.
My finger brushed lightly over the wound, sending a shiver through my body. I could feel the jagged edges of the gash, and it made me uncomfortable.
Feyrie’s healing magick only went so far. Something this massive wouldn’t have healed on its own.
If this guy hadn’t stitched up the gaping hole, I would have died. Plain and simple.
“For what it’s worth,” Kol noted before trotting toward the door, “I think scars are hot.”