It had been seven days since Kira arrived in Xantara. Her physical wounds were healing nicely and the infected areas of her back were mending as well. Octavion spent every moment either by her side or in his lair trying to create something to bring her out of sleep. Nothing worked, and he hesitated giving her anything else for fear of making the situation worse.
Octavion worried constantly. Kira had gone too long without any kind of real nourishment and what little liquid they’d managed to get into her system hadn’t helped her condition. Each time she called out his name he’d go to her side and plead with the gods that she’d finally come back to him, but instead he was left with a sinking feeling in his heart. It didn’t help to know Lydia suffered as well. Though his father had managed to get her to take some liquids, she also remained unconscious and continued to show increased weekness.
Late on the evening of the eighth day, Octavion’s father came to Kira’s chambers and asked to have a word with him. It wasn’t the first time. The king had demanded several times to know the price he’d paid Ramla, but Octavion refused to tell him.
Reluctant to leave Kira’s side again, he agreed to speak with him in the hall. “What is it, Father?” Octavion leaned against the door. The past few days had taken its toll and exhaustion leached at his strength.
“I am concerned for you. This needs to stop,” Belesgar said.
Octavion shook his head in disgust. “And what do you suggest I do?”
The king pulled the journey stone from a black pouch and presented it to Octavion. “I want you to take her back.” I want you to take both of them back.
“What? Are you mad?”
“Hear me out, son. You’ve told me of the advanced medicine in Kira’s world. Perhaps if you took her there, they would be able to bring her out of this.” Your sister's condition has not changed. It may rid her of the evil that has taken her from us.
The idea wasn’t new to him. He’d run through every possible scenario the past few days and taking Kira back to her world was one of them. Octavion shook his head. “With Kira’s injuries, there would be questions, and rumors would spread of her torture. They have communication there-newspapers and television-things you do not understand. Shandira and her men would find her. It is how they learned she possessed the Crystor. I will not take that chance. And as far as Ly-” Lydia. Her blood is different than a human's. They would know she is not of their world. He put his hands up and refused to take the journey stone from his father.
“You would rather watch her suffer?” Watch them die? Belesgar slipped the stone back in the pouch. “Perhaps a few more days of this will convince you. What shall you do with her when your cravings increase? Have you given that any thought?”
“Of course I have. I still have a few days. If she is not awake by then. . I will find a way to keep her safe.” Octavion reached for the door handle, then stopped when it pushed open from the other side.
“Excuse me, Your Excellency,” Ussay said as she poked her head through the small opening.
“You dare interrupt our conversation?” the king roared.
“Father, our conversation is over.” Octavion turned to Ussay. “What is it?”
She smiled. “I believe she is waking.”
He looked over her shoulder to see Kira lying on the bed, not moving. “Are you certain?” He swung the door open and brushed past her. “Why is she on her back? I gave you instructions to keep her on her side.” He sat on the bed.
“She did that on her own. I went to move her and she said ‘no’. So I asked her if she wanted to stay on her back and she nodded. She has never responded to my questions before.”
He lifted her hand and squeezed it tight. “Kira.” But she gave no response. “Kira. Can you hear me?”
She moaned and her fingers twitched in his hand.
“Kira. You need to wake up.”
She moaned again and mumbled, “Octavion?” She swallowed, her dry throat making a clicking sound.
“I am right here. Can you open your eyes? I need to see your eyes, Kira.” His racing heart leapt into his throat. Please wake up, please.
Slowly her eyelids lifted, but then she clamped them shut and shook her head. “They hurt. . I can’t.” She swallowed again. “I’m thirsty.”
“Ussay, get her some water-hurry.”
Ussay stepped to the bedside table and poured from a pitcher into a small cup. She handed it to him with shaky hands. A tear streamed down her face.
Octavion smiled up at her. “She is awake.” Fragile hope and joy roared through him. He gently lifted Kira’s head and supported it while she took a swallow of the water.
“Good girl. Take a little more,” he coaxed.
She gulped another mouthful before her body relaxed against the covers.
“Do not go back to sleep.” He handed the cup to Ussay, then leaned in and whispered in Kira’s ear. “Kira, my love. . if you open your eyes, I will let you cuddle.” He straightened enough to see her face.
She smiled.
“Promise?” She gave his hand a gentle squeeze.
“I promise.”
She took in a staggered breath. Her eyelids slowly tested the light, squinting and blinking. “Why is it so. . dark?”
It was late evening but there was still plenty of light in the room and the drapes were wide open. When she finally opened her eyes wide enough so Octavion could see them, his heart sank. Her beautiful green eyes-the same ones that sparkled like cut emeralds-were dark and lifeless.
“What can you see?” he asked, not wanting to know the answer. How much permanent damage had the poison and Darkord blood caused? He’d never heard of either causing blindness or even impaired vision.
She closed her eyes and shook her head. “Just. . dark shadows.” Her body relaxed as she drifted back to sleep.
“Kira,” he said a little louder.
She jerked awake. “Don’t. . I want to sleep,” she begged. “Please. . let me. . sleep.”
“Shh. . be still, my love. Sleep. I will be here when you wake.” He could see now that there was no way he’d be able to keep her awake. He could only hope she would become more and more alert in the hours to come.
She lay there a few more minutes in silence. When he lowered her hand to her side, she moaned. “Octavion?”
“I am here,” he said.
“You said. . cuddle.” The words were barely a whisper, but his heart leapt knowing she was alert enough to know what she wanted.
He went to the other side of the bed and slid under the covers, then pulled her near. She responded by snuggling closer.
“I. . missed you,” she mumbled.
A lump threatened to choke back his words. “I missed you too.”
Ussay wiped the tears from her face, walked to the drapes and pulled them partially closed, leaving a small stream of light splashing across the floor. “I will be in your dressing chambers if you need me.”
“Thank you.”
She curtsied and then flashed a smile. “You are very welcome.” Then she walked into the other room. She’d been a very important part of Kira’s recovery. Her constant vigilance and kind hearted demeanor had made an enormous difference in how he’d dealt with the situation as well. He would be eternally indebted to her.
Octavion held Kira through the night, waiting patiently for her to wake again, but she didn’t stir. She remained asleep for two more days and when she finally woke, it was with a vengeance.
Early one morning, Gregor came to remove the stitches in Kira’s cheek. He insisted Octavion leave the room in case she bled. Standing outside the door, he heard Gregor giving Ussay instructions regarding the instrument used and the salve he meant to administer when they finished.
“Clip it at the base, next to the skin,” Gregor instructed. Octavion felt glad Gregor had allowed Ussay to remove the stitches, for Gregor was a crotchety old man with shaky hands.
“Like this?” she asked.
“Here let me show you.” There was a pause, then Kira moaned. “Hold her head still.” Gregor let out a grunt of frustration. “Ussay, hold her still.”
Ussay screamed.
Then Kira yelled, “Don’t touch me.”
“Octavion!” Ussay called, but he had already entered the room.
If the scene hadn’t been so serious, he would have laughed and cheered Kira on. She stood in the middle of the bed, her eyes wide with fear. A pair of scissors clenched tightly in her hand. Oh, how he loved her fierceness.
Gregor leaned over the bed, attempting to grab her weapon, and Ussay threw her hands up to ward Kira off.
“Get away from me,” Kira yelled. She blinked and squinted as if trying to get her eyes to focus.
“Gregor, back away slowly,” Octavion instructed. “Kira, it is all right. They will not hurt you.”
Her brow furrowed. She closed her eyes and shook her head, as if trying to clear cobwebs from her mind. When she opened her eyes once more, she sliced the air with the scissors, first toward Gregor, then Ussay. Her body shook violently and Octavion feared she’d fall off the bed.
“Kira? It is me, Octavion. You are safe here. Put the scissors down.” He stepped to the side of the bed.
“No!” She stumbled back against the massive headboard. “Don’t touch me.”
“Kira, do you not recognize me? Look at my face, my eyes.” He took a step closer.
“My head hurts. . everything is so fuzzy.”
“Try to focus on my eyes.” He hadn’t taken the time to shave and what little facial hair he had could have distorted the shape of his face, especially if she wasn’t seeing well.
With jerking movements she glanced around the room. “Where am I?”
“One of the rooms in my castle. You are safe.” He tried to sit on the edge of the bed, but she took a swing at him with the scissors, barely missing his face.
Ussay had disappeared into his dressing chambers and now stood at the foot of the bed. “Octavion,” she called.
He turned as she threw a small blue bottle at him. He caught it. “Where did you get this?” It was V'Larian, the same white powder he’d used on Kira the night Lydia had been hurt.
She blushed. “In your lair. I thought it might be of use.”
He poured a small amount into the palm of his hand, held it up as close to Kira as he dared and blew it into her face. The fine powder flew at her like a mist. She jerked her head to the side to avoid it, but her first breath drew it into her lungs. She instantly began to sway, dropping her hands to her side. As she collapsed, Octavion jumped onto the bed and caught her in his arms. He threw the scissors to the floor.
“I have her. The effects of the V’Larian will not last long. I will hold her so you can remove her stitches.”
Ussay came around beside him and painstakingly removed them while Gregor watched. After cleaning the area she put on the salve and then helped Octavion get Kira back under her covers.
Long after the effects of the V’Larian should have worn off, Kira still slept. Octavion spent most of the night pacing.
At some point during the night, Ussay instructed two male servants to move an overstuffed chair from Octavion’s sitting room into the corner near the window. “If you will not sleep in another room, at least sit here and rest. You are making my head spin.” She sounded more like a mother than a servant. “And furthermore, do you not think it wise to eat? You will want your strength when she wakes. She will need you.”
“Thank you for the chair, but. .” He glanced at Kira, still sleeping peacefully. “I will wait to eat. Perhaps you should alert the kitchen staff to make something for Kira to eat. Have them prepare something thin, as if for an infant. I may try to wake her again in a while and see if she will take it.”
Ussay smiled. “As you wish.” Then she scurried out the door.
For several moments, he heard Ussay’s voice echo up the staircase as she called out to the other servants. He remembered when Ussay was a child. Her mother had been his nursemaid and she often brought Ussay along with her to play with him and his sisters. As he got older, Ussay followed him around like a little cub. She sat and watched him experiment long into the night. Even after her mother was no longer employed, one of the other servants would bring her to the castle and take her home again. She’d become almost a part of the family.
The longer he reminisced about his childhood, the heavier his eyelids became. Sometime after midday, he gave into sleep. His dreams were of Kira-her kiss, her gentle touch, her warm embrace-but most of all her smile. How he longed to see it again.