Revealed Read online

  Sylvan sighed. “All right. I’ll keep it in mind.” He followed Merrick’s gaze to the room with the sleeping Elise. “Don’t worry about her, Merrick,” he said, reassuringly. “I’ve programmed the stasis chamber for a controlled exit. That means when her body is ready, she’ll come out of it on her own.”

  Merrick nodded. “I understand it could take a little while. I’ll wait.”

  “More than a little while,” Sylvan cautioned him. “It could be weeks or even months before she emerges. In fact, I think it’s likely to be a very long time because of what she went through at the hands of the AllFather. Her brain isn’t going to want to come to and deal with those memories.”

  “I’ll wait,” Merrick repeated stubbornly. “I’m acting as her protector. I swore to be responsible for her.”

  “I can relieve you of that duty at any time,” Sylvan said. “No one would blame you if you wished to leave. As you said, you don’t even know her.”

  “I said I’ll stay,” Merrick growled. “And that’s fucking final.”

  Sylvan studied him silently for a moment and then nodded. “All right, old friend. I’ve instructed everyone at the med station on what to do and Olivia has promised to pay special attention to Elise every day. She’s an excellent nurse—you can ask her if you have any questions.”

  Merrick nodded. “Understood.”

  Sylvan seemed to hesitate for a moment. “There’s just one more thing,” he said at last. “If—and it’s a very big if—she starts to come out of the stasis before I get back, don’t touch her.”

  “What?” Merrick frowned. “Why not?”

  Sylvan shook his head. “It’s a long and involved process—too hard to explain. But the time when she’s coming out of stasis is a critical juncture. It could be dangerous for both of you to have physical contact at that point. Wait until she’s all the way out and awake before you even hold her hand, all right?”

  For some reason, Merrick felt a strong urge to disagree—but Sylvan was the one with medical training. He obviously knew best. “All right,” he said grudgingly. “Hands off until she’s wide awake—I got it.”

  “Good. Thank you for understanding.” Sylvan squeezed his shoulder. “I must go. The ship is already primed and waiting.”

  “Good luck and the Goddess go with you,” Merrick said. “I hope you’re able to cure Nadiah.”

  Sylvan’s eyes turned bleak. “I hope so too. If I can’t, I will never forgive myself.” And then he was gone.

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Luckily the trip to First World was very short—straight into the space fold and then a day to make orbit around the Kindred home world.

  It was short in terms of crossing the vast distances of the universe, Rast knew. But to him, it felt incredibly, painfully long. Lying in a small bunk surrounded by cold packs, Nadiah alternately burned and froze. It was heartbreaking to hear her begging for blankets, whispering through fevered lips that she was cold, so cold, when Sylvan said her temperature was actually so high her brain was in danger of boiling in her skull.

  So though he longed to give in and cover her in the warmest blankets he could find, Rast was forced to ice her down instead, stroking a cold cloth over her hot brow as she cried out weakly and begged him not to. Sylvan and Sophia had both offered to do the job but Rast refused. Nadiah was his responsibility now. For better or worse, in sickness and in health, he meant to do what he could for her…even if it tore the very heart from his chest to do it.

  I’m right back to the blood challenge, he thought grimly as he changed her ice packs yet again for fresher, colder ones. Hurting her to help her. God, I hate this. Hate it so much.

  “I’m sorry, Nadiah. So sorry,” he whispered, leaning over to kiss her hot forehead before he put a fresh cold cloth on it. “I swear when this is all over I’ll never hurt you again. Never.”

  “Rast,” she whispered and at first he thought she’d heard him.

  “Yes, sweetheart?” He cupped her cheek, searching her eyes anxiously for any sign of recognition.

  But then her dark blue eyes clouded over and she started to shiver again. “Rast, please…Please help me. Cold. So c-cold…”

  “I know you are, sweetheart. I’m sorry. This is the only way to keep your fever down.” Not that the damn fever ever went away—they were barely keeping it in check and even as he watched, Nadiah seemed to be melting away to nothing in its hellish heat.

  Rast’s eyes stung and once again he swore vengeance. Whoever had done this to her—the owner of the mysterious female voice who had used Nadiah like a fucking short wave radio to convey her message—that bitch was going to pay and pay big.

  “I’ll kill her,” Rast whispered to himself. The hand that wasn’t soothing Nadiah clenched into a fist at his side. “Fucking kill her.”

  “Who will you kill?” Sophia was suddenly there, frowning uncertainly.

  “Whoever did this to her.” Rast looked up, his eyes feeling hot and red, as they had after the blood challenge. “Whoever made her sick. They’re dead.”

  Sophia took a step back. “Oh my God, you really are Kindred. You’re…you’re going into rage.”

  “What was that?” Sylvan came back, frowning. “What did you say, Talana?”

  “L-look at him.” Sophia pointed at Rast, her voice shaking. “He looks just like you did back when…when you were trying to protect me from the urlich.”

  Sylvan frowned. “So I see.” To Rast he said, “Take some deep breaths and try to calm down. We’re about to visit a very holy and sacred place and you cannot appear before the priestesses in that state.”

  “I don’t want to calm down,” Rast snarled. “I want to hurt whoever did this to her. I want to make them pay.”

  “And I feel the same,” Sylvan said evenly. “Nadiah is my kin—I love her as though she were my little sister. But you cannot go into the temple of the Empty Throne with murder in your heart. The priestesses will sense it and punish you.”

  “You think I give a damn for their punishment? For anything but her?” Rast saw everything through the red curtain now, even Nadiah’s beloved face was painted with crimson.

  “It is not you they would punish,” Sylvan snapped. “Think of Nadiah. We are going into a place of healing—what if they refuse to heal her because of you?”

  “What if they’re the ones who did this to her in the first place?” Rast countered. “What about that?”

  “Then they are the only ones who can undo it,” Sylvan said heavily. “Please, Rast, we must not give them reason to refuse us.”

  Finally what Sylvan was saying penetrated the red haze of anger that seemed to hang around him like a burning curtain. Nadiah. I have to calm down for her sake. Can’t let the anger take me. Make me do things I’ll regret later. There was nothing he could do for Nadiah in his current state. Nothing but make an already desperate situation worse.

  With a huge effort, Rast closed his eyes and breathed deeply. Then again. And again until he felt the anger leave him, leaking slowly away like air out of a balloon.

  “Sorry.” He opened his eyes and shook his head. “I don’t…don’t know what came over me. I just got so mad at whoever hurt Nadiah and everything went red…”

  Sylvan nodded. “That’s rage all right. It’s a state a Kindred male goes into when he feels his female is threatened.” He sighed. “But I’m afraid it won’t help in this case. We’re dealing with much more than a physical threat here.”

  “What are we dealing with? And who?” Rast demanded. “Was it one of the priestesses of this Empty Throne thing? Who has the power to reach through space and make someone sick? Who—”

  A beeping sound from the front of the ship cut him off.

  “I don’t know,” Sylvan said, turning to go back to the controls. “But we’re about to find out. Prepare yourself, Rast—we’ve achieved orbit around First World.”

  Chapter Twenty-six

  First World was nothing like Rast had imagined it would be. H