Bound (29 page)

“Are you hurt?” Octavion tried to reach for
her, but she leaned away from him.

“Don’t,” she said.

He pulled back his hand and stepped away.

Lydia, on the other hand, released the rage
she’d been saving. “Did you see what you did to her?”

“Lydia, don’t,” Kira begged. “I’m fine.”

“No you’re not. He needs to see what he did.”
Lydia walked over and pulled up the back of Kira’s shirt, then
gasped. “Oh, Kira.” She knelt to get a better look. “It’s so
swollen.”

“It’s not that bad.” Kira didn’t want either
one of them to know how much it really hurt. She also didn’t want
them to know it was broken. “Is it bruised?”

Lydia didn’t answer.

Octavion stared into the fire, making no
attempt to see his handiwork. Lydia took a swing at his chest, then
continued her assault by punching him in the arm and stomach. He
stood there with a blank expression on his face, letting her have
her tantrum. When she finally stopped, he looked at her.

“Leave us.” His deep gravelly voice vibrated
through his chest.

She slapped him again on the arm. “You don’t
deserve her.” She kicked at one of the rocks by the fire and
strutted toward the cave.

Octavion slowly turned his attention to Kira
by stepping closer and kneeling at her side. “Kira.”

She couldn’t look at him. She didn’t realize
until that moment how upset she was. The fierceness of his attack
flashed through her mind. When he leaned in and said her name
again, she felt his breath on the side of her face and cowered. It
was impulse, nothing more, but when he backed away, she knew her
reaction had hurt him.

“Now you know what I feared most,” he
whispered.

When he didn’t say anything else she turned
to find his eyes. Sorrow soaked into the depths of them as they
filled with tears. She swallowed hard to keep her own emotions from
spilling over. “You didn’t have to attack me to prove that. I
wanted you to know I was okay with it. That you could be yourself
around me—regardless of the form you take.”

They sat in silence for several moments. She
numbly stared into the fire as he watched her, neither one able to
break the tension between them. When a tear finally escaped and ran
down Kira’s cheek, he gently wiped it away.

“May I see your back?” he finally asked.

She nodded, but kept her attention on the
fire.

He moved around behind her and pulled up her
shirt. The simple brush of the fabric against her skin made her
wince. He let the fabric softly fall and returned to his place by
the fire. “Kira, what I did—” He paused for a long moment before
hesitantly taking her hand. “Will you please look at me?”

Kira slowly turned to face him.

“What I did was wrong. I am sorry.”

The hurt in his eyes crushed her heart. A
lump formed in her throat. “I love you. Don’t you get that? With
all I know, with all I’ve seen . . . I still love you. Why can’t
you accept it?”

He took in a deep breath and held it for a
moment before letting it out. “I’ve never had to worry about seeing
myself through someone else’s eyes. I’ve never had to explain what
I am or how I came to be. It made me realize how different our
worlds are and how revolting the very idea of what I am can be to
someone—to you. I cannot comprehend the fact that you accept
me—especially when you see what I am capable of.”

“And you thought what you did tonight
would—do what, scare me off?

“You made me angry. I thought if you really
wanted to see me, then I would show you. I did not mean for you to
fall.” He cupped her face in his hand. “Please, forgive me. I would
rather take my own life than see you hurt.”

Kira thought for a moment. “Are you finished
testing me? Will you believe me when I say I love you and want to
share my life with you? Even the bad parts?”

He nodded. “Yes.”

“Will you do me a favor?”

“Anything,” he said.

“Go make up with your sister.”

He growled. “Can I give her time to cool
off?”

“No.”

His shoulders sagged as if he was about to be
scolded by his mother. “I will speak with her, but only if you are
truthful with me about your shoulder. Is it broken?”

Kira hesitated, not sure if she wanted him to
know the truth. “Yes.”

Octavion swore. “Why is it not healed? Do you
fear the pain? I could call for Toran and—”

“No, that’s not it. I don’t think I can do
it. It’s on my back and I have to touch an injury to fix it.”

He pulled up her shirt and examined her
shoulder again. “I have an idea. I will be right back.” He let her
shirt fall and vanished so quickly the mist from his wake swirled
around her and made her hair drift across her face.

Only a brief moment passed before an eerie
feeling surrounded Kira and he appeared again, only this time
Altaria was with him. He knelt next to Kira. “I want to try
something.”

Kira nodded. “Okay.”

“Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked,
turning toward Altaria.

“Yes.” She settled to the ground near Kira
and took her right hand.

“What are you doing?” Kira asked.

“Let her help you,” Octavion said.

“Okay, but how?” Kira said, giving her hand
to Altaria.

Placing Kira’s right hand on the spot below
her left shoulder, Altaria covered it with her left hand. “Since we
share such a strong connection, I want to see if you can channel
your healing powers
through
me. I will have to apply
pressure to your back, though, and it will be quite painful.”

“Okay, but—” Kira searched for something to
hold on to. She looked at Octavion. “Will you hold my other
hand?”

He smiled. “I have a better idea.” He circled
around behind her and carefully drew her in between his thighs,
pulling her good shoulder tight against his chest. He wrapped his
arms around her waist and took her other hand. “You ready?”

Kira nodded.

“Take a deep breath.” Altaria placed her
right hand on Kira’s shoulder blade and gently pushed her two hands
together, pressing Kira’s hand and body between them.

Kira screamed from the pain and dug her nails
into Octavion’s hand to keep herself from shoving Altaria away.

“Focus, Kira,” she said.

Kira closed her eyes and tried to visualize
it healed, but soon realized something was different. The pain she
felt was only from the pressure of Altaria’s hands, not from the
healing process. She thought she was doing something wrong.

Altaria moaned deeply, her trembling hands
pressing even harder against Kira’s injury. A few more seconds
passed and Kira could feel the bone was mended. Altaria stumbled
back and landed in the dirt. She looked at Kira and smiled. “It
worked.” Kira couldn’t remember her ever smiling before and it
looked good on her.

Her expression quickly turned to a scowl when
she turned to look at Octavion. “You ever hurt her again—I’ll rip
your eyes out.”

There was no part of Lydia in that threat. It
was one hundred percent Altaria and it surprised Kira. Since when
did Altaria care what happened to her?

Octavion didn’t comment.

Kira twisted her body around so she sat
sideways, facing Altaria. “Thank you. You didn’t have to do that,
you know.”

“I wasn’t sure . . . if it would work.”
Altaria rubbed her forehead as if in pain.

“Altaria, are you okay?” Kira reached out for
her.

Octavion stiffened. “What is it?”

Before she had a chance to answer, Lydia was
in control of their body—fear clearly expressed on her face.

“Lydia, what’s going on?” Kira asked, as
Octavion released her. She leaned forward to get a closer look at
her friend.

Lydia raised her hand. “I’m fine. It was so .
. . so
strange
. It was almost like . . . I was alone.”

“What do you mean?” Octavion asked.

Lydia shook her head. “I don’t know how to
explain it. It was as if my kindred spirit was outside our
body—like we weren’t connected. It was only for an instant, but it
. . . it scared me.”

“You’re okay now though, right?” Kira
asked.

“I’m fine, but . . . I don’t think I want to
do that again.” She slowly stood and brushed off her pants. “I
think I’ll turn in for the night. I’m really tired now.”

Kira watched as Lydia walked over to her
shelter and curled up under the blankets. “Do you think she’s
okay?” she whispered.

“She will be fine,” Octavion said as he
stood. “Perhaps we should call it a night as well. We need to get
up with the sun.”

“For what?”

“I’m taking you home, remember?”

“Where is he?” Kira woke up before the sun
crested the mountain and had been ready for over an hour. Octavion,
however, was still in his lair. She’d spent the better part of that
hour trying to figure out how she’d get into her room and snag the
picture without him noticing. Aside from asking him to wait in the
other room, she hadn’t come up with anything. Regardless, she was
sure he’d see through her tactics and insist on knowing what she
was up to.

Lydia lay in her shelter with Toran snuggled
next to her. “I have no idea. Honestly, I can’t believe he didn’t
wake you hours ago.”

Kira was making a mental list of the things
she could grab quickly when Octavion came into view.

“Oh . . . my,” Kira managed as her heart
skipped a beat.

Lydia pulled back the covers and pushed Toran
out of the way. “What is it?” Lydia asked, stretching as far as she
could to see around the shelter.

Kira couldn’t have been more pleased. In
addition to Octavion’s well cut, nicely worn blue jeans, he wore a
black t-shirt that fit snug against his muscles, a brown pair of
work boots and a leather belt with a silver buckle inlayed with
turquoise. And he looked
good
.

“Not a word,” he said.

Lydia snickered and earned his glare.

Toran growled, baring his teeth.

“You won’t hear me complaining.” Kira shot
Lydia a smile and a wink.

The corner of his mouth twitched into a brief
smirk before he turned serious. “Lydia, Toran will stay with you.
No heroics. If you even smell trouble, you call me.” He crouched
down and gave the tiger a rub. “Take care of her boy.”

He stood, reached into his pocket and
retrieved a small metal vial. He handed it to Kira. “You’ll need to
carry this with you. I have one as well.”

“Okay,” Kira said, slipping it into her
pocket. “What’s it for?”

Lydia spoke before he answered. “It’s to help
him recover from the leap. Traveling zaps all his strength.”

“But I’ve seen you do it before and you never
seemed affected,” Kira told him.

“I don’t have a problem when I am alone or
taking you a short distance,” Octavion said. “But when I have to
take someone this far, it can be more difficult—and frustrating. I
hold no such limitations in my world.”

Kira remembered the last time he was at her
house and how he carried both Altaria and her at the same time. He
didn’t seem worn out, but she’d been in so much pain, maybe she
didn’t remember. “How did you bring both of us here after Bastian
attacked me?”

“I drew on Altaria’s strength and her gift of
travel—it made it easier. If she would have been the one injured,
there is no way I could have carried you both.” He opened his arms
and motioned for her to come to him. “You ready?”

Kira’s need for her personal items and
clothes suddenly seemed trivial. Doubt crept into her mind.
The
photo
. Was it really that important? “Are you sure we can do
this? What if you lose your strength and something happens? What if
Shandira and her men are there and you can’t fight?”

“Taking you will only weaken me slightly—it
will not render me unconscious. I can drink this as soon as we get
there. It works quickly.”

Lydia chuckled. “Don’t let him drop you.”

“Not funny.” Kira went to Octavion and turned
her back to his chest. When he wrapped his arms around her and
pulled her close, she closed her eyes.

“This one will be a little different,” he
said. “You need to take in a deep breath and make sure you keep
your eyes closed tight. Understand?”

Kira swallowed hard.
Why am I so
nervous?
She grabbed his arms and held on. “Yeah, I’m
ready.”

Kira, seriously. This might hurt. Don’t let
go, okay?

What?
Kira opened her eyes and shot
Lydia a panicked look.

“Kira, breathe in, NOW!” Octavion’s body went
rigid as Kira took in a deep breath and closed her eyes as tight as
she could.

At first, the ground shook, but after a
bright flash of light, the air became thick. She let out her first
breath and tried to take another, but it felt like she’d walked
into a room filled with smoke. Every time she tried to breathe in,
the air hit her lungs and burned. When it stopped, they stood in
her backyard. Kira gasped, sucking in a breath of fresh air.

Octavion released her and fell to his knees.
He tipped his head back and closed his eyes. When he opened them
they were yellow, the pupils wide. Kira fumbled in her pocket to
retrieve the vial and twisted off the cap. He drained the liquid
and slumped forward, lowering his head. His breathing slowed and
returned to its normal rhythm.

“Are you okay?” If she had known the toll it
would take on him to bring her here, she never would have allowed
it. All she could think about was how they would get back.

“Yes,” he managed. “I have not done that for
a while—at least not this far.” He looked up and smiled. “I need
more practice.”

“I hope you know—I’m walking back.” She stuck
the empty vial in her pocket and offered her hand to help him
up.

He took in a cleansing breath, took her hand
and stood on his own strength. “Did I hurt you?”