CHAPTER 25
Helena did not know what to expect when she stepped across the threshold and so there was no way for her to prepare for the onslaught of emotions that rose at the sight of Von, bloody and battered on the bed. Not that knowing would have made any difference. She was frozen in the doorway as her brain struggled to process each of the conflicting emotions… Anger at his mistreatment… Fear that she would not have time to heal him and also escape… Joy at the mere sight of him alive, at all. And love. More than anything, she felt a love so great it outshined all else.
Her eyes settled on his face completely blocking out his broken body for the moment. Matted strands of hair were stuck to pale golden skin. Dried blood was crusted everywhere while fresh blood was still trickling out of his mouth and nose. His bottom lip was split and swollen, as were his eyes, those beautiful eyes she was desperate to see. They were so bruised and swollen, she could hardly recognize them as eyes. It looked as though someone had used his face as a punching bag, for hours.
Rushing to his side, she pressed her hand to his face, pushing back blood and sweat-soaked strands, until her hand was resting against his neck. Beneath her fingers, his skin burned hot and she could feel the feeble, yet steady, throb of his pulse. Letting out a shuddering breath, she leaned down and pressed her lips against his, tasting the salt of her tears mingle with his blood as she did.
“Von,” she whispered, her lips still touching his. “I am here,” she added when he did not stir. There was a flutter as his eyes shifted beneath their lids, but still they did not open.
“Mira?” he rasped along their bond, his psychic voice filled with pain.
“I need you to try and wake up, Mate.”
She pulled back slightly, hoping to catch a glimpse of gray. She watched as he struggled to open his eyes, but they only cracked open before immediately closing again.
Moving her hand to rest above his heart, she closed her eyes and used her senses to assess his injuries. Her eyes snapped back open as a tidal wave of nausea caused her to gag.
“That bitch!” she seethed once she had recovered enough to speak. Rowena had not only tortured Von, she had used what magic she possessed to “heal” the wounds. It was clear the woman possessed none of Water’s soothing magic. This was Fire and Earth fused into a cruel imitation of healing. Instead of using magic to repair the damage she had caused, she used it to lock it in and override the body’s natural instinct to heal. No wonder Von could not break through to consciousness; his body was stuck in perpetual agony and his brain was trying to protect him in the only way it could.
Helena could feel the seconds slipping away. She needed to get him out of here now, but in his current state he was in no condition to be moved. To heal him fully would require more time and magic than she could spare since she could not risk being weakened or caught unaware. That left her the choice of doing just enough to get him mobile and stave off the pain. She would have to finish healing him once they were safely away.
She gave him another quick kiss, saying as she did, “Try to stay with me; this may hurt.”
There was a vibration along the bond that she took to be acknowledgement before she let herself slip into the healing trance she’d last used with his brother. Allowing her magic to guide her, she reset bone and repaired tissue, doing only enough to help him walk and stop any bleeding. All of the bruising would have to remain. She moved quickly, using none of the care and finesse she had with Nial. There simply wasn’t time.
Helena knew when she was finished because a harsh hiss greeted her ears, “Mother’s Tits, Helena. I’ve known Daejaran wolves with a gentler touch than you.” When she opened her eyes, Von was smiling up at her, albeit crookedly. His gray eyes had lost enough of the swelling that they could open, and they were currently shining with an emotion too vast to name. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.
“You’re lucky I love you. It could have been much worse,” she muttered, settling for flippancy to keep herself from breaking down into gut-wrenching sobs.
He grimaced at the thought, and pushed himself up into a seated position, groaning a little with the movement. Helena couldn’t keep herself from staring. He may still be covered in bruises and blood, but she was a starving woman and he was her feast.
Sensing her eyes on him, he looked at her from under thick lashes, “Darling, as much as I’d love to oblige you, I don’t think there’s time for that.”
She blushed and made a face. That hadn’t been her intention. Not really. It was just, he was here. He was alive. She reached out and touched his cheek, heart too full for words.
He pressed his face into her hand before brushing his lips against its center. They stayed there for a moment, enjoying the feeling of being with each other again, and knowing that the time for words would come later.
“Can you walk?” she asked, even though she knew that he could.
“Aye,” he affirmed as he stood. He teetered a little, and she moved to quickly support his weight as he adjusted.
“Hold on to me,” she murmured.
“Always, Mira. I’m just a little unsteady,” he said gruffly, pressing his lips to the top of her head. She could feel him breathe her in, his ribs expanding under her hand.
Her heart contracted at the tender words, but before he could say anything else that would cause her to risk spending time they didn’t have in this prison cell, she said quickly, “Then I think it’s time we get you home.”
“Mira, I told you, as long as I’m with you, I’m already home.” Her breath hitched, tears thick in her throat. Von lifted a hand and caressed her cheek, turning her face up towards his. Leaning down, he pressed a kiss full of promise against her lips. Helena felt her knees go a bit weak when he finally pulled back and winked at her. With that he grasped her hand in his and pulled her towards the door.
They moved quickly, hands still intertwined as they made their way through the halls back towards the exit. Von had snickered when he saw Gillian’s inert body, approval radiating off him in waves. Helena had thought he might have been disappointed that she hadn’t killed her outright, but he’d made no mention of it. He’d just brushed his lips against her knuckles and gestured for her to lead the way.
The halls were still empty, but there was something about the lack of security that caused her to move more cautiously. They were using Air to conceal the sound of their footsteps and would pause before making any turns, using their enhanced senses to check whether it was clear. The longer they went without seeing anyone, the more concerned she became. It seemed absolutely impossible to her that the woman who had orchestrated this whole scheme hadn’t planned for this exact scenario.
“Where are the others?” Von asked suddenly across their bond.
“If you’re referring to Rowena’s people, I am wondering the same thing myself,” she replied, guessing that he might be thinking along the same lines.
“No, I meant ours. How many fighters do we have? What is our plan?” Von asked the questions one after another, his years as a Commander making him eager to hear the strategy.
Helena didn’t bother to meet his gaze, choosing instead to scan for signs of Rowena’s men as she listed, “The rest of the Circle, Ronan, Serena, your brother, Micha, along with a couple of others I do not think you know. They were making their way to the castle when I left them. They should be here soon, if they aren’t already.”
Von stopped short, halting her own forward movement. “You came here alone?” he asked in a voice filled with quiet thunder, “and you plan on attacking with only two handfuls of men? Are you out of your mind?”
Helena felt her hackles rise, and turned to face him with a frown, “Are you really complaining about the manner in which I just rescued you, Mate? Do you doubt my ability? Or my judgment?” She wasn’t sure which part offended her most.
His brows lowered over darkening gray eyes, “Helena, you have to know how foolish that was. What if she captured you as well? What are the rest of us supposed to do if something happened to you? How in the Mother’s name are we supposed to defeat her with such a small force? You cannot think to win this fight so hamstrung.”
“I got to you, didn’t I?” Exasperation filled her at his words; she was not some helpless farm girl any more. She was the Mother’s Vessel, the strongest in history, if the prophecy was to be believed. If she wasn’t capable of a rescue mission, then there wasn’t much hope for her abilities at all.
“Do you have any idea what your absence has been doing to me?” she continued a bit desperately, “The toll that each day of our separation took on me? I’ve been coming apart, Von. I couldn’t wait any longer, not when I could feel you again. Not when she was hurting you and I could finally do something about it!” Her words were hurried, reinforced with all of the emotion she’d had to bury the last few months in order to simply function.
Von’s expression softened, and his lifted his free hand to caress her cheek. “Mira—” he started but she cut him off.
“You have to know that if there had been a better option available, I would have used it. I would have done anything to get you free of this place. But this was the only way. No one else would have been able to get past her defenses without bloodshed.”
“I wouldn’t say you did either, Mate,” he teased, his frustration with the choices she’d made in his absence evaporating with her words. He might be a Commander, but she was Kiri. Her will was law, and he lived to serve.
They exchanged tight, feral smiles, “No, I suppose not. But better one deserving bitch than any of our men.”
A heartbeat passed and he squeezed her hand, indicating he was ready to continue. As she made to move forward, he stopped her again. “Wait. Did you say my brother is with you?”
This time Helena had no trouble meeting his eyes. Her smile shone with radiance as she nodded and said simply, “I did.”
“You healed him,” he said with no small bit of wonder.
“I did,” she repeated.
She watched her strong warrior blink in stunned silence. When he spoke again, his voice was thick with emotion, “Thank you, Helena. I cannot tell you what this means to me, to my family.”
“Hush, my love,” she murmured, pressing her fingers to his lips as though he had spoken aloud. “Nial has already thanked me more than enough. Healing him was my promise to you. I never intended to do otherwise.” She contemplated telling him that Serena would likely be thanking her in the near future, as well, but figured it was not the right time for that bombshell.
Happiness and awe made his eyes shine like silver. He shook his head, laughing a little, “Of course you did. You have proven time and again that you are capable of performing miracles and showing compassion and mercy where others would, or could, not. You are the true miracle, my miracle.”
She rolled her eyes at his proclamation, but smiled despite herself, “Worship and adore me later, Mate. We have an escape to finish.”
His smile was wolfish as he replied, “Oh, I have every intention of making that my first priority once we are safely away.” Before she could respond he repeated his earlier question, “So what’s the plan?”
Helena filled him in as they made their way carefully down the last hall. There was only one more turn until they reached the receiving room. Just as they were about to take the steps that would put them out in the open, they heard the soft rustling of footsteps. A lot of footsteps.
Exchanging glances, they froze, pressing their bodies into the wall. Even with his injuries, Von used his body to block hers, so that anyone who discovered them would see him first. There was a loud shout, and Helena panicked, certain that they had finally been spotted as the sound of footsteps grew louder. Von’s hand squeezed hers, each of them bracing for an attack. It never came.
Helena peered over his shoulder, tentatively stepping away from the wall. Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong. A searing pain in her side had her gasping. Von spun towards her, reaching out to hold her as she slumped against the wall.
“Helena? Mira, what’s wrong?”
“My – my Jaka,” she gasped. His eyes widened at her words, yet another unexpected discovery he did not have time to fully process. As she closed her eyes, trying to ride out the waves of pain, she was able to see the threads that tied her to the men in her Circle. Each flashed brilliantly, flickering and pulsing with light. Focusing on a strand that flared brilliantly once before dimming to a dull gray, Helena’s eyes snapped back open. “Ronan!” she shouted, no longer concerned with being overheard.
Von’s eyes bore into hers as he snapped to attention, “What about Ronan?”
“He’s in trouble. They all are.”
“How bad?” Von asked, every inch the warrior.
“As bad as it gets.”
She could see Von scanning, anticipating the distance between them and the door, as she moved her hands off of her throbbing side. The movement caused her to run her hand over the small lump in her pocket. The Kaelpas. Pulling it out, she held the gleaming purple stone up for Von to see.
He glanced down at it and then back at her, “Do you know how to use that thing?”
“Has that ever once stopped me?” she retorted as they pressed themselves together. Closing her eyes, she took a shuddering breath and pictured the clearing she had been in with Starshine only an hour before. There was a small pop and then nothing. The spot where the couple once stood was now completely empty.