and came boiling back up in the wake of awful cramping spasms that went on and on until he was sure he’d heaved his insides out. Shaking, sweating, icy cold, he let the damp cloth mopping his face and neck bring him around again. When he looked up, he met Turow’s silvery eyes.
“You’re going to be all right. Probably hard to believe right now.” Just the ghost of a smile. Cale didn’t think he’d ever seen his taciturn brother smile. “Did you have anything to eat or drink?”
“Some water.” He vaguely recalled taking a canteen, swallowing a sip, rinsing his mouth before starting out again. Then everything had gone upside down. Time . . . “How long?”
“Twenty, thirty minutes.”
Protest growled up through him. No! Cale twisted, digging with his toes, clawing up the earth with his fingers to get leverage. He managed a wobbly stumble before tasting dirt.
The trees bobbed in a jolting rhythm, making it hard to focus with the way blood pounded in his head. He was hanging upside down? No, that wasn’t right. He could feel a hand clamped on his thigh and another on his arm and realized he was draped across Turow’s shoulders as his brother ran, carrying him.
The world finally righted, but his knees wouldn’t lock as he was passed from Turow into another’s care.
“I gotcha, man. I’ll get you back in time.” Kip.
“Thanks, brother. Thank you—” Cale turned, but Turow was already gone.
“I’m gonna need some help here. We’ll make better time if I don’t have to drag you. Can you walk?”
Cale tightened his arm about Kip’s shoulders and vowed, “I’m gonna run.”
His little brother laughed at that unlikelihood. “We’ll see. One foot in front of the other for now.”
And for a while it was. One foot, then laboriously, the other. Cale’s thoughts reached ahead to what was waiting for him. To what he might lose. Tick-tock. His gait steadied, his breathing deepened. A shambling trot became a jog, then a sprint that had Kip hurrying to keep up with him. Then one last hill.
He pulled Kip into a tight hug. “I couldn’t have done this without you, little brother. I owe you.”
“You don’t owe me jack.” Kip gave him a push. “Go.”
Cale scrambled up the incline, mostly on all fours, then crested the top to look out on his family’s compound below. Relief shook through him. Going down was harder, and by the time he reached the bottom, his breath was gone. As he lay on his back against the steep pitch of moss and ferns, staring up at the dimming sky above, his senses faded, and his eyes began to close. An image drifted through his consciousness, a picture of a pretty young blond girl with a tenderly innocent smile.
Get up. Get up!
With a roar of determination, Cale swayed to his feet, rocking for a perilous moment, then moving forward at a walk-run. He crossed the cul-de-sac and continued up the drive, peripherally aware of figures moving to greet him, but he saw only one thing: Kendra standing motionless on the front porch, her gaze on him.
He put everything he had into reaching her. He heard his father’s voice, but it dropped away as unimportant.
My queen . . . my love. Anything for you.
Cale tried to speak those words, but they wouldn’t form. He thought Kendra started to reach out for him, to catch him as he began to collapse, but at the last instant, her eyes widened, and she took an almost imperceptible step back.
Letting him drop, unconscious, at her feet.
With the heat from the main fireplace and a cup of coffee between both unsteady hands to warm him, Cale didn’t think anything could make him go ice-cold so quickly.
“What?” He blinked at his father, thinking he’d heard wrong. His breaths quickened. “Dead? What happened?”
Bram’s tone was very cool. “I thought you could tell us.”
“Me?” He blinked again, slow to make the connection.
There were only a few of them in the great hall. His brothers were being collected from their
“You’re going to be all right. Probably hard to believe right now.” Just the ghost of a smile. Cale didn’t think he’d ever seen his taciturn brother smile. “Did you have anything to eat or drink?”
“Some water.” He vaguely recalled taking a canteen, swallowing a sip, rinsing his mouth before starting out again. Then everything had gone upside down. Time . . . “How long?”
“Twenty, thirty minutes.”
Protest growled up through him. No! Cale twisted, digging with his toes, clawing up the earth with his fingers to get leverage. He managed a wobbly stumble before tasting dirt.
The trees bobbed in a jolting rhythm, making it hard to focus with the way blood pounded in his head. He was hanging upside down? No, that wasn’t right. He could feel a hand clamped on his thigh and another on his arm and realized he was draped across Turow’s shoulders as his brother ran, carrying him.
The world finally righted, but his knees wouldn’t lock as he was passed from Turow into another’s care.
“I gotcha, man. I’ll get you back in time.” Kip.
“Thanks, brother. Thank you—” Cale turned, but Turow was already gone.
“I’m gonna need some help here. We’ll make better time if I don’t have to drag you. Can you walk?”
Cale tightened his arm about Kip’s shoulders and vowed, “I’m gonna run.”
His little brother laughed at that unlikelihood. “We’ll see. One foot in front of the other for now.”
And for a while it was. One foot, then laboriously, the other. Cale’s thoughts reached ahead to what was waiting for him. To what he might lose. Tick-tock. His gait steadied, his breathing deepened. A shambling trot became a jog, then a sprint that had Kip hurrying to keep up with him. Then one last hill.
He pulled Kip into a tight hug. “I couldn’t have done this without you, little brother. I owe you.”
“You don’t owe me jack.” Kip gave him a push. “Go.”
Cale scrambled up the incline, mostly on all fours, then crested the top to look out on his family’s compound below. Relief shook through him. Going down was harder, and by the time he reached the bottom, his breath was gone. As he lay on his back against the steep pitch of moss and ferns, staring up at the dimming sky above, his senses faded, and his eyes began to close. An image drifted through his consciousness, a picture of a pretty young blond girl with a tenderly innocent smile.
Get up. Get up!
With a roar of determination, Cale swayed to his feet, rocking for a perilous moment, then moving forward at a walk-run. He crossed the cul-de-sac and continued up the drive, peripherally aware of figures moving to greet him, but he saw only one thing: Kendra standing motionless on the front porch, her gaze on him.
He put everything he had into reaching her. He heard his father’s voice, but it dropped away as unimportant.
My queen . . . my love. Anything for you.
Cale tried to speak those words, but they wouldn’t form. He thought Kendra started to reach out for him, to catch him as he began to collapse, but at the last instant, her eyes widened, and she took an almost imperceptible step back.
Letting him drop, unconscious, at her feet.
With the heat from the main fireplace and a cup of coffee between both unsteady hands to warm him, Cale didn’t think anything could make him go ice-cold so quickly.
“What?” He blinked at his father, thinking he’d heard wrong. His breaths quickened. “Dead? What happened?”
Bram’s tone was very cool. “I thought you could tell us.”
“Me?” He blinked again, slow to make the connection.
There were only a few of them in the great hall. His brothers were being collected from their
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