My golem shoved the other, smaller creature, and it went flying back, colliding with several of its unfinished brethren. The monster roared, but before it could rise, my guard had reached its side. Lifting an enormous armored foot, he brought it down on the other golem's head. The clay shattered apart, crumbling into a pile beneath his boot, and the monster went still.
I heaved in great gasps, unable to keep my whole body from shaking. Somehow, I was still alive.
“Kaleah!” Cassie knelt by my side. My eyes darted around as people swarmed us. It was only then I realized I was still held fast in the arms of my rescuer. Glancing up, my gaze widened.
“Ryker!”
He grimaced, his eyes clenched shut. Judging from his lack of movement and his reaction when he hit the wall, he was in a lot of pain. But why? Why had he saved my life? He wanted me dead. . . Right?
“Are you okay?” a familiar stern voice asked and my mother glared down at us.Oh no.
Taking a quick mental stock of my aches and pains, I nodded. “I think I’m just bruised.” Embarrassment heated my face. “What did I do wrong?”
“When a command is not executed perfectly, it creates chaos and corrupts the golem,” the Clay master explained, his voice gentle. “Instead of seeing you as its master, they view you as their tormentor and will do anything to destroy you. I believe a steadier hand next time will serve you well.”
Cassie gave my trembling hand a squeeze, murmuring soothing words.
“Tch, we’ll try again later.” Lilitha swept past, a sneer hovering on her lips. “But you know, dear, it’s a good thing you’re going to be the next heir—it’s the only thing you seem to be good for.” Her parting words left me hollow inside and a traitorous tear escaped, but I swallowed past the lump in my throat and I shoved my pain away. I could live with it, a verity I wasn’t sure extended to Ryker. He still had yet to move from where he sat braced against the wall, and his breathing had become ragged and shallow. “Where are you hurt?” I asked.
He didn’t respond, and I tugged at his arms, still clenched around me. His breath hitched, and I realized I was hurting him. My stomach churning, I turned to my sister.
“He’s really hurt,” I whispered, biting my lip.
“I’ll go get a healer,” the Clay Master offered and scurried off in the direction my mother had just left. I tried to extract myself again, and Ryker’s whole body shuddered against me, blood trickling from his mouth.
“Sin! He’s going to die!” Bile rose in my throat.Because of me.Because he saved me.“No.” I ground my teeth. My mother’s earlier scorn at my attempt to heal my father flashed in my mind, but it didn’t matter—I had to try. I may not have ever trained as a healer, but I’d seen the priestesses heal hundreds of times. I’d saved Arrow; I could save him—regardless of the cost.
“Kaleah.” Cassie’s eyes bore into mine. “Maybe this is a good thing,” she whispered.
“What?”
She glanced past me to Ryker. “If he dies, he won’t be able to kill you.”
I stared at Ryker, his face tense as he took rasping breaths through clenched teeth. She was right. My uncertainty, my fear of this man, could end right then and there. I could easily let him die. . . and yet, I didn’t want to. As much as he scared me, I didn’t want him to die.
“No,” I murmured, slowly shaking my head.
“Kaleah—”
“Something’s changed. I don’t know why he did it, but if he truly wanted me dead, he could have let the golem kill me. He saved my life; I owe him this.”
Cassie’s brows furrowed, her lips pursed, but she didn’t argue—ever on my side no matter where I stood. “Just don’t push yourself too far again.”
“I won’t.”
Ryker coughed, a wet gurgling sound, and the blood seeped faster from his mouth. It ran down his neck, saturating the hem of his black tunic. I pressed my palms to his chest, moving my hands under the neck of his shirt until they touched skin. He shuddered, and I inhaled, closing my eyes.
Focusing my senses inward, I slowed my breathing and my racing heart. I concentrated on where my hands connected with Ryker, his pulse thrumming beneath his warm skin. Pushing away the feathers stirring my insides, I fixated on the rhythm of his heartbeat.Thump-thump. Thump-thump. Thump-thump.I slowed my breathing, our heart’s beating out of sync. Concentrating, I reached for the divinity flowing through my veins. It heeded my call, filling me with a tingling sense of warmth and strength. Gathering it in my core, I pushed the power through my fingers and into him.
He gasped, going rigid under my touch, and his eyes flew open, golden light—almost like flames—poured from them. How strange—I’d never seen that happen before.
Following the course of my power as it flowed through Ryker, I grimaced at what it revealed. A couple of his ribs were broken, a part of one puncturing his lung, which was filled with blood. Several other bones in his shoulder and collarbone were fractured as well, but the worst was his spine, where two segments were nearly severed. The golem had hit him harder than I realized. Slightly dizzy from the rush of energy flowing from me, I bit my lip in concentration, urging my powers to mend the damage to Ryker’s body. Nothing happened, my essence just leached into him with no improvement.
Please work, I begged silently, slumping against Ryker as I weakened further.
“Kaleah.” Cassie’s voice sounded far away.
I rested my forehead against his chest, breathing hard. Though I could feel her tugging on my arm, I didn’t move away. He was hurt because of me, because of my failure. I had to make this right. I had to makehimright. With one last plea, I shoved every ounce of my remaining strength and willpower through my connection with him.