Chapter 52 RECOVERY
CHAPTER 052: RECOVERY
The next day, I try to sit up and immediately regret it. Everything hurts but it's a dull ache instead of the sharp agony from before both the revelation of the Hollow king coming back.
Progress.
Kieran is asleep in a chair beside my bed. His head is tilted at an angle that's going to give him a terrible neck ache. One hand rests on the edge of my cot like he fell asleep reaching for me.
"Hey sister."
I turn my head. Luna is in the bed next to mine, propped up on pillows. She looks almost as bad as I feel. Bruises cover her arms and a bandage wraps around her ribs.
"Hey," I say. My voice comes out raspy.
"We did it," she says softly.
"Yeah. We did."
"Marvin's dead. The pack is safe. We're alive."
"Barely."
She laughs and then winces. "Don't make me laugh. My ribs aren't ready."
I can feel her pain through the bond. Not overwhelming but present. A constant awareness of her that wasn't there before.
"You feel that too right?" I ask.
"Your headache? Yeah. And your sore ribs. And the fact that you need to pee but don't want to get up."
"That's invasive."
"Tell me about it. I can feel your worry about Kieran's neck."
"His head is at a terrible angle."
"Wake him up then."
"He looks peaceful."
"He looks like he's going to need a chiropractor."
I reach over and touch his hand. His eyes snap open immediately, going from asleep to alert in a heartbeat.
"Thalira." He grabs my hand. "You're awake. You're really awake."
"I'm really awake."
He stands, leaning over me to check my face, my eyes, my pulse. "How do you feel?"
"Like I fought a serial killer and collapsed a mine."
"So normal then."
"Apparently that's my new normal."
He cups my face gently, thumbs brushing my cheeks. "Don't ever scare me like that again."
"I'll try not to."
"I'm serious Thalira. Watching you die, carrying your broken body out of those mines, sitting here for three days wondering if you'd wake up." His voice cracks. "I can't do that again."
"Three days? I was out for three days?"
"You and Luna both. Mara said your bodies needed the rest to heal."
He leans down and kisses my forehead. Then my nose. Then finally my lips.
It's quick, chaste, but it makes my heart race anyway.
The door bursts open and Alaric rushes in, followed by Cassian and Zev.
"You're awake," Alaric says, relief flooding his face.
"We felt it through the bond," Cassian explains. "One second you were unconscious and the next you were here."
Zev moves to Luna's bed. "Both of you awake at the same time. The twin bond is stronger than we thought."
"We can feel each other constantly now," Luna says. "It's weird."
"Is it permanent?" I ask.
"Elder Mara thinks so," Kieran says. "You're bonded for life now."
"How do you feel about that?" Cassian asks Luna.
She smiles. "I like having a sister I can always find. Even if she does have terrible taste in fighting serial killers alone."
"That was one time," I protest.
"It was four times actually," Alaric corrects. "You have a habit of running toward danger."
"Someone has to."
"No," Zev says firmly. "Someone doesn't. You're not responsible for saving everyone."
"Can we not do this right now?" I ask. "I just woke up."
Cassian sits on the edge of my bed carefully. "How's the pain?"
"Manageable."
"Liar."
"Fine. It hurts like hell. Happy?"
"Not particularly." He takes my hand. "But you're alive so I'll take it."
The tent flap opens again and Magnus walks in. He's cleaned up since the battle but new scars mark his face.
"You're awake," he says. "Good. I need to thank you properly."
"You don't need to thank us," I say.
"I do. You killed the monster that's been hunting my pack for months. You saved Kira's daughter. You destroyed his weapon. And you did it at great personal cost." He looks at both Luna and me. "Forty seven pack members died in the attack. Another eighty were injured badly enough they may never fully recover. But we survived and that's because of you."
The number hits me hard. Forty seven people.
"I'm sorry," I whisper. "If we'd moved faster, if we'd figured out his plan sooner—"
"Then you'd be dead and he'd still be killing," Magnus interrupts. "You did what you could with the information you had. No one blames you for the deaths. We blame Marvin."
Luna's hand finds mine. I squeeze it gratefully.
"The pack will rebuild," Magnus continues. "We've survived worse. And this time we're not doing it alone." He looks at all of us. "You're pack now whether you take my formal offer or not. You bled for us. That makes you family."
"What formal offer?" Kieran asks.
"A place here. Permanent if you want it. The Northern Pack would be honored to call you members."
"We're students at Duskmoor," I say. "We have to go back eventually."
"Eventually isn't now. Think about it. The offer stands as long as you need it."
He leaves before we can respond.
Silence fills the tent.
"Pack membership is a big deal," Luna says quietly. "It's not just a title. It's bonds, responsibilities, politics."
"Do you want it?" I ask her.
"I don't know. This is the pack that raised me but it's also the pack that sent me to spy on you. That's complicated."
Before anyone can respond Sofia bursts through the tent flap with Morgana right behind her.
"You're awake," Sofia shouts, rushing to my bed. "Oh thank God you're awake. I was so worried and you looked so broken and there was so much blood."
She's crying and talking too fast and hugging me despite my protests about broken ribs.
"Sofia I can't breathe."
"Sorry sorry." She pulls back. "I'm just so glad you're okay."
Morgana stands at the foot of the bed, her expression unreadable. "You really need to stop almost dying. It's getting old."
"I'll work on that."
"Good because we have a problem."
The mood in the tent shifts immediately.
"What kind of problem?" Alaric asks.
"Duskmoor kind," Sofia says. "Headmaster Corvus sent a message."
"What did it say?" Zev asks.
Morgana pulls a scroll from her bag. "The Council is coming to investigate what happened here. They want to question Thalira about the Hollow King and about the events at the Northern Pack."
My stomach drops. "The Council?"
"The ruling body of all supernatural academies," Kieran explains. "They oversee everything. Resolve disputes. Enforce laws."
"And apparently investigate students who keep dying and coming back," Cassian adds.
"When are they coming?" I ask.
Sofia checks the scroll. "They'll arrive in one week."
"One week?" Luna sits up despite her injuries. "Thalira's barely healed. She can't face a Council investigation like this."
"She won't have a choice," Morgana says. "When the Council summons you, you answer or you're declared rogue. And trust me, you don't want to be declared rogue by them."
"What do they want to know?" I ask.
"Everything. Your deaths, your resurrections, the soul bonds with the boys, your connection to the Hollow King, what happened with Marvin, the weapon, all of it."
Alaric's jaw clenches. "They're going to try to control her. That's what the Council does. They find powerful beings and either recruit them or neutralize them."
"They can try," Kieran says dangerously. "But they're not taking her anywhere."
"We might not have a choice," Zev says. "The Council has authority over all of us. Even you Kieran."
The tent goes quiet.
"There's something else," Morgana says reluctantly.
"What?" I ask, dreading the answer.
"The message mentioned your mother. They want to question her too. About why she faked her death. About what she knows regarding the Hollow King's return."
Mom. I'd almost forgotten she was here, alive, real.
"Where is she?" I ask.
"With Elder Mara," Luna says. "She's been helping heal the wounded. She hasn't left the medical tents since we got back."
"I need to talk to her."
"You need to rest," Kieran argues.
"I've been resting for three days. I need answers."
I try to stand. My legs shake but they hold.
Cassian moves to support me. "At least let us help."
We make it out of the tent slowly. The pack territory looks different in daylight. Destroyed buildings are being cleared. New structures are going up. People are working despite their injuries, rebuilding with grim determination.
They stop and stare as we pass. Some nod respectfully. Others whisper.
We find Mom in another medical tent, her hands glowing as she heals a young wolf's broken leg.
She looks up when we enter. Her eyes go straight to me.
"Thalira. You should be resting."
"I need to talk to you. About the Council. About the Hollow King."
Her expression closes off. "Not here. Too many ears."
She finishes with the young wolf and leads us to a smaller tent at the edge of camp.
Inside she turns to face us. "What do you want to know?"
"Everything. Starting with why you faked your death."
Mom sighs and sits down heavily. "Because the Hollow King would never stop hunting me as long as he thought I was alive. So I made him think I died. Made everyone think it."
"Except Helena," I say.
"Helena helped me fake it. Then she took you and disappeared. Luna went to the Northern Pack. And I went into hiding."
"For seventeen years," Luna says. "You were alive for seventeen years and you never came for us."
"I wanted to. Every single day I wanted to. But I couldn't risk it. If he found me he'd find you and I couldn't let that happen."
"Why does he want us so badly?" I ask.
Mom's expression goes dark. "Because you're the key to breaking his prison. The Hollow King is trapped between dimensions. He can't fully enter our world without an anchor. A powerful anchor."
"Twin Phoenix Souls," Zev says quietly.
Mom nods. "He's been orchestrating everything. Your deaths, your powers growing, the bonds forming. All of it designed to make you strong enough to serve as his bridge."
"But we destroyed his weapon," Luna argues. "We killed Marvin."
"Marvin was a pawn. The weapon was insurance. The real danger is still coming."
"The Council," I realize.
"Some of them yes. The Hollow King has corrupted members of the Council. I don't know how many or who. But when they arrive next week they're not just coming to investigate."
"They're coming to capture us," I finish.
Mom's silence is confirmation enough.
Outside the tent a bell rings. Three sharp peals.
Warning bells.
We rush outside.
The sky above the pack territory is tearing open. Not like the rifts from before. This is different. Cleaner. More controlled.
A portal.
And through it step figures in dark robes bearing the seal of the Council.
"They're early," Sofia whispers.
The lead figure lowers their hood. It's a woman, ancient and powerful, her eyes glowing with barely contained magic.
She looks directly at me.
"Thalira Moonwhisper. By order of the Council you are hereby summoned for immediate questioning. Resist and you will be detained by force."
Around us pack members reach for weapons but Magnus raises his hand stopping them.
The Council woman smiles. "Wise choice Alpha. We have no quarrel with your pack. Only with the Phoenix Soul and her companions."
"What companions?" Kieran demands.
"The four soul fragments bonded to her. The twin. And anyone else who stands in our way."
Her smile widens.
"Now then. Who's coming quietly and who's going to make this interesting?”