Chapter 41 Unconscious
~Kael’s POV~
Taking long and fast strides, I reached the door in a short while, moving with a sense of urgency that tightened every muscle in my body.
I recalled that Paul, the warrior who was supposed to bring her food, had reported that the door would not open no matter how hard he tried. Because of that I pushed the door with far more force than I normally would, bracing myself for resistance, only for the door to swing inward without even the slightest struggle. My brows knitted immediately and I turned toward Paul to question why he had said the door was locked. However, the sight of Lyra on the floor wiped every thought from my mind as if nothing existed except her motionless body.
I crossed the room in seconds and dropped to a squat at her side. Relief washed through me when I realized I could still hear her heart beating. Her chest rose faintly, proving she was still breathing.
“Lyra,” I called her name, hoping that hearing my voice would pull her back to consciousness. I waited for her eyelids to flutter or for her lips to move, but nothing happened.
I placed my hand against her cheek and jerked slightly at the scorching heat radiating from her skin.
“Goddess she is burning up,” I muttered under my breath. Panic rushed into my chest with violent force. Without wasting another second I gathered her in my arms and lifted her carefully from the floor, placing her gently on the bed.
“Lyra,” I said again while lightly tapping her cheek and giving her a small shake, hoping desperately for a reaction. The panic rose so sharply that it felt like a heavy hand gripping my lungs. She continued breathing, yet every terrifying possibility forced itself into my mind and refused to let go.
“Lyra wake up,” I said again with more urgency, shaking her slightly harder. “She is not responding at all. Go and get Kaitlyn here right now,” I ordered Paul. He did not hesitate for even a heartbeat before sprinting out of the room.
“What is going on with her, Kael? Did something happen while I was away?” elder Rowan asked, his voice reaching my ears, although my mind felt too cluttered to process his tone.
“What do you mean?” I asked, barely glancing at him.
“Why do you have a live feed of her room?” he questioned, and only then did his concern begin to make sense. He had been away for days and had no idea what had happened with Taren.
So I told him everything that had occurred. I explained how Taren had been teaching her magic in secret and how that had led to his arrest. I explained how I ordered the surveillance. As I narrated the events I kept glancing at Lyra, desperate for any twitch or movement that might tell me she was trying to wake up.
“Taren knows magic?” elder Rowan asked, eyes widening at what I had just revealed.
“I highly doubt he does,” I responded. “He was giving her instructions written on a paper. I have not spoken to him again since that day.”
Even as I spoke I heard approaching footsteps outside. Relief washed over me because that meant Kaitlyn had arrived.
“Alpha,” Paul called from outside the door.
“Come in,” I replied.
The door handle moved but it immediately became obvious they were struggling.
“The door will not open, Alpha,” Paul reported.
“What are you talking about? The door is not locked,” I said, confusion surging through me. The same issue had happened earlier, yet the door had opened easily when I arrived.
Again, they tried the handle, pushing and pulling, but the door did not budge at all.
“It will not open, Alpha,” Kaitlyn’s voice added, confirming the problem.
Elder Rowan and I exchanged a confused look before I walked toward the door. I gripped the handle, turned it, and opened it from the inside without a single ounce of resistance. I stepped outside with them, then shut the door again just to test it.
“Open the door,” I told Paul, partly thinking they were joking with me, although I could not fathom any sane reason for them to do something like that, especially in such a critical moment.
I watched Paul try again. He pulled and pushed, but the door refused to move even an inch. Kaitlyn attempted as well, and the result remained the same. Yet when I reached out and opened it, it yielded instantly.
It was one of the strangest and most unnerving things I had ever witnessed, but I pushed the thought aside. Lyra’s condition mattered far more at the moment.
“Go in and check on her,” I told Kaitlyn as I held the door wide enough for her to enter. “Wait here,” I said to Paul before stepping inside behind her.
I watched Kaitlyn examine her silently. She checked her breathing, her pulse, and the heat radiating from her skin. After a moment she turned her face toward me.
“What happened to her?”
“We met her like this,” I answered.
Kaitlyn released a slow exhale. “Her fever is extremely high. I need to get some medicines for her,” she said before standing and walking out of the room.
“Was she upset before this?” elder Rowan asked immediately after Kaitlyn left.
“Yes, she was very upset about my arresting Taren,” I admitted. “She begged me to release him. She even said something strange about him helping her and helping me. I did not understand it, and honestly, I did not bother to think about it.” As I spoke I felt a heavy weight settle in my chest, and I suddenly found myself questioning every decision I had made in the past forty-eight hours. “And her scent is almost nonexistent now,” I added as the realization fully hit me. “It is still there, but it is extremely faint.”
“Her scent?” elder Rowan repeated with a deep frown.
“Yes,” I said. “She had a scent two days ago that confirmed my suspicion about her being my mate. I did not know how it happened, but it erased every doubt I had.”
Elder Rowan’s expression hardened. “This is very bad, Kael. The witch gave me a warning. She said the girl must never be allowed to get too upset, especially when she is practicing her magic. She did not explain the reason, but I believe this situation is exactly what she meant.”
A heavy silence filled the room. I felt frustration and fear twisting together inside me. How was I supposed to handle something like this when everything I knew about witches came from centuries of hatred and war? There was no handbook for this. I stood in the middle of a storm I did not understand.
Kaitlyn returned, and once again I had to go open the door. The fact that this kept happening only deepened the mystery.
She immediately went to work. She crushed herbs, mixed them, and held them under Lyra’s nose for her to inhale, but nothing changed. She tried to get Lyra’s mouth open, but Lyra’s jaw remained clenched tight. After a long struggle Kaitlyn sat back and exhaled in defeat.
“She has locked teeth,” Kaitlyn said, her voice troubled. “This is dangerous for her and I do not know how to help her at this point. I believe we should consult Taren. He may know something that could help her.” She hesitated slightly when she mentioned Taren’s name, but eventually forced the words out.
“I agree,” elder Rowan said immediately.