Right Where I Want Them To Be

Right Where I Want Them To Be

Layla

My head was pounding.

And so was my neck. It ached terribly and every time I shifted, I could feel the blood pour out of me, onto my shoulder, down my arm.

I groaned, forcing my eyes open even as the light made everything in my hurt.

The room I was in was extravagant. Almost as big and as nicely furnished as my parent’s chamber back at home.

My spine shuddered at the thought of this being Varynth’s room. Of this being his bed that I laid in. Nausea twisted my stomach, and I pressed my lips together, whimpering as I forced myself to sit up.

Blood poured from my neck and, lightheaded, I fell right back onto the bed.

Everything around me blurred, my consciousness knocking at the back of my mind. I could feel my eyes drooping, that nagging pull of darkness wanting to take over.

But something told me to fight it.

The door to the room opened. It hit the wall loudly, as if it were shoved urgently.

Maelis was at my side, her hands bracing my shoulders as she pushed me upright.

“Stay with me,” she hissed, her voice tight. Her eyes flicked toward the window, then back to me, then to the door, as if she expected it to burst open at any second.

“What’s happening?” My voice broke, barely there.

“They’re here,” she said quickly, already reaching for the cloth at her side. “Your family. They’ve come for you.”

My heart stuttered.

Maelis pressed the cloth hard against my neck, and I gasped as pain flared. “I need you awake. You need to be conscious.”

“I can’t,” I whispered, my fingers weakly clutching her wrist.

“You have to.”

She wrapped the cloth tight, binding the wound with practiced hands, pulling the fabric firm until the bleeding slowed. My vision still swam, but the room stopped spinning enough for me to focus on her face.

On the fear and the urgency clearly painted there.

“They’re here,” she repeated, quieter this time. “They’re going to fight.”

“They don’t know,” I breathed. “They don’t know what he’s built—”

“They do,” she cut in. “But we don’t have much time if we want to stop a whole lot of bloodshed.”

Her hands stilled, and for the first time since she entered the room, she looked at me fully.

“My sister,” she said. “You promised me.”

“I know, and I meant it. We’ll get her out.”

“Say it again,” she pressed.

I swallowed, my throat raw. “I promise. We’ll save her.”

Maelis nodded once, relief covering her expression.

She lifted her hand, pressing it flat against the center of my chest.

I sucked in a breath as something cold slipped beneath my skin.

“What are you—” I started, but the words dissolved as the pressure built.

Maelis closed her eyes, her fingers curling slightly against me. “Find him. Do you feel him?”

Pain lanced through my chest just as it snapped back into place. The emptiness vanished, replaced by heat. By him.

“Kai.” The name tore from me as the bond flared stronger than before, flooding every part of me all at once.

It was overwhelming. I could feel his rage, fear, the feral and desperate ocean beneath it all.

My breath shuddered as I clutched at Maelis, my body shaking under the weight of it.

“He’s here,” I gasped.

Maelis opened her eyes, her hand falling away from my chest as she stepped back.

“I know,” she said. “Now we just have to get you to him.”

She pulled me to my feet, slipping her arm around my waist before I could collapse back into the bed. My legs trembled beneath me, but she didn’t slow.

“We don’t have time,” she muttered.

The bond pulsed again, and I gasped as Kai’s presence flared through me. “Layla.”

I blinked, my spine shuddering at the sound of his voice in my head. I tried to focus, closing my eyes to say anything back to him, but I was much too weak.

“I can hear him,” I whispered, my fingers tightening on her sleeve. “He’s speaking to me.”

“Good,” she whispered, guiding me toward the door. The hallway beyond was quiet, but the silence felt wrong.

Every step down the corridor sent pain lancing through my body, my strength draining faster than I could keep up with. I leaned into her more than I liked, but she carried the weight.

When we stopped at the top of the stairs, my stomach dropped. I groaned from the pain as we took each step down.

We descended anyway, until the bottom of the stairs came into view. Varynth stood with his back to us.

He was looking out through the massive windows. “They’re right there,” he said.

He didn’t turn, he simply lifted one hand, pointing out toward the distant tree line.

“Right where I want them to be.”

Fear slid cold through my veins. Maelis’s arm tightened around me, steadying me as we made our way toward him. We stopped at his side, looking out of the window.

I followed the line of his hand, and my heart stopped.

Walking out into the open land between the forest and the manor, like he had nothing to fear, was my dad.

Varynth let out a soft, almost pleased sound. Only then did he turn to face me.

“Well,” he said, his smile spreading as his eyes dragged over me, lingering on the fact that I was standing. “It seems you’re more resilient than I gave you credit for.”

He took a step closer, his attention flicking briefly to Maelis before returning to me, unconcerned.

“Looks like your father wants to speak with me,” he added lightly.

Behind him, the ocean roared against the cliffs.

Outside, the army waited.

Varynth’s smile widened as he turned his gaze back toward the window, toward the lone figure walking toward his home.

“Good,” he murmured. “I’ve been waiting for this.”

“Wait,” I whispered, Maelis hold on me tightening. “Take me with you.”

He snorted, crossing his arms over hist chest. “Do you believe me to be an idiot?”

I shook my head. “He will want proof that I’m alive.”

He narrowed his eyes, grabbing my chin, pressing his fingers into my skin until I groaned from the pain. “I will give him that when I feel he has earned it.”

With that, he let go of me, turning and walking out of the manor.