Chapter 139 : Reckoning

Chapter 139 : Reckoning

KAI’S POV

I paced the corridor outside the healing rooms while the castle slowly woke up around me. Warriors moved past with quiet nods, their eyes flicking to me and then away. They knew better than to speak when I wore this expression. My boots struck the stone floor in steady beats. Elias had gone alone. He had taken a half-healed body into enemy territory and pulled my sister out. Pride and fury twisted together in my gut until I could barely separate them.

The door opened. Lucien stepped out first, his arm wrapped tight around Liora. She leaned into him, face pale and marked with bruises, but she walked on her own. Relief hit me so hard my shoulders dropped. I crossed the space in three strides and pulled her into a careful hug. She smelled like blood and forest dirt, but she was here.

“You are safe,” I said.

Lucien kept one hand on her back, his face lined with exhaustion and gratitude. “The healer just left. She says Liora needs rest and food. No lasting damage beyond the shock.”

Liora pulled back and looked up at me. “Elias found me. He came alone, Kai. Kicked the door down like some storybook fool and fought them both.”

I glanced past her. Elias stood a few feet away, shirt still stained with dried blood, one hand pressed lightly to his side. He met my gaze without flinching. Good. We would talk soon.

We moved inside the room. Liora sat on the edge of the bed while Lucien fussed with pillows behind her. A maid brought water and bread. I stayed near the door, arms crossed, watching everyone. The healer had already checked Liora, but I wanted to hear it from my sister herself.

After the maid left and closed the door, Liora took a slow breath. “I saw Mother. Clara. She is different now. I knew she could be cruel. I grew up with her sharp words and colder plans. But this woman… she looked at me like I was nothing. She held the knife herself. She laughed when Gavin pressed it closer. Seraphina stood in the corner and said nothing. It was like watching a stranger wear my mother’s face.”

Lucien sat beside her and took her hand. His knuckles turned white. “She is lost to them completely.”

Liora shook her head. “It is more than that. She did not hesitate. Not even for a second. The mother I knew would have used me as a tool, but she still would have seen me as hers. This version did not care that she carried me. She only cared that I chose your side, Kai. That I chose Elias.”

I stepped closer and rested a hand on her shoulder. “I am sorry. None of this should have touched you. You stayed loyal when others turned. You protected my mate and my son when I could not. This is my fault for not ending the threat sooner.”

Liora looked at me sharply. “Stop. Do not carry that. You did not force her choices. She made them. All of them.” She squeezed Lucien’s hand and gave a tired smile. “I just need sleep. And maybe a long bath once my body stops aching.”

Lucien helped her settle back against the pillows. “I will stay with her. You two should rest as well. You both look like you fought a war.”

I nodded. Elias and I stepped out together into the corridor. The silence between us felt thick. He walked a half-step ahead, jaw tight, movements careful around his injury. I could see the stiffness in his shoulders. He knew I had things to say.

We reached our rooms. Elias went straight to the cradle where our son slept. He lifted the baby with practiced gentleness, sat in the wide chair by the window, and began feeding him. I watched from the doorway. The quiet sounds of the baby nursing filled the space. Elias kept his eyes on our son, avoiding me.

When the feeding finished, Elias burped the baby and laid him back in the cradle. He straightened slowly, hand going to his side again, then turned toward the bathing room without a word.

I moved fast and caught his wrist. “We need to talk.”

Elias paused. He did not pull away, but he did not look at me either. “I am tired, Kai.”

“So am I.” I kept my voice even. “But this cannot wait until morning.”

He exhaled and finally met my eyes. We moved to the sitting area. I sat on the long couch. Elias chose the chair across from me, wincing as he lowered himself down. Blood had seeped through a fresh bandage on his abdomen. I forced myself not to comment on it yet.

“You went alone,” I started. “You left our son. You left me. You rode into a guarded compound still healing from surgery and birth. What were you thinking?”

Elias leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “I was thinking that Liora did not have time for you to gather armies and plan strategies. I saw the room. I saw the knife at her throat. Every minute mattered.”

“How did you even know where she was?” I asked. The question had burned in me since I found the empty stable.

Elias rubbed his face with both hands. “I touched her bag. The one we found in the car. The vision came hard. I saw the compound, the stones, Clara’s face, everything. It was like standing in the room with them. I knew the exact building. I knew I could reach it faster alone.”

I stared at him. “You had a vision that clear and you said nothing. You did not tell me. You just left.”

“Because you would have taken fifty warriors,” Elias said. His voice stayed calm but firm. “You would have announced our arrival from miles away. They would have moved her or killed her before we breached the walls. I went quiet. I went fast. It worked.”

I stood up and walked to the window. The sky outside had lightened to full morning. “It worked this time. But what if it had not? What if they had taken you too? What if our son had lost both of us? You took that risk without talking to me.”

Elias stayed seated. “I am not sorry for saving her. But I understand why you are angry. I would be furious if you had done the same to me.”

I turned back to him. The anger had cooled some, leaving only the heavy fear that had gripped me during the ride north. “I searched everywhere. The stables, the gates, the northern road. When I realized you had gone alone, I thought I might find you dead beside her. I cannot lose you. I cannot raise our son without you.”

Elias watched me for a long moment. “I know. I took a stupid risk. But she is home. Lucien has her back. She is resting. We are all here.”

I crossed the room and stopped in front of his chair. I offered my hand. He took it and let me pull him up. We stood close. The tension between us had not vanished, but it had shifted into something we could work through.

“You are still healing,” I said. “Next time something like this happens, you tell me what you saw. We decide together. Even if we disagree.”

Elias nodded once. “Next time I will tell you. And you will listen before you growl at me.”

A short laugh escaped me. “Deal.”

He glanced toward the bathing room. “I need to wash this blood off. Then we both need sleep.”

I released his hand. “Go. I will check on the baby.”

Elias walked to the bathing room. I heard water running. I moved to the cradle and looked down at our son. His small chest rose and fell steadily.