Page 34 of Shattered Jewel
I rush to them, questions spilling out. “Is he going to be all right? What did they do to him?”
Axe drapes a muscular arm across my shoulders, pulling me close while maneuvering me away from Cav’s room, no doubt sensing my urge to lock Kaspian in there with Cav to keep both of them from further death-defying injuries. “He’ll heal, Elara.”
Axe’s assurance rings hollow. I twist under his arm to stare at Cav’s door, fighting the impulse to charge in and demand answers. The fever, hallucinations about a curse—Cav needs more than ointment and pills.
I glance at Kaspian, but his jaw only clenches, refusing to meet my stare.
“We need to get you both to a hospital,” I insist, my voice rising with each word. “Whatever they did to Cav, it’s beyond our ability to treat. And you, Kaspian—can we really trust how Rossi treated you after what happened?”
For that reason, Sasha stayed behind with Mom after we both verified with the EMTs of the private ambulance who they were associated with, confirmed where they were going, and forced them to link our phones so we could track their movements. Sasha climbed into the ambulance with my mother the minute Axe muttered into Kaspian’s ear, and Kaspian—Kaspian—turned pale.
I’d spent enough time desperately trying to read my mother’s lips while she silently chanted, worried that she might be planning to hurt herself, that I read Axe as saying, Cav’s getting worse.
It didn’t take me long to convince them to take me, considering both were reluctant to let me go after the Vultures recently tried to take me away.
Now, Axe tenses into living stone. Wilder vocalizes Axe’s concern, asking Kaspian in a low, menacing undertone, “Explain what went on with you and Elara. I didn’t press you in front of Cav and politely refrained from interrogating you the instant you smuggled Elara in, but Kasp, you vanished after the blood ritual.”
Blood ritual? My mind instantly flashes back to the angry slashes across Cav’s chest. Sigils carved into his flesh, carrying some terrible meaning.
Kaspian dismisses Wilder’s questions with a weary shake of his head.
He says to me, eyes hooded and bleak, “Hospitals are too risky.”
I start to argue, but Axe interrupts. “Trust us, Elara. We handle this regularly.”
His arm constricts around me, meant to comfort but only stoking my frustration. I shrug him off and plant myself in their path, halting our progress.
“This isn’t right. Look at what’s being done to you. It’s not worth it.” I shake my head, thoughts churning and tears building. “Maverick’s fate was undeserved, and Cav’s is no better. Look what your leaders inflicted on him.” I point behind them with a shaking, furious finger, indicating where we just came. “Look!”
Seconds tick by. They don’t move.
Kaspian shifts his weight and flinches, the motion jarring his shoulder.
Axe’s jaw flexes, a muscle jumping beneath his stubbled skin. He glances at the others, communicating in their private language.
That just enrages me further. “I am a part of this. My Anderton bloodline gave you a piece of the ruby, so don’t you dare use your secret society eye language in front of me?—”
Wilder steps closer, hands raised. “Elara, we can’t risk?—”
“I don’t care about the risk!” The words rip from my throat, echoing in the vast hall. “Cav’s hurt. Badly. And so are you, Kaspian, because of my mother.” I bark out a heartbroken laugh. “My fragile, emotionally wounded mother shot you. This is what it’s come to. No, it’s all because of this fucking jewel. Because of the Sovereigns.”
Kaspian sighs, raking a hand through his hair. “We don’t have a choice. You may be an Anderton, but you don’t have a clue about the Court.”
“Then do me a favor and enlighten me,” I snap.
Behind Cav’s door, a crash sounds, followed by a strangled cry.
Surprise twists into concern when I recognize the voice as Cav’s. I lunge into the space between Axe and Wilder to race back to the room, but Axe intercepts me, his large frame blocking the way.
“Let me through,” I demand, straining against his hold. “You said he’d be knocked out. That Cav would rest.”
It was the only way they could convince me to leave him.
Kaspian interjects, “You don’t want to see him like this.”
Another roar rips through the air, raw and agonized. It tears at my heart, my very soul. I thrash in Axe’s grip, desperate to reach Cav and somehow ease his suffering.
Wilder shoulders past us and disappears into the room, the door slamming shut behind him. I sag against Axe, tears building as Cav’s shouting grows more tormented, more inhuman, with each passing second.