Secret Keepers

Chapter 15

They must have heard me because they all turned and Cutter gasped, rushing over to me. "Shadow! I'm sorry I meant to come back for you, but I got caught up in all this."

I stared at the dead guards as he embraced me. "Are these the people after you guys?"

They all sighed and nodded. Dagger spoke for them. "Yes. Or at least these are the guys sent to kill us. The real guys after us are the kings noblemen."

I trembled, huddling into Cutter's arms as he held me close. "How did they find you guys? And how did they get in?"

Tracker shrugged. "How they found us we don't know. But they managed to wrench the door open by beating on the cave door enough that it broke the crank system. Now our door can't lock."

Well that wasn't reassuring at all. I sobbed and buried my face in Cutter's chest. He shushed me and rubbed my hair. "Don't worry. We'll fix it. And we'll fix it so that they can't break it either. I promise. This won't happen again."

The others came closer and then Runner spoke. "We all promise."

I glanced up and they all nodded at me, giving me a salute that soldiers would do to a queen or king. I smiled at them and as my gaze passed over Runner, I saw his lips quirk up in a tiny, almost meaningless grin. Then I glanced at Rage who, for once, looked relaxed and rather happy. I was amazed at myself. Even after such a catastrophic thing happened to their peaceful home, my presence seemed to focus their intentions on keeping me safe.

Cutter picked me up and assigned them each jobs to carry out either with clean up or with door repair. Once each man was working, he carried me to his room and laid me out on the bed. He let his hands rest on the mattress beside me and then he chuckled lightly, looking up and smiling at me. "Thank you. You don't even realize it, but they adore you in a way that I don't have to worry about. That salute proved it. When we worked for the king, we were forced to give that salute to his wife, the queen. We hated her because she flirted with us to try to get us killed by the king. It amused her in a crooked way. So eventually we quit doing it whenever the king wasn't in the room. But now that they did it, it seemed like it came natural to them."

I narrowed my eyes in confusion and tried to sit up, but he pushed me back down gently and stroked my cheek. "No. Relax and get some sleep."

I shook my head. "But that makes no sense. They gave me a royal salute. Why?"

He leaned down and kissed my forehead. "Because you're more of a queen to us than the queen herself. They respect you and I'm in love with you. You keep us in check and we would do anything to protect you."

Without another word, he left the room and I was left to my thoughts. As much as it weirded me out, I was honored that they would give me a salute. It made me feel important and wanted, two things I've never felt before. I laid over on my side and yawned, closing my eyes gently. I wasn't very sleepy, but I was mentally tired. And my crying fit didn't help at all.

I fell asleep for a little while, but then Cutter woke me up for breakfast. I sleepily followed him and as I sat down at the breakfast table, I felt Dagger pat my shoulder gently. I smiled at him and he smiled back, walking into the kitchen. As each person filed in, the lines of stress and sleep were heavy under their eyes. The last one to come in, as usual, was Rage. But instead of being last because he was just always fashionably late, he still had blood on him and he was obviously exhausted. Which meant he'd still been working. He had to continuously shake himself awake while he kept drifting off in his seat.

Slice served us food and they ate slowly, almost too tired to enjoy it. A little conversation was started, but it never carried on for very long. I sighed and looked around. They were dead tired and I was fully rested. It made me feel bad that I got to relax and lay down while they toiled away like slaves. But despite my well rested state, I felt like crud. My body was sore and I felt like I was getting sick.

I sighed and put my fork down, not hungry anymore. From across the table, Tracker suddenly glanced at me with narrowed eyes. "Cutter, she doesn't look too good."

I shook my head, but I knew I was coming down with something. "No. I'm fine."

Cutter looked at me and he put his fork down as well, looking closer at me. "He's right. You look paler than normal. Which is saying a lot."

I felt subconscious with everyone studying me so I stood up quickly and went for the door, but I'd obviously stood up too fast. I got a head rush and my legs trembled and gave out. I hit the floor and moaned as the full brunt of the sickness hit me. I closed my eyes and could feel several sets of hands lifting me up into a chair. Someone pressed a cold rag to my face and another one of them loosened the top buttons of my blouse, giving me more breathing room.

"Shadow? You okay?"

I nodded at Cutter's voice, but I felt like I'd been hit by a horse.

"I'll take her back to the room. You guys take a break and get a little sleep."

I was lifted up and carried out of the kitchen and I opened my eyes as he sidestepped into the bedroom. He laid me out on the bed and sat beside me, wiping my forehead with the rag. "I'm sorry you don't feel good Shadow."

I shook my head. "Its fine. I'm sorry that you can't kiss me until I get better."

He laughed and rubbed my forehead gently. "Apparently it takes more than sickness to bring that humor down."