The True Queen- Book Two

Chapter Thirty-Three: Illyana

I wake slowly, my eyes fluttering open. I have to shut them for a few moments to stop the blinding light from the sun hurting them. I feel something around my waist and looking down, I see Kai's arm. Sitting up, I feel his chest behind me and smile.

"Welcome back," he says behind me. It takes my brain a few moments to process what's going on. I am sat on Nishka with Kai.

"What happened?" I ask.

"You passed out," he tells me. I look around and see the rest of the group. Our wolves walk slowly, as tired as the group are. Our skin and uniforms are still covered in blood and so are our wolves fur. There isn't much chatter or smiling. I tilt my head in confusion when I see Zoran sitting on Razan's back. He looks uncomfortable at sitting on the back of a wolf alone. Luckily, he doesn't have to guide the wolves like you would a horse. I look down at my arm, feeling an ache.

"Luckily Zoran had some spare tears," Kai says. There is a bloodsoaked piece of cloth around the top of my arm and stains over the rest of my skin from where it had bled. I wince in pain and move the cloth.

"It didn't heal completely," I say.

"No. It would have if we got it to you before you passed out or if Zoran had given you more tears. He doesn't have many left though," Kai says, "but at least the wound is sealed." I nod my head and smile at Zoran. He smiles softly back and we all fall into silence again. My eyes still heavy, I lean my head back on Kai.

"Is everyone else okay?" I ask. He nods his head.

"Some scrapes and bruises, but otherwise yes," he explains.

"We took on a small army," I say.

"It's what we train to do," Kai explains and I nod my head.

"How did they even find their way around?" I ask.

"The Fae have been sneaking around these lands for hundreds of years, using their visions to try and map and navigate them. For the most part, they aren't successful. That being said, a large group like that shouldn't have been able to slip through so I need to sort out our security," he tells me with a sigh. I nod my head and look up at him.

"What about?" I begin, my voice quiet. I look over at Hali and Stesha. Stesha sees me looking at him and smirks before winking. I am worried about what he's going to try and spin when we return.

"I don't know," Kai replies.

"What a mess," I grumble. He hums in agreement.

When we see the city our energy picks up a little. The wolves shuffle, desperate to run and get into the safety of the city walls. I climb off Nishka and get onto Razan. He barks happily at having me back with him. I laugh and dig my fingers into his soft furs. Once I am comfortable again, the wolves pick up speed. Racing into the canyon and out the other side to get onto the large bridge that rises above the city into the courtyard of the castle. The doors are already open for us and eyes are wide when we return tired and covered in blind.

 "Illyana!" Wyatt shouts as I slide down off Razan. His eyes are wide and he barrels into me, hugging me tightly. I hug him back just as tightly.

"What happened?" he asks.

"We were ambushed by Fae," I reply. He curses and steps back to look at me. His eyes are wide and full of concern as he brushes my hair out of my face, seemingly to check for damage.

"I'm fine," I say to him. His eyes fall on the bandage and he narrows his eyes. "Zoran gave me a tear." Wyatt nods his head and looks at Zoran. The two smile before tightly embarrassing. I leave them to their greetings and walk over to where Kai is talking quickly to Aaliyah. Her eyes fall on me and she smiles softly before pulling me into a hug.