I brushed aside a strand of hair from Ilisa’s pale face and left my palm against her cheek a moment. I breathed in deeply and tried to access her thoughts, tried to pry into her mind. Part of Renin’s accusations against me was the connection between Ilisa and I. Maybe I could use that to bring her out of this deep, dark sleep she was in…
Her thoughts were clouded, frazzled. But there were sparks, like she was fighting, instances of brilliance as if she were trying to break through a grave she had been buried in too soon.
“Come back to me, Ilisa… Come back and play and fight and love with me…”
Her eyes flittered underneath her closed eyelids, the first real movement we had seen from her. They had otherwise been still.
I was getting through to her!
I put my other hand on her other cheek.
“Ilisa… Hear me now. Come out of this cloud. Come back to me. Open your eyes and be here with me. It’s Skarde, your Destin. We have a connection, we have a destiny together. We have a fate to live for, a fight ahead of us, a battle to greet. We have too much to do together for you to be laying here like this. Come back to me!”
Bravo Renin and Commander Damox had stepped into the room now, likely alerted by the guards as to what I was doing. I didn’t doubt that one or the other was in charge of always trying to keep track of my thoughts. Ilisa had done a good job of helping me build up mental blocks, and though I could feel different Farians prowling into my mind and I had been successfully shutting them out, I didn’t know what powers the strongest among them held.
The Spec Ops soldiers came closer, my Vailstoran three stepping in between them and where I was at Ilisa’s bedside. My head hovered just over hers. My brown locks swung loose and brushed against her face.
“Ilisa…” I said the word aloud and her eyelashes actually fluttered. “Ilisa!” Her hand on the bedside clenched at the sheets, then moved up to hold my hand against her cheek as she slowly opened her eyes.
“Skarde…” The word was sweet but croaked dry from her throat.
“Get her some water,” I commanded and Nessi leapt to fill a glass. She handed it to me. I held it to Ilisa’s lips as I gently lifted her up from the ample pillows. Ilisa sipped slowly and then held her head between her hands.
“My head hurts…” Her brow furrowed with the words.
“Can we get her some anti-inflammatories?” I asked Renin. He nodded and signaled to one of the Farians. The soldier exited the room.
Ilisa lay back on the pillow, blinking rapidly. “How long have I been out?”
“Two days.”
“What’s happened with Fenvitz during that time?”
“He sent word that he would like to hold a battle. His soldiers against ours. On the plains south of the Kall.”
“Battle for what?”
“To win back his Dukedom.”
Ilisa swallowed deeply and adjusted herself in the bed. “What did Kajo say?”
“He said to decline it. HIs orders aren’t to be thwarted and he put me on this throne, and that’s all that matters. But I have an idea. I want to discuss it with you, then take it to him.”
She rubbed her forehead. The soldier returned and handed her some pills and she sipped them down quickly. She took a deep breath and leaned back against the pillows. She reached up and put her hand on my cheek. Her smile was so welcome, so sweet. I had missed it… I had been so afraid… Seeing her awake and smiling, was such a relief. The weight in my heart had been profound, now it had lifted and my body tingled, my hands ached to touch her, to pull her close, to exclaim for everyone to hear how delighted I was that she was awake, alive, okay!
Renin stepped close to the bed. I hid my clenching fists within the satin sheets.
“Bravo Ilisa, I need to know about the circumstances within the tunnel. It seemed to me that Skarde was the one holding you in the air. Is that true?”
She looked at him in confusion. “Of course not. He is developing his tele arts, it is true. But the power that held me was extreme. I have never sensed such a power as that one. I couldn’t fight it. His Will was washing over me, telling me that I wanted to hit the ground and split my head open.” She paused and stared into the distance. Then she shook her head. “It was terrifying.”
“You never saw who it was that was doing this to you?”
“They were around the bend in the tunnel. The same people, I am assuming Fenvitz’s soldiers, who were throwing the knives at us. It wasn’t Skarde. He was trying to help me. To defend me. To protect me. To protect us.”
Renin nodded. He looked at me and bowed slightly. “I apologize for my suspicion of you, Duke Skarde. I will accept Bravo Ilisa’s words and restore my loyalty.”
Ilisa looked from Renin to me and snorted. “How dare you challenge your Duke, Bravo Renin? Don’t you know yet? This is my Destin.”
Renin and Damox both dropped their jaws and stared at each other. They fumbled to find words. I grinned sideways at Ilisa and took her hand.
“That’s right. We are Destins. Our loyalty to each other supersedes any loyalty to the crown, but this should also assure you that my loyalty to your crown and the Beast King Kajo is now strengthened. I will
