noticed tiny veins of yellow in them.
“What then?”
“First I have a question. Did you bite Zerek or Nigel?”
Zerek’s image flashed in her mind and she quickly pushed it away. “I don’t know and I don’t want to think about it. Why?”
“We fear you may have ingested the blood of a Darkord when you would not wake. There were other signs as well.” He lifted the mirror, hesitated for a moment, and then slowly turned it so she could see her reflection. “They are not as bad as when you first woke. You only saw dark shadows then and your eyes had no color.”
Kira shifted her focus from Octavion’s face to her own. Looking back at her, were the hollow eyes of a Darkord. She knocked the mirror out of his hand. Tears threatened to overwhelm her as the mirror shattered on the ground. Octavion quickly scooped her up and sat her on the bed next to Ussay.
“Kira, please do not cry. It will pass. I am sure of it. I can see threads of green woven within them now, when before there was nothing. Give it time.”
Ussay jumped off the bed and started picking up the broken pieces of mirror. Octavion swung around, lifted her up and literally threw her back on the bed. She landed on her back. He leaned over her, both hands planted firmly on either side of her torso.
“Do you have a death wish? One slip, one drop of blood and you would die, Ussay.” He lowered his face even closer to hers. His eyes were on fire again and the muscles along his back and shoulders began to swell. Being the victim of an ancient curse, like all Royals on Ophira, left him with the heart of a wild cat. Only Octavion was different. With his father’s heritage of the lion and his mother the tiger, he was a hybrid and had less control over his cravings. It didn’t help that he’d been on earth for the past three years and his ability to control his hunger was almost non-existent. And with only two days before the moons were new, he had to be suffering terribly.
“Please, stop.” Ussay threw her hands over her face, exposing a deep scratch on her wrist. Most of it had scabbed over, but one section was red and swollen.
Octavion jumped back as if he’d been hit in the face, crushing a shard of the mirror beneath his foot. “I would never hurt you.” He turned and remained still for a few seconds. Kira knew he fought for control over his transformation-she’d seen it in his eyes. “I will clean this up.” When he crouched to gather the pieces, Kira turned her attention to Ussay.
“Are you okay?” she whispered, no longer focused on herself and the black nothingness of her eyes.
Ussay nodded, relaxing her hands at her sides.
Kira helped her to sit, then pulled up Ussay’s sleeve to examine her wound. “This is infected.”
Octavion dropped the pieces he’d collected and stood. He gently took Ussay’s hand to examine it. “How did you get this? And why did you not treat it?”
Ussay brushed his hand away and pulled her sleeve down to cover the scratch. “It is nothing. It will heal.”
“Why haven’t you taken care of it?” Octavion asked. “You know what infection can do. You could have used the same salve we used on Kira’s back.”
“I did,” she snapped. “Perhaps if you would have been in better control of your temper. .”
Octavion's shoulders slumped forward. “I did this, didn't I?”
Ussay nodded, but still didn't look at him.
“What?” Kira looked at Octavion for answers. “Why would you do that?”
Octavion backed away from them and sat in the chair by the window. He leaned forward and put his head in his hands.
“It was an accident,” Ussay said. “He had no idea he scratched me. It is nothing.”
Octavion raised his head. “No, I should have been more careful.” His gaze met Kira’s. “I was upset because you would not wake. My mind was not in a good place. She suggested I admit defeat and accept your death. I reacted badly.”
“Reacted badly?” Kira brushed Ussay’s sleeve back again to get a closer look. “We need to take care of this, Octavion.”
“Not yet,” he said. “I will get her something for it, but you need to wait until I leave. I cannot take the risk of it bleeding. Not this close to the new moons’ phase.” He went back to collecting the pieces of glass, carefully wrapped them in a towel and left the room.
“I will be right back,” Ussay said as she scooted off the edge of the bed. “I will bring you something to eat.”
The room fell eerily quiet when Ussay closed the door behind her. In the quiet, Kira thought about the image she’d glimpsed in the mirror-herself, but not herself. Something had caused her eyes to lose their color. Octavion said Darkord blood, but she’d only swallowed a drop or two when she’d bitten Zerek. And that was the first day with her captors. They held her hostage for over three days-if Zerek’s blood had caused her illness, why didn’t she get sick right away?
And then she thought about Altaria. Lydia forcing Al’s spirit into her was the only other change. It made her wonder how connected Al was to her. They couldn’t share their thoughts, but she could hear Kira’s voice. Did Altaria also see through Kira’s eyes and feel what she felt?
“Crap!” She’d felt a lot of pain during her torture. What if Al had experienced everything she had? “Al, I’m so sorry for all this. I can’t begin to understand how you feel, trapped inside me.”
Kira’s heart rate increased and warmth filled her body.
Kira didn’t know how long she lay there, but at some point she fell asleep. When she woke, darkness filled the room and there was no sign of Ussay or Octavion. The cool night air gave her a chill so she pulled the covers over her body and drew them up around her shoulders. She tried to listen for any sounds from beyond her door, but heard only silence. Even the sounds of life coming from outside the castle had quieted. Her stomach ached from hunger and her body shivered from cold and fear.
Chapter Nine
Kira woke with a start. Heavy footsteps approaching outside the door made her sink further under the covers. Their quick and uneven cadence told her they weren’t Octavion’s. When they stopped, the door creaked open and a small stream of golden light splashed across the floor.
“Kira?” a strange man’s voice grumbled. He cleared his throat and stepped further into the room, closing the door behind him.
She sat up and pushed her back against the headboard, wincing when it grazed the tender wounds left from Zerek's whip. “Who are you? Get out of my room.”
“Kira, it is Luka. I am not going to hurt you.” He came closer and put the small candle he held up to his face. “Do not be afraid.”
She’d shot Luka in the shoulder with an arrow when he’d come to earth to help fight Shandira. She thought he was their enemy then and she still wasn’t certain he didn’t aim to get even for the pain she’d caused him. She scanned the room for something she could use as a weapon-and found nothing. “Where’s Octavion? Why isn’t he here?”
“He sent me to get you.” He stepped closer.
“No, he wouldn’t do that. Where is he? I want to see him.”
“He cannot come, Kira. It is not safe.” Luka came even closer and put the candle on the table next to the bed. “I am to take you away from the castle.”
Kira scooted further away. “No! Octavion would never allow that. He said I was safe here. I'm not leaving unless he tells me himself. Get out!” she yelled. “And where’s Ussay?”
“I sent her home. They have all gone home. You are the last one in the castle and we need to get you out.”
