Broken

He nodded. “Good, then I will leave that part out.” He rubbed the stubble on his chin. “Two days passed before I returned to the castle. After checking on you, I went straight to Lydia’s side to find her wound mending, but she would not wake. She was so weak and now I know why. Without Altaria. .”

“She died,” Kira finished.

Octavion wiped a tear from Kira’s face. “No. That is the truth I kept from you.”

“I don’t understand.”

He smiled. “I am sorry Kira. I gave an oath to my father-my king. I would rather die than go against that. I only tell you so you understand that what I am about to say could bring a heavy price.”

Kira felt her blood boiling insider her. Maybe Altaria had figured his secret out before she had. “Tell me what?”

“Lydia. . did not die.”

Kira pressed her hand to her racing heart. “She didn’t die the day before I arrived?”

He didn’t answer at first, just gazed into her eyes. Then he gently caressed the side of her face and smiled. “No, my love. She is still alive.”

Chapter Twenty Three

Kira didn’t know whether to dance around the room with joy or punch him in the face. Altaria picked the latter. Kira actually felt heat rush down her arm and into her hand, forcing her fist to clench. The next thing she knew she’d raised her arm and made contact with Octavion’s face. Unfortunately, her hand wasn’t nearly as strong as his jaw. When it hit a sharp pain shot through her hand, accompanied by a popping sound.

“Crap!” She grabbed her hand and pulled it to her chest. It felt like she’d hit a brick wall and Octavion didn’t even flinch.

“Let me see that.” Octavion tried to pry her hands apart, but she pulled away.

“Don’t touch me.” She stood and walked to the door, leaned her back against it and tried to examine her hand. The knuckle on her middle finger had already started to swell. “Look what you did.” She held it up so he could see.

“You hit me, remember?” He crossed the distance between them, a smirk on his face. “What is it with you women? Can you not express anger without hitting?”

“Look who’s talking. Your knuckles were bruised and scabbed over when I woke in your chambers. They didn’t get that way by themselves. Care to explain that?”

“No.” He took her hand and carefully inspected it. When he touched her middle finger, a jolt of pain raced up her arm.

“Ouch!” she screamed. She took her hand back. “Just leave me alone.”

He stepped back and folded his arms across his chest. “It is broken, Kira.”

“Oh, really? I’m so glad you told me that. I don’t think I would have figured it out on my own.”

“Let me take you to Gregor.” He tried to take her hand again, but she slapped him with her good one.

“See? Again with the hitting,” he teased.

“You’re not taking me anywhere until I see Lydia. I have to figure out a way to give Altaria back to her.” She marched back to the bed and sat on the edge. “I’ll never forgive you for this one, Octavion. Keeping this from me could have killed her. What if it’s too late? What if she’s too weak to accept Altaria’s spirit?”

He sighed. “I had no choice. My father forbade it. I gave my word not to tell anyone. Besides, I was not the only one who kept secrets. If you would have told me Altaria lived inside you. .”

“How could I tell you? I thought Lydia was dead. Where was Altaria supposed to go, anyway?” Her hand throbbed. What she wouldn’t give for a bag of ice-to throw at him.

He came closer and knelt in front of her. She scooted further back, not letting him touch her.

“Kira, you have to understand his reasons. If word got back to Shandira, Lydia’s life would have been in danger. We could not take the risk.” Octavion stood and crossed to the fire. He rested his arm on the mantle and brushed his fingers through his hair. He stayed there for the longest time, just staring into the flames, his back turned to her. “She has yet to wake since I brought her home. She has had very little nourishment and water.”

Kira let her hands drop into her lap. “How can she still be alive?”

He shook his head and turned to face her. “I would not describe her as being alive. Her body has not yet found death, but there is no life left in her. I wanted to save you from seeing her like that. You needed to remember her as she was before.”

Kira’s heart sank into my stomach. “I don’t care what she looks like. I want to see her. I have to try to give back Altaria. I know she’ll be fine if I can do that.”

Octavion sat on the hearth and leaned his elbows on his knees. “My intentions were to tell you the truth. . without my father’s knowledge. He will be furious with me.”

“No he won’t. He’ll be happy to know about Altaria, especially if it saves Lydia’s life.”

“If he believes you. He will most likely be so angry he will refuse to let you near her. It would not surprise me if he ordered me to take you back to your world because of this.” He looked at her intently. “Kira, you cannot tell anyone, you know that, right?”

“I’m not going back and I won’t say anything.”

“I believe you. I only hope my father understands my reasons for revealing the truth. There cannot be secrets between us. Not if it means putting you in danger. I would be a hypocrite to ask you to tell me everything if I held something back. Luka was all too eager to point that out to me.”

Kira stood and went to him, kneeling at his feet. Altaria had calmed her heart until Kira looked into Octavion’s eyes. It was all she could do to control the urge to hit him again. Kira had already forgiven him, but she was pretty sure it would take some time for Altaria to do the same. “Thank you for telling me,” she finally said. “Can we go now? I really want to see her, and if we don’t get Al out of me soon, I think my heart will burst.”

“Al?”

Kira smiled. “Yeah, I started calling her that after the switch. It just popped into my head and sounded right.”

Octavion smiled. “It is what her mother called her. She hasn’t allowed anyone else to call her that since Estaria was killed. I believe you are more connected with her than you realize.”

The pressure in Kira’s heart suddenly stopped and a warm sensation filled her entire body. He was right. Somehow, they’d found a friendship in all the tragedy. “I think you’re right.”

Kira stood, but as she took a step back, she caught her foot in the hem of her dress and stumbled. Half way to the floor, Octavion reached out and grabbed the front of her dress.

“Not so fast.” He didn’t just stop her fall, but brought her up against his chest and put his arms around her. “You are a clumsy one. Perhaps you could manage to stay in one piece long enough for me to speak to my father. He will not be pleased about my confession.”

The warmth from his body engulfed her. She wanted to tease him back, but all she could think about was kissing him again. She lost herself in his eyes. When she didn’t answer, a seductive grin crossed his face. He ran his hand through her hair until he found the nape of her neck, then gently pulled her head back and pressed his lips to hers. If she hadn’t been so involved in taking in every movement of his mouth she may have noticed they were no longer standing in the cottage. She only realized they’d been transported to the courtyard when she heard the splash of the fountain instead of the crackling of the fire.

“You could have warned me. What if I opened my eyes?”

He flashed his dimples. “I believe you were adequately distracted.”

When they entered the castle, she wasn’t a bit surprised to see Gregor waiting in the parlor-along with Mara and Ussay. Octavion sent word that she’d broken her finger, but hadn’t given any details so they all waited to find out what horrible thing the clumsy ox had done this time. When she told them she hit him, they laughed.

Satisfied with Kira’s answer, Mara chuckled under her breath and waddled slowly out of the room. “Let me know if you need anything else, dear,” she said over her shoulder.

“Wish me luck,” Octavion whispered in her ear. Then he walked up the stairs to speak to his father. His slow,