Chapter 31

Knives blur into hands, my power splashing across the room. Lesath bares his teeth. My sister is limp again. This close, I hardly recognize Ali. The summer dress she wore when I last saw her is covered in grime, ridden with holes. Her cheeks are hollowed out, dark smudges under her eyes. Her hair, her beautiful white-blonde hair, looks matted.

It's only been a few days.

What the hell has he put her through?

Lesath cradles her like she weighs nothing, and his eyes promise violence. Okay, no sign of intelligent life there.

I can't get to Ali with him like this. The realization takes some of the wind out of my sails, and Ras appears next to me, in human form.

"Lesath," he rumbles. "My brother. What has happened here?"

"I couldn't change. I couldn't… I couldn't shift." Lesath's voice is strained, the cords of his neck standing out as he talks. "I knew she was mine. I couldn't take care of her. I didn't remember how."

He sounds hysterical. Worry darts through me. Suddenly, his eyes narrow, his teeth bared. "You can't take her. I won't let you."

Ras's arm snakes out in front of me, protective. "My mate is her sister."

"She's sick," I say. My heart is in my throat. Ali looks so small in his arms, so small, and so helpless. Her body shivers, and he presses her closer to him. I step forward. "I can help you take care of her. She needs a blanket. Soup, broth if you can get it, fresh water. Some clean clothes, maybe a bath?"

He makes an unhappy noise, his eyes dropping to where she sweats in his arms.

Shit. She has a fever. I remember when she was like this when she was ten, sick with pneumonia and miserable. My dad didn't know what to do, so Mina and I took turns taking care of her, our sweet baby sister.

"Are the harbingers poisonous?" I ask Ras.

"No. I don't think so," he grits his teeth. "I do not like this, Lana."

"That makes two of us."

Lesath looks to be walking a tightrope between tearing our heads off and caring for Ali. Despite my instructions, he hasn't moved. He stares, his inhumanly green eyes fixed on her. If I want to help my sister, I need him to trust me. To trust us. I poke Ras in the side, motioning for him to talk.

"Lesath." Ras starts forward.

His head jerks up at the sound of his name.

"I am pleased you found your mate. Lana, Ali's sister, is the greatest joy of my life," Ras says quietly, soothingly.

Lesath looks at me, then back at Ali.

"Ali," he whispers, running his hands across her hair. "Ali. I am so sorry."

"What can I do?" Dabin appears in the doorway, Danielle on his heels.

"We need food and water for her. She's sick," I whisper, trying not to catch his attention. The last thing I want is him to see me as a threat. I can't help my sister if he tears my arms off. Dabin nods and turns around.

"I'll go see about clothes and a blanket," Danielle says. "You got this, Lana."

"Ali loves to sing," I tell Lesath, focusing on him, smiling softly. See? No threat here! "She has a beautiful voice."

"Beautiful," he repeats. Oh geez. This is so not good. I take a step towards them, trying to forget the scary AF spiked tail he sported only moments ago.

"That's right," I say agreeably, moving closer. "She was in choir all through high school. I bet you don't have that here, huh? Well, when she went to college, she kept singing, but she dropped out after our dad died. I guess we were all kind of lost in our own ways." Damn, I didn't mean to get sentimental when cozying up to the mad scorpion dude, but here I am!

I inch closer, and Lesath's shoulders sag. "Then we came here. Well, more like appeared, but tomato tomahto, you know? Did you know she's Starbound?" It's obvious now, all three of us must be. "We have another sister, too, Mina. I love them both so much. Ras promised me he'd make sure they were safe, and that's why we're here. Just to help, that's all." I keep my voice as low and soothing as possible.

"Help," he says, his eyes beseeching. "You can help her?"

I smile slowly, holding my hands up. The weapons disappear, but power arcs across my skin in blue sizzling waves.

"Starbound," Lesath repeats. His eyes are round, and for a split second, I wonder if he's feverish too.

Danielle appears at the door, a velvet length of fabric draped over her shoulders. Ali moans on the floor, and I make a sudden move towards her.

Lesath makes a gravelly noise in his throat, and I flinch back. "Help her!" he snarls, pacing. His pupils dilate, the green swallowed by black.

Oh, shit. That cannot be good. I surge forward, and Danielle and Ras run towards us at the same moment. I crouch next to my sister. She's shivering, her teeth clattering against each other. I brush my hand against her skin. Ali's forehead is scalding.

"She's burning up." I blink. How did this happen? She's lost weight in the few days we've been here, her cheekbones sharper, eyes sunken.

Lesath paces around me, and Ras clasps a hand to his shoulder.

"It's not your fault," he tells him. Lesath makes an odd rasping growl that chills me to the bone.

Like hell it isn't. I nearly snap and say it out loud, but I stop as guilt winds through me— it's my fault too. I should have found her sooner, should have told Ras we had to go after her. I stroke her hair from her sticky forehead, and her eyelashes flutter.

Danielle hands me the velvet, and metal clinks together.

"It's a curtain. It's all I could find," she says apologetically.

"It'll work." I tuck the makeshift blanket around Ali, and she moans.

Dabin thrusts a waterskin into my arms. I hold Ali's head up with one hand, tipping the water gently against her mouth. The first few drops dribble out, and I despair. Then her throat moves, and she's swallowing.

"She's drinking it. When's the last time she ate?" Maybe she's been hunger striking since, ya know, a giant scorpion scooped her up and threw her in a black castle. I purse my lips. It's not like her, though. Ali is a fighter. Ali is sunshine and optimism.

Lesath grunts, Ras's hand still on his shoulder. Affection surges through me. Mate. My mate. Even though I'm half out of my skin with worry for Ali, Ras is here. Ras is mine, and he's helping, and it fills me with the sense that somehow, everything is going to be okay.

"I don't know," Lesath finally says. "I haven't been… I haven't shifted in years. This is—" he pauses, extending his hands and inspecting them. "This is the first time I've been a man." He shakes his head, and his voice gets tight. "I do not think I remembered to feed her."

Shit. "Okay. So, she is dehydrated for sure."

"She might have drunk something that made her sick. Or ate something." Danielle frowns. "Dabin, do you think you could find that plant? The one you told me about? Can't we mash it up and make her eat it?"

Dabin nods. "I keep some in my pack. I don't know if it will be enough. I'll bring some jerky too." He puts his hand on Lesath's other shoulder. "Brother, this is not your fault. Something has happened to us."

Lesath's jaw clenches, that odd clicking sound echoing around the black marble room.

"I knew there was a reason I kept you around," Danielle grins at Dabin as he leaves, then rubs my arm. "It doesn't taste great, but it should help."

Ras tilts his chin. "I was asleep, Lesath. Stuck in lion form. Dabin is right. Something kept us from the rest of ourselves. Clouded our perspective. What do you remember?"

I stroke my sister's hair, her eyes moving as though she's dreaming. Her hands twitch under the blanket. I'm angry at Lesath. Furious. It might not be fair, but I don't really give a damn.

He brushes dark hair out of his eyes. They're still full black, and it's freaky. I don't like my sister with him. I don't like this at all. How the hell am I supposed to explain this to her? Protect her?

"I remember everything. I remember it all. I just… I could not remember what it was to be a mortal. What she needed. It was like…"

"Like you were trapped inside your other form." Ras nods, pity softening his eyes.

"I knew, I knew… I knew she was special. I couldn't focus on why."

He sounds tormented, and I make myself hold still as he crouches on her other side. His big hands find hers, and he rubs them.

"I have to make this right." His voice cracks, and my mouth drops open as a single tear leaks from his eye. He raises her hand to his lips, brushing his mouth against it.

Ali opens her eyes and stares up at him.

A ripple of power splashes across me.

It's not mine, though. It's hers. Silvery-purple light flares across her hand where they touch, and her eyes grow wide, a soft smile playing across her wasted face. She wiggles her fingers, the light growing in intensity.

Lesath drops her hand as though burned, and stalks from the room. Ali sighs, and her eyes close as she drops back into sleep.

Ras shoots me a worried look, his brow furrowed.

"We can't leave her here with him," I whisper. I motion towards the exit Lesath strode through. "He's not safe."

"He will protect her." Ras's mouth twists to the side, and I feel his lack of conviction. He wants to believe it, yes, but does he?

"I can't leave her." My hair falls across my forehead as I shake my head.

"I have to find your other sister." Ras scratches the gold scruff on his chin.

"It's the compulsion." Danielle pipes up. I frown, trickling more water into Ali's mouth.

"She's right." Ras runs his hand along my shoulder. "Now that I've started fulfilling my oath, I cannot stop. If you want to stay here, I can go alone to find her."

I make a choked noise. "No. I can't let you leave me." The thought hurts, like something has broken open inside me, painful and raw.

Danielle chews her lip. "I can stay with her. Make sure she heals. Dabin and I can lookout for her."

"No, we cannot," Dabin says, stalking across the room. "I cannot leave the portal gate unattended. And we need your research."

Danielle sighs. "I know."

Ali moans, and my attention snaps back to her. "Where is Mina?" she asks, her voice soft.

"Ali, you're awake." Relief fills me.

"Give her these." Dabin hands me a handful of wilted leaves. A bitter lemon smell fills the air. "It will help expel the fever."

"I'm hungry." Ali's eyes focus on the herbs, and I push them into her mouth. She makes a face, her nose wrinkling. Her skin already feels less feverish, and I look at my palm in shock.

"It's the stars in her blood." Ras notices my surprised look. "She's burning through the infection. Lesath helped trigger it when he touched her hand."

"Lesath," Ali repeats. "Stars in my blood? Is that like a parasite? I ate lizards."

I shoot Danielle a look, and she bites her lip, nodding encouragement. I swallow hard, push some more herbs into my sister's mouth.

Ali makes the same face.

"Sorry," I mutter.

"Better than lizards," she says through the mouthful.

I recoil, and Ali coughs. No, not coughs, she's laughing, a hysterical little giggle. Suddenly, she grips my wrist, and both of our powers flare into being, blue and purple warring across our skin.

"Tell me. Tell me what the hell is going on."

I take a deep breath and tell her everything.

By the time I finish explaining the interdimensional travel, stumble through an explanation of our powers with Danielle and Ras's help, Ali is sitting up and chewing some kind of animal jerky on her own.

"And we don't know where Mina is?" she finally asks.

I shake my head. "You're taking this pretty well."

"I've been stuck inside a tower for days. I've had a lot of time to consider my options." She takes another sip of water and closes her eyes. "Though I never quite made it to interdimensional travel. I was headed more into major psychotic break. But unless we're having a group hallucination, I think I have to believe you."

"It's a lot." I gnaw my lip, and Ras trails a hand across my cheek. I smile up at him, grateful for the comfort in the small gesture, the love I feel radiating from him.

"My mate," he says, bending to press a kiss against the top of my head.

"Does he turn into some kind of disgusting bug, too? Wait… mate?" Her eyes go round as saucers. "Lesath was saying something like that to me," her hands shake as she swigs from the waterskin. "Oh god. Oh no. Please tell me that doesn't mean what I think it means."

"Um, so yeah. That's kind of a thing here?" I don't know how to tell her, so I pull up my blouse and turn around, showing her the constellation written across my back. "I think if you check yours, it's probably Scorpio." Her eyes widened. "You don't have to stay with him. Fuck destiny or fate or whatever. If you don't want to be here, then we will figure it out. I can stay with you, we can leave, maybe you can come with us."

Ali blinks at me.

"He will not hurt you." Ras winds his arm around my waist. "It is against our ways. It is not done."

A low laugh explodes from her, devoid of humor. "Just neglect me until I die, then, hmm?"

"Come with us," I plead. "You don't have to accept the bond. You can choose."

"I can barely sit up." Ali shakes her head, her eyes wide. "There's no way I can go with you. Yeah, I feel better, but I still feel like shit. I'll slow you down. And Mina… what if something worse has happened to her? She needs you."

A clicking noise fills the room, and Ali shivers, her eyes wide. Lesath's returned, leaning against the wall. His face is a mask of rage, his eyes narrowed, his full lips downturned.

"You're awake," he says. Ali swallows, her gaze not leaving his. "You do not have to stay here. They are right." His voice is monotone, as if this conversation means nothing to him.

It hurts me. I shouldn't care, but I look at Ras and think of how much he means to me, how much the bond has already made me feel whole. This must be tearing Lesath apart. Ugh. I can't believe I'm empathizing with him.

Ali lets out a hollow laugh. "Are you going to turn into a bug and forget I exist? Starve me again?" Her voice is full of derision. Danielle coughs delicately next to me. Even Dabin shifts, obviously uncomfortable.

"No." Lesath shakes his head. His eyes are glowing emerald again. I can't look away from them, my head swiveling like I'm watching a tennis match.

"And I can't leave with my sister, because I'm too weak, thanks to you. I can't go with these strangers, because they are apparently doing something to keep more people from falling through dimensions and I'll be a burden." Ali's voice is full of spite. I've only ever heard her this angry after dad died. She's furious.

Lesath's lip curls in a feral snarl.

"But my sister tells me you won't hurt me, that you'll take care of me. And as long as you can do that and manage to stay the fuck away from me, I'll agree to stay here until I'm well enough to never see you again."

Lesath nods once. "It will be as you say." Tension radiates from him, a muscle in his jaw working as he watches her.

"It will be," she says, her chin held high. "You can start by getting me clean clothes and figuring out a bath. And a clean bed. And food. And not showing me your stupid face."

Lesath's throat bobs as he swallows, turning from the room.

She grips my hand and turns her attention back to me. "Go find Mina, and then get your ass back here and get me out of this goddamn sad excuse for a gothic castle."

My eyebrows shoot up, but I can't help grinning at her. That's my fiery little sis, alright. She's already got Lesath running to do her beck and call. Despite my misgivings about Lesath, Ali isn't wrong. We need to find Mina and make sure she is safe. Besides, Ali seems to have the situation in hand. Mostly.

"You're sure?" I ask it anyway.

"I'll kick your ass if you don't leave."

"We're going to Kirdiff for supplies. It's a market town," Ras tells her. "I'll have someone courier you more goods. Lesath needs to stay here and make sure no more harbingers come."

She closes her eyes. "There are more of those things?"

"He'll protect you," I tell her. I might not trust him completely, but I can tell he'd tear everyone apart to make sure she's safe.

Literally.

"Go," she whispers. "The sooner you leave, the sooner you can get Mina and get me out of here."

I nod once, exhaustion weighing heavy on me. I kiss her on the cheek. "I promise, we'll be back for you. I love you, Ali."

"I love you too, Lala."

I smile at the old nickname and press my forehead against hers.

Ras helps me up, supporting my weight. When we walk out of the cavernous room, Lesath is hiding in the shadows. The look of longing on his face as he watches Lana brings me up short, but when I open my mouth to speak to him, he storms off.

Alright then.

"Is she going to be okay with him?"

Ras squeezes my waist. "I'll send word to Kaus to check on them. I'm sure Danielle will visit when she is able."

I nod at that. Danielle's still with Ali, talking quietly with her as she helps her eat and drink. My chest aches. I don't want to leave… but deep down, I know Ras is right.

It's time to find Mina.