Page 56 of The Kingdom's Reckoning
"Kal, I?—"
She applied the alcohol to the wound, and he snapped his mouth shut.
"It doesn’t look like the stick drove in too far. There’s probably going to be a nasty scar," Kallie said, analyzing the wound. "We should move to the camp so I can stitch it."
Graeson released a disgruntled groan.
"Can you stand?"
Graeson nodded. Pressing his palms against his knees, he stood awkwardly. He leaned against her; whether on purpose, she didn’t know. Either way, she wrapped an arm around his back.
"Come on," Kallie said, beginning to head in the direction Ellie had disappeared.
Graeson caught her hand in his. "Wait."
Kallie grimaced. "We really should stitch it up before it gets infected."
"It’ll be fine."
She looked back at him and lifted a brow. He still seemed like he was in pain. His features were twisted, and his complexion was dull and devoid of its usual warmth. Had she missed something?
"What is it? Are you hurt somewhere else?—"
"No," he said, interrupting her. "I just…I want to talk to you without Ellie around."
"Graeson," she warned. "I have to do this. Nothing you say will change my mind. She’s your mother."
"And you’re…" Graeson’s words fell off as he looked at her. His hair was soaked, and the strands stuck to his forehead as water dripped down the contours of his face.
She wished he had believed her lie. It would have made this so much easier.
"Dani told me the truth," she admitted.
Tilting his head to the sky, he closed his eyes as the storm persisted with no end in sight. In the moonlight, the exhaustion was plain across his face. She wondered how much sleep he hadgotten since leaving Tetria. How long had he been flying before Nyrri had crashed?
"Dani’s always butting into things she shouldn’t, isn’t she?" he said.
Kallie curled a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "I’m glad she told me. I…I get it now."
"You do?"
She sighed and tucked her dagger back into its holster. "You think you can change fate, Graeson, but you can’t. Neither of us can."
"I don’t believe that. I don’t believe our fates are sealed. I don’t believe there is nothing we can do, that we have to accept that our chances are slim to none."
"Aren’t you tired, though? How many times have you chased after me? How many times have you already fought against fate?"
"And how many times have I beaten it?" Graeson turned toward her, standing on his own. "I’m standing in front of you now, aren’t I? I will never grow tired of fighting for you." He brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. The touch was almost nonexistent, yet it sent a wave of energy spiraling down her neck.
Ever since Kallie had arrived in Tetria, she had let herself sink into the shadows. She had lost her purpose. Since she had woken up in the hospital ward, she had felt like she was falling with no end in sight. For weeks, she had been waiting to hit the ground, wondering if she would crash or somehow land on her feet.
While she was still falling, Kallie finally felt herself rotating, turning, preparing to land. She no longer wished to freefall.
Accepting the bond would only hurt him. If the trade went south, if something happened to her…
She couldn’t do that to him. She couldn’t put him through that.
She refused to return to Tetria and pretend the war wasn’t already here. She would never forgive herself if she gave up, if she let Domitius win.
