Page 1 of A Lion's Heart
PROLOUGE
The Unveiling
Sitting in a recliner with a cup of hot tea cooling in her hands, Kalina watched the television screen as if she expected something to jump through it at any moment. She was still a bit stiff as the stiches in her side healed. Beside her in another chair Ary sat close, rubbing her hand over Kalina’s back in an effort to keep her and the baby she was carrying calm.
“He’s alright,” Ary said slowly, her gaze also intent on the television screen. “They’re all coming back to us, Kalina. You cannot think otherwise.”
“They’re everywhere,” Kalina said softly. “Just everywhere and they’re killing whatever is in their way. Humans and shifters.”
In the corner, as was his favorite spot in any room that he occupied, Baxter held Shya in his arms, rubbing his chin along the little girl’s soft ebony curls. She’d flourished so much in the weeks since the blood transfusion from Ezra. Her chubby cheeks were the highlight of her cherub-like face, she had a smooth heavily-creamed coffee complexion and hazel brown eyes. She’d even grown two teeth at the bottom front of her mouth and now held tight to the spirit filled stick that had been converted into a rattle Baxter had given her the day she was born. Magdalena had given him the stick when he’d first left the Gungi to travel to the states with the Reynolds family. It was for protection, strength and solace, so Baxter had given it to Shya as the first born of the newest shifter generation. The Seer had already sent another spirited object for the first child of the Assembly Leader upon its birth.
Watching Kalina as she worked her fingers together, released and started the process again, Baxter wondered if that would come to fruition. The First Female looked tired after the injuries and subsequent surgery she’d endured because of the car accident. She’d lost a little weight but Ary assured them all that the baby inside her still thrived.
“There’s so much death,” Kalina whispered. “So much hate.”
Ary sighed. “I know. I know. But Rome is a good leader. He’ll get them all out of there. I know he will.”
But even to Baxter’s ears she did not sound confident.
In the next few minutes the mood in the tunnels shifted quickly. The first SUVs came barreling into the parking area. Calls came in rushed screams over the intercom system that had been installed into each room and the hallways of the tunnel. “Medical assistance needed! Medical assistance ASAP!”
Ary immediately rose from where she was seated. “You stay right here,” she told Kalina. “Do not move. I’ll come get you if it’s Rome.”
Kalina had already come to the edge of her seat, about to get up.
“Baxter, make her stay,” Ary called to him.
Baxter moved slowly from the corner, going to kneel in front of the First Female. “I need you to hold Shya, while I make sure all is well. Sit back and hold the baby,” he told her.
She looked up at him in a way that said she knew exactly what he was doing and wasn’t fooled one bit, but she did take Shya into her arms, cuddling the little girl close to her chest. Standing, Baxter nodded to Ary and watched thecuranderorush from the room to take care of the wounded.
Within the next hour more trucks came in with more wounded Shadow Shifters, some already dead.
When Kalina thought she would go out of her mind, and Shya had fallen asleep in her lap, she stood. With a resigned sigh and no knowledge of exactly how much time had passed, she lay Shya in the cradle that had been brought down for her. As she stood, still fighting back the tears of dread, a hand touched her shoulder. Tears fell as she exhaled slowly, her entire body filling with warmth at his touch.
“Meucompanheiro,” he said in his deep voice and Kalina’s shoulders began to shake. “Don’t. Please don’t cry,” Rome said, turning Kalina to face him.
She fell into his embrace, holding onto him so tightly she thought she might actually break him, or her arms, in the process. “I was so afraid,” she whispered into his shirt. “So afraid for you and for everyone.”
He rubbed his hands down the back of her head, then cupped her face and tilted her head until she stared up at him. “I am safe and I am here. I love you,” he told her, letting one hand slip down to rub over her protruding belly.
Kalina nodded. “You are safe and I love you.”
“Rome’s called a meeting in half an hour,” Eli said after he and Nivea had walked from their truck to the room one of the guard’s had directed them too. It was sparsely decorated with just a bed, one table and one chair, but the bathroom had a shower and they were told their clothes had been brought down here. “We have just enough time to grab a quick shower, stop by the infirmary to check on Ezra and then get to the meeting on time.”
He continued to talk, not sure why it was so imperative to keep moving. Especially when he knew Nivea had come in and sat on the edge of the bed, remaining very quiet.
“Jax called me on the eband to say that Ezra’s already in surgery. Ary’s working on him,” he said while pulling clothes from one of the bins that had been labeled with his name. “I want to get down there as soon as possible.”
Nivea still didn’t speak.
“He also said your sisters were doing well,” Eli continued. “I asked about your parents, too.”
“Stop,” she said softly. “Just stop.”
Eli did. He turned to face her and wanted to hit something, curse, or simply collapse at how sullen and helpless she looked at that very moment. Instead, he summoned the strength to go to her, sitting on the bed and wrapping one arm around her.
“It’s done,” he said. “We can’t go back and change it. We tried to stop it, but it’s done.”
