This chapter isn't very long, but it's very important. so yeah....
EdwardCullenIsCoolerThanYou- your screen name rocks! GO TWILIGHT! (if vanessa wats-her-face plays leah, i'm going to be mad.) anyway, loved your review! it made me smile (but sorry about all of your problems. *hugs*). and it also reminded me that i should point out something.
IF YOU HAVENT NOTICED ALREADY, THIS STORY HAS A TON OF FLUFFINESS! AND ITS ONLY GONNA GET WORSE! and there's gonna be more violence too! yay!
Chapter Thirteen: All Seems Safe As the Wounds Heal
I woke up the next morning with my head rested on Zhayrald's chest. I looked up to find him looking down at me with his crystal blue eyes, not much of a surprise.
"You've been unconscious for over a week and you still manage to sleep?" he asked.
"I haven't slept decently in two years, the past week excluded," I told him. "Gimme a break."
"I would, but I forgot to mention yesterday that my mother wanted to see you when you woke up and you forgot to mention this." Zhayrald gently pulled on my left wing and pulled my white tipped feather into view.
"I knew I was forgetting something," I muttered. Zhayrald chuckled and partially spread his left wing to reveal a blood red wing tip, exactly like mine. I smiled and stroked it with my hand. Zhayrald's lips were upturned into a smile as he kissed the top of my head and picked me up bridal style, being extremely careful of my broken leg. He didn't even have to let go of me to open the door. His powers were going to take some getting used to. Silently, he walked down the hallway, playing with the ends of my hair with the tips of his fingers. I felt his presence in my mind although he was silent. He stopped in front of a closed door and tapped the door frame with his foot.
"This had better be important, Zhayrald," Ziaghra's voice said, coming from inside. "If you've come to worry about how Kaltezira hasn't woken up yet, then leave. The girl will wake up when she's good and ready." I had to stick my fist in my mouth to keep myself from laughing at the irony.
"But she did wake up, Mother," Zhayrald replied.
"Then why didn't you say so?!" Ziaghra asked from inside. This time I laughed freely. "When did she wake up?"
"About an hour ago," Zhayrald lied.
"Liar," she accused. "She woke up yesterday." Was his mother a mind reader too? "Whatever, it doesn't matter," Ziaghra said, opening the door. "And you carried her down here?! You could have just left her in your room and come down to get me." I was in Zhayrald's room the entire time?! Well that was just plain embarrassing. "Well, at least put her down while you go back up to your room to put a shirt on," Ziaghra told Zhayrald.
"But, Mother," Zhayrald protested.
"Just do it. She'll be fine for all of five minutes," Ziaghra told him. Zhayrald reluctantly put me down so I stood against the wall and turned back in the way we came, walking back towards his room. "That boy sure is a piece of work," Ziaghra said, talking to me like I had never left.
"He sure is," I agreed, smiling. Ziaghra rolled her eyes at me and I chuckled.
"I'm surprised he even remembered to bring you down here," she told me, beginning to unravel the bandages on my arms where the cuts weren't that deep. "He stayed up in his room for weeks before he finally went after you. He kept muttering, 'It's my fault, damn it. If she dies, it's my fault.' But if he asks, you didn't hear it from me." I chuckled again and nodded. The last of the bandages that had encircled my arms had fallen away to reveal countless new scars of various sizes. At the top of my right arm, the three inch gash from where Itrantia buried her sword in my arm was still healing, but the bone didn't feel broken anymore. I had always healed fast; I guess it was an avian thing.
"What did I miss?" Zhayrald asked, suddenly appearing next to me. Did he have this other power where he could appear out of nowhere? For all I knew, he could have.
"Nothing, nothing at all," I told him. I felt his fingers slide down my arm, hesitating at the partially healed gash on my forearm.
"You heal fast," he commented.
"I always have," I replied.
"I meant you heal faster than normal," Zhayrald explained. Well, that didn't make much sense. Maybe healing was my other power. If Zhayrald had two powers, wouldn't it make sense that I had two, too?
"Are you two going to hang out in the hall all day?" Ziaghra asked from her room. Zhayrald picked me up and walked into the room. "Kalte, you want him in here?" she asked me. "'Cause I'm gonna need to take off your tank top so we can take the bandages off your back."
"I don't care. He can leave if he wants," I said. Zhayrald shut the door behind him as he put me down; I assumed that meant he was staying. I shrugged and pulled my tank top off over my head and placed one hand on the wall to keep my weight off my bad leg. Zhayrald placed his hand over mine and smiled down at me as Ziaghra cut the bandages off my back with a simple hunting knife. The simple motion reminded me of the day Zhayrald and I met how he had almost kissed me in front of the entire city on top of a watch tower. I looked up to meet Zhayrald's eyes, smiling, and I saw that he remembered too, seeing the memory flash in my mind.
"Kaltezira, you never cease to surprise me," Ziaghra whispered as the last of the bandages fell away. At least she was smart and had tied my bra under those bandages.
"What?" Zhayrald asked, taking his hand off mine and walking around to stand next to his mother.
"Itrantia managed to slice her open all the way to the bone, there is no way possible that the wound could have managed to heal already," Ziaghra said.
"What?" I asked, looking over my shoulder, just to see them staring at me, Ziaghra in wonder, Zhayrald in awe.
"The skin's healed itself already, but there is no guarantee that the muscle has fully healed," Zhayrald said, running a finger down my spine. I felt the raised skin that was there, the place where I had felt Itrantia's blade cold on my back about two weeks ago. I heard Ziaghra's knife cut through something, and my skin crawled. I knew what she was doing when she was about half way done. She was pulling out the string she had stitched my back up with, since I had no more need for it. I shuddered when she was done.
"That was weird," I commented. Zhayrald chuckled and walked around so that he faced me again. Ziaghra tossed me my tank top, which I caught and quickly pulled over my head, glad to be free of the bandages.
"I know for a fact that your leg hasn't healed yet, so just keep off it, okay?" she told me. I smiled and nodded. Zhayrald's eyes lost focus for a moment and then ran to the window. He looked panicked. I feared the worst. "What is it, Zhayrald?" Ziaghra asked as he walked past her. Zhayrald remained silent. "Stars in Moonless Night, you will tell me what is going on. Now," Ziaghra demanded, using Zhayrald's real name.
"It's Itrantia," he said, throwing the window open, fear leaking from his voice. "She's brought the entire Zlhorv army and she's here to finish what she started."
Ziaghra was out of the room in an instant, shouting orders in a panicked fashion. Zhayrald looked at me for only a moment, and in the next I was in his arms.
"I'm not gonna let her get you again," he said, running down the hall towards his room. "I'm going out there to meet the army, and you are going to stay here."
"No," I objected as he set me down on his bed. Déjà vu, this was just like the small fight, well more of a disagreement, we had had two years ago when Itrantia came after us.
"Kalte, you can barely walk," he pointed out. I could tell he was getting annoyed.
"So? I got my powers, my sword, and my wings," I retorted. Why were we arguing? He could hear everything in my mind.
"I'm not letting her get you again!" he shouted at me, grabbing my shoulders. I saw all of the pain from the past two years in his eyes. It made me want to cry. He wrapped his arms around me and buried his face in my hair. He looked up after a moment and I could see the tears in his eyes. I didn't have to have his power to know what he was thinking. This could easily be the last time we held each other in our arms.
"I love you, Zhayrald," I whispered, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him closer to me. Then I realized something, something important. That was the first time I had said those words, out loud that is, unless I said it in my sleep.
"I love you too, Kaltezira," he replied. He pressed his lips to mine, moving them gently against my own. He ended the kiss just as I wrapped my hand in his hair. "Just promise me that you won't leave this room and do something stupid."
"I can't promise you that. I'll go crazy. But for you, I'll try," I answered. Zhayrald smiled and kissed my forehead as he stood. He watched me the entire time he walked to the window, his eyes full of regret as he jumped out the window and towards the fight.
It wasn't even five minutes before I considered breaking my promise. Breaking said promise was practically impossible since I couldn't stand. I knew I had to do something; this was the battle laid out in the prophecy, I was sure of it. I couldn't just stand by and watch while thousands died for me. A new heat rushed through me now, similar to the one that I had felt before Itrantia had sliced open my back. I knew what I had to do.
I stood up, finding to my surprise that my once broken leg now supported my weight. I smiled triumphantly and ran towards the window. I jumped, letting my sore wings joyfully catch the increasing wind and carry me towards Arez's wall under a dark sky, where the city's army, and Zhayrald, waited for Zlhorv to attack. Zhayrald, finding my familiar thoughts in my mind, noticed me first.
What the hell are you doing here? I consider this something stupid and it hasn't even been five minutes yet! He asked.
I know what I'm doing. But you have to trust me on this, I replied. You and the rest of the army only attack on my signal, got it?
I trust you, Zhayrald sighed. I chuckled as I landed on the wall next to him. He smiled as he pressed his lips into my hair, now being wildly tossed by the wind. Silently, I unbelted my sword and pressed it into his hands.
"I'm not going to need it," I said, meeting his eyes. He opened his mouth to object but I pressed my lips to his, which shut him up quick. You said you trusted me. I reminded him.
And I mean it but if anyone lays a finger on you, I'm coming after you, Zhayrald told me, kissing me back. I smiled against his lips and jumped off the wall. The army waiting at the wall cheered as if I was some sort of hero going to lead them to victory. Who knew, maybe if this prophecy thing was right, I was.
Fly fast, my Blood Stars in Black Sky, Zhayrald thought. I smiled as I dove into the forest below.
Fly high, my Stars in Moonless Night, I answered, Watch over my heart, I left it with you. (sound familiar?)
Free cookies to whoever Zhayrald reminds you of! You can get a plushie if you guess what aspects of Max Ride and Twilight I can describe this story with....(you really don't get a plushie...because if you could...i would have like a million.) Anyway, if you review, Zhayrald might live to see the next chapter. *has Zhayrald tied to a chair and laughs evilly* Remember: 20 reviews=preview of sequel 26-30 reviews=preview of third book so review if you want Zhay to live and for the previews! *more evil laughter*