Soul Bound

Chapter 7

"That's enough, Eva," he murmured against my head. "You don't need to say more."

I sloppily wiped my tears away, fighting for composure. I could feel Jacob's resolve crumbling; I had to stay strong for him, otherwise we'd both be a mess and there would be no one left to right the wrong that had been done to us.

I let out a shaky breath, calm, for now. "I don't understand why'd they kill an entire village, just to take me."

"It sounds like Prince Darius is the one who led the attack," Grayson said, grim. He'd been quiet until now, letting us take the time we needed to get back on track. "Of Estrus's princes, only he would give out an order that cold-blooded."

I let his words sink in. "Wait. Are you saying there are more of him?" I shuddered at the thought.

"King Sylus had three sons," Grayson remarked bitterly. "His second eldest, Prince Dex, died a long time ago." His eyes were cold when they narrowed on his partner's glower.

"Well," Jacob added, a little harshly, "three years ago. It wasn't that long ago."

Grayson glared daggers at him. He actually looked like he wanted to punch my brother, fists shaking at his sides. "A lot can change in three years," he seethed between his teeth. "His--death--was the best thing that could have happened." And with that, he left.

I blinked at Jacob, surprised by his sudden outburst. "What got into him?"

Jacob swore then stared at the door where Grayson had gone through biting his lip, as if he was thinking of catching up to him, but then he thought better of it and shrugged at me. "It's been a difficult few days for all of us."

"Days?" As in plural? Hadn't I just gotten here a few hours ago? Was I so out of it I hadn't noticed it'd been days?

Jacob scooted up the bed, leaning against the wall beside me. He raked a hand through his dusty hair. "You've been here for two days, Eva." His eyes went grim, a look I hadn't seen on his face before. "I. . . I went home--what's left of it. I had to see it for myself. I didn't want to believe Grayson, but I saw you on this bed. . . staring into nothing. You looked--dead inside. I wish," his voice began to crumble, "I hadn't gone. Eva, it was horrible. . . and you watched it unfold." Suddenly, he hugged me, crying quietly. "I'm so sorry. It's my job to protect people, but I couldn't even save-"

"Don't say it, Jacob." I squeezed him, tears of my own running down my cheeks. It was hard enough to talk about it, but it was even more difficult to hear him blame himself. It wasn't anybody's but Darius Fortys' fault. "There was nothing you could have done. Just hold me, okay? No more talking."

We held onto each other and cried in the comfort of our embrace. When we had no energy left to cry, we slept through the morning.

A nagging, uneasy feeling prodded at the back of my mind woke me up. For a while I couldn't figure out what this feeling was, but then I realised it wasn't coming from me at all. Something was bothering Arkon.

Rubbing my eyes of sleep, I struggled to sit up and jostle Jacob awake. "Hey, Jake?" He moaned, burying his head in the pillow. I shook him harder. "Jacob, where has Arkon been staying? I need to find him."

With another groan, he sat upright and stared at me with bleary eyes. Even after only a couple hours of sleep, his hair stuck up all over the place. I'd missed seeing his ridiculous bedheads in the morning.

"You want to see him now?" he mumbled, slowly coming back to his senses. He rubbed the side of his head, felt the distress of his hair, then did his best to flatten the mop of hair.

"Yes. Something's not right."

More awake, he relented with a nod then slid off the bed. "If you're okay to walk, I'll take you to him. . ." His eyes darted to the side when I stood up and the gown the healer had given me moved in the breeze shooting through the open window by my bed. "Um, there's a change of clothes in the dresser for you. We can find something better fitting later."