A Cruel Kindness

Chapter 30

Bellamy

It was if Muli itself knew what its people were planning.

I’d grown used to a forest that was bursting with life, crawling with unseen creatures that made themselves known through their constant chattering.

Now, it was just quiet.

Too quiet.

At first I’d thought I was imagining it, the numbness in my head turning into a low, quiet hum that eclipsed the sounds of all other beings. But then I realized Soren heard it too.

He really tried to keep his expression neutral, he did.

I knew him, I knew that he felt like something wasn’t right.

“It’s too quiet,” I whispered to Esme as we stomped along, the soft squish of hooves into mud the only noise.

Esme huffed out a deep breath. “It’s too dead here.” She projected her voice, but didn’t say anyone’s name.

Even then, Ford turned to her. “You think we should spread out?”

I rolled my lips to trap a smile. That wasn’t an answer to what she asked, but it was the one she was looking for.

Esme hummed in assent, already turning Sky westward.

I didn’t like the idea of separating, but Ford was right. We’d been given a two mile stretch through thick woods to cover and we weren’t going to get it done if we all stayed together.

Without me commanding anything, Clover walked up next to Lucky, brushing her snout against his neck as if that would strengthen their bond right before they were separated.

I knew what that was like. I’d give anything to take a deep pull from Soren’s embrace one more time.

“We’ll head west and south,” Ford said flipping Shadow around in a fluid motion.

Soren and I would take the opposite. The only problem was that cliff Soren had almost fell off of was eastward and I still had the sick urge to track down a landmine and blow off the mountain face just for making me watch Soren almost fall from it.

“I’d like to take north please,” the Bond asked for me.

Esme laughed after a long, drawn out, Ohhhh , then slapped her hand over her mouth in horror. I understood Freya’s statement when she first met me now, that Esme and Ford were no fun to tease.

When you didn’t appease the Bond, this sucked.

Sky and Shadow kicked off a second later, peeling off into different directions. I looked back to find Soren staring at me with a heavy expression, his eyes as intense as a sculptor trying to memorize their subject before returning to the marble.

“Be safe. Please.” His voice didn’t even sound human, it was so low.

“You too,” I whispered, unable to say much else.

I LOVE HIM! The Bond screamed like a lovesick teenager, though the voice was entirely my own.

It took seven breaths between the two of us, alternating like we were giving each other the air to breathe, for either of us to move.

As was with the Bond, Clover and Lucky were simple. They only understood that we were Soul Mates and that was the end of the story.

To them, this was a small separation, knowing they’d be back to each other’s sides in seconds.

To me, this felt like saying goodbye.

Even then, Clover and Lucky trotted apart happily, focusing only on the fact they got to explore the forest.

I turned over my shoulder to watch as Soren disappeared into the trees, feeling my throat close as his form slipped into darkness.

“It’s just you and me now, sweet girl,” I told Clover as she trotted east. She could tell through our connection that she had to be careful, but I was scanning the ground for her, looking out for anything that might be a minefield.

I would alternate with looking up, making sure there was no one lying in wait in the trees.

Everything seemed fine, I thought, though it wasn’t bringing relief. As Clover and I stepped out of the canopy of the forest to hug the tree line, I felt something like dread pool in my chest.

It felt slightly far away, like the emotion wasn’t entirely mine.

Soren .

I was already turning Clover around when an explosion blasted through the silence, pushing out a shock wave that shook the trees.

I whipped around fully, my heel ready to press into Clover’s side to tell her to run to get to Soren as fast as she possibly could when I was stopped by Elijah.

Astride his horse.

Pointing an arrow at me.

“Get out of my way,” I growled at him. I couldn’t see the threat in front of me. All I understood was that he stood in between me and Soren.

Elijah tilted his head like he was genuinely considering it before he shook his head and said, “No, I don’t think I will.”

Clover was shaking underneath me, understanding the terror pumping through my veins. I tried to calm her with a hand down her neck, but she wasn’t convinced.

“What do you want?” I snapped back. It was stupid to have trusted him to do something as simple as deliver a letter to the Prince.

Elijah chuckled under his breath. “I can’t let you save them.”

“You want me to sit back and let you hurt my friends? My people? My fucking Soul Mate?” The fury in my words was palpable. My mind was focusing on Soren right now, seeing Elijah as nothing but an impediment to get to him, but his underlying threat wasn’t lost on me.

This was just the beginning. He would be coming for my people. Entering this war had only solidified my love for Vir. It was the fuel behind everything I’d done. My father may have been willing to set aside their well-being for a power grab, but that didn’t mean I’d stand by and let Muli take revenge.

Elijah smiled, as if the thought entertained him. “There are plans set in motion. Don’t disturb them.”

“You’re a vague asshole,” I snapped at him, wrapping my hands around Clover’s reins, preparing to have her take off in a sprint.

Elijah tsk ed, “Oh, I was hoping you’d be smarter than that.”

“Smarter than what?” I shot back, right as I kicked Clover’s side.

Elijah was faster and more brutal. “Than to try to run,” he said as he released the string of his bow and sent an arrow flying towards me. He’d moved so fast, I didn’t even see that he’d shifted his aim towards my leg.

Concern for Clover won out, my leg pulling away from her side to prevent her from any harm. I wasn’t fast enough, because Elijah’s arrow tore through my thigh in a clean puncture a second later, and I could feel the point rip through my skin and lodge into Clover’s side.

Clover reared back in pain, both for herself and me. She tried to turn towards Elijah and his horse in retaliation, but her back leg caught on a branch and we both went crashing down.

Everything happened so fast. Before I knew it, Clover was up again, a trail of blood trickling down her side. I was on the ground, blood pouring out of my leg with concerning speed.

“Oh, and by the way,” Elijah’s voice crooned from above me while he reset his crossbow. “The Prince offers his apologies. The wedding is canceled.”

He was off then, disappearing into the woods.

Shit, shit, shit.

We were safe when I was engaged, protected by the marriage. Without it, they could do whatever they wanted. They would launch an attack. That much was clear now.

And I’d be here, dying. Unable to get to Soren.

I tried to push myself up, but my arms gave out. My body felt bruised and numb from the force of our fall, but broken bones or bruised ribs would be nothing compared to a severed artery that would have me bleeding out in minutes.

Clover whined loudly, calling out for help. I was sure she was trying to reach Lucky, drawing on their mating bond. The problem was, I had no idea how far away he and Soren were.

“Clover,” I said, the words difficult to choke out.

She didn’t listen, continuing to whine. She brought her head down to my chest, nudging me and trying to get me to stand. “I can’t, sweet girl,” I said, pain stealing the strength in my voice. “You need to go help Soren.”

The sound of that explosion still hadn’t left my mind. Soren could be hurt. Based on the rush of blood leaving my leg … it was the better option for Clover to try to go help him.

If I had a chance at all, it would be to send her on her own. I couldn’t ride like this, maybe at all, let alone at the breakneck speed she’d need to catch Lucky and Soren.

I took off my shirt, ripping it down the middle. As I tried to make a makeshift tourniquet from the fabric, I begged Clover, “Please. Go find Soren. I’ll be okay.”

I didn’t believe that and Clover knew it. Her big eyes were filling with sadness, hesitant to leave me and knowing the chances that if she did, she’d never see me again.

But if she didn’t, those chances were certain. “Go,” I begged again, my voice thick with my own tears. Clover hesitated for another second, before she turned reluctantly and took off into the field in search of her mate and mine.

As I watched her run away, her coat shining in the setting sun’s light, I could only pray to whichever deity would listen that she’d make it in time. I couldn’t think about anything but that sliver of hope.

Certainly not Soren.

I focused on my leg, feeling around it despite the pain. The bleeding had dropped to a steady flow. Even as agony ripped up my limbs, I had to poke around and see where the blood was coming from. If it was from bleeding muscles, I might have a chance.

If it was a major artery, I had no more than a handful of seconds before my vision got spotty and my breathing slowed, before I’d fall into the soft grass around me and drift off.

Panic seized my chest, unable to comprehend that reality. The view of my leg, obscuring the grass below me with a dark red, got a little hazy, and I was convinced that this was the end.

Tears pricked my eyes, regret the prominent feeling in my chest. I wanted Soren here. I wanted him to be the last person I talked to. I wanted my last words to be that I loved him, that I was grateful for him. Nothing else seemed important.

Delirious thoughts started to set in, dreams of running off with Soren to elope now that I was free to marry, uncaring about the implications of my broken engagement.

My breathing quickened suddenly, fighting against the rest of my body, slowing down as I descended further towards death.

My chest clenched, my hands flying up to see if I’d missed an arrow that Elijah shot through my chest, only to find my skin intact.

It felt like fire was entering my veins, rather than energy leaving them as I bled out. This was cruel. Death was supposed to feel peaceful, not like being set on fire. Addled by the pain, my senses started to feel dull and out of reach. The last thing I noticed before my vision went black and I passed out was that my leg stopped bleeding.

I had no time to figure out if that was a good thing, or if my blood had simply stopped pumping through my veins, before I slipped away into the darkness and collapsed into the grass.