Chapter 545: Omen
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*****
GAHRYE
Gahrye was trudging back down the trail, less than a mile from the disformed cave under the light of the moon when the guard found him.
It had been a strange day, full of reunions and joy with friends, difficult conversations, secrecy and… hope. Also pain. The constant, nagging pain of not knowing if Kalle was safe. If she was well. If she was… pregnant.
Gahrye swallowed and followed the guard straight through the trees, who muttered about having to stay in human form so he could keep up.
His stomach clenched. "You can leave me. I'll go straight there, as fast as I can. I have no desire to leave the Queen waiting—"
"No," the guard replied sharply. "It's my duty to make sure you're there as quickly as possible. We've already been looking for you for an hour. Why did you leave her so long?"
Gahrye frowned at the male's back. "That would be none of your business," he snapped.
"I was sent by the King—"
"And I answer directly to the Queen, so you will shut your mouth and lead if you must, but do not speak down to me as if you outrank me. I am a Cohort, and my honor stands with her, not with you."
The male hunched—corrected, and he knew it. But he didn't apologize.
Gahrye decided his silence was sufficient, especially if it gave him pause for how he spoke in future. But damn… he was looking forward to the day he could return to Kalle, not just because he needed her, needed to know she was safe. But also because he would enjoy returning to a place where he wasn't easily outpaced, or disadvantaged.
The truth was, whether he outranked the guard or not, likely all the male would have had to do was shift and he could have run rings around Gahrye. As an equine he certainly could have outrun him.
Gahrye sighed and pressed on.
When they made it to the cave the guard stepped aside and saluted, which wasn't necessary, but made Gahrye feel a little better.
He didn't stop though, because if Elia was calling for his immediate attendance, something important had to be happening. So he ran through the great room and back towards the bedchamber where voices rose quietly, but tense.
He turned the corner to find the door open and Elia laying on her back on the furs in one of Reth's shirts. It was twisted around her like she'd been moving a lot. Her chest heaved and she had her eyes closed and her hands fisted into the furs.
"Give her the tonic!" Reth snarled. He was on all fours, alongside Elia on the sleeping platform, every muscle in his back and arms bulging and rigid with tension as he watched his mate struggle against the shift.
"It's too soon, Reth!" Aymora stood at the foot of the platform, her hands clenched to fists, but she didn't back away from her King. "She's pregnant! We can't risk overdosing her the way we did with you. She's far smaller and… we don't know what effect it will have on the babe!"
"I can tell you what effect it's going to have on my mate if she shifts, give her the fucking tonic, Aymora!"
"No!"
"What's going on?" Gahrye said quietly from the door and they both snapped their heads around to look at him.
"Not now, Gahrye. She wants to talk to you, but first—"
"Gahrye?!" Elia sat bolt upright, almost taking Reth's head off with her shoulder. Her chest rose and fell, too deep, too fast.
And her eyes were the gold of her lion. Shit.
"It's okay, Elia. I'm here. You don't need to—"
"You can't freak out, okay?! We'll figure it out. So just stay calm and don't worry. We will figure it out!"
Gahrye blinked. What was she talking about?
"Elia, lay down," Reth said, one of his hands on her shoulder, urging her down.
"What's she talking about?" he asked Aymora. But Aymora just shrugged, she was clueless too.
Elia fought against Reth's pressure for her to lay down. "He made a vow to the bears that we wouldn't use the Portal anymore, but we'll figure it out, okay? Don't freak out. I'm not keeping you away from Kalle, I promise!"
"Elia, you can't make those promises, we don't know—"
"What?!" Gahrye breathed. "What are you talking about? What vow? There's no bears here—"
"I had to bring the bears into the Portal region to clear out the wolves. But to get their help I had to agree that, other than bringing Elia home, we wouldn't use the Portal anymore."
"WHAT?!"
"Don't freak out, Gahrye!" Elia pleaded through her teeth, her eyes beginning to glow. "We will figure it out!"
"But—"
"I'll speak with Gahwr after their sleep," Reth said patiently, still trying to pull Elia to lay down. "He understands the difficulty of being apart from your True Mate, he'll release you, I'm almost certain."
"But… but you're King, Reth—"
"And I made a vow!" he growled. "I cannot break it while they sleep. We will just have another war on our hands."
Gahrye gaped at Reth, and at Elia, who was still breathlessly trying to reassure him.
After their sleep? That would be Spring. That was four months away—at least! He'd known there was a risk when he came back that he'd be apart from Kalle for a while, but he'd hoped… he'd prayed.
"I came through once before and they didn't know. Couldn't I just sneak—"
"No. Wait—you went through more than once? You were here?" Reth glared at him. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I was only testing the portal to make sure it was safe for Elia to come," he said. "We didn't know if the wolves had it, or…"
"You left her there, unattended and you didn't know if you would be taken when you came through?!"
"Reth, he had to," Elia's voice was rough, little more than a growl. "Don't you dare get angry with him—"
"You might have been left there, with no one!"
"Everyone needs to just calm down," Aymora said, her voice steely calm. "We need to help Elia be calm."
"I was very careful," Gahrye said, cursing that he couldn't tell Reth about being a Protector. "I wouldn't even have stepped out of the Portal if the wolves had been there."
"You can't cross twice, you idiot! How could you take such a risk!?"
"Reth, he didn't! He saved me! I was almost gone and he got me here!"
"Only by the Creator's grace!"
"Reth, calm down," Aymora snapped. "Both of you calm down. For her sake, please!"
Gahrye caught the words that were about to trip off his tongue—about how Reth had left them there with no word and no other way of knowing. That he'd been doing the very best he could to get Reth's mate back safely. This wasn't the time. But he shook with anger and the injustice of it.
While Reth shook, apparently with rage.
Then Reth swore, "Shit! Elia! No!" as Elia growled and disappeared behind the body of a massive, pregnant lioness.
*****
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