Chapter 544: Terms & Conditions
RETH
He'd shocked her.
He and Elia stared at each other, both of them tense and poised, like prey hidden in the grass, aware of a predator nearby and waiting to see if it would pounce.
Elia was clearly overco with the idea of sentencing Gahrye to ti apart from his mate. And he loved her for her compassion. But Reth was far more concerned about how her lip kept pulling back from her teeth, than the fact that they were arguing.
She needed to calm down.
"Elia," he said, as reasonably as he could, "I'm not without feeling. But you weren't here. You don't understand. I do not wish grief on Gahrye—especially not since he's done such a good work in keeping you safe and getting you back here. But I wasn't aware of his situation, and I made a vow to Gawhr. He leads the bears and he can be erratic even at the best of tis. I can't just break my word because it's now inconvenient."
The look on her face gave him pause—horror, shock, betrayal… She felt that he was betraying her?
"Elia, please—"
"I have to talk to Gahrye," she said. "Right now."
"You need to rest. We don't even know where he is."
"I need to talk to him!" she growled.
She really growled.
Reth's instincts kicked in and he paused, his beast lashing its tail in warning, but he shook it off.
His heart was beating to quickly, and she was breathing too fast. They both needed to calm down. And she needed to rest. But clearly, there was also an issue to be addressed with Gahrye.
"I will make a deal with you," he said quietly. "You go to sleep and I will ask the Sentries to send a ssenger out to find Gahrye. When he gets here, if you're awake, I'll bring him to you. If not, I'll ask him to stay until you are able to speak with him."
"I'm not going to be able to sleep knowing that we're banishing Gahrye to a life without his mate!" Her eyes flashed her beast's and ice slid down Reth's spine.
"Elia, you need to calm down," he breathed, no longer angry, now afraid. For her.
"I can't calm down! You're separating my best friend from his True Mate—and you aren't even sorry about it!"
"Of course I'm sorry about it! I already said—"
"You said you can and you will! There's no… there's…" Her fingers clawed into the furs and her eyes remained golden.
The hair on the back of Reth's neck stood up. Her body was trying to shift, despite the tonic.
Was it already ti for more? What ti had they given it that morning? He needed to get Aymora here, now.
"Elia—" he said quietly.
"Don't talk to like I'm a child!" she snarled.
"I'm not! I'm talking to you like soone who has more than just herself to think of. Think of Elreth, and think of : You are at risk of shifting, Elia, do you realize that?!"
She blinked and her lip curled again, but then her face fell and the golden glow left her eyes. "I… what?"
"It's okay, you're safe. You're here. You're with , Elia. And we're going to get help. It must be ti for more of the tonic. But until we can get it, you need to stay calm okay?"
"I don't want to shift again, Reth," she said, her voice too high, but still tense. It broke his heart.
"You won't," he reassured her. "Just keep breathing and relax. Keep your mind on sothing good. Sothing that calms you."
"You calm … usually," she added darkly.
"Elia, good thoughts. Calming thoughts. Breathe."
She nodded and closed her eyes, letting herself lay back down. She took deep breaths and didn't open her eyes. "Get Aymora, please."
Reth didn't need to be asked twice. He whipped himself off the sleeping platform and darted through the cave to the sentries outside—the two closest, right at the opening of the cave mouth, both watching the adow, but smiles fading from their faces as if they'd just shared a joke and now were returning to their work.
"Get Aymora, now!" he snarled from behind them.
They both leapt to face him, took one look at his thunderous face, then one of them sprinted into the adow, while the other stepped into the center of the cave mouth.
"We have a… a system. They'll get word to her right away."
Reth nodded once, his jaw hard as rock, he clenched his teeth so hard he thought he might crack one. "Have them locate her Advisor, also, Gahrye. Tell him to attend the Queen imdiately."
The Sentry saluted, then darted off, calling for his brothers to watch the cave mouth. Reth waited only long enough to make sure new guards were moving into position before he ran back into the cave and to the bedroom, sighing with relief when he saw Elia on the furs, still in human form.
"They'll find Aymora—and Gahrye—and bring them as soon as they can," he said grimly, crawling up onto the furs with her to take her hand. Her hand was trembling, and her jaw kept twitching. "Hold on, Elia," he pleaded. "Just hold on. Breathe."
"Don't leave , please, Reth," she said in a shaky voice.
"I never will, Love, you know that."
"But you did once, sending through. And I'm still afraid," she said, her voice getting tighter and more breathless.
"I'm so sorry, Elia. So sorry. It will never happen again. I vow it to you. I'll never push you away again. Now… breathe and rember… rember Elreth. Rember our lives together and how we will live happily now. We're together now. That's what matters."
She nodded and kept breathing deeply, holding his hand so tightly it hurt.
She didn't speak again and Reth didn't either, afraid he might say the wrong thing and set her off. So instead, he leaned his forehead on their clasped hands and prayed.
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