The Sacrifice (42 page)

The air around them began to vibrate
and shimmer. Riana had transported thousands of times in her life. But it had
never
felt as wonderful as
this.

Moans echoed throughout the courtyard of
the compound. Cy glanced at Riana on the ground beside him. “Are you alright?”

“I think so,” Riana groaned through
clenched teeth. “Iggy was blocking more pain than I realized. Transport must
have interfered with his ability.”

Cy
followed her line of vision to Iggy
’
s pale, lifeless body
lying on the ground.

Kyra pulled his head into her lap.

“What
’
s
wrong with him?” Riana asked.

“
I don’
t know. He
’
s out cold.” Kyra placed her hand on his neck.
“His pulse seems extremely fast.”

 Riana
shook her head. “I have no idea what
’
s normal for a being
like him. Can you carry him to the infirmary?”

Kyra picked Iggy up as if he weighed
nothing, and ran toward the gates.

Riana moaned as Oz scooped her off the
ground. Two guards ran from the gates. “Take the injured to the infirmary,” Oz
ordered.

One
of the guards pulled Cy to his feet. “Take Riana on, I
’
m
right behind you.”

Cy
looked at Miles and Kam standing on each side of Vind. “His army knows the
location of every compound. The only place we can keep him is the queen
’
s
castle. The miles of dungeons beneath it have never been documented. When you
get him there, encase him in the steel pit. I want guards posted there at all
times. Make sure they understand he is not to leave that cell for any reason.”
Cy curled his lip at Vind. “Until his execution, that is.”

Cy
turned to leave but stopped. “Oh, one more thing.” He narrowed his gaze on
Vind. “Tell the queen
’
s guard, Owen, he has permission to sodomize him
on a daily basis…more often if he wishes. He
really
likes pretty boys.”

Kam
let out a burst of laughter. “Isn
’
t Owen the one who
’
s the size of a
house?”

“That would be him,” Cy said, his tone
smug.

Vind
paled at Cy
’
s comment. His gaze shifted from Cy to Oz carrying
Riana toward the infirmary.

Unforgiving
anger shot through Cy. “Don
’
t you even look her way. For the rest of your
miserable life, you will regret the day you
ever
laid a hand on my
life-mate.” Cy
’
s gaze shifted to Miles. “Get my piece-of-shit
brother out of here, before I change my mind about killing him.”

When Cy arrived at the infirmary, Iggy
was awake and not happy about the method Doc Regan had used to do it.

“Cy!
That guy stuck something up my nose. He
’
s calling it smelling
sauce, but that stuff is as far from sauce as it gets.” Iggy wiped water from
his eyes.

“It
’
s
not actually sauce, its
smelling salts
. It
’
s
used it to wake someone when they faint.”

“That
stuff would wake the dead. And I didn
’
t faint. I was
resting my eyes.”

“Iggy, you lost consciousness during
transport.”

“Kyra, will you help Iggy? I need to
get back there and check on Riana.”

“Sure, I was about to call Lily.”

 “Can I talk to her? When can I
see her? Can we go get her now?” Iggy could launch questions at you faster than
a 747 during take-off.

Cy went through the swinging doors
into the operating area at the rear of the infirmary. Riana lay on a cot with
an infusion bag of blood to her mouth and another connected to an IV in her
arm. Doc Regan stood at her side prepping her abdomen for surgery.

Oz
was on the phone, and from the high pitched squeal coming from the connection,
he
’
d just told Analae about Riana. “Calm down and get
here fast. Doc Regan may need your help.” Oz hung up and rubbed his ear. “She
’
s
on her way.”

As
Cy took Riana
’
s hand, tears filled her eyes.

“Are you in pain?”

She removed the bag from her lips.
“No, Doc Regan gave me something for the physical pain. Every time I close my
eyes, I see your battered body hanging from those chains. Do you have more
injuries that need checked out?”

Cy
held her face in his hands and wiped her tears with his thumbs. “There you go
again, thinking about everyone else. As long as you
’
re
all right, I
’
ll be fine.” He bent and gave her a tender kiss.

Oz
pushed a chair over for Cy to sit on. “You
’
re swaying on your feet.”
He grabbed two bags of blood and handed one to Cy. “Sit down and drink this.”
He opened the other for himself.

Oz
still had a bullet in his shoulder, but Riana
’
s injuries were the
most pressing.

It only took a couple of minutes to finish
one bag, and Cy already felt stronger.

Analae
flew through the door and to Riana
’
s side.
“Honey, I
’
m so sorry.” Analae
embraced her daughter and they both cried like their hearts had broken in two.

“We need to get this surgery
underway,” Doc Regan said.

Riana
rubbed tears from her eyes. “There
’
s something you need
to know.” She turned her head to the side, emotion choked back her words.

Cy
knew what she was trying to say and spoke up. “Riana
’
s
pregnant.
”

Everyone
in the room froze, except Doc Regan. “Riana, you should have told me this as
soon as you arrived.” He grabbed a pre-filled syringe from a tray and pushed
its contents through her IV. “You
’
ll be out in a moment.”

“I
should have told you. I
’
ve been in denial about the whole thing,” Riana
mumbled before she went under.

Cy
bent and kissed her. “It
’
s okay, baby. Everything will be fine when you
wake.”

Doc
Regan glanced at Cy and Oz. “You two don
’
t need to be in here
for this. Analae can stay and assist. We
’
ll take good care of
Riana. You should go check on that boy Kyra brought in. He seemed a little
agitated.”

Cy
brushed his hand down Riana
’
s pale cheek. He never wanted her to leave his
sight again. She was so beautiful, and strong. He loved her more than he ever
thought it possible to love another soul.

Oz
clamped his hand on Cy
’
s shoulder and led him from the room.

In
the main treatment room, Iggy glanced up from a drawer he
’
d
been rummaging through. “How
’
s Riana?”

Cy propped himself against a cot. Iggy
came over, bounced up beside him and began swinging his feet off the side.

“They
’
re
about to operate on her now,” Cy said. “Are you feeling better?”

“Much.
Kyra went to get Lily. I
’
m never doing that transport thing again, so I
stayed here. It felt like I was spinning at a hundred miles an hour. I didn
’
t
like it a bit.”

“The first time someone transports is
usually the worst. It gets easier after that.”

Iggy
tilted his head and looked beneath his curls. “Well actually, I was already a
little sick. I
’
ve never controlled that much pain before.”

“Hopefully,
you
’
ll never be put in that situation again. Iggy, I
want you to know how much we appreciate your help.”

Iggy watched his feet scissoring from
the cot. “Everyone keeps saying that, but I only did what anyone would have.”

“No,
you didn
’
t. You put yourself in danger to protect another.
That kind of bravery is commendable. I
’
ve seen how much
Riana and Lily care about you. I wanted to ask if you
’
d
consider staying here with us and make this your home.”

Iggy
’
s
feet stopped. He looked up at Cy with raised brows. “You want… me to stay?”

“Yes,
we do. I don
’
t know if you
’
re aware of this, but
I am going to be king of our race. Riana and I are to be married soon, which
will make her the queen. It
’
s because of your actions that I have her back.
Not to mention Lily. She
’
s precious to us all. I will forever be in your
debt. After my coronation, my first act as king will be to make you an honorary
member of the Sivadian race—if you
’
ll have us.”

Iggy
’
s
eyes widened and a smile lit his perfect features. “Do I get a medal…and
everything?”

Cy
and Oz exchanged smiles. “Yes Iggy, you
’
ll get a medal for
valor.”

Iggy
hesitated for a moment. “What
’
s…
valor?
”

“It means bravery.”

“Oh,” Iggy’s head bobbed up and down.

Cy
had learned a lot about Iggy during their trek through the mountains to Vind
’
s
castle. The boy had no family, no one who cared whether he lived or died. “So
what do you think? Would you like to live here with us, allow us to be your
family?”

Iggy
tilted his head and looked into Cy
’
s eyes. “No one
’
s
ever wanted me around before. When I left my own realm, I promised myself I
’
d
never stay where I wasn
’
t wanted. Now, after all this time, you really
want me to be part of your family?” Emotion welled in Iggy
’
s
eyes. He threw his arms around Cy
’
s shoulders and held tight, as if to assure
himself this was real. “I would like nothing better. Thank you, Cy.”

The door opened and Kyra came in with
Lily. She and Iggy squealed when they saw each other. They met in the middle of
the room, all smiles and hugs.

“Guess
what, Lily?” Iggy said, barely containing his excitement. “I
’
m
going to live here. And I
’
m getting a medal for…va…va…whatever it is, it
means bravery.”

“Iggy,
you
’
re the bravest person I know.” Lily looked up at
Kyra. “Well, you and my sister, and the Protectors.”

“Guess what else?”

“What
else?”
Lily echoed.