The Princess's Revenge Chapter 146

Valencia’s POV

I pulled his hand away and examined the wound. Three deep claw marks ran from his shoulder down toward his chest. The blood was flowing freely.

"Why did you do that?" My voice came out shaky. "You could have been killed!"

Kai looked at me with those calm blue eyes. "You're my sister."

I froze. "What?"

"You're my sister," he said again. His tone was matter-of-fact, like he was stating an obvious truth. "I should protect you."

Tears stung my eyes. This was the first time Kai had ever used that word. Sister. Not Valencia. Not Luna. Sister.

"I don't remember the past," Kai continued. His voice stayed calm even though he was bleeding. "I don't remember our parents or our home or what we were like before. But I know what a sister is. I know that protecting you is something I should do. It feels right. Like an instinct."

A tear rolled down my cheek. "You idiot. I'm supposed to protect you."

"We can protect each other," he said simply.

I laughed, even though I was crying. "Yes. Yes, we can."

Ryan came over, breathing hard. "Luna, we need to bandage that wound quickly. We're still exposed here."

I nodded and pulled supplies from my pack. My hands were shaking as I cleaned Kai's wound and wrapped it with cloth bandages.

"This will have to do until we get back to Dr. Vance," I said.

"It's fine," Kai said. "Doesn't hurt much."

"Liar."

He almost smiled. Jeremiah and the others had gathered the bodies of the rogues. "Luna, these weren't random attackers. Look at this."

He showed me a piece of paper he'd found on one of the bodies. It was a crude map showing all the roads from Ironwatch Border to Cliffwatch Pack. Every single route was marked with red circles.

"They knew we'd be traveling to the border," I said quietly. "Look at this. Every route is marked. They set up ambushes on all the roads."

"They were waiting for us no matter which path we took."

"Elton," Ryan growled. "This has to be Elton's doing."

My chest felt tight. "We need to move."

We rode hard for the rest of the day. No one spoke much. Everyone was watching the forest, waiting for another attack.

Kai rode beside me. His shoulder was wrapped in bandages, but he sat straight in his saddle. He didn't complain about the pain.

By evening, we reached a small clearing in the forest. The horses needed rest. So did we.

"We'll camp here for a few hours," Ryan said. "Get some sleep. We'll leave before dawn."

The warriors started setting up camp. They worked quickly and quietly. Within minutes, we had a small fire going and bedrolls spread out.

Dr. Vance would need to look at everyone's wounds when we got back. Jeremiah's arm was still bleeding through the bandages. Finn's leg looked bad too.

But Kai's shoulder worried me most. Those claw marks had been deep.

I sat down near the fire. Kai came and sat beside me. We both stared at the flames.

The fire crackled and popped. Shadows danced across the trees around us. The other warriors were eating dried meat and talking in low voices.

Kai and I just sat there. Not speaking. Just watching the fire.

Minutes passed. Maybe ten. Maybe twenty.

Then Kai said. "Soren said that when he found me, I was covered in injuries. I had a high fever for three days and three nights. When I woke up, I didn't remember anything."

I turned to look at him. He was still staring at the fire.

"He named me Albert. He taught me to read and write. He trained me to fight. He was good to me."

Kai's voice held a hint of confusion. "But I always felt like something was missing. Like a puzzle with one piece gone."

My throat felt tight.

Kai looked at me. "Maybe I'll never remember. But at least now I have a sister."

Tears slid down my face. "Yes. You have me. We're each other's only family left."

Kai nodded. Then he looked back at the fire.

I wiped my tears and took a deep breath. "Do you want to hear about when we were children?"

"Yes."

"When you were three years old, you loved chasing butterflies. Once you chased one deep into the forest. Everyone was so scared. We searched for you for hours."

Kai listened carefully.

"When we found you, you were sitting under a tree, laughing. The butterfly had landed on your hand. You were so happy."

"What else?"

"Mother always said you were like a little sun. Always smiling. Always bright."

I smiled at the memory. "You couldn't say my full name when you were little. You called me 'Cia' instead."

Kai was quiet. Then he said softly, "Cia."

The sound of that nickname hit me like a physical blow. I started crying again. I couldn't help it.

I reached over and pulled Kai into a hug.

He went stiff for a second. Then slowly, awkwardly, he raised one hand and patted my back.

It was clumsy. Uncertain. But it was real.

"Thank you," I whispered. "Thank you for trying."

We sat like that for a while. When I finally pulled back, Kai's expression was softer.

"We should sleep," he said. "We leave before dawn."

"You're right."

We spread out our bedrolls near the fire. I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Someone shook my shoulder. "Luna. It's time."

I opened my eyes. Ryan was crouching beside me. It was still dark, but I could see the first hints of dawn in the sky.

"Everyone up," Ryan called quietly. "We need to move."

We packed quickly and mounted our horses. We rode hard. The sun rose as we traveled. By mid-morning, I could see the pack in the distance.

Relief flooded through me. We were almost home.

Guards on the walls spotted us and called out. The gates opened as we approached.

We rode into the courtyard. People came running from all directions.

"Get these wounded to the stone house!" I called out. "Now!"

Warriors rushed forward to help Jeremiah and Finn down from their horses. Dr. Vance appeared, his medical bag already in hand.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Rogue ambush on the way back from the border," I said. "Three wounded. Kai's shoulder is the worst."

Dr. Vance looked at Kai. "Come with me. All of you."

He led us to the stone house. Inside, he had Jeremiah, Finn, and Kai sit on examination tables.

"Let me see those wounds," Dr. Vance said.

He worked quickly, examining each injury. He cleaned Jeremiah's arm and stitched it closed. He did the same for Finn's leg.

Then he turned to Kai. "Take off your shirt."

Kai obeyed. The bandages I'd wrapped around his shoulder were soaked with blood.

Dr. Vance carefully removed them. The three claw marks looked angry and red.

"These are deep," Dr. Vance said. "You're lucky they didn't sever any major muscles."

He cleaned the wounds thoroughly. Kai didn't make a sound, even though it must have hurt.

"This will need stitches," Dr. Vance said. "Hold still."

He worked for several minutes, carefully closing each wound. When he finished, he wrapped fresh bandages around Kai's shoulder.

"Keep this clean and dry," Dr. Vance instructed. "Come back in three days so I can check it."

"Thank you," Kai said.

Dr. Vance turned to the others. "You two as well. Rest today. Light duty only for the next week."

The warriors nodded.

"Luna, you should rest too," Dr. Vance said to me. "You look exhausted."