Bound by C.K. Bryant

cannot face our father and tell him I
failed to keep you safe.”
    “Please. I would . . . rather die than—”
    “You don’t mean that.” He sat back on his
heels and ran his fingers through his hair.
    “I don’t understand,” Kira said. “If this
charm will somehow save her life, and it will work on me, why won’t
she let me help?”
    “This is not the first time my sister has
been severely injured . . . and you are not the first friend asked
to be the Crystor’s keeper.”
    Kira glanced over to the tiny strand of
silver, now lying motionless. The Crystor . She had so many
questions, so many doubts about everything she’d seen and heard,
but all she could think about was getting help for Lydia. “What
happened to her other friend?” A lump swelled in her throat as she
waited for him to answer, but deep inside, she already knew.
    “It happened before we came here. Serena . .
.” He paused and looked away for a moment. “When she healed Lydia .
. . her life ended.”

 
     
     
     
     

Chapter Seven
     
    Kira pressed her fingertips to her forehead
and tried to rub away the dizziness that had returned. That’s why
Lydia wanted her to go home. Lydia knew exactly what Octavion had
in mind—that he’d convince Kira to help save his sister’s life and
die in the process. Instead, Lydia was willing to sacrifice her life to prevent Kira from risking death.
    “If I do this, will she live?” Kira
asked.
    “Yes.”
    The next question was harder and she wasn’t
sure she wanted to ask it. She took in a quivering breath. “And I
will die?”
    Octavion lowered his eyes to where he held
Lydia’s hand, tenderly running his thumb across her knuckles. “I am
not certain. I was with Serena when she healed Lydia and she felt
great pain, but then I had to leave her. My place was with my
sister and seeing to her safety. Later, my father brought me the
news of Serena’s death, saying she had a weak heart.” He paused for
a long moment, as if reliving the scene in his mind. “It will be
dangerous, that I do know.”
    Great pain. Death.
    Kira looked at the Crystor again. If this was
Lydia’s only chance, could she tell her no? Could she sit here and
watch her friend die. “I don’t have a weak heart, so I should be
okay, right?” She swallowed hard, trying not to think about what
could actually happen if she decided to do this. It didn’t help.
This could mean the end of her plans for her future—her dreams. Her
life. This one decision could end all that, not to mention the pain
it would bring her mother if she died in the process. A sinking
feeling crept into her heart. This wasn’t a dream, but a
nightmare.
    Before he answered, Lydia began thrashing
around again. This time, her screaming sent Toran scrambling to the
other side of the cave. He collapsed in the dirt, obviously spent
from taking most of her pain. The full force of Lydia’s injury came
crashing down as she grabbed her side and let out another
pain-filled moan.
    Octavion drew her into his arms. “Altaria,
please. Stop fighting her. You might be able to help.”
    When Lydia pushed Octavion away and lay back
on the animal pelts, her face was no longer her own. Once again her
eyes were the color of blue ice, piercing the subtle glow from the
candlelight with their beauty and fury. There was no weakness in
her facial expression as she scowled at her brother with the same
hostility she’d shown her attackers.
    She took a fistful of his vest in her hand
and pulled him closer. “Don’t let me die, Octavion.”
    Lydia’s kindred spirit—Altaria, he’d called
her. The stark difference in the person Kira saw now and the Lydia
she knew was startling. It wasn’t just the change in her
appearance, but her attitude was different as well. Kira tried not
to think about how all this was possible, how one person could
really be two.
    “I won’t,” Octavion said. “But what you are
asking . . . are you willing to live with the consequences? You
know how