Rise of the Warrior Queen (Kaia and Silver) novel Chapter 36

CHAPTER THIRTY SIX

SILVER’S POV

I stood with my back against the wall, still trying to recover from the nightmare outside. My heart was beating like I’d just ran a marathon.

Kaia was crouched on the floor with the little boy in her arms, barking orders. Blood soaked her dress, and the kid was barely conscious. Dax ran off in a certain direction, shouting for Dr. Grayson.

For some reason, I felt weaker than I would consider normal. I understood that I’d just returned from a rescue mission and had fought off those things out there on my own, but… still, I didn’t think it would be this exhausting. I felt like energy was slowly being drained from my body, and I didn’t even know if it had to do with what happened out there or if it was something else entirely.

Suddenly, a strong wave of dizziness hit me, causing me to sway.

“Silver,” Kaia’s voice was a mix of worry and concern as she called out.

I shook my head. “I’m fine.”

“Are you sure? You don’t look good to me,” she said with a frown, but I shook my head again.

“I’m fine, Kaia. Just a little dizzy.”

She didn’t look like she believed me, but she nodded anyway before turning back to the child.

He was still bleeding and shivering, and he looked weak. But aside from that, he seemed okay.

He didn’t look any worse than he did when I found him under that car. If anything, he looked better.

So why did I feel like something was still wrong?

Why was the initial relief suddenly fading so quickly?

As I stood there, trying to figure out what this strange feeling was, Everett walked over and stood beside me.

“You okay, man?” he asked, keeping his voice low.

I nodded quickly. “Yeah. I’m fine.”

I tried to act normal, keep my breathing steady, but he didn’t look convinced. His eyes narrowed slightly,

studying me.

“You don’t look fine,” Everett said, more firmly now. “Come on, man, talk to me. What’s going on?”

I hesitated. For a moment, I considered brushing him off, but something in his tone made me pause. Right now, I didn’t even know who to trust. But I trusted my instincts well enough to follow them. And right now, they told me this guy was one of the good ones. A friend, even. And I could really use some of those right now–especially since I still had no idea what was really going on.

“You ever finish a mission,” I started slowly, “and instead of relief… you get this sinking feel Like it’s not really over? Like there’s something you missed–or something you’re forgetting?”

Everett blinked, clearly puzzled. “I don’t understand. What do you mean?”

“I don’t even know,” I admitted with a sigh. “I just… something feels off.”

CHAPTER THIRTY SIX

My mind drifted, for some reason, back to last night. The bird. The window. The ring.

I had been meaning to talk to someone about it today. My first option was Kala, of course. But then, she and

hadn’t come across each other all day until tonight. I guess she was busy with her duties.

I considered telling Dr. Grayson as well, but then…

I sighed. “Hey, Everett,” I

Like… at night?”

aid, turning slightly to face him. “Do you guys get birds coming around here often?

Now he looked even more confused. And wouldn’t he?

I sounded like an i***t. This question sounded even worse than the first one.

Everett frowned. “Birds? What kind of question is that?”

“Last night,” I began, “a bird showed up outside my window. It wouldn’t leave me alone–just kept tapping on

the glass like it was trying to get in. Eventually, I gave up and opened the window, and it… dropped something.

Everett’s brows lifted, and he shook his head. “I’m still not sure I follow. Dropped what, Silver? What exactly

did it drop?”

“A ring,” I said. “Then it flew away.”

His jaw dropped slightly. “Wait–what?! What kind of bird was it?”

“I’m not sure. It was dark. Black, maybe. I couldn’t make out the exact color in the night. But it acted really

weird.”

Everett stared at me, stunned. “And the ring? What did it look like?”

I shook my head. “I didn’t really know what to make of it,” I said. “It was gold, with strange markings and stuff. I put it in the drawer. I didn’t know what to do with it.”

Everett opened his mouth, clearly about to say something–when a faint voice whispered.

“Leander…”

Both of us turned sharply.

My eyes landed on the little boy still lying in Kaia’s arms.

His eyes were on me, but right now, they didn’t look normal. They looked cold and glassy, barely conscious- but there was no doubt that he was the one who spoke.

Everett and I shared a look of confusion before we turned away and returned to our conversation, disregarding what the boy had just said.

Somehow, we both automatically concluded that we had heard wrong–or that whatever he said had nothing to do with either of us or what we were discussing.

“You know, maybe you should ask around about the ring. See if you can find who it belongs to. Maybe

und like he someone dropped it, and the bird just picked it up,” Everett sald, but even as he spoke, he didn believed his own words. He sounded like he was just desperately trying to find a reasonable explanation and grasping at whatever he could. Just like I was.

I opened my mouth to respond when I was interrupted by the sound of footsteps coming from upstairs. A girl

CHAPTER THIRTY SIX

peered down and gestured with her head.

“Everett! You’re needed upstairs!”

Everett nodded, slapping me on the shoulder. “We’ll talk later.” And with that, he was gone.

I sighed, bringing my fingers to massage my forehead where I could already feel a headache coming on. Another wave of dizziness hit me, and I closed my eyes for a minute, rubbing my face with my palm.

When I opened my eyes again, I felt eyes on me, causing me to stiffen. Slowly, I turned my head–and that’s when I noticed it.

The boy was still staring at me. His eyes were fixed on me.

Not Kaia. Not the people tending to him.

Me.

His lips were cracked and trembling.

And then he whispered again–just loud enough for me to hear.

“Leander…”

I froze.

“What?”

Kaia didn’t seem to hear. She was too busy keeping him awake, and so were the others.

I looked around, and it seemed I was the only one in the room who had actually heard him.

I didn’t know if that was even possible–or if I was the one seeing and hearing things.

I stepped closer, dropping into a crouch before him.

“What did you just say?” I asked softly.

He blinked at me with hazy eyes and whispered again, “Leander… they said you’d come back.”

I frowned.

“Who? Who said that? Come back where?”

But the kid had already passed out.

I swallowed past the sudden dryness in my throat as I stared at him in confusion.

Leander?

The name meant nothing to me. At least I didn’t think it did.

But the way he looked at me when he said it… like he knew something I didn’t…

Who was this kid anyway?

And… isn’t he too young to be knowing stuff?

Dr. Grayson came rushing in, his face tight with worry. The moment his eyes landed on the boy, he froze for a heartbeat–just a blink, but I caught it.

The look in his eyes.

CHAPTER THIRTY SIX

It was recognition.

He knew something.

“Is he going to be okay?” I asked, stepping away to let him through.

Dr. Grayson nodded slowly, already kneeling to check the boy’s leg. “If we stop the bleeding, yes. But he’s lost a lot of blood. You can see he’s looking pale and weak. He might need a blood transfusion. Definitely a drip.”

He kept avoiding my eyes as he spoke, and I wondered if it had anything to do with what the Alpha said a while ago.

I still had no idea what that was about.

Kaia let him examine the boy but hovered close. “He kept calling him Leander.”

That made Grayson look up. “He what?”

I was a bit shocked myself, as I hadn’t even known Kaia heard him. She hadn’t made any reaction to show it.

I shifted my attention to Grayson. “Who’s Leander?”

The silence that followed was too heavy and suspicious to be accidental.

Something was definitely going on here–and whatever it was, the doctor was aware of it.

“I think you should get cleaned up,” Dr. Grayson said tightly, completely avoiding the question. “You’re covered in dirt and blood.”

My brow furrowed. “I’m fine.”

“I wasn’t asking,” he replied, still avoiding my eyes. “Go get cleaned up, son. That’s an order.”

I opened my mouth to argue but then decided against it.

There was something in his eyes.

It wasn’t fear. It wasn’t anger either.

It was guilt.

As I turned to walk away, I could hear Kaia telling someone to find the boy’s parents, while a few of the guys

by the window reported something to her. Something about Elder Agatha approaching the pack house. And

something about her working to clear the eclipse.

I could also hear Kaia asking them if it was working.

I didn’t understand what any of that meant, but I didn’t wait around to find out.

Whatever just happened back there, something told me it wasn’t as simple as I would’ve preferred it to be.

As I climbed the stairs into the hall, searching for the bathroom, the boy’s words replayed in my head.

“…They said you would come back.”

I sighed heavily in frustration.

Who exactly were the “They“? that told him that?

Who was Leander?

And why did he believe I was him?