Morning arrived, and I opened my eyes. I was the first awake.
I stretched and glanced around, letting out a sigh as my ears flopped uselessly. Sleeping without my wolf form was miserable. Everything felt stiff and wrong. I rolled my shoulders and sat up, my gaze drifting to my ankle. Still purple. Still swollen.
Wearing only a sock outside felt ridiculous. Awkward, even. A prince reduced to hopping around barefoot
Everyone else was still asleep.
Should I check if Lyra is still alive?
I probably should before Sabrina wakes up and starts panicking about what Brittany would do if the vampire died on the road. This time, I'd do it properly. Pulse. Not the heartbeat thing again.
I brushed Lyra's hair away from her neck, noticing the special blood mark on her skin. Carefully, I placed my fingers against the side of her neck.
A pulse.
Steady.
Unfortunately.
Her eyes snapped open, and she smacked my hand away.
"Don't touch me."
She pushed herself upright, glaring.
"Why do you keep touching me?"
"Believe me, do I want to?" I snapped. "I was only checking if you were still alive."
"And why would you care about that?"
"I don't," I said flatly. "You could drop dead on the road for all I care. But you seem important to Britney the princess of Eldoria and we need you alive. Whether we like it or not."
She went quiet.
"Well, you didn't need to keep touching me," she muttered. "Couldn't you tell I was breathing?"
"As if I'm going to sit there and watch you breathe."
She huffed. "I suppose you're right."
"Everything was going perfectly fine until you showed up and ruined everything," I muttered, mostly to irritate her.
"Well," she shot back, "when I arrived in Lunaris, I wasn't expecting any survivors. I know how weak you wolves really are."
"Weak?" I scoffed. "Seriously? You're the weak one."
"Funny," she said coolly, "considering I'm the one who gave you a broken ankle."
"Funny how Sabrina gave you a severe concussion," I snapped. "Surprised you're still alive after that many blows to the head."
It had been two days since we fought each other. Then, just yesterday, we fought the possessed wolves.
"I'm surprised you're still talking to me."
Silence fell between us again.
Then she frowned.
"Wait… what happened?"
What?
"Lyra," I said slowly, "do you not understand what I just said?"
She stared at me blankly. Something had shifted her irritation, draining into confusion.
"Lyra," I said again.
I leaned closer. One of her pupils was noticeably larger than the other.
"What's two plus two?"
"Five?"
Yep. Completely useless.
Thank goodness Sabrina knows the way to Eldoria.
Suddenly, Lyra gagged.
"Oh no."
She reached loudly, vomiting onto the ground. I recoiled in disgust.
"My head," she groaned, pressing a hand to her forehead.
"You made it worse by fighting the wolves yesterday."
"I fought?" she asked weakly.
I facepalmed. Did everyone around us sleep like rocks, or were they faking it just so I'd be stuck dealing with this vampire alone?
"I can't feel my fingers," she whispered.
I'd never had a concussion before I didn't know if that was normal. But it didn't sound good.
She struggled to stay awake.
Then more movement stirred around us.
"Ah!" Payton screamed, making Lyra clamp her hands over ears.
"Too loud," Lyra muttered.
"Sorry!" Payton said quickly. "The vomit scared me."
She scurried away.
Lyra sank back down, eyes fluttering shut. Blood began dripping from her nose. Payton noticed immediately and wiped it away.
I stood.
"Alright. As you can see, we have a problem. Lyra being the idiot she is made her symptoms worse. She probably can't walk."
No one argued.
"That means Alphonso carries me. Payton helps Sabrina. And Ethan carries Lyra."
"What?" Ethan said flatly.
"Sorry," I added. "Alphonso already has me, and I can't carry her with this ankle. Payton would collapse instantly under her weight."
Ethan didn't argue.
"Fine."
"Perfect," I said, smiling just to annoy him.
He grumbled.
"Now," Payton said nervously, "what do we do about weapons? We don't have any."
"Fear not," I said, pulling the dagger from my belt. "I took this from Lyra. Better than nothing."
"Fair," Sabrina agreed.
"Zac, how's the foot?" Alphonso asked.
"It's fine. I guess."
"Figured. At least you and Sabrina will heal before Lyra."
"Sure," I muttered.
"Are we ready to go?" Sabrina asked.
"Not yet," I said. "We need water. That's more important than anything."
"Our best bet is finding a river or stream," Ethan said.
Everyone nodded.
"We really didn't come prepared," Payton laughed. "No bottles or anything."
We stared at her.
She squealed and hid behind Alphonso.
"Well," I snapped, "we weren't expecting shadow creatures to invade our kingdom or a vampire princess to show up and ruin everything. None of us asked for this."
The air grew tense and quiet.
"We should leave," I said finally. "Find water."
Alphonso helped me onto his back. Payton assisted Sabrina, who hissed in pain as Ethan lifted Lyra.
"There's no vomit on her, right?" Ethan asked.
We shook our heads.
"Good."
"Make sure her cloak covers her face," I added. "She complains about the light and the sun."
Ethan adjusted it carefully.
"I doubt there's any sheep around," Sabrina muttered.
"We need water fast."
We moved forward.
"There's a small stream ahead," Sabrina said.
"My ribs are killing me," she added.
"How's your breathing?" Payton asked.
"Not great," she rasped.
"You'll be okay," Ethan said gently.
Soon, we heard water.
"Is it safe to drink?" Payton asked.
"It's crystal clear," Ethan said.
"I'm dying of thirst," Alphonso added.
"We'll try it," I said. "If it tastes bad, stop immediately."
"Ok, protective dad," Alphonso tested.
Etahn set Lyra down and shook her.
"Lyra. Wake up."
Nothing.
"Lyra!"
Still nothing.
"Throw water on her!" Payton yelled.
Ethan scooped water and poured it over her face. She jolted awake, coughing.
"What do you want?" She snapped.
"We found water," Ethan said. "To help you hydrate."
She turned away.
"Vampires don't hydrate from water, idiot."
Ethan sighed. "How was I supposed to know?"
"Stop shouting," she muttered, covering her ears.
"Then what do you hydrate with?"
"Blood. Any kind. I'll survive."
"Whatever."
Alphonso lowered me, and I crawled to the stream, drinking carefully.
"It's fine," I said.
Everyone followed.
Once we were done. Ethan lifted Lyra again.
"I hate this," he muttered.
I snorted.
"Off to Eldoria!" Payton cheered.
"I'm excited to see Britney again," Sabrina said softly.
"Yeah," Ethan agreed. "It's been a while."