Descending (The Rising Series) (38 page)

Gretchen
dropped to her knee beside Kyros and cradled the babe to her chest.

“Let me through,” Straton said.

He dropped down on his knees at Kyros’s side. “He should have never gone in himself. He’ll be lucky to survive this.”

Terror gripped her heart as
Gretchen whipped around and said, “You will not let him die.”

Th
e baby in her arms coughed and cried some more. His cries were not right; he was hoarse. She lifted the blanket off his head and saw a tiny, soot-covered face. He coughed again.

“
He doesn’t sound right,” Sara said. Gretchen hadn’t even noticed she was there.

“I know.” She looked down on the tiny boy. He seemed so much smaller than any other baby Gretchen had ever seen. He lifted his fisted hand to his face
and sucked on it.

“He needs to see a doctor.”

She looked over at Straton, who was taking care of Kyros’s injuries. Worry gripped her heart in her chest. What would she ever do without Kyros? Tears sprung to her eyes. The baby coughed so hard he couldn’t seem to take in a breath. The blanket slid off him, and his pale, little, grey tail curled in the breeze.

Pallas stepped forward, his eyes glued to the tiny child. “
I’ve never seen a babe before. I didn’t know they started out this small.”

“You may need to take him for a swim
,” Xanthus said. “It sounds like he’s got smoke in his lungs. He probably needs oxygen.”

Kyros
was once again coughing.

“Kyros, you can’t be moving like that,” Straton said as he pushed him back. “You’re causing your wounds to bleed again.”

“He doesn’t have gills,” Kyros said, his voice grating like sandpaper. He hacked again.

Gretchen’s eyes widened. “No gills?”
she breathed.

“Good grief, what are you going to do?” Sara asked.

“I don’t know.” Gretchen answered. “How do we even get him off this island? He can’t breathe underwater.”

“I saw a boat,” Pallas said.

“Where?” Gretchen asked.

“In the trees. Over in that direction.” He nodded his head.

“I’ll go with him and check it out,” Xanthus said.

The baby squirmed and gnawed vigorously on his fist.

“I think he’s hungry,” Gretchen said.

“I think you’re right,” Sara said.

Xanthus and Pallas came back with a small rowboat.

“Oh shoot,” Gretchen said. “I was hoping it had a motor.”

“Are you kidding me?” Xanthus said. “You don’t need a motor. We can push it.”

“What about Kyros and Drakōn? Should they ride too
?”

“No, they’re better off in the water. Straton and
Amar can care for them.”

“Are they going to stay here?”

“No, once Straton has them stable, he and Amar can bring them.”

Xanthus and Pallas carried the boat to the water and
Gretchen climbed in, holding the baby. Sara followed.

Gretchen and Sara
didn’t talk much on the journey. They just sat, with the wind in their faces, listening to the infant cough.

“I’m worried,
” Gretchen finally said.

“About the baby
?” Sara asked.

“About them both.
What if Kyros—?”

“Don’t even go
there, Gretchen. We just need to take things one at a time. Don’t borrow trouble.”

Gretchen nodded.

“Life sure is different than I thought it would be,” Sara said.

“Tell me about it. I thought I’d be a power attorney in Honolulu—saving children.”

Sara smiled. “You
are
saving children. Only this one is your own brother.”

Gretchen had a ghost of a smile.

“Are you going to go back to do another internship?”

Gretchen shrugged. “
Probably not. I have Kyros and this baby to think about. My life isn’t my own anymore.” And the fact that the world would be destroyed if they couldn’t decipher the oracle’s message weighed heavily on her mind. An internship seemed insignificant in comparison.

“Does that make you sad?”
Sara asked.

Gretchen shook her head. “No.” Tears welled in her eyes. “I love
Kyros and my brother more than anything. I just want them to be okay.”

She looked down into the tiny face of her little brother. He’d fallen asleep. He looked like an angel—a skinny, wrinkled angel.

“He needs a name,” Gretchen said.

“Did Aella give him
one?”

“It doesn’t matter. I don’t want him to have anything she
gave him. She doesn’t deserve that.”

“Have you thought of any names for him?”

“Are you kidding? When have I had time to think of baby names?”

“Sorry I asked.”

“I was thinking Donovan.”

Sara smiled. “
You
have
thought of it.”

Gretchen smiled back. “
Yes, I have. Donovan would fit him. It means strong survivor.”

“That does fit him. Who came up with your name?”

“That’s a long story, but my name fits me too. Gretchen means pearl. Life gave me a piece of dirt, but I’m making it beautiful, one layer at a time.”

“That’s profound.”

The baby coughed again, and Gretchen looked down on his little, frail body. “I don’t think Aella fed him well.”

“Undoubtedly. A baby this small is supposed to eat a lot more than twice a day.”

“He needs me. He needs a family.” Gretchen brushed her finger over his little tail.

“Life will be difficult for him if he stays like he is. I know
from personal experience. It was hard living as a freak.”

“You weren’t a freak.”

Sara raised an eyebrow.

“Well,
I
wouldn’t have called you a freak,” Gretchen said. “Do you think your dad might help him?”

“Of course he will,
” Sara said. “If he can. I must confess, I’m worried about him.”

“Your dad?”

“Yes.”

“He still won
’t answer you?”

Sara shook her head. “I hope he’s okay. What if something terrible has happened to him?”

“Gretchen, he’s a god. They can’t die, can they?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think so.”

Gretchen looked up, and the island of Bermuda was coming into view. “Xanthus and Pallas sure can swim fast.”

“Yes,
they can,” Sara said.

“
Well,” Gretchen said. “We’d better figure out a story to tell the doctors and police.”

“Police?”

“They’ll undoubtedly be called when the doctors see Donovan’s condition. I have no idea how to explain his tail.”

“Gretchen. You can make the
doctors believe anything you want.”

Gretchen smiled. “I keep forgetting that.”

Gretchen
laid sleeping Donovan in the bassinet. She marveled at his tiny face, his little, round head covered in white/blond fuzz, and his adorable tail, which flapped when he was upset. He looked healthier than he had three days ago, when she rescued him. His cheeks were fuller, his skin was pinker, and he ate constantly.

Gretchen
scratched at the seaweed wrapped around her palm. She peeked under the seaweed wrap and cringed. If only she hadn’t reopened the wound and then got it all cut up on the rosebush. She’d be lucky if it didn’t scar.

Gretchen
strolled into the living area of Xanthus’s home and hesitated.

Sara and Xanthus were
wrapped in each other’s arms, kissing on the couch.

“You guys do realize you have a bedroom here, right?”

Sara jumped and rushed to untangle herself from Xanthus. He locked his arms around her and held her tight as he smiled.

“Um, yeah,
” Sara answered.

“Listen, I’m going to see Kyros. Donovan is asleep. He’ll probably be asleep for about an hour.”

“Don’t worry about him. We’ve got things covered. Your baby is in good hands.”

Gretchen tried to smile, but she just couldn’t bring herself to do it. Her heart wasn’t in the mood for pretenses
, so she answered with a nod.

She hiked out to the cave and dove into the water. Kyros and Straton were on the bottom, about twenty feet down.

Kyros was cradled in a sleeping harness—his face still shockingly pale.

“Any change?”

Straton shook his head.

“But he’s been out for three days.
Drakōn’s been up and around for more than a day.”

“Well,
Kyros’s injuries were more severe than Drakōn’s.

“
What will I do if he doesn’t come back to me?” Gretchen was tired and weak with exhaustion. She hadn’t gotten more than a few minutes of sleep at a time. Between caring for a baby recovering from smoke inhalation and malnutrition and worrying about Kyros, she just couldn’t sleep.

“He’s healing nicely, Gretchen,” Straton answered. “
He’ll be fine. His body just needs him to rest. Give it more time.”

“How
’s your injury?” Straton asked.

Kyros’s eyes open
ed. Gretchen shrieked—her heart racing. He looked pale, close to death, but he was looking at her. “Kyros, oh my gosh, you’re awake!”

Kyros looked her up and
down, and his eyes landed on her hand wrapped in seaweed. He narrowed his eyes.

“What’s wrong?” she asked. “Are you hurting? Do you need me to get you something?”

He shook his head and raised her hand up.

“What? You’re worried about th
is?”

He pursed his lips and gave her a hard stare.

“It’s nothing. I don’t know why Straton is fussing over it. I just got some scrapes when I climbed up a valance with a rosebush.”

“
She reopened the wound in her hand,” Straton said, earning a glare from her.

“But i
t’s almost all healed now,” she said, stretching the truth a bit.

“
How are you feeling?” Straton asked Kyros. “How’s your throat?”

At those words, Kyros’s eyes widened.

“Oh, don’t worry,” Straton said. “You’ll be getting your voice back soon. Your windpipe was burned. It’s a good thing you have your gills. When your trachea closed up and your lungs filled with fluid, you would have died without them.”

Kyros reached out to Gretchen and pulled her forward, wrapping his arms around her.

Straton cleared his throat. “I’ve got some errands to run. I’ll be back soon to check on you.”

Gretchen broke down in his embrace, sobbing as she held onto him. She never wanted to let him go again.

He held her, absorbed her pain, and kissed her head, her forehead, and each of her cheeks, before his lips settled on hers, kissing her gently.

This kiss was different from all the other kisses they
’d shared. There was no desperation, no burning passion, only love and comfort. Gretchen felt as if he were caressing her soul. As he broke off the kiss, she settled her head in the crook of his neck.

“I love you, Kyros.”

“Love… you…” he said with great effort.

“Straton said for you not to talk.”

He shook off the order. “Marry… me… now.”

“What? Now? Don’t you want to wait to heal?”

“Now…”

“
You’ve just awoken from a coma. Besides, I don’t even have a dress.”

“Don’t… need…”

“Okay, I will. Just stop talking. You need to save your voice.”

He
grinned and relaxed. “Baby… needs… a family.”