Shifting Destiny

Chapter Thirteen

Feyre POV

I call my landlord after Kayla leaves. He accepts part of the rent on Friday and gives me until my next paycheck for the rest. By the time I put my phone down, the room feels too warm. I take off the socks Kayla brought and sit with my feet on the cool floor.

Alis checks my temperature, then gathers the papers beside me. She leaves my chart copy and tucks Kael's intake sheet beneath her clipboard to return to the ward desk. Kayla will look for the handoff copy when she returns to work.

"Is he still outside?" I ask, watching her tuck it away. The repair work stopped an hour ago, but I haven't heard anything from the yard since.

"Near the trees," Alis answers. She sets the clipboard on the table and pulls up the chair. "He's been back to the fence twice. The new bracket held."

"How's his leg?" I remember its awkward angle on the treatment table and picture him walking the fence on it now.

"He's bearing weight, but not much," Alis says. "I can watch him from a distance. I can't examine him while he won't let anyone close."

I look toward the closed window. "Could I see him without going into the yard? I want to know what he's doing when he comes here."

Alis rests her hands on her knees. "There's an observation room on the interior hall. You can look through the glass. To speak, we'd have to open the upper pane. We can wait to see if he comes to the fence on his own."

"I want to try speaking to him," I tell her. My fingers tighten around the blanket. "For a minute. You can stop it if he gets upset."

"Or if you do," Alis says. She waits until I look away from the window and back at her. "Your temperature went up after yesterday's training. I want to see how steady you are before we go, and you can change your mind at any point."

She examines my eyes and has me stand without leaning on the bed. My legs hold, and my temperature has stayed down. She makes me drink water and takes her clipboard before we go into the hall. Levi waits outside the observation room with a sanctuary handler. Two Blackridge guards watch the fence from the yard, and Ryker stays on the outer path. No one will approach Kael. The window is high above the yard, with the outer fence between us and him. The inner service gate stays locked; the room's door opens from our side.

"One minute with the pane open," Alis tells me, holding the window key. "I close it if he hits the fence, you say 'enough,' or you start to look faint."

"Where will you stand?" I ask Levi, who is waiting near the door.

"Against that wall," Levi answers, pointing across the room. "Alis has the window. The handler will keep the doorway clear. You can leave whenever you want."

I remember him holding me down after I lost time. He sees me glance at the space between us and steps closer to the wall. Alis opens the room, and I walk in. The window looks over the repaired fence and a strip of trampled grass. Beyond it, Kael stands near the trees. His black coat has dirt along one side, and he holds his injured hind leg clear of the ground while he drinks from a basin.

Kael lifts his head before anyone opens the pane. His ears turn toward the room. He leaves the basin and walks along the fence, favoring his bad leg. I grip the windowsill.

"Do you still want this?" Alis asks, her hand on the latch. She watches my face instead of Kael.

"Yes." I move my fingers off the sill and take three steps back. The wood is rough enough to catch my longer nails, and I don't want to start another change while I'm here.

Alis opens the upper pane a hand's width behind its fixed grille. Cold air reaches my face. Kael stops and looks up.

"Kael," I call, keeping my voice at the level I'd use with a frightened patient. His head comes up farther, and I see his golden eyes between the fence posts. "It's Feyre. I'm inside."

He reaches the outer wire with a low sound in his chest. One of the guards in the yard raises a hand but doesn't approach. Kael's ears go back, and I wonder if I was wrong to speak.

"We can stop," Alis says from beside the latch. She has already turned toward me.

"Not yet." I watch Kael put weight on his bad leg for one step and pull it up again. "You're favoring that leg," I tell him. "Go back to the water, okay?"

He doesn't go back. He lowers his head and stands still. The sound in his chest fades. His mouth closes, and he looks at me through the gap between two posts. A few seconds pass without him pressing against the wire. Pressure gathers behind my eyes. I blink and become aware of how hard I'm breathing. The inner gate is locked, Alis is beside me, and Kael cannot reach the window. None of that eases the fear in my stomach.

His leg trembles. At the same moment, an ache runs through mine, though I haven't hurt it. I shift my weight and the feeling remains. Kael's eyes leave mine and fix on the repaired gate. The fear grows worse. He hasn't moved toward it, but I want Alis to close it before the metal makes a sound.

"Feyre?" Levi says from the wall. He doesn't step into the path to the door. "What happened?"

"I don't know." I grip my elbows. The ache in my leg comes and goes while Kael holds his position. "He's scared of the gate. I think I can feel it."

Alis closes and latches the pane. The click makes Kael jerk his head toward the window, then back toward the gate. His ears flatten again, and he begins walking. The guard outside signals Ryker, and they leave him room to reach the trees. I take a step away from the window, but the floor seems to tilt. Alis catches my arm before I can reach the chair against the wall. She helps me sit and puts a hand against my forehead.

"Enough for today," Alis says, crouching so she can see my eyes. "Tell me if the dizziness gets worse."

"The leg pain's gone." I press my palm to my knee. My own leg feels fine. My hands are shaking, though, and I have to hold the cup Alis gives me with both of them. "He was quiet. Did you see that?"

"I saw him stop at the fence," Alis answers. She checks my pulse while I drink and writes it down. "Then I saw you go pale. I won't put you back at that window today."

Levi moves into view but stays beyond the chair. "What did you feel?" he asks, glancing at my leg.

"I was afraid even though I knew the gates were locked. My leg hurt while his shook." I rub my fingers against the cup to stop them trembling. "I can't prove any of it came from him."

"Did it stop when Alis closed the window?" Levi asks, looking from my leg to the cup in my hands.

"The pain did....the fear took longer." I set the cup on the floor before I can spill it. "I don't know if my voice made him stop." Alis finishes her note and helps me stand. I can walk, but the handler comes with us. Levi stays by the observation room as I reach the doorway. He speaks to Alis as we pass, and I hear him in the quiet hall.

"The two people on outside watch saw him settle when she spoke," Levi says, glancing toward me. "Blackridge will ask what she did."

"They saw him stop," Alis answers, keeping a hand on my arm as we walk. "Let them report that. Don't add what happened to Feyre."

"And if anyone wants me to do that again, they ask me," I say from the doorway. "It hurt."

Levi nods, but he doesn't look reassured. I make it to my bed without help. As Alis checks my temperature once more, I think of Kael standing still at the fence and of the fear that stayed with me after the window closed. Two people outside saw the easy part. I don't know how many more will ask me to do it again.