Page 71 of Urzra

Chapter Forty-Three

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BRIA WAS UTTERLY CONFUSEDwhen she woke up in a strange infirmary.“Where am I?”she asked groggily.Urzra was somewhere nearby, but so were a lot of other beings just like him.There were others who felt similar to the knights, but slightly different.

“You’re in our base,” someone said from right beside her.

Bria turned her head to see a teenager sitting on a chair.“Who are you?”Bria asked, then sat up.

“I’m Grace,” the kid said.“Before you ask, I’m eighteen, not fifteen.Wow, you’re almost as short as me.”

“How can you tell?”Bria asked.“I’m not even standing up yet.”

“Your feet are dangling almost as much as mine do when I sit on the examination bed,” Grace said with an impish grin.

“Where’s Urzra?”Bria queried.

“He’s taking a shower,” her companion replied, hiking her thumb over her shoulder at a nearby room.“Urz didn’t want you to see him all covered in blood.”

“It’s too late for that,” Bria said ruefully.“He was shot twice in the chest.”She looked down at her t-shirt to see it was coated in blood.The fabric was torn, but her flesh was unblemished.“What happened?”she asked.“How are we both still alive?”

Urzra was approaching and entered through a door directly across from her.“For a short while, youweren’talive,” her knight said gravely.“My commander brought Kochab and two cambions to us.The females brought you back to life and healed us both.”

“It’s a lot to take in, Bri,” Grace said sympathetically.“Why don’t I take you to one of the empty bedrooms?You can take a shower in the new ensuites we’ve just set up and get changed into something that isn’t soaked in blood.”

“That sounds good,” Bria said, wondering if she really was dead and this was an extremely weird version of heaven.

Urzra followed them as the teen led them along a hallway and down a short passageway.“This is the south wing,” Grace said.“My bedroom is second from the end.It has a vixen engraved on the door.”She waved at the far end of the hallway.“That’s Zoe’s and Amaros’ bedroom,” she added, coming to stop at a blank door and pointing to the room just to their right.

“I love the lions,” Bria said.“Who carved them?”

“I did!”a female called out from a room everyone was gathered together.“I’ll carve something on your door after you two become bonded!”

“Oaklie!”another female scolded her.“They don’t even know about the bond yet.”

“Sorry, mama bear,” Oaklie said contritely.

“That’s Zoe and Oak,” Grace said, opening the door.“You can use that room, Urz,” she said, pointing at another blank door.“No one has claimed it yet.”

Urzra nodded reluctantly.“I’ll wait for you here, female,” he said to Bri, then crossed the hallway to lean against the stone wall.

Bria was glad he wasn’t going to leave her to face everyone alone.“Thanks, Grace,” she said in true gratitude as she stepped into the bedroom.

“I’ll give you guys the tour when you get all cleaned up if you want,” the kid offered.

“Doesn’t Amaros want to speak to us first?”Urzra asked.

Grace waved her hand.“Nah, they can all wait until Bri feels settled first.I’ll be back as soon as you’re ready.”

Bria nodded, then closed and locked the door.The bedroom was filled with plush furniture.It even had a rug that was a mixture of dark blue, gray and green.“It matches our eyes,” she murmured as she undressed.She took a long shower and dried herself off, then realized she didn’t have anything to wear.

A knock came at the door, then Grace spoke.“I’ve got some clothes for you, Bri.Sin created them out of thin air, so they’re brand-new.”

Bria shook her head, still dazed that she’d died and had been brought back to life.She was now in an ancient-looking fortress and she had no idea where it was located.Wrapping the towel around herself, she opened the door just wide enough to take the clothes.“Thanks,” she said.“I’ll be out soon.”