Iron Knight - Clan of the Rim Chronicles #2

22

A/N: I highly suggest you listen to the song 'Everything Is Lost' by Ruelle aka Maggie Eckford while reading through Calder and Eerika's pantry scene. It's simply beautiful and fits so well in Calder's point of view! Enjoy!

I SEARCHED FOR CALDER and couldn't find him. I honestly didn't know where he could have gone this time, making me fear the worst things. It was like a mother trying to find her lost child in the shopping mall, and for the first few moments into my search it slightly aggravated me. But now here I was, anger fizzled out and just desperately wanting him to turn up and know he was ok.

I went briskly down every corridor, checking the barracks and the barn and his room, Calder not turning up in any of them. I even went back to the throne room that was now cleared out as well as popping into the dining hall and kitchen, and still receiving no result. I was finally starting to feel lost myself, about to retreat back to my room and just hope he would come find me later.

I chose the infirmary as the last place to look, even though there was pretty much no chance Calder would be found there. He hadn't been attending any more of his physical therapy sessions with the healer because of his stubbornness. But, if Calder was hiding from me, this would be the less obvious place he would go. I hoped I was right.

I silently slipped inside like a ghost, freezing still. I looked and listened, holding my breath to pick up even the slightest sound. When I didn't hear anything, I turned and took a single step forward to exit.

Then my pointed ears perked up to a noise coming from the medical pantry by the door. It sounded like labored breathing. My nerves jumped as I slowly reached out and grasped the handle, unsure if I would find it to be Calder or something I didn't want to find. Creaking the door open I squinted into the darkness, my sight landing on a figure.

I knew in that moment just by the shape of his body that it was Calder. His hands were pressed into the wall where he propped himself up, head hung low. He was taking shuddering breaths as if he was having a panic attack, his back muscles coiling under his shirt. When I slowly began to come to him he snarled his words at me in a tone he had never used towards me before.

"Don't! Stay away from me, Eerika."

I didn't understand what was going on. He had been better these past few days, his episodes hadn't sparked. I took another silent step, getting a better view of him. The back of his neck was inflamed like he had been grasping firmly at it, the ends of his messy hair just barely hiding it.

I stood there frozen in silence staring at him with a worried gaze as he too did not move. His breathing started to slow and return to its normal rhythm, this giving me the chance to intervene again now that he was calming down. I reached out to touch his shoulder, my fingertips just grazing the fabric before he jerked away.