The carriage door flung open suddenly as we came to a sudden, full stop that jostled the boy roughly, revealing we had made it to the courtyard of the castle. Filled with both guards and a stretcher from the medical unit, questions began to ring out loudly—drawing my attention to where the king and queen stood waiting in the doorway of the castle. Both of them looked shocked, and honestly a bit scared too. Even the queen seemed shaken.
Deciding to keep my hand hovering over the boy’s injury and my power encompassing him, Niz slowly lifted him onto the stretcher as we began to make our way toward the door. The group followed, but we didn’t even attempt to field the questions and demands echoing around us, pandemonium filling the courtyard.
What happened?
Who did this?
Explain. Now.
Are you responsible?
We need to lock down the central entrance!
Are we under attack?
We need every medical attendant on staff to report to the center.
How have you managed to keep him stable?
What is this power you’re using on him?
Take him to the infirmary immediately.
“I want them questioned.”
The last one demand stood out because it came from Niz’s mother in a hushed tone as she spoke to Conan. My eyes narrowed on her as we reached the castle doors and she moved her gaze to her son, without reaction to my glare.
I didn’t bother responding, our group following along with the stretcher and medical attendants. Everyone around us seemed to pretend to not hear her statement to her husband—farmore focused on the boy’s well-being instead. Still, I glowered.We didn’t have time for questioning right now.
“Niz—”
“No,” Niz snapped, turning to look at his mother over his shoulder as his parents followed us. “We’re making sure he’s stable first—thenwe’ll talk. The only individual who should be questioned is the guard that allowed a wyvern this young out of the kingdom to go flying in Alfemir.”
His words silenced her. I was as cynical as the next man who had been locked away under torture for years, but even I wouldn’t take the route she was inferring. If we had hurt this boy, why would we be so focused on ensuring his well-being? Why would I be using my power to heal him?
As we walked for what felt like hours in tense silence, but was actually only mere minutes, my whole focus stayed on the extraction of poison—and I managed to achieve full extraction by the time we walked through the doors of the infirmary. Pulling the polluted orb away from the boy’s body, I let it float above me, not wanting to absorb it intomybody. I just needed to find a place to dispose of it.
I briefly recognized that Nora and Conan were talking in hushed whispers at the back of our group as we entered the new space, but it was the least of my concerns. I instead focused on the infirmary we made our way into. The large, cathedral-style ceilings and peaceful, dim lighting made it feel comfortable rather than cold or sterile.
“In the back,” Niz directed as we made our way toward an area stocked with supplies, a large bed, and a sea of medical attendants. The attendants immediately aided in the transfer of the boy from the stretcher to the bed. I stepped back, letting the orb of poison pop over an empty, clear container a few spots away before handing it to one of the attendants.
“Poison. I got all of it out—but here it is, in case you need to know what was in his system.” The middle-aged woman stared at me in surprise before taking it and rushing away, not questioning my words.
It’s not like I would have answered if shehadquestioned me, but it was interesting to see that not all wyverns distrusted us based on what we were.Unlikethe queen.
“You removed all of it? You’re sure?” A man with a graying beard asked, everyone seeming to defer to him as they worked around him.
“They used a poison-coated weapon on him, I managed to keep him stable and remove the poison from his blood, but I haven’t healed him past that.” And considering the fatigue hitting me, I’m not sure that would have even been a viable option.
Immediately, medical attendants began to work on his injured arm while others applied ointment to the burns covering his left side. I stood back as Kieran came to hold my hand, all of us watching the process with full attention. I noticed Niz didn’t go to his parents, instead staying by the boy’s side.
If his parents truly thought he was a poor leader, then they were blind.
“Thank you, Bash,” Kieran whispered to me as I squeezed her hand, and my heart twisted in my chest. She didn’t need to thank me. I may have been crazy, but I wasn’t heartless. Especially in matters that concerned her.
“What happened?” Nora finally demanded.
“Away from the bed,” Niz insisted, walking around and leading them across the room toward an empty section of the ward. I was hesitant to leave the area in case the medical attendants needed me, but I did so anyway, knowing I needed to be part of this conversation.
