Wynter gave a curt nod and barked orders to his men to bring a stretcher. As Nurse Greenleaf went to check Lily and the Wintermen rushed to obey their king, Dilys turned to clasp hands with his cousins and the others who had laid hands upon him to feed their magic and strength into him.
“My thanks,” he told them. “You saved our lives.”
“No thanks needed, cousin,” Ryll said.
“You should all go get some sleep. You two, in particular.” He gave Ari and Ryll an exhausted grin. “You both look terrible.”
“Ha.” Ari snorted. “Look in the mirror.”
“Ah. Well, I guess it’s a good thing my futurelianahas yet to awaken...”
His cousins laughed, and the three of them clapped each other on the back. The Wintermen with the stretcher arrived. Dilys hovered until he was certain Gabriella had been safely lifted from the floor and placed on the conveyance with no ill effects, then pressed a final kiss to Summer’s brow. He would have followed them to wherever they were taking her, but a massive hand clamped down on his shoulder and kept him from getting to his feet.
“No need to accompany her. She’ll be well looked after.” Wynter fixed Dilys with a look of frozen steel. “For now, you and I need to have a few words.”
Normally, the curt order would have made Dilys bristle, but he was so drained and so happy Gabriella was safe that all he could do was nod wearily. Besides, in all fairness, although Wintercraig’s king wasn’t known for his patience, he had held all his questions, kept his anger in check, and not interfered until after Gabriella had been healed. That earned him enough goodwill to keep Dilys’s battle claws sheathed.
“Of course, Your Grace.” Dilys accepted Ryll’s outstretched hand to help him rise, then laughed a little as he stumbled dizzily. He’d been kneeling on the floor for at least an hour, and his legs had gone numb. “I’m at your servi—”
His voice broke off as the numbness in his legs spread to every part of his body and a heavy black wave crashed over him. Then he was falling, weightless, and his ears were ringing with the echoes of Ari and Ryll shouting his name from far, far away.
The next thing Dilys knew, he was waking to the soothing sound of running water and the warmth of sunlight on his face.
For a moment, as he lay there with his eyes closed, he couldn’t quite place where he was. Not on theKracken.The bed beneath him smelled of spruce and juniper rather than salty sea air or the familiar tropical scents of the Isles, and it wasn’t rocking with the rhythm of the sea. A small fountain burbled somewhere nearby.
He peeled one eye open, squinting a little at the glare of sunlight shining through the unshaded windows near his bed. He lifted a hand to shade his eyes and groaned softly as a sharp pain shot through him. His arms—his whole body—felt heavy as lead, and bruised, as if someone had taken a bat to him. He was especially tender around his ribs and back.
A rustle of cloth made his ears twitch. There was a soft patter of feet, the click of a door latch, then a woman’s quiet whisper. “Tell the king he’s awake.” Feet took off running. The door clicked again, and the room fell silent. The woman—whoever she’d been—had left. Voices were murmuring in the hall outside. The language foreign but familiar. Ice Tongue.
Konumarr. He was in Konumarr. In his bedroom in the palace.
And with that realization, the dam burst and memories came flooding back. Konumarr. Courtship.
“Gabriella!”
He sat bolt upright in bed, threw the covers off, and leapt to his feet.
Then promptly grabbed for the closest solid object as dizziness assailed him and his legs started to buckle. Goddess, he was weak. And starving. And parched.
He reached a hand towards the small stone fountain that someone had placed near his bed—the source of the running water he’d heard upon waking—and called the water to him. His sea gifts flickered like a sputtering candle. The water continued tumbling over the pyramid of glossy stones, not responding to his call.
Dilys stared at the fountain in mute consternation. He was drained. Completely. That hadn’t happened to him in years. Not since he was a boy just learning how to wield his magic. He’d given Gabriella everything he had, holding nothing back for himself.
With a sigh, he shuffled over to the fountain and shoved his hand into it. He stood there, eyes closed, absorbing the revitalizing energy of the water as it flowed over his skin. What he really needed was an ocean pouring over him, but since he barely had the strength to crawl across the room, this would have to do. Slowly, he felt his body strengthen until his legs no longer felt like they would collapse beneath him.
Someone had left a large pitcher of water and an empty glass on the dressing table against the wall. Ignoring the glass, he lifted the pitcher to his mouth and drank the contents down. It was lightly salted, and draining the pitcher helped significantly more than putting his hand in the fountain. By the time it was empty, he felt worlds better. Still not ready to move oceans, but at least able to walk without feeling like he was going to fall over with every step.
He wouldn’t be a great deal of use to Gabriella in this state, but whatever she needed, he was determined to provide.
With that in mind, he made his way to the wardrobe containing the selection of brightly coloredshumashe’d brought with him from Calberna and pulled out a turquoise blue reminiscent of the tropical ocean waters that surrounded his family’s isle, Cali Kai Meri. With that he matched a set of emerald, coral, and turquoise bands dotted with small gemstone reef fish.
Dilys was just securing hisshumaaround his waist when the door to his chamber opened and Wynter Atrialan strode in.
“Good. You’re not dead. I was not looking forward to telling Calberna’s queen that her only son had perished in my kingdom.”
It was a measure of Dilys’s state of mind that his first words weren’t a cheeky, “What? King’s don’t knock in Wintercraig?” but rather, “Where is Gabriella? I need to see her.”
White brows rose over cold blue eyes. “Do you? Well, I need to get some answers. Starting with a thorough explanation of what happened two nights ago.”
