“What’s happened?” he demanded.
The doctor gave a quick bow, and then he said, “One of the servants found her on the floor a short time ago. Unconscious.”
Just like that gardener?
Were the shade beasts responsible for this too?
Tarron could not bring himself to ask the questions out loud—as if not speaking them would keep these horrors from being true.
But Doctor Elric wasted no time confirming his worst fears. “There was an enormous amount of magical…residuein the room when my assistant and I arrived. And it was not Sun magic.”
The prince braced a hand against the doorframe. “And now?”
“It’s settled now, and we’ve used counter spells to purify that dark energy. But the lady still sleeps. Her vital signs are stable, just weak; hopefully she is only drained, and with enough rest she’ll recover soon enough.”
“And you’re certain of…of the energy you encountered when you arrived?”
The doctor’s reply was quick and grimly certain: “I would guard her very closely.”
Tarron exhaled slowly. “Understood.”
His brother, and now his future wife…why did it all suddenly feel so much more serious? As if there was no way to deny they were being targeted. And those implications that had nagged at him earlier…
War.
That was what these things would mean, if the Shadow Court was indeed to blame.
He thanked the doctor and stepped into the room. A trio of servants finished up their tasks and bowed low before leaving him alone with his bride, and then he went to the bed, settled down on the edge of it.
For several minutes he sat in the heavy silence, watching Leanora’s chest rise and fall to make certain her breathing stayed normal. He could still sense that dark, cold energy the doctor had spoken of. But it was faint now, and otherwise the room was strangely peaceful. His bride was safe. She was fine.
So what was he still doing here?
He could do nothing else for her.
The doctor and the servants were enough to deal with this matter. In the meantime, he needed to go deal with their prisoners. He needed to have a more productive conversation with his brother, somehow. He needed to tend to the reports on his desk, to speak with Councilman Osric and quell any rumors that the old man might be spreading…
He needed to do a hundred other things besides sitting there, uselessly, at his bride’s side.
But the thought of leaving her caused an aching in his chest that made it hard to breathe, much less move.
So he stayed.
Against his better judgment, he stayed, and he eventually stretched out onto the bed next to her, lost in his thoughts. He didn’t touch her. He wouldn’ttouch her while she was not awake to allow it. But he remained beside her for one hour, and then the next, as close as he could get without disturbing her rest. And though his magic was weak—because of the pieces of it still locked inside of her, ironically—he gave her what he could whenever she shivered or cried out in need of warmth or comfort.
Eventually he grew tired, drained from both magic use and the day’s events. His eyes had just started to flutter shut when Leanora’s hand struck out, clawing for something to hold on to. It found his hand. Wrapped it tightly. He didn’t pull away. He should have, maybe, but he liked the weight of it against him.
It was infinitely preferable to the weight of all the things weighing on his mind.
Today had swiftly turned so…disastrous.And everything felt as if it was falling down around him. But the tighter she gripped his hand, the slower and lighter his racing thoughts became, and soon he found himself relaxing down into the pillow beside her, closing his eyes, and falling asleep.
Chapter 10
Sephia woke to the feeling of a rough tongue licking the hand she had dangled over the edge of the mattress.
“Ketzal,” she mumbled, “that’s disgusting.”
She popped one eye open just in time to see the tiny griffin dive under the bed. He reemerged a moment later with a pair of fuzzy slippers in his teeth, which he shook at her. With a sigh and a sleepy smile, Sephia reached out and grabbed the slippers—and she realized in that instant that something was impeding her movement.
