Chapter twelve
I was dying. It was the only logical answer for the amount of pain coursing through my body and the fireworks exploding inside my skull.
I cracked one eye open, then promptly shut it tight as the sunlight burned my eyes. A pathetic moan escaped me as I rolled onto my side, the creaking wood underneath me sounding like gunfire to my ears.
“Rain? Rain, please look at me.” Dey’s voice barely penetrated the pain.
“No,” I grumbled. “Too bright.”
“Rain, I need your permission to heal you. I do not want you to feel as if I did anything against your will,” he said, stroking the side of my face.
The only word that broke through the thunderous pounding in my head was ‘heal,’ and I was more than eager to approve that. “Yes, heal please,” I choked out.
Dey’s hands shifted around to cup the back of my head and then… bliss. His magic flowed through me like a peaceful river,coating everything it touched. I wanted to bathe in his magic forever, float in that cloud of ecstasy for all time.
Too soon, I could feel it retracting, slithering out of me. I lay there for a second, trying not to cry at the loss of euphoria, until I realized that I no longer wanted to vomit, and the drummers in my brain had gone to find someone else to torture. I opened my eyes to see Dey staring down at me, the sunlight behind him casting a halo around his head.
“Was I dead?” I asked, feeling like I was staring at an angel.
Dey’s smile illuminated his entire face as he placed a hand behind my neck and helped me into a sitting position.
“No, Princess, you did not die. I simply healed the aches and pains that came with drinking too much Cevisa.”
“Aches and pains?” I muttered. “It felt like I’d been put through a cement mixer and injected with acid. What was that stuff anyways?”
Dey’s hand rubbed my upper back. “Cevisa is similar to mead in your world, though much more potent since most of us have healing abilities that subdue the more negative effects from consuming copious amounts. For you, however, a few sips would have been more than enough for relaxation purposes. And that is something that youshouldhave been told.” He tossed a glare over his shoulder, and I noticed Cam and Ram standing behind him, both looking rather sheepish.
“Sorry, Princess,” they said in unison, though the slight curve of their mouths told me they weren't really that sorry.
I scooted back on the porch to lean against the cottage wall. “How long was I out?”
“Perhaps an hour or so. Ram alerted me to your situation when he was unable to wake you.” He nodded to the twin on the right who raised a hand.
I analyzed them once again for any possible differences I could use as identifiers and came up blank. “I don’t mean to be rude, but is there a way I can tell you apart?”
They looked at each other and laughed. “Beyond the clothes we wear? No, not really,” Ram replied.
Dey gave them both a withering look. “I am fairly confident they prefer it that way. They rather enjoy tormenting people.”
Ram gave me a sly grin and stepped forward. “For you, Princess? We will make an exception.” He gestured over to the fire, and a spark leapt into his hand, growing until a small flame danced merrily between his thumb and first finger. He lifted it to his head, and one of his beautiful locs began sizzling.
“What are you doing?” I asked, horrified at both the visual and the smell.
“Making it easier for you to tell us apart.” When the loc was mostly burnt off, he pulled his hand away and snapped his fingers, dismissing the flame. “Perfect. Now you can look for the shorter bit and know that I am Ram and he is Cam.”
I gaped at him. “You didn’t have to do that for me.”
He shrugged. “It is only hair. And the least I could do for the one who is going to save Rivella.”
I whipped my head over to Dey. “I thought the whole prophecy thing was a great big secret?”
“It is. Beyond King Verren and a few of his advisors, only myself, Cam, Ram, and Sin know the truth.”
I wrinkled my brow and turned back to Cam and Ram. “One of you mentioned Sin earlier. Who’s that? It’d be nice to know everyone who speaks English so people won’t keep messing with me.” I gave the twins a pointed look.
“Dreisin is the king’s Cennux,” Dey answered. “I imagine the closest word in your language would be commander. He is in charge of the king's guards and soldiers. Camden and Ramset are two of his generals.”
“Gotcha. And when do I meet Dreisin?” I asked.
