The King growled.
“Sire, I must examine him,” the Zaknir said.
The King cleared his throat. “Yes, of course.”
“Master Sebastian, I am Master Juc, the Court Physician,” the Zaknir said as he felt my pulse.
Suddenly, my brain shut off. I couldn't think.
“Where am I?” I asked.
“What the fuck?” the large man beside me growled.
“Who are you?” I sucked in another breath, trying to slow it.
“Who am I?” He looked from me to the Zaknir. “What's happening?”
“He's confused,” the Zaknir said.
Then my brain started working again. Sort of. I frowned at the King, wondering why he was standing beside my bed. “Shale?”
The King stroked my face. “Sebastian? You know me now?”
“Of course, I know you.” I scowled. “Are you that upset that you're going to pretend nothing happened?”
“No, Sebastian. You didn't know who I was a second ago.”
I made a scoffing sound.
“Master Juc!” Shale snarled.
“Confusion, low heartbeat, low body temperature,” Master Juc murmured. “It is as I suspected, Sire. He's suffering from blood loss.”
Shale hung his head and cursed.
“Blood loss?” I blinked. Then it hit me. I took Shale's hand and whispered, “Hey. It's all right. I knew the risks. And you didn't know that you needed to be careful.”
The King lifted his head and stared at me. At least it wasn't with the coldness of the night before, but it wasn't withtenderness either. He let go of my hand. “Master Juc, you will do everything you can to help him recover.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Of course. You will be fine, Master Sebastian.” He turned to look at a servant standing nearby—the same guy who helped me to bed. “Bring him some bone broth soup with stewed meat and your sweetest dessert. A glass of juice would be good too. And lots of water.”
“Yes, Sir.” The servant hurried out of the room.
Once they were gone, the physician helped me sit up. “I have some potions that will help.” He went to the bedside table where a small box waited and opened the case.
As Master Juc withdrew bottles and peered at their labels, I tried to catch Shale's eye. He wouldn't look at me.
“Shale, please,” I whispered.
“We are not alone,” the King said.
I grimaced. “Sorry. Will you please look at me, Your Majesty?”
“How bad is it, Master Juc?” Shale asked. “He seems to be reviving.”
“Not fatal, Your Majesty. My potions and the food should help him recover by nightfall. Ah!” He opened a bottle of sparkling blue liquid and poured a small amount into a tiny cup. Then he uncorked a bottle of dark green liquid and added some of its contents to the cup. “Here, Master Sebastian. Drink this. It will normalize your heart rate and breathing while helping your body replace the blood it's lost.”
“Thank you.” I gulped it down, then grimaced. “Oh, that's awful.”
