Lady Deirdre's voice cuts through my protest. She's appeared in the doorway with Blaire and Siofra. Her dress is muddy and torn, her hair unpinned and loose around her shoulders.
Siofra moves toward Rhianelle with her hands raised in prayer position. Blaire follows behind, leaning heavily on a cane. "We will care for our queen."
"She needs me—"
"You're frightening them. They can't work like this." Deirdre's voice is firm. She positions herself between me and Rhianelle.
"I'm not trying to frighten anyone. I just want—"
"We know what you want." Blaire speaks up, her voice gentler than the others. "We all want the same thing. For Rhianelle to live."
She navigates carefully through the knights to approach me. "The healers need to focus on Rhianelle. They can't work with you here."
Only then do I notice it. The Hlaryan healers have withdrawn to the far wall, pressed tight against stone. Their eyes flick toward me, wary and uncertain. No one will come closer while I stand here.
"But what if she needs me?" My voice comes out small. Broken. "What if she wakes up and I'm not here?"
"We'll be here," Blaire promises. "I'll stay by her side and hold her hand. She won't be alone. I swear it."
There's something in her voice that makes me believe her.
I look at each of them in turn. Siofra with her hands already clasped in prayer position, lips moving silently to give Rhianelle blessings.
"You'll do everything to save her?" I ask.
"We promise," Lady Siofra says firmly. "The goddess will guide our hands. Her light will show us the way."
Every second I argue is a second stolen from Rhianelle's treatment.
"All right, I'll go." I force myself to stand. "But if she asks for me—"
"We'll send word," Deirdre says. "You have my word on that."
Darstan appears at my elbow as if summoned. His armor is muddy and his face exhausted. He must have been leading rescue efforts all day.
"Come on. Let's get you out of here." His hand is firm but not unkind on my arm.
"He should be in chains." The captain steps into our path, hand on her sword. "I can't let him walk free in this city. He belongs in—"
Darstan turns to face her slowly. Whatever she finds in his expression makes her step back. She says nothing further.
He guides me toward the door and I let him. But I can't help looking back one more time.
The healers have surrounded Rhianelle now. Their white robes create a wall between us, blocking her from my view. All I can see is one pale hand hanging off the edge of the table, fingers limp and lifeless.
"The queen won't die," Darstan says quietly as we step outside into the flooded street. "She's stronger than she looks."
I want to believe him.
But I've seen death before. I know what it looks like when life is slipping away.
We walk through the devastated city in silence. Word is spreading fast about what happened. People line the streets, staring at us. Well, at me. They whisper and their eyes are wide with fear and hatred.
The vampire brought the queen back broken and bleeding.
The monster finally showed its true nature.
I hear every whisper and feel every stare.
