“What wounds?” Val asked. Had his voice always been so rough? In her memory it was smoother, calmer. But it was stillhisvoice. Deep and reassuring despite the new rasp.
There was a slight rustle, movement nearby, and then Nim spoke softly. “They wanted to rescue you from the cells. Alanna and Keely, I mean. They were caught sneaking out of her room by the Blues. I’m sorry, Val, but the king and Grendel beat her with a belt.”
There was a long, heavy silence. Alanna tried to force her eyes open. She wanted to tell them to keep quiet. She didn’t want him to know. He would blame himself, when it wasn’t his fault at all.
But her eyelids were so very heavy, too heavy to lift. As if her whole body, from feet to eyelashes, was encased in sticky resin, impossible to break free of.
A helpless tear worked its way through her closed lids, and she moaned softly, wishing she could explain. Gentle fingers were instantly on her forehead, brushing her hair as a familiar voice hummed nearby. Keely was there.
She let out a soft sigh and relaxed into those soothing hands.
“You’re disturbing her.” The male voice, Rafe, was calm but adamant. “Go and rest, and I’ll call you if I need you.”
“No.” Val’s voice cracked. Bard, she hated it that he sounded so tired.
“It wasn’t a request. I’ve cleaned and treated her wounds, and now she needs sleep while we help her to heal. With proper rest, she’ll feel much better tomorrow.” The man’s voice softened. “Go to your tent, Val. I’ll call you if anything changes.”
“Rafe, don’t you think it would be better for Val to stay? If they were, uh, together, then—”
“No,” Val interrupted, voice low and resigned. “Rafe’s right, we aren’t… anything. The queen doesn’t want me here. I’ll let her sleep.”
There was a swirl of cold air, and then silence. And it made her want to cry. He had left. She didn’t want to sleep; she wanted Val back. She stirred restlessly, trying to make her body move.
Someone laid a gentle hand over her feet and before she could find the strength to pull away, a soft warmth spread over her and through her, settled her, and she drifted helplessly back into deep sleep.
She woke late in the night and lay unmoving, curled up on her side, not knowing what had wakened her. Some kind of noise, maybe? But it didn’t come again.
Everything was dark and quiet. Rafe had gone, and Keely was snoring softly beside her. Someone walked along the front of her tent, and low voices conferred. But no one called or came in. Perhaps the watch was changing?
Whatever it was, no one disturbed her. The night was calm. Her body felt relaxed and warm. Val wasn’t with her, but he was nearby. She would see him in the morning. And for the first time in months, years even, she felt genuinely safe.
She closed her eyes and let sleep take her once more.
It was growing light when Alanna woke next. She was lying on her belly, snuggled deeply under a pile of warm blankets as the sounds of the camp waking filtered through the canvas walls.
She stretched, enjoying the blissful feeling of having slept deeply and long, until her belly rumbled with a loud gurgle and she realized that she was starving.
She rolled to her side and was about to sit up when she noticed she was wearing a man’s cotton shirt. And nothing else. She couldn’t even remember when last she’d slept in less than two full layers. Before her wedding, certainly.
Her gasp woke Keely, who immediately pushed herself out of her bedroll and crawled over to kneel beside her. Her friend’s green eyes were soft and concerned, her long strawberry blond hair pulled back in a messy braid. “What is it? Do you need help?”
“No. I just… Keely, where are my clothes?”
Her friend rocked back on her heels and grinned. Alanna noticed the sling holding Keely’s arm, and she sat up, reaching for her in concern. “Why are you bandaged?”
Keely’s grin faltered slightly. “I got hit by an arrow on our way out of the palace. But it’s fine. Really. Rafe and Nim have been checking on it and constantly harassing me with ointments and salves and doses of healing, when all it needs is a bit of time.”
“Rafe?” She remembered hearing his name the night before.
“The Nephilim healer. He’s been running himself ragged looking after all of us. I sent him away eventually or he would have still been here watching over you.”
Yes, he’d been the one to send Val back to his own tent.
Where was Val now? Was he safe? He’d been worried about her—had someone let him know that she was sleeping?
She wanted to ask. But she also knew that Keely already thought she was a martyr and a coward where Val was concerned.
Alanna glanced up at Keely and then away, picking at the blanket on her lap. “And so… ah… Nim’s here?”
