The soldiers must have also listened because after a short scuffle, he could see Meena’s head pop up over the crowded room. She was standing on the bed and her eyes sought his.
“Release him immediately! You will answer to my father for this!” she yelled.
“You do not make the orders here, Princess,” Councilor Younn said from the doorway.
“What goes on here, Councilor?” Jules asked. His voice sounded confused, but Sol guessed he had been in on the entire plan.
“I have reason to believe thatSolanois a dangerous Majis,” Younn said. “He will be taken to Chendas for the Council to deal with him.”
“No!” Meena screamed. “My husband can’t be a Majis! You’ve made a mistake!”
Sol fought against the rope at his hands, though he knew it was useless.
“If a mistake has been made, then King Gareth will send him back to his irritatingly stupid little wife.” Younn’s voice was filled with disdain as he looked at Meena. “You will be on board the next ship sailing north.”
“No!” Meena’s scream filled the room, piercing Sol’s ears and his heart.
As Sol was led out the door, Meena tried to catch his eye.
He twisted his head as they pushed him forward and managed to blink twice.
He couldn’t tell if she saw it because when he opened his eyes she was hidden from view.
He hoped she would keep fighting. He would, until the very end.
A sharp stinging pain on his left hand momentarily distracted him. He shuffled his wrists together to try and reach the awkward spot between his thumb and pointer finger. He could feel a hard substance stuck there.
As soon as he rubbed against it, the small spot burned with pain and the substance refused to move.
It was a drop of wax.
He’d been burned with a drop of wax. It had probably happened when he was brandishing the candle, but he had not noticed the pain in the moment.
Meena still screamed at the soldiers behind him.
He rubbed the spot again, despite the additional pain it caused. It irked him that one tiny thing could hurt so badly.
Chapter 29
Meena shook her head frantically as Sol closed his eyes, breaking the only contact they had left. “Don’t leave me,” she whispered.
The soldiers pressed him forward, quickly moving him through the crowded room. Sol opened his eyes, somehow still staring directly at her, even though he had been moving.
He deliberately closed his eyes again.
Before he could open them, the soldiers had forced him through the doorway.
He was blinking at her. Twice.
“No!” Meena screamed at the soldiers flooding from the room. “You can’t do this!”
She jumped from the bed after them.
Jules caught her, holding her back. “Stop them, Jules.” She fought his hold on her. “I thought you were the captain here.”
“Princess,” Jules tried to speak over her. “There’s nothing we can do. Calm yourself.”
The last of the soldiers disappeared down the hall.
