His brow rose, and his eyes sparkled with wicked intent. “A naked bride in my carriage. I am sure that can be arranged and would be most enjoyed.”
My heart nearly stopped. Good job, Allete, I scolded myself. Bringing up the absence of clothing around Cathal was as stupid as waving a piece of raw meet in front of a starving tiger, and just as dangerous.
“I do not understand why you wouldn’t want me to take some of my own things. It would make me feel less homesick,” I argued. When he simply stared at me, I realized what an imbecile I was being. I wasn’t going with him anyway. None of what he wanted mattered. So why was I intent on quarreling with him like it did?
“I think a fresh start will do you good. You are going to be my queen. I want you to have the mind of a queen, the manners and look of a queen, a regal woman—not a girl.” He glanced down at my body and then back up to my face. “I know there is a woman underneath that fabric, and I want you to look the part.”
I screwed my face up into one of disgust. “Why do you desire me to wear such revealing clothing? Does it not bother you that other men may stare?”
He glanced over his shoulder at Torben and Brant as though I somehow meant those two. “I won’t have to worry about that. The men in my kingdom know I would scoop their eyes out with a spoon and feed them to the crows if they so much as glance at you.”
I swallowed down the bile that rose in my mouth. That was a bit disturbing.
“Just do as you’re told, Allete, and your life will be much easier with me. Now.” He paused and then stepped closer to me. “I haven’t seen or touched you in a few days, and I will not refrain any longer.”
Before I could stop him, he’d wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me tight against his body. His other hand ran up my back until it was at the nape of my neck, his thumb and fingers brushing beneath my ears. I tried so hard to think of Torben’s hands and imagine it was him who held me.
Cathal tilted my head back and made me look up at him. After simply staring at me for a little while, he leaned down and pressed his lips to mine. It was surprisingly gentle. I gasped as his full lips caressed my own, coaxing me to respond. When his tongue slipped out and licked across mine like velvet, I gasped again, and he took advantage by slipping his tongue into my open mouth. His soft groan was as surprising as was my own reaction.
I didn’t want to enjoy what he was doing and I certainly didn’t, just because of who was performing the actions. But I could not deny that what he was doing was very, very different from the way he had kissed me previously. This time it was as though he were savoring me. He pulled me closer, and his hard body molded my softer one to him.
I was lost. I didn’t understand what was happening or why I was allowing it, but I couldn’t stop him from kissing me or deepening the kiss. I couldn’t even stop my own sensual moan, and it made me want to vomit. I was moaning into Cathal’s mouth while Torben, no doubt, watched on.
Cathal’s hand ran down my back and grasped my waist. But it didn’t stop there. He continued down until he was grasping the back of my thigh, right where Torben’s hand had been when he’d helped me up onto the back of the horse.
He pulled back then, all the while still holding my thigh. “You are mine to touch. No one else’s. Do not allow that guard to touch you in such a way again, or I will cut his hands off while you watch.”
My mouth dropped open even further, and I stared up at him, seeing flames dance in his eyes. Only seconds ago, he’d been kissing me as though I was a precious lover, and now he was threatening me. I was about to say something, but the sound of hooves running mercilessly across the ground caused me to step back and look past Cathal.
Torben hadn’t bothered to look behind him to see what was coming. He was too busy staring at Cathal. His face was contorted into a level of rage that I had never seen before. When his glance flicked to mine, I flinched and took a step back. He looked ready to kill someone, anyone, and I wondered if I was on that list.
“Allete!” I heard Dayna’s voice before I saw her. She and Thomas were riding up through the trees. They both looked breathless, as if they’d been the ones to run instead of the horses. Both of their eyes were wide with fear.
“What’s happened?” I asked, pushing past Cathal, Torben, and Brant. I knew it was something bad, as all the blood had drained from Dayna’s face.
“We need you back at the palace,” Thomas spoke for her. “Now.”
When I caught the inflection of his voice as he said ‘you,’ I understood he meant that they needed me specifically. Someone had been hurt; they needed my ability. I nodded and looked back at Cathal. “I’m sorry, my lord, but I must cut our time short for now.”
“You can ride with me,” Cathal said as he started toward the horse, which had wandered a few paces from us.
“Like hell,” I heard Torben growl as he grabbed my hand. He pulled me to his horse and lifted me by my waist effortlessly. “I’m her guard, and I can get her back quickly.” He called over his shoulder, not even looking at the king. “Where?” Torben asked Dayna.
“The gardens, by the pond,” she said quickly, and I didn’t miss the tears in her eyes.
Torben hopped up behind me and wrapped a strong arm around me. He pulled me back against him and squeezed the horse’s flanks. The animal took off in a huge lunge moving smoothly into a fast cantor.
“I need to warn you now that I will be kissing you later,” Torben murmured in my ear. He pulled me tighter against him. “It took everything in me not to kill him right then and there.”
My breath caught, and my heartbeat flew at an unnatural pace. Not only was I worried about what I was going to find at the pond, I now had Torben threatening to kiss me. A threat that I was all too eager to endure. Stupid woman, I thought to myself.
He didn’t say anything more; he simply pushed the horse harder, almost as if he could sense my own urgency to get there. When we were finally drawing close, I turned my head so that Torben would hear me.
“We cannot let Cathal, or anyone, see if I’m needed to heal.”
“I’ll protect you,” he said gently. “You don’t have to worry about using your magic. I will always protect you.”
And I believed him without question. I didn’t know why, but I had no doubt that Torben would do everything in his power to keep his word.
As we rode around the back of the castle and approached the gardens, I pointed around a large wall of bushes indicating where he should go to find the pond. When we cleared the wall of shrubbery, we came upon a small group of people. I recognized most of them as servants from within the castle. They were crowded around a tiny form that lay motionless on the ground.
My hand rose to my mouth as I realized it was a young child. There was a woman leaning over the girl, wailing and pressing kisses to her forehead. I didn’t pause for Torben to stop. I jumped from the horse, heedless of the fact that I might injure myself. By the gods, I landed on my feet with only a slight jarring in my legs. I was in motion before I had time to really consider whether it had been painful.
When I reached the crowd, I tried politely pushing my way through, but I got nowhere. That was until a large hand wrapped around my own and pulled me forward. Torben’s wide shoulders and impressive height sent people reeling back as though they were barefoot and standing on hot coals. They practically jumped out of his way. If I hadn’t been on my way to help a child, I might have been offended by how they moved for him and not their own princess. As it was, I had more important things on which to expend my energy.
Torben stepped to the side. Once his larger body was out of the way, I moved quickly, kneeling next to the mother and child. Before I said anything, I glanced up at Torben. He gave me a single nod, letting me know that he understood my unspoken message. I needed him to clear out the people. I didn’t need anyone to see my gift in action. I was surprised by the gentleness in his voice as he asked people to step back and give the woman privacy. A second later, I heard Dayna and
Thomas’s voices as well. With them tending to the crowd, I could focus on the child.
“Ma’am,” I said softly. “Will you let me help?”
The woman lifted her head. Her eyes were screaming at me, begging me to do something.
“If you will allow me, I will help her. I will heal her,” I said. I didn’t explain how I would do that, nor did I think about what might be wrong with the child. It was clear that she’d fallen into the pond, so it was likely the child was drowning. But it might be more complicated than that. It might be that something had caused her to fall in, like a sudden seizure or headache. I had no knowledge of the child’s history, so I would not know—not until I touched her.
Finally, the woman nodded. I wasted no time getting my hands on the girl. I closed my eyes, shutting out everything around me. The people around me slipped away, their voices simply becoming a humming background symphony. The smells of the air, grass, and salty ocean faded away. The touch of the breeze on my skin was nothing more than a soft feather gliding ever so lightly. I was lost to my ability, to my magic, as I allowed myself to sink deep into the consciousness of the girl.
I felt her spirit stir, but it was very weak. I moved my own spirit through her form, finding the source of the problem. I began calling on my power. Her lungs were full of water, and I knew that I needed to get them empty in order for her to breathe, but that wasn’t the only damage. There was something wrong with her brain. Something pulled at me there, but I decided breathing was more important, so I focused on the lungs first.
“Little spirit hear my plea,
Draw near and do not flee.
Flowing lungs that have filled,
Overflow let all be spilled.
Push the water inside, out,
Use my power like a spout.
Breathe deep precious child,
For life, play, and being wild.
Your days are not done,
You’ve only just begun.
Once the lungs were clear, I sent a pulse of magic into her heart and began to chant.
“Pumping blood, life giving heart,
Respond to my magic and restart.
Pumping blood, life giving heart,
Join with this body, be a part.”
I chanted until, once again the heart was pumping rhythmically, sending out blood into the body. Finally, I moved to the brain. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for. I had never had to heal a brain injury before. I search out every part until I finally found the small area that was covered in blood. I pressed my power tightly against it and let the warmth flow into it as I began another chant.
“Mind of body, mind of spirit,
Listen to me, really hear it.
What is broken, let it heal,
To my will, come and kneel.
Do my bidding and restore,
What had been just before.
Become what needs to be,
Heed this command, hear me.”
I felt the magic and power flowing out of me. It was more than I had given before, and I wondered if I’d even be able to bear weight on my legs when it was finally done. When I was sure that whatever had been wrong with the brain was now repaired, and things in the body seemed to be working again, I began to pull back. As I drew away from her, I felt her spirit growing stronger.
By the time I was back in my own body, I heard coughing and a small voice.
“Mama, what happened?”
“Shh, child. Peace, you are fine now,” the mother said gently.
I opened my eyes, unsure of what I would see when I looked at the woman. Would she be fearful? Would she be disgusted? When I finally built up my nerve, I looked up and met the woman’s gaze.
I sucked in a deep breath as I watched the tears fall silently from her face. She leaned forward so that she was just inches from my face and then leaned her forehead down until it was touching my own.
“Bless you, child of the gods. Bless you for your selfless sacrifice.” Her words rushed over me like a soothing oil, and a calm filled my spirit that I had not felt in a very long time. It was as though the words were necessary, like they ended the healing process that had just taken place.
And then words suddenly filled my mind that I felt compelled to say in return. “It is my honor to serve.”
“I will not mention this to anyone if that is your wish, Your Highness.” The woman spoke again. She was continuing to stare at me, her eyes full of sincerity.
“I would be in your debt if you could keep this a secret.”
She gave me a slight bow with her head and then began to stand. Torben suddenly appeared and helped the woman up, while at the same time picking up the small child who looked tiny in his large arms. I had a flash in my mind of a different time, a different child, and a different set of circumstances as Torben held our own child. It was so real that I gasped and had to shake it off.
“Brant,” Torben called over to his comrade. “Please escort the child and her mother home.”
Brant nodded and smiled down at the woman. I think he meant it to be reassuring, but he looked more pained than gentle. He was going to have to practice on that if he was to court my sister. And why I was ever considering such a thing that was preposterous, but also seemed strangely inevitable. That was something I was just going to have to set aside for another time.
Torben stepped closer to me, pulling me from my disturbing thoughts. He reached down and took my hand, pulling me to my feet. I swayed on my feet and wished desperately that he could pick me up and carry me back to my room, but I knew I couldn’t allow the people around to see me that way.
“That demon king is riding up on his horse,” he whispered as he leaned closer, lending me his frame to hold for support. “What do you want to do?”
“Get me out of here,” I said quickly. He nodded.
“Dayna,” he said in a sharp voice.
“What do you need?” she asked from my right.
“Distraction,” Torben said and motioned in the direction from which Cathal was riding.
“Why, Torben, I never thought you’d ask,” she said in a syrupy sweet voice.
I rolled my eyes and let out a small groan. There was no telling what she would come up with.
“SNAKES!” Dayna’s voice cracked through the air and felt like a slap across the face. “SNAKES! Not just one, there’s a bloody village!”
I turned to look over my shoulder and saw her hopping about like a child, pointing wildly to a spot in the grass growing near the pond. Some people were rushing away while those who liked to put on a brave face were hurrying over. Cathal was cut off by the people fleeing the so-called snake infestation.
“Come,” Torben said firmly. He placed his hand on my lower back and led me in the opposite direction of Cathal. “We only have a few minutes before her ploy falls through.”
We walked quickly, though Torben was practically carrying me as he wrapped an arm around my waist and hoisted me to his side.
By the time we reached my door, I was about to pass out. I had never been so tired after a healing. It was more than being tired; it was like the life had been sucked from me.
“Maybe it has,” Torben said as he steadied me and shut the door behind us.
“Did I say that out loud?” I asked. I took a step toward the bed and almost fell. If Torben hadn’t been there, I’d have likely fallen face first onto the floor and just stayed there until someone found me. As it was, he snatched me up and carried me to the bed. He pulled the covers back and laid me down gently and then pulled the covers back up to my chin.
“Rest,” he said softly as he leaned down and pressed his lips to my forehead. “I will keep watch.”
Before he could walk away, I reached for his hand. “Torben?”
He turned back to look at me. “Yes?” His voice was just as soft as my own.
“Thank you.” I paused. “For taking care of me.”
A small smile tilted up one side of his mouth, and his eyes lit up, ye
t still managed to smolder. “It is what I do.”
“What? Take care of women in need?”
He shook his head. “No. I take care of my woman in need. It is my honor and pleasure.”
I didn’t know how to respond, but he didn’t give me a chance. He slipped from the room while my eyes were already betraying me as they slipped closed. I couldn’t help but wonder if bringing the child back to life—because I was pretty sure that is what I had done—had taken some of my own life away.
As I slipped deeper into my dreams, I wondered if the power I possessed could somehow lead to my own demise. Did my power come from magic, or did it come from my own life-force, the power and spirit inside of me that gave me breath? And if it did, what did that mean for me each time I used it to help others?
“My body feels worn thin. Like a garment that has been washed too many times, the thread of my life is beginning to weaken.”
* * *
~Diary of Allete Auvray
“Is she all right?” I asked, for what felt like the hundredth time when Lidia came out of Allete’s room carrying a basket full of dirty linens and clothes. The last time I had seen Allete, she’d looked exhausted. No, she’d been more than exhausted. The strain of bringing a drowned child back to life had sapped all of her strength. I’d put her to bed after the ordeal and, almost three days later, I’d yet to see her again.
I was not the only man wanting to see the princess. But I was the only man who had the right to be by her side. At least that was how I felt—rational or not.
“She is just resting,” Lidia said gently. She said it just as kindly this time as she had the ninety-nine times I had previously asked.
“Can—” I began, but she interrupted me.
“As soon as she says she wants to see people, you will be the first to know,” she assured me and then, with a slight head bow to Brant, the girl scurried off.