Page 4

PALACE

S he was coming back, and Cas didn’t understand why that thrilled him so much. It shouldn’t. She was a healer and a common one at that, and to add to that, she wasn’t even coming back to see him. No, she was coming to see the servants that attended to him.

something about a transmission vector and patient zero and several other things that had been in the letter that his mother had showed him. The one that had come from her. Asking permission to interview the palace servants, specifically any that attended on Cas.

And in the back of his head was that odd little flutter that kept happening every time that he thought about her.

It was odd in the extreme, seeming like it came from somewhere beyond his brain, but when he tried to focus on it, it would vanish and only return when he started thinking about Emryn again.

It was difficult, and he didn’t understand why he was feeling this way over a common healer from the city.

It was probably just because she’d saved his life and then had vanished without allowing him to thank her.

If he could do that, then surely the feelings would go away and he would be able to get back to his life.

Cas would wait for her to come back, thank her, and dismiss her from his mind and from his presence.

And he wasn’t going to think about the strange obscure pain in the back of his mind at that idea.

He didn’t need her, she had done what she’d come to do and as the head healer had said, she’d made a vow to the temple and to the Moon Mother.

That vow would supersede anything that she could possibly feel for him.

Ever.

Cas shoved it all aside and pushed the doors to the council chamber open.

It was time and past that he returned to his duties, and those included sitting at his mother’s right hand in council.

He walked through the doors to a sudden and deafening silence as the councillors looked down at him from their ranks.

“Good morning, Councillors.” Cas nodded to them, walking to his mother and bowing. “Majesty, good morning.”

“Highness.” His mother nodded back and gestured to the chair at her side. “We have a very long day ahead of us.”

Cas nodded, taking his place in the chair and flipping the files open to the first petition of the day.

It was, in fact, a very long day. He wasn’t certain if his mother had been halting the petitions until he could resume his duties or if there was just a high number of things that needed seen to, but it was well past supper when they finally managed to get through the final petition.

And even then, the councilors didn’t bow and leave the room. Rather, the prime minister rose and fixed Cas with a nervous stare. “The council would bring one more proposal to the floor.”

“Yes councilor?” His mother sounded tired. “What is your proposal?”

“We would bring to the floor the matter of his Highness taking a wife.” The councilor looked at Cas. “We have the proposals from a number of neighboring nations.”

“We will look at this issue tomorrow.” His mother said, covering for Cas’ sputtering. “You are dismissed, councilors.”

The council rose, bowed and left the room to Cas and his mother. Who immediately looked over at him and gave him a tired smile. “I hope you are prepared to fend off marriage proposals, my son.”

“I will listen to them, Mother.” Cas rubbed a hand down his face. “It is time that I considered taking a princess.”

His mother looked relieved and rose. “We should dine.” She nodded as he stood. “Your healers will be after me.”

“You can send them to me, Mother.”Cas said. “I am more than old enough to make my own decisions about when I will eat.”

His mother gave him another of those tired smiles. “Off we go then.”

Cas escorted his mother to her rooms where she called for her attendants and ordered them supper.

“Who does the council have in mind for me, Mother?”

“There have been several offers,” his mother said. “Including a younger daughter of the Eternal Empress.”

“I’ll have to figure out a very polite way to say no to that.” Cas shook his head. “I know how you feel about the Eternal Empire’s gluttony.”

“I do not know why they would have offered in the first place.” His mother looked confused. “Rodilla is far too small to garner attention.”

”I will have the councillors put that proposal on the bottom of the stack and simply choose another.” Cas nodded to the servants that brought in supper and laid the table. “If I am already affianced, they will hopefully not take umbrage to my choice.”

“It was likely a courtesy offer to begin with.” Cas’ mother sat at the table as the servants dished up their supper, laying the plates in front of them. “I have looked at the daughter they sent and she is minor indeed.”

Cas nodded, hearing a sudden noise from the hallway. There was something about it that was terribly wrong.It had been soft, but the thud had been hard. Like a body hitting the floor.

Right outside his mother’s rooms.

Cas rose from the table, drawing the sword at his side and walking towards the door. Her guards were right there, but if they had fallen, then Cas would call for his own guards and end the threat to his mother.

But the body on the floor outside the room wasn’t the guards. And it wasn’t an assailant. It was Emryn, collapsed in a pile of robes and white hair. She was nearly the same color as her hair and he went to his knees at her side and turned her, before lifting her in his arms.

“Call the palace healers,” He ordered the page standing nearby. “I will take her to-“ Where would he take her? ”I will take her to the room adjacent to mine.” It was the closest unoccupied room that came to mind.

The page took off at a run and Cas went the other way. Carrying Emryn’s limp body through the palace corridors to the room next to his. He shouldered through the door and laid Emryn in the huge bed. it was easily sized for three people, and was the twin to his own next door.

He retreated from her bedside when the healers rushed in. Shaking his head and pointing to Emryn.“I called you for her.”

One of the palace healers looked down at Emryn and shook her head. “She needs to return to the city temple. Maybe they can do something for her.”

“Can you do nothing?”

The healer backed up and shook her head. “Healers, by their nature, do not take healing well. And this is Emryn, she does not take healing at all.”

”Can you at least tell me what is wrong with her?” Cas asked.

The healer that had spoken stepped back to the side of the bed and laid a soft hand on Emryn’s forehead, wincing before ripping her hand back and looking at Cas. “She is profoundly exhausted.”

”Then she can rest here.” Cas said. “I will have a servant assigned to her and we will care for her.”

”The head of the city healers will object.” The healer looked down at Emryn again. “But he would do the same thing. Place her in quarantine and not allow her to heal until she is back to full strength again.”