Page 19

CHAPTER 19

W e were brought to a spot on the edge of town and given tents to set up on our own. The spot seemed like it might have been an old section of housing or businesses, but had been torn down—in quite a messy manner, might I add. The old cobblestone foundations still stood, but the buildings had been decimated. Piles of boards littered the dirt, nails and old pieces of metal thrown in with the rest.

It’d taken us hours to set up the tents, given the state of our group. An elderly woman had stopped by with a few medical supplies after the tents were secured, not uttering a word when she dropped them off.

No one had checked in on us since, but I guessed that was a blessing. By the looks of the townspeople we’d glimpsed, I didn’t want to get on their bad side and draw more attention to our group; though I was certain we’d already failed the latter. We’d walked into town, full of injuries—there was no way we had managed to be discreet with how battered we were.

“Do you need help with that?” Lander asked after having just removed the remnants of an arrow from one of the guard’s legs.

“Please,” I replied from where I sat by the fire, stretching my leg toward him. The flames cracked and popped as they licked at the air, sending plumes of smoke all around. This time, I was thankful for it covering up the lingering scent of blood and sweat.

I’d been fumbling with the cloth for a while now, having a hard time wrapping it tight to hold my ankle in place. As long as I couldn’t bend it, I hoped it would heal enough for me to make it back to Amosite. If they had healing vials in this town, they didn’t offer them willingly, but there’d been a pain-reducing tea in the supply bag the woman had dropped off. I’d drunk a cup so far, and the warm, herb-flavored liquid had eased some of the swelling.

Lander crouched in front of me, unwrapping the cloth to start from scratch. Paxon had disappeared into one of the tents, likely already asleep and not worrying himself with the state of the guards.

I looked away, trying to distract myself. “Can I ask you something?”

He nodded as his blood-caked fingers worked the cloth around my swollen ankle. “Of course.”

“Did you see what happened when the bandits ambushed us?”

He was silent a moment, focusing on the wrap. “We were…attacked?” His answer was left open-ended, like he couldn’t figure out why I might be asking such an obvious question.

I chewed the inside of my cheek, debating if I should clarify. Maybe I’d only imagined the dragon. “Not that, necessarily. More like a beast kind of…stepped in.”

He tied off the wrap, tucking the ends in to keep it in place, then sat back on his heels. The look on his face told me all I needed to know.

I shifted my leg to a more comfortable position. “You did.”

His eyes fell. “Briefly. The snow was thick, and I was rather occupied fighting for my life.”

“So I didn’t imagine it,” I whispered, more so to myself.

“No. You didn’t.”

I kept my voice hushed so only he could hear. “I thought dragons were in hiding?”

He looked conflicted on what to say. “Auria…”

I let out a breath. “I know.”

“It’s just…your father. He made it clear he didn’t want you knowing of certain things.”

“Is that why I’ve been forced to stay in the carriage?”

He nodded, the movement slow. “That’s part of the reason for his orders, yes.”

I didn’t doubt that the other reason was for my safety. As we’d seen, a majority of the guards that had been trailing the carriage were killed. If I had been outside, that easily could have been me lying lifeless in the snow beside them—or worse, frozen in place and shattered by the tail of that dragon.

Lander stood. “No need to worry, though. We’ll be ready to continue on our way back to Amosite soon, and you can leave the snow bandits and all of the death behind you.”

He walked away, heading over to the jug of water by the fire, as if it was that easy. My stomach felt queasy, but I wasn’t sure if it was due to the smell of blood all around us or the fact that my powers ached to be used. I decided to shove the feeling down until I could get into a tent and refill a fire vial we had been provided.

With my ankle now wrapped, I stood, testing my weight on it. It felt slightly better now that the cloth held it firm and the tea was setting in further, yet it still ached and sent tiny bursts of pain springing up my leg. Compared to how it felt on our trek here, it was bearable.

To get away from the groans of the guards and the scent of iron, I made sure everyone was preoccupied before sneaking away to the edge of town. Immediately, the cleaner, warm air filled my nose, the welcomed breeze blowing strands of hair away from my sweat-slicked forehead. The calmness was night and day compared to what we’d endured only hours ago. Ahead of me, the street was cast in an amber glow from the lanterns hanging on wooden posts outside businesses. Guards clad in all black stood watch outside some of the doors, daggers and swords strapped to their bodies.

More people than I expected walked down the street, confirming the shadowed creature in the desert likely couldn’t hurt us here. The biome was different once we crossed into town, more dirt than desert, which must act like some sort of barrier for the desert and its monsters to not pass through.

I unknowingly took a step forward when Bowen appeared in the street, walking alongside another man. They were discussing something, their voices too low to hear from where I stood, but they ceased talking when the one I didn’t recognize saw me. Bowen’s gaze followed, landing directly on me.

I quickly turned my eyes to the ground, but they’d both already seen me watching. I should turn back, go to my tent, and fall asleep. I needed the rest, but even so, my mind wouldn’t quiet. Whatever I decided to do, I couldn’t stay out here. There had to be a reason my father didn’t like Bowen, and I was unsure if I should hold the same feelings, regardless of him killing three men to protect me.

Just as I was about to turn back to camp, Bowen’s voice wrapped around me. “How are your guards?”

I startled, looking up to find him much closer than where he had stood only seconds ago. The man he was with had since left, and I couldn’t find him anywhere in the direct area. Bowen, on the other hand, didn’t so much as glance at the camp behind me. His blue eyes were so light, I almost wondered if there was color to them at all.

“They’re stable.” Though I was sure he didn’t truly care for the answer. His being nice all of a sudden made no sense.

“And you?” he asked.

My brows curved inward slightly at the question. Showing my weakness to him wouldn’t be smart, so I lied. “I’m great.”

A low hum sounded in the back of his throat as his gaze fell to the bottom of my tattered dress. “That why you’re limping?”

“I’m not limping,” I defended, but it was no use. I was very clearly catering to my injured foot, leaning most of my weight on my opposite side.

He didn’t look like he believed it for even a moment.

“Did you wrap it?”

I swallowed. There was no use in trying to hide it anymore. “Yes.”

He searched my face, most likely for the truth, then bent, lowering himself to a crouch in front of me until his head was level with my stomach.

My eyes widened down at him as I quickly took a step back, but my ankle sang in pain and I nearly fell backwards. In a blink, his hand shot out to grab my wrist, our connection the only thing keeping me upright.

As I steadied myself, he let me go and gestured to the bottom of my dress. “May I? Or are you too proper for a man to be in such close proximity?”

My eyes narrowed, too stubborn to let him think I’d much rather not have him below my skirt, before I said, “Have at it.” He had done his best to push my buttons every chance he got, but I didn’t want him to think I was weak or scared of him, that he might be winning in whatever battle this was between us.

His fingers wrapped around the hem of my skirt, slowly lifting it to expose my ankle. All I could do was stare down at him, nearly in awe. This man was kneeling in front of me.

“You know, the last time I offered my help, you politely declined.” His hand reached forward, disappearing from view.

I snorted. I was far from polite that night at the masquerade ball when I’d thought he wanted to unlace my corset.

Pain bloomed in my ankle as he tried to move it, and I sucked in a breath. His brows furrowed as he studied the injury.

“So, if there’s supposedly no king here and everyone seems to answer to you, what does that make you?” I asked, trying to distract myself from what he was doing.

“Just a male,” he answered.

“That makes no sense,” I said, but the end of the sentence was cut off as I hissed in another breath. Heat spread up my leg along with the pain this time. Even through the wrap, the prodding of his fingers hurt.

He let my skirt fall back into place. “Doesn’t have to make sense, Princess.”

Bowen stood, his body all too close to mine, and if it wasn’t for the fear of causing any more strain on my ankle, I would’ve stepped back again.

“You’ll live. It should take about a week to heal.”

“A week?” I exclaimed, deciding he was too close to be appropriate and finally taking that step away. I fought the wince at the throb in my ankle. “We need to be back in Amosite in a few days.”

“How did you expect to leave any sooner with the state your group is in?”

I glanced behind me at the camp where two of the guards that hadn’t retired to tents were lying around the fire, one noticeably asleep, the other doing all they could to ignore the pain that still lingered.

If we don’t get back…

My father had made it clear there would be consequences.

I turned back to Bowen to find him staring at me, waiting for an answer, and I wondered if I’d voiced my thoughts aloud.

“You don’t have healing vials?” I asked.

He gave no response. “Nothing heals better than time.”

I held back the sigh that wanted to escape. “I should get some rest.”

I had no idea what we would do about the delay in our return. Sure, Paxon and Lander might be fine, but the guards and me? We’d pay the price.

Bowen dipped his chin, and I turned, limping back to camp.

We had to heal quickly because I worried that if we didn’t, we’d be in way worse of a condition come our return.