Page 58 of Golden Queen (Idrigard #1)

I flinched as the gate behind the soldier rattled. A man was pushed against it violently, a sword shoved through his throat, protruding into the cathedral through the thick golden bars.

A rough looking fighter with a black painted face appeared over the man's shoulder, his lips pulled back from his sharpened teeth in a snarl. He peered through the gate, eyes flashing as his blood drenched mouth shifted into a horrific smile.

Aben took two strides toward the gate and slid his sword through the shoulder of the dead man and straight into the throat of the sharp-toothed soldier just as his mouth opened to shout.

The sound died away to a strangled, bloody croak.

Aben pulled his sword free, and both men slumped to the ground outside the gate. The big dragon mage smiled and winked at me as the soldier pointed us in the direction of the stairs leading into the cathedral.

As we reached the top step, wind buffeted my hair as the dragon flapped past over our heads. She circled around the domed ceiling of the cathedral and then dove back towards us, landing at Io's feet as we stepped out onto the marble floor of the chamber.

The statues of the gods and goddesses stared back at us as we followed the soldier past the Presarion's holy idols. We headed in the direction of the corridor leading to the castle, but Io paused, hesitating as the sound of intense fighting filtered down the hallway.

The soldier stopped as well, drawing his sword and turning to Io. "There is no other way, Your Highness. We will have to fight through."

Io shook his head. “If they are in the castle, we will be facing the whole of their army. Is there a way onto the roof?" he asked.

"Yes," I said before the soldier could answer.

"What are you thinking, My Lord?" Britaxia asked with narrowed eyes. The sound of clashing swords was growing closer.

"We call the dragons."

"Raya is not close," Aben said. As far as I could tell, Raya was the rider who tagged along in case they ever needed to carry someone on dragon back. As a Dragon Knight, instead of a dragon dider, her gray dragon would accept passengers.

"Veles will carry her," Io said. He looked down at me. "Show me the way, Sera."

"Veles carried her once. That does not mean he will do it again," Britaxia said with a bitter sneer in my direction. "You are taking a very big risk of us being trapped on the roof if he decides he does not like the way she smells today."

"Oh, shut up," I told her, though in my ruined voice, it came out sounding weak and thready. I saw a look of surprise cross her features that I had spoken so harshly.

I had the sense that my anger would not help with the tension that already existed between us, so I forced myself to look contritely at her. "He will carry me," I added, more evenly.

"Are you sure?" Aben asked, directing the question to Io.

"I'm sure," he said, confidently.

I directed him to the inconspicuous door in the corner that led to the unused stairs and the balcony.

Before we reached the door, the guard moved in front of me. "I have to get back to my men, Your Majesty. It has been my honor to serve you and the house of Lithaway."

He bowed respectfully as a knot of pure, aching despair formed in my throat.

I reached from inside Io's coat, clenching my teeth against the pain as the guard took my hand gently.

He leaned forward, holding the back of my fingers against his sweat-slickened brow for a moment.

And then he straightened, placing his sword against his heart.

"Long live the Queen," he said and then strode across the marble steps in the direction of the battle as tears rolled down my cheeks.

When we were out in the open air of the little balcony, the bright light surprised me. I realized it was broad daylight. The smoke outside the gate had made me think it was evening—edging toward sunset. Above the line of the buildings, the sky was a clear, vivid blue.

My dragon launched herself into the sky. I tracked her as the white blur disappeared into the blue.

Aben and Britaxia stood for a moment at the edge of the balcony, looking down at the city, but I didn't even want to know what they saw as sudden exhaustion blanketed me.

Aben climbed up onto the roof and then balancing on the stone balustrade, Io handed me gingerly up to his cousin's waiting arms.

I cried out as my body moved, sudden intense agony rolling down my arms and through my feet as they were jostled.

Aben carefully laid me down on the roof and then stripped off his own coat to pillow it under my head.

Everything hurt and now that the adrenaline was gone, the pain and anger came rushing back into me, making me shake.

My arms hurt the most, but the dull throb that had started up in the back of my head was enough to make me grit my teeth and close my eyes.

I groaned as nausea rolled through me and the bitter taste of bile crawled up the back of my throat.

I felt Io's hand on my face and warmth pressing into me, flooding my body like clear water washing away the pain. I stopped shaking again as relief coursed through me.

I realized that he had been doing that the entire time—using his magic to calm and soothe me—to dull the agony down to a bearable state. The momentary break in contact between us had been all it took to bring the ruined state of my body back into sharp focus.

I looked up at him and sighed. "That's better."

He smiled, releasing a long breath as he lowered himself to sit beside me without breaking the contact with my skin.

Aben was watching him intently, and I wondered briefly what he saw or whether he was disapproving of the touch, the tenderness between us. He had to know that Io was only trying to help me.

"I won't be able to take the pain away while I heal your body," Io said apologetically. "I'll start with the worst though—and that should help. I'll do as much as I can in the time until the dragons get here."

"Can't Aben or Britaxia help?" I asked, feeling almost frantically fearful of the pain that would come. "Can't they take away the pain while you—?"

He cut me off, wincing. "I'm sorry, Sera. I'm the only one who can do it." He looked like the idea of hurting me was as abhorrent to him as it was to me.

I smiled reassuringly. "I'll be fine. It's not so bad really." I wanted to take away that haunted look in his eyes.

He shook his head, smiling as though exasperated. "Ridiculous, brave girl," he said as he smoothed the hair back from my temple with his free hand.

His hands on my face felt more like an embrace to me than when I had been in his arms. I savored it, closing my eyes against the tears that were trying to gather in my eyes.

I forgot all about stemming the tide of my tears or trying to reassure him when he took his hand away and the pain came back full force. My body seemed to rebound sharply from the moment of joy I'd felt with his hands against my skin. I had to grit my teeth to keep from screaming as he worked.

He did not need to ask which was the worst injury. He went straight to my flayed arms.

I couldn’t even feel the warmth of the healing magic I knew would be radiating from his hands as he worked. The pain was all encompassing.

"Bastards," Aben spat as he stepped to my side again and got a better look at the damage that had been done to my arm.

Io's jaw was tight, his face grim as he worked. Even Britaxia looked a bit green around the edges as she stared at me from the edge of the roof—her arms crossed over her chest, tapping one foot against the tiles.

"I'm sorry, Sera. Just a bit more," Io said. His brow was scrunched as though the pain I felt was his fault, like it hurt him nearly as much as it hurt me.

"That one's done," he said, settling my arm down at my side and pulling his coat around my chest and torso on that side so that he could open the other side without baring my skin to Aben.

I raised my arm, looking in wonder at the place where it had been opened to the bone only moments before. But then Io pulled the coat away from my other arm and I sucked in a startled breath that turned to a ragged cry of anguish.

"Io, the one over her heart is healed," Aben said forebodingly.

Io stilled and looked down. I followed his gaze to the silvery white scar on my chest just above the edge of the coat. It looked so much like the one that I had made over Io's heart that it momentarily stunned me.

"What?" I asked in response to the dark expressions on their faces. Io had already moved back to healing my arm and I gritted my teeth against the pain, though strangely this one hurt less than the other.

"That's a binding wound—soul reaving," Io added to clarify. "They wouldn't have healed you if they didn't finish it," he said, making an attempt to cover the worry that was tensing his shoulders.

"I think I actually healed that myself," I admitted. "And I don't feel bound to anyone," I added.

"What do you mean you healed it yourself?" Io asked.

I looked to Aben and Britaxia before I slid my gaze back to Io. I was oddly reluctant to admit any of it, as though the re-telling would only cement the events into reality.

I ended up telling it all, though—aside from the darkest parts, the things they had done between my legs and what they had claimed they would do if they found his child in me. There was no need to share that bit of trauma with anyone, and the shame of it still ached fiercely in my chest.

Instead, I explained the moments when I had been bound and helpless. The things Aegis had said about me—or as much as I could remember. The fact that I was meant to be bound to the Prince, Refaedon.

That bit made Io's jaw go tight, and I saw the muscle working there as though he was struggling to control his anger.

I explained that they had been unable to maintain control over me for very long, and that it surprised them each time I managed to break free of the necromancer's compulsion.