Page 4

Aliya

I DIDN’T FALL ASLEEP during my afternoon rest. The excitement and gratitude at having actual people in the castle with me after so long was overwhelming and had anxious energy coursing through my body.

I wasn’t alone. I wasn’t alone!

I was so happy over that fact that joyous tears trailed from my eyes and soaked into the pillow beneath my head.

And then there was the obvious perk that they were so handsome. I couldn’t stop the images that circled inside my mind. Their impressive naked bodies kept popping into my restless brain, though honestly, I didn’t really want to stop.

I’d never seen a man without clothes before, at least not one that wasn’t an artistic statue or in a painting. After months of solitude and despair, I’d become convinced I never would. And though they’d come bloody and injured, I couldn’t help but fantasize about them naked in good health.

What if I could convince them to stay?

I rejected the foolish thought as soon as it came. They were obviously headed somewhere. They had lives, goals, probably families. Why on earth would they stay here with me, in this dusty, deserted castle? I was no longer a pampered princess, but a raggedy vagabond wench. I was no prize anymore.

But that didn’t stop me from falling into frenzied, passionate dreams when sleep finally did find me, leaving me aching and frustrated when I woke.

As soon as the sun began dropping behind the mountains, it cast glowing rays through my window.

It was time to get up. I threw off my blankets and got dressed—much more presentably this time.

It had been months since I’d worn a proper dress, and getting the ties fastened behind my back was a cramp-inducing chore that took far longer than necessary.

When I got it as tight as I could, I went through the herculean task of brushing the knots out of my long hair, deciding to leave it down because I couldn’t stand another second of not seeing them and making sure they were real.

I flew down the stairs with hasty feet, nearly tripping over the skirt of my dress. When I found Tannin still there, kneeling by Jax’s side, a huge wave of relief washed over me.

At least until I saw the lines of dread etched into his handsome face when he turned at my entrance.

“He’s feverish,” Tannin said, his voice heavy. “I think his wound is infected.”

I rushed to his side to examine Jax. Indeed, his pallor had turned a sickly yellow, and his forehead and chest were covered in a film of sweat.

I peeled back the bandage on his abdomen and gasped at the blooming redness that surrounded the sutures and the yellowish puss that oozed between them.

It reminded me all too much of the sores on my parents’ bodies.

“You’re right,” I said through a tight throat. “It is infected. Badly.”

“Do you have any medicine?” Tannin beseeched desperately. “Anything to combat the infection?”

I swallowed thickly. “No. All the medicine stores were depleted before the end of the plague. I’m so sorry.”

“No!” he bellowed, making me flinch. “No, he can’t die! There must be something we can do. Please, don’t let him die.”

My brows puckered at the heartache on his face and in his voice. I wanted to help them, I really did. But there was nothing—

My breath hitched as an idea sprang to my mind.

“There might be something I can do,” I hedged cautiously. “B-but it might not work.”

“Yes, please!” he begged. “Anything. Just try!”

“Okay,” I agreed.

I ran to the kitchen counter where I had left the book of spells last night after my obsessive garden adventure and began to hastily flip through it.

I remembered seeing a few spells for healing.

At the time I’d thought that if only I’d had access to this during the plague, I might’ve been able to save some of those who were lost. I could’ve saved my parents.

There were different healing spells. One for illness, one for broken bones, one for reviving from a coma...

“Ha! Found it!” Spell for healing a flesh wound. This one didn’t require any ingredients like some of the others, only the complete focus of the Wielder and the intention to heal.

I clutched it against my chest and made to dart back out, but something made me pause.

My intuition told me to keep the book safe, even from my guests.

So, I lowered the open book in my arms and read the short incantation over and over, committing it to memory, then closed the book and stashed it in a cabinet.

I returned to the den, repeating the incantation in my mind. When I knelt beside Jax once more, I removed his bandage completely and put both hands over the stitched gash.

“What are you doing?” Tannin blurted out in fretful confusion.

“Just be quiet,” I told him, closing my eyes. “I need to concentrate.”

When he didn’t make another sound, I set my intention and spoke the incantation out loud.

“Vulte riay kai altum.”

Just as yesterday in the garden, a comforting warmth blossomed in my belly, rose up my chest and spilled down my arms, flowing into the angrily hot flesh beneath my palms. I could feel the magic working through me like I was merely the conduit, stitching back together the separated flesh.

Then the sensation grew cool, like pool water on a hot summer’s day, sucking the heat of infection from Jax’s skin. And then the flow stopped altogether.

I opened my eyes and looked down as I pulled my hands away, and though I knew what I’d find, it still shocked and thrilled me to see the gash gone, the thread I’d used to sew it laying loosely on top of his belly.

“Holy shit!” Tannin breathed. “Did you just use magic?”

“Yeah, I—”

Jax suddenly bolted upright with a hoarse gasp, the surprise of it making me stumble backward and fall on my butt.

“What the—” His head turned wildly as he took in his surroundings, then his eyes fell on me, and outrage flared his nostrils. “Who the fuck are you? What are you doing to me?”

I was too shocked to reply, to say anything in defense for myself.

“Hey, brother,” Tannin said, putting a hand firmly on Jax’s shoulder. “This is Aliya, and she happens to have just saved your life. She saved us both. You could show her some respect.”

Jax continued to glare at me with hateful suspicion, and I felt small and foolish.

“What happened?” he barked at Tannin.

“We were attacked by a pack of cusith in the forest,” Tannin explained in a much calmer tone than I would’ve been capable of.

“Yes, I remember that,” he snapped. “But how did we get here ?”

“You got badly injured in the fight,” Tannin continued with a patience reminiscent of pacifying an unruly child.

“I carried you here, to Varinya. The village was completely empty, and I banged on the castle door, expecting to find nothing and no one, but this nice young woman here let us in and tended to our wounds. She healed you.”

Jax eyed him warily, then slid his slitted gaze back to me, assessing me. He jutted his chin out. “Where is everyone? The villagers, the castle guards, the staff?”

I licked my dry lips, struggling to find my voice. “Gone.”

“Gone?” he snapped. “What do you mean, gone?”

“Th-they all died. There was a plague. I-I’m the only one who survived.”

His expression softened slightly as he mulled that information over, his tense posture loosening. “The king and queen?”

I nodded mutely.

He huffed a sigh. “Well, I’m sorry. What a terrible tragedy.” He glanced briefly at Tannin, then back at me. “Who were you, you know, before the plague?”

In the corner of my eye, I saw Tannin tense, making me hesitate in my response. “I... I was—am—the princess of Varinya.”

Hostility returned to light Jax’s eyes. “The princess?”

Tannin’s grip tightened on his shoulder. “Yes. Aliya is the princess. And she was kind enough to offer us shelter and assistance when we needed it most. We owe her a great debt.”

“Debt, my a—”

“Jax!” Tannin cautioned loudly, cutting him off.

Jax’s mouth pressed tightly closed, his jaw clenching. After a long breath, he said through gritted teeth, “Thank you for offering us your assistance, Princess. ” He said my title like it was a filthy word.

I didn’t know how to react. It had been so long since I’d spoken to anyone, but even then, I wasn’t accustomed to being addressed so harshly, so rudely.

I could only assume they had very humble backgrounds, that this Jax especially had poor manners, and maybe that wasn’t his fault.

It wasn’t every day the common man had an audience with royalty, and it was my duty to act my station and show grace.

Blushing at his once again exposed nudity, I reached for the other set of clothes I’d fetched last night. “Here. These were my father’s. They should fit you.”

He snatched them from my hands, then began to climb into them without a speck of shame for my presence, but I turned my head anyway.

It was difficult not to peek. Despite his brusque and hostile demeanor, he was gorgeous, and the dreams that had plagued me all night only fueled my temptation. It wasn’t every day that a princess got to see such raw, carnal beauty, and I was pretty much at the end of my rope as it was.

How long would it be before I got to see a naked man again, if ever?

But by the time my resilience failed, and I turned my head, he was already buttoning up his shirt. I internally kicked myself for not visually gorging on the whole ordeal while I’d had the chance, especially since he hadn’t seemed to care if I saw him naked or not.

Damn my stupid, inane sense of propriety!

Once he was done with his shirt, they both looked at me with some expectation I didn’t immediately understand.

Oh. They want privacy.

I took a step back. “I’ll give you two some time and go make up rooms for you.”

“Thank you, Aliya,” Tannin said with a warm smile. “That would be nice.”

Jax didn’t reciprocate his friend’s attitude, only looking down his nose at me without a word.

I nodded once, then made my way to the west wing to decide on suitable rooms for them. Everything everywhere in this castle aside from the few places I frequented was covered in dust, and it would take quite some effort and time to make them guest ready.

But I was determined to win them over, especially the stony, untrusting Jax. Tonight, I’d make them a wonderful dinner. His miraculous recovery was a cause for celebration after all, and I had to do everything in my power to make them want to stay for as long as possible.

I knew it was selfish, but I couldn’t bear the idea of going back to being alone again. I’d survived the first time I’d been abandoned, but now... I wasn’t sure I’d survive it a second time.