Page 158 of To Touch A Silent Fury

A breath escaped me in a hiss as I straightened. “Get Lang out of here,” I said to the Brother.

Then I walked straight for the two men in loping strides.

“Princess,” one of the guards said, surprised by my equally swift closing of the gap. “The king would like you to come with us.”

I dropped into a bad curtsy before them, offering my hands simultaneously for them to take. To chain me or kiss my knuckles, I cared not for their intent, for no sooner had they touched my hand, did I push back into them. “You are mistaken. The king would like you to take a day’s leave.”

I raised my eyes to see them both blink and regard each other in confusion. Then, they nodded and made for the garden exit.

Whatever influence I had, I had no idea of its potency or longevity. They could return in a minute, or it could hold an hour. All I knew was that I needed to make sure Lang was alright and figure out what in Amune’s name we should do next.

Theollan had moved to Lang’s side and pulled his arm over his shoulder. He turned to me as I reached them. “Help me lift him.”

I hauled Lang’s other arm over my shoulder, but I needed one of my arms for Hanin and found myself barely helping. We stumbled forwards a few steps, just about getting him into the western corridor and partly out of sight before the guests began to leave through the left door.

I heaved in a breath as we paused in an alcove. “Is he alright?”

Theollan grimaced. “You used your Fated power on him before you even knew its true nature. You just forced yourself into his head.”

I had done this?Ihad hurt him? I didn’t realise. “I didn’t think—”

“He should be fine, but we need to get him somewhere away from these people.”

I gulped in air, my face white with the events of the day. I shakily pointed towards the next door, one of the smaller dining rooms I had found before when first trying to find the library.

Then, a voice sounded from behind.

“What the fuck was that?”

His steps were impressively light for a man of his size, though I should have expected it given his span in the Soundlands.

I took him in from head to toe, a little relieved he seemed mostly himself. “Foxlin, you’re alright?”

“Alive enough to attend my master’s wedding and see you turn into… whatever you are now.” He breathed out through his nose, his nostrils flaring with discontent as he watched Lang. “What did you do to him?”

My shoulders shook with the strain of keeping Lang off the floor, and my throat bobbed. “I used my power, and I hurt him. I didn’t mean to. Please, please just help us get him somewhere private.”

Please, please. I needed Lang to be alright. He had sacrificed his inheritance for me, and all I had done was hurt him.

Foxlin took me in, from the sleeping dragon tucked under one arm, to my bloodied hand and shaking arms. “Edrin’s balls, why can I never say no to women?”

Between the two men, Lang was shifted into the next room and laid on the long central table. It was a small reception room, with cups and glasses displayed in a cabinet to the right and several chairs stacked in the back left corner. Theollan studiedLang as Foxlin paced near the door. I left Hanindred on the carpeted floor, my entire body shaking.

What if I had killed Lang?

I approached the table and brushed his hair from his face. He looked peaceful now, but his anguished expression a moment ago told a different story.

“I think he’s just unconscious,” Theollan said. “When he comes to, we can tend to his symptoms.”

“I didn’t know it would hurt him,” I said, chewing my cheek until I tasted blood. As if that made any of it better, as if that helped.

Foxlin sighed. “I’ll stand guard. If anyone comes, I’ll knock four times. Do not hurt him again.”

I spun around and nodded. “I won’t.”

He grumbled and exited, closing the door softly behind him.

As we waited for him to come to, I found a golden ewer and poured some of the water into a bowl to wash the blood from my hands. I caught a warping reflection in the polished metal which made my hands shake. My hair was back to the same ghostly white, but now, at the edge of my forehead, my Mark had appeared.