She swatted at my backside. “I don’t like repeating myself, Lady Seary. Yes, you’ll learn to mistphase. Now, climb the ladder. The balance beam is waiting. If you’re fully healed from the snowgum’s attack, we haven’t a moment to lose. The day is squandering!”
Despite the fact that I’d nearly died and had depleted all of my magic the previous day, Matron Olsander wasn’t dissuaded in the least. I could barely walk by the time we finished, but I felt marginally better about controlling my Outlets and Shields, sensing my magic and calling it forth, becoming educated on the mental aspects of mistphasing, and I had learned one cool trick. I knew how to self-cleanse now.
Matron Olsander might be strict and have a penchant for smacking me upside the head and rear, but I was grateful she was such an excellent tutor.
“You’re doing quite well.” Sandus smiled pleasantly as we strolled back to my chambers.
“Do you think so?” I rolled my shoulders. My entire body felt stiff, and it wasn’t from the snowgum’s attack. Matron Olsander had made me do chin-ups at one point when I’d accidentally started a training mat on fire.
He nodded and scratched his beard. “You’re an anomaly for certain, love. You’ve had no magic until very recently, yet you’ve managed to replenish life to one of Harrivee’s fields, outwit a snowgum, and then learn to self-cleanse. All within a week’s time. I’d say that’s something to be immensely proud of.”
My chest tightened, and my aching arms didn’t feel quite so sore after hearing his prideful comment. “This is a bit of a change from how I’ve always been.”
“A good change, though, eh?”
I managed a nod, but a part of me wasn’t sure. While my life had been small in Mervalee, and Vorl hadn’t exactly made it pleasant, I’d still been free. Now, my power was growing, but I was no longer the maker of my own destiny. I was a slave to the court.
I wasn’t sure which fate was worse.
“I’m sure the crown prince would enjoy a visit from you,” the guard said when we reached one of the convening areas between wings. To the right led back to my chambers, to the left led to the healing infirmary. “He’s been asking for you.”
My heart tripped, nearly falling from my chest. While I was immensely relieved the prince was mending and I wouldn’t be the reason for his demise, I still didn’t know how I felt around him. I had a hard time controlling my reactions to him. This ridiculous attraction overtook me at times, and I didn’t like that. Therefore, the easiest way to pretend that I was indifferent was to avoid the prince.
“Well?” Sandus asked. “Should we stop by to say hello?”
“Um . . .” I twisted my hands.
“He’s asked for you.” Sandus raised his eyebrows, his meaning clear. The prince wanted to see me, and what the prince wanted, the prince got.
Sighing, I replied, “As you wish. Lead the way.”
CHAPTER 9
“These are the most ludicrous demands I’ve ever heard.” Prince Norivun’s growly comment fluttered into the hallway. “I’m fine.”
“If you try to return to duty now,” Murl replied in a painstakingly patient tone, “you risk the chance of tearing your wound. By nighttime, you shall be fully healed. Please, my prince, allow yourself to rest for another few hours. That’s all I’m asking.”
“These inane, insufferable rules—” Prince Norivun’s griping cut off when Sandus strode into the room with me in tow.
The crown prince, not surprisingly, had his own suite in the healing infirmary. Calming scents of lavender filled the air. The setting sunlight streamed into the windows, and a crackling fire filled the hearth.
The prince sat propped up in bed, his chest bare. A nasty-looking cut ran the entire width of his abdomen.
I stared at his laceration, my throat going dry. A flash of that wound pierced my thoughts. It was freshly sliced open, blood flowing freely, intestines showing . . .
I worked a swallow. The snowgum had come so close to killing him—so close. The infallible crown prince, the one who always caused pain versus receiving it, the fairy feared above all in our land, had nearly died from the lethal predator.
Sandus gave a mocking bow when we reached the prince’s bedside. “Prince Norivun, I bring the dearest Ilara Seary, daughter of Mervalee Territory, to your bedside to keep you company whilst you mend.” The guard’s eyes glittered with amusement, making me think that perhaps such a wound wasn’t that uncommon after all for the prince.
I studied the other long scar on his abdomen, the one running up his side. I wondered how many other scars the prince had that I was unaware of or how many previous injuries Murl had healed that’d left no scar.
The Bringer of Darkness glared at Sandus before looking me up and down. My bruises from the snowgum’s pounce were hidden, but the prince’s masterful aura surrounded me as though he were a great seeing eye, able to detect every malady and ailment that had ever occurred to me in my fleeting life.
I crossed my arms and resisted the urge to fidget. Magic hummed in my gut. Despite training vigorously with Matron Olsander all afternoon, my strength had returned and was far from depleted.
“Leave us.” The prince flicked a finger at Murl and Sandus just as voices came from the hallway. Before either of them could depart, Lord Crimsonale and his son Michas flounced into the room.
Well, Lord Crimsonale flounced. Michas simply followed him.
A glacial expression descended over the prince’s face, and Murl bowed before departing. Sandus merely smirked and strolled leisurely after the healer. The guard winked at me before closing the door but barely veiled a sneer in the Crimsonale’s direction.
“Lord Crimsonale, what brings you here?” The authority in the prince’s tone was back. One would never have guessed he’d uttered it from his deathbed.
The older lord glided toward us, giving me a long, lingering appraisal before reaching the prince. “We’ve only come to ensure your well-being.”
Michas also cut me a look that while tense, didn’t hold the derision his father’s did. I remembered our conversation again on the balcony at the Betrothed Ball. Michas had a history with Prince Norivun. It’d made him accuse the prince of lying to me and sneaking into the castle to kill the fae that had gone missing. While I’d believed the prince in the end about not conducting those horrific acts, I didn’t actually know the truth.
But perhaps Cailis could help me with that.
“How kind of you,” the prince replied sarcastically. “But while I’m sure you were hoping to find me in a much dire state, I can assure you I’ll be back to my princely duties by the morn.”
The elder lord’s eyes shuttered. “How fortunate.”
Prince Norivun smirked before he addressed Michas dryly. “And what of you? Any words of affection or well wishes?”
Michas ground his jaw and balled his fists. Bowing, he replied, “Best of wishes for a swift recovery.”
Prince Norivun’s eyes only darkened further as Lord Crimsonale added, “Your father asked me to remind you that you have council meetings this week that you must attend.” He gave another look in my direction. “Your time away of late is no longer acceptable.”