Chapter 14

Alex hand finds the small of my back as he guides us towards the blankets. He sets me down against the wall, and a strange warmth flutters in my stomach as he wraps one of the big blankets around my shoulders. He then settles down next to me before gently grabbing my arm again.

He frowns at it. "It's not healing," he says.

"It is," I assure him as I pull my arm away. My cheeks flame, and I feel humiliated as I admit, "I have very slow healing, but... it is healing. Don't worry about it."

Alex looks concerned, but sensing my concern, changes the subject. "Thank god we made it in here"

"Yeah," I agree, trying to keep my breaths even as my heart begins to calm down. The last place I want to go into heart failure is in a safe room when the palace is under attack.

That's when I feel eyes boring into my temple. I look to find Prince Kohl sitting in the corner, staring straight at me. He wears crumpled commoner's clothes that I imagine have been here for years. I almost forgot he was here.

But then again... why is he here? 

"How did you know where to find us?" I ask. The silence is almost deafening

"I didn't," Kohl finally admits. "I just so happened to be passing by when I saw you guys in a rut."

I frown. That doesn't make sense. I am so sure I saw Prince Kohl leave with the royals, and he would have to have taken a completely different path to the underground bunker if he were to have crossed with us.

But I am not about to challenge his word. For some reason, he's hiding something. "Okay... then why did you risk your life to save us?"

Prince Kohl fixes me with a dark look. "I didn't risk anything," he says. "I can take down anyone. The guards are fodder compared to me. And in case you forgot," his eyes slide to the Nirnsich girl shivering in the corner, "you have a Lady in your company. I couldn't just sit by and let her be killed."

I nod at his comments, and I don't know why, but I feel a pang of disappointment. I swallow the feeling and focus at my lap instead.

After what feels like an eternity of silence passes by, I hear the breathing of the Nirnsich girl become louder and erratic. I can tell she is attempting to be quiet, possibly due to the prince's presence, but it sounds like she's almost suffocating.

Silently, I step over to her and lean down by her side. Her almond-shaped, sea-blue eyes contact mine, and for a time, we just stare at each other.

Finally, I break the silence. "Are you alright?" I mumble. The girl hesitates for a while. Her eyes move to Prince Kohl and, convinced he isn't listening, she shakes her head.

"The moisture," she rasps. "The moisture in this room isn't good for my lungs."

Then it clicks. So, there was a reason for her heavy breathing and falling apart from the group; she must have a lung issue.

Just like me, this girl is a noble with a health condition. For absolutely no reason at all, I feel weirdly closer to her.

"What's your name?" I ask as I dig through my pockets.

"Kairi," she whispers back. "I know who you are. Naomi, right? Your sister is always talking about you."

"Which one?" I ask as my fingers land on what I'm looking for. Then I pause. "Actually... Keep it from me. I'd rather not find out." 

I take a handful of green herb out of my pocket and mumble, "It's foxglove," giving the greens to Kairi, who laughs a little. "It might not do a lot for your lungs, but I'm at a loss for words. At the very least, it ought to last you until we go." As Kairi chews on the herb and covers her mouth with her palm, she exclaims, "Thank you," with gratitude. "Great," Kohl murmurs to himself, "now there's two of them." There's a snicker coming from across the room. Kairi looks shame-faced down at the floor, and I give Kohl a hard look, and he gives me the same harsh look in return.

I snip, "I'll make it three if you continue," and Kairi and Alex throw me worried looks. That's true, you're not allowed to disrespect the prince or threaten him, like I did there. An awkward hush descends upon the room. 

Prince Kohl merely shoots me a sidelong glance and rolls onto his side, knowing full well that I could never, ever live up to that threat. I give Kairi the rest of my herbs and ultimately return to Alex, who, after I'm comfortable beside him, puts the blanket back over my shoulders.

Everyone goes to sleep one by one until finally I'm the only one awake, and it appears like the foxglove helped Kairi because her breathing is no longer labored.

I glance at the fresh cut on my wrist, which has barely healed, and then I glance at the one on Alex's temple, which has shrunk to a pale mass of scar tissue. I glance back down at mine; at least it seems like the bleeding has stopped.

Several days have passed after the attack. We palace people only know that the guards who betrayed the court were all taken into custody and arrested. The remainder of the truth has been carefully concealed. It remains unknown if the incident was orchestrated from within or if renegades were able to get security uniforms and gain entry. The maids have been debating it a lot lately.

With a mouthful of meal, Macy informs multiple maids, "No, this was definitely the work of rogues. I didn't recognise any of them." We take our seats at the long dining hall table, reserved for the use of the palace's servants and maids.

I make a hole in the rotisserie chicken with my silver fork. The cuisine in the palace is far superior to that at the Agnarys estate, but that is to be expected as the best chefs in Raelia work here.

"Yeah, because most of them shifted to wolves before we could even see their faces. I reckon it was an inside job," a different female replies.

Macy frowns at her bacon and buttered bread. "I doubt that. Why would twenty of the king's own guards turn against him? It doesn't make sense."

"I don't know. Maybe there are just some people in here that are against the Queenstrails."

Everyone falls silent. One thing is evident, despite the fact that many details remain unknown: whoever organized this operation, it was clearly carried out in an effort to interfere with the Queenstrails. Nobody knows why, but someone doesn't want it to continue.

"In any case, it would be great if someone could inform us," a different girl remarks, glaring at the security personnel stationed along the walls. The whole story seems to be known only by the guards, and none of them will tell. I considered asking Alex for it myself, but I didn't want to come across as nosy since it's clearly none of my concern.