Brant nodded and smiled down at the woman. I think he meant it to be reassuring, but he looked more pained than gentle. He was going to have to practice on that if he was to court my sister. And why I was ever considering such a thing that was preposterous, but also seemed strangely inevitable. That was something I was just going to have to set aside for another time.
Torben stepped closer to me, pulling me from my disturbing thoughts. He reached down and took my hand, pulling me to my feet. I swayed on my feet and wished desperately that he could pick me up and carry me back to my room, but I knew I couldn’t allow the people around to see me that way.
“That demon king is riding up on his horse,” he whispered as he leaned closer, lending me his frame to hold for support. “What do you want to do?”
“Get me out of here,” I said quickly. He nodded.
“Dayna,” he said in a sharp voice.
“What do you need?” she asked from my right.
“Distraction,” Torben said and motioned in the direction from which Cathal was riding.
“Why, Torben, I never thought you’d ask,” she said in a syrupy sweet voice.
I rolled my eyes and let out a small groan. There was no telling what she would come up with.
“SNAKES!” Dayna’s voice cracked through the air and felt like a slap across the face. “SNAKES! Not just one, there’s a bloody village!”
I turned to look over my shoulder and saw her hopping about like a child, pointing wildly to a spot in the grass growing near the pond. Some people were rushing away while those who liked to put on a brave face were hurrying over. Cathal was cut off by the people fleeing the so-called snake infestation.
“Come,” Torben said firmly. He placed his hand on my lower back and led me in the opposite direction of Cathal. “We only have a few minutes before her ploy falls through.”
We walked quickly, though Torben was practically carrying me as he wrapped an arm around my waist and hoisted me to his side.
By the time we reached my door, I was about to pass out. I had never been so tired after a healing. It was more than being tired; it was like the life had been sucked from me.
“Maybe it has,” Torben said as he steadied me and shut the door behind us.
“Did I say that out loud?” I asked. I took a step toward the bed and almost fell. If Torben hadn’t been there, I’d have likely fallen face first onto the floor and just stayed there until someone found me. As it was, he snatched me up and carried me to the bed. He pulled the covers back and laid me down gently and then pulled the covers back up to my chin.
“Rest,” he said softly as he leaned down and pressed his lips to my forehead. “I will keep watch.”
Before he could walk away, I reached for his hand. “Torben?”
He turned back to look at me. “Yes?” His voice was just as soft as my own.
“Thank you.” I paused. “For taking care of me.”
A small smile tilted up one side of his mouth, and his eyes lit up, yet still managed to smolder. “It is what I do.”
“What? Take care of women in need?”
He shook his head. “No. I take care of my woman in need. It is my honor and pleasure.”
I didn’t know how to respond, but he didn’t give me a chance. He slipped from the room while my eyes were already betraying me as they slipped closed. I couldn’t help but wonder if bringing the child back to life—because I was pretty sure that is what I had done—had taken some of my own life away.
As I slipped deeper into my dreams, I wondered if the power I possessed could somehow lead to my own demise. Did my power come from magic, or did it come from my own life-force, the power and spirit inside of me that gave me breath? And if it did, what did that mean for me each time I used it to help others?
“My body feels worn thin. Like a garment that has been washed too many times, the thread of my life is beginning to weaken.”
* * *
~Diary of Allete Auvray
“Is she all right?” I asked, for what felt like the hundredth time when Lidia came out of Allete’s room carrying a basket full of dirty linens and clothes. The last time I had seen Allete, she’d looked exhausted. No, she’d been more than exhausted. The strain of bringing a drowned child back to life had sapped all of her strength. I’d put her to bed after the ordeal and, almost three days later, I’d yet to see her again.
I was not the only man wanting to see the princess. But I was the only man who had the right to be by her side. At least that was how I felt—rational or not.
“She is just resting,” Lidia said gently. She said it just as kindly this time as she had the ninety-nine times I had previously asked.
“Can—” I began, but she interrupted me.
“As soon as she says she wants to see people, you will be the first to know,” she assured me and then, with a slight head bow to Brant, the girl scurried off.
I was about to speak, but I clamped my lips together when Allete’s door was jerked open. Dayna stuck her head out and glanced at me, then grinned at Brant, causing the big mountain to smile back.
“Allete asked me to inquire about the child,” she said, looking back at me.
I stared back at her blankly. If she thought I was about to leave my post in front of her door, she’d gone mad.
Brant let out a loud sigh. “I’ll see about the child. Do you know where I would need to go?” he asked Dayna.
“The kitchen,” she said and started to shut the door.
Brant’s large hand moved swiftly and met with the door to keep her from closing it. “You mean the mother works in the kitchen, or the child is there?”
“Neither,” Dayna said as if it should be completely apparent. “Everyone knows that if you want to know anything about anyone, then you go to the kitchen. Just pop in and listen for a few minutes. You will probably come back with more information than you need.”
“You want me to pop in?” Brant asked, a small smile playing on his lips.
“Could you both refrain from dallying in front of me?” I huffed. It was childish of me, but I did not want Brant to get to see the object of his affection, if I was being kept from seeing mine. Brant glanced at me from the corner of his eye with a raised brow. He knew exactly why I was acting like a pouting child.
“I will be back,” he told Dayna, and with one last amused look at me, he walked away.