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Eris tightened his hand around the rim of his helmet. “It’s my duty to protect you at all costs. As I mentioned, our allegiance is shifting. His Majesty feels it, and so do the guards. To prevent unnecessary bloodshed among our ranks, the king commanded me to keep vigilant.”
“Because I’m in danger?”
“Yes, my lady. There are rumors circling the castle about the prince being under a spell. One that will only be broken if you’re gone.”
Great. Nava pressed her lips together, and Leela’s words echoed in her mind. She’d said Nora, Fael’s sister, had claimed the same during her visit. Nava would have to be extra careful with the king’s consorts.
Arkimedes’s gravel tones floated into her mind. “They will be dead before they can come close enough to hurt you.” It was a promise of blood—or, in his case, the fragment of a soul.
They walked past a group of maids who scattered as soon as they saw Arkimedes. Some smiled in their direction, bowing with an eagerness Nava hadn’t seen from the staff other than the night before. The rest did so in a more restrained way, looking at them warily.
Arkimedes offered Nava the crook of his arm, gazing into the distance. “So the king thinks Nava might be attacked? Is that why none of his concubines were present during the meeting?”
Eris seemed to ponder his response. “It’s for our future queen’s benefit and for His Majesty’s ladies. He fears for their safety from your mate—and from you.”
“Fair enough,” Arkimedes said.
A flare of anger rushed through Nava’s body, and she swallowed the snarky response threatening to spill past her lips. She wouldn’t hurt them unless she had to defend her life. This wasn’t the time to make biting comments, though. Not when they were on the brink of a major attack and they had to work with the monster for just a little longer.
Two guards awaited them on either side of the gold room, the same place where Devon stayed when they were prisoners. Past its doors, a warm wash of air greeted them. A healer stood next to Devon, who lay on the bed looking paler than she’d ever seen him.
He coughed, and his black eyes met hers from across the room. “You’re free,” he breathed, and his expression softened with relief.
“How are you feeling, Devon?” Arkimedes asked, taking in his brother’s condition with a growing frown. It was impossible not to notice the way his eyes had gone duller, how drab and thin his skin appeared.
“Your Highness.” The healer bowed, stepping away from Devon and approaching them. The fae clasped his arms behind his back, not looking at his patient as he spoke. “Your…guest has a similar reaction to what I saw in you when you returned. I’m assuming it’s the same poison. Except his runs deep within his body. I don’t believe I have a spell that can heal him. I can only ease his pain and prolong the inevitable.”
Devon’s lips turned from a sickly shade of purple to lilac as he peeled them back to reveal his white teeth. “If you’re going to tell my brother I’m dying, look at me while you do it. I’m very much still here.”
How long had he been out there, exposed to the elements? Had he been walking the entire time while sick and hurting? Her heart ached for him.
Nava untangled her arm from Arkimedes and stepped forward, grasping the foot of the bed as she studied Devon’s complexion. “Do you have any potions left?”
“No, but you can drop the concerned face, Kitten. I’m not dying just yet.”
She cleared her throat and moved around the bed, doing her best to adopt a more neutral expression. Anything to set him at ease a bit. “How would you know? Have you been in this position before?”
“Have you seen someone who’s dying look this good or have this cheerful a disposition?”
“I guess you’ve got a point.” Nava smirked. She reached for his arm, knowing what she had to do. Her healing magic could help him as it had before, even though her body was still tired from using it so heavily.
Devon’s face pinched as he inched away from her touch. “Don’t waste your energy on me. You will need it soon.”
Nava perched on the edge of the bed with a frown. It was soft and almost swallowed him whole. She heard the distinct steps of someone leaving the room, just as she sensed Arkimedes approaching slowly.
“What do you mean?” Ark asked. “The guard said you mentioned the emissary was coming. How would you know that?”
Devon took a deep breath and sat, reaching with a trembling hand for the carafe of water next to him. Nava stood up to help but paused when he glared at her. “As you two know, I’m able to change the weather—somewhat.”
“Yes…”
“Well, after the guard took Nava, I was making my way here to ensure you were safe. I didn’t know how I was going to get inside the castle, so I returned to the maid’s home to ask for help. I overheard her neighbors say that the storms were unusual, much too cold for fall. It made me think, and it’s true. They feel similar to the ones I’m able to conjure.” He paused to cough.
Arkimedes’s breaths quickened. “And you think it’s a spell?”
Devon drained the glass of water as if he’d been thirsting for days. Then he refilled it and took another long drink before he spoke again. “It seems a strange coincidence that they happen every single time the Zorren attack. Before every fire over the past months, there has been some weather event. When you two left for the forest last time, it was coming down for days. I don’t believe in coincidences.”
Nava’s breath caught in her throat. She looked down at the bees adorning her dress, their brown bodies standing out against the dark fabric. “You’re right. After we arrived in the kingdom, I had a dream of Ari during the fires, but it had also been storming. It’s odd that the fire demons should come when there is rain.”
