Instead, he might still die, even now. He supposed that as long as he outlived the Kelvernese king, his death wouldn’t matter to Adeline.
But it would be catastrophic for Lalsacia. His father would be robbed of his only heir, and he wouldn’t even know until Kelverny returned Lorne’s body. If they ever did.
Adeline crept closer to the bed before she perched at the very edge near his feet. “Please do whatever you can for him.”
She looked small, curling in on herself even if her back remained straight, her chin lifted. He would have reached for her hand if they’d had that kind of relationship. And if she’d sat close enough for such a gesture.
“I will, Highness.” The physician paused in packing up his items to give her a bow. “I will step out for a moment to prepare the tincture. I would also like to get some willow bark tea into him.”
“Send Jelsa to fetch it. I wouldn’t trust anyone else right now.” Adeline motioned toward the other room.
The physician nodded again before he left, closing the door softly behind him.
Adeline’s gaze dropped to her lap, her fingers twisting there as sheremained silent.
Lorne gathered his strength enough to force a few more words from his dry mouth. “He called youHighness.”
“I’m not yet queen, I’m afraid.” She didn’t look at him, but the hunched look to her grew more pronounced. “My grandfather has arrived. He seems to be lingering on sheer spite and anger, but the doctor isn’t optimistic. I will be queen before tomorrow morning, if not before the day is out.”
Even once her grandfather was dead, her war would only be just beginning. She would be in a fight for her life, her crown, and the peace she hoped to achieve.
Last night, he’d pledged to do whatever he could do to help her in that war. There wasn’t much he could do at the moment, but perhaps simply offering her a moment of comfort was enough. After all, everyone else around her was either a loyal subject or a potential enemy. Except for him. He was her equal. Her husband.
He freed his right hand from the blankets, shivering as the cold air prickled against his skin. He held his hand out to her, palm up. “You aren’t alone. I am your ally, even if that doesn’t count for much right now.”
Adeline’s gaze finally lifted, her brown eyes meeting his, both searching and vulnerable. She didn’t take his hand, but something in her softened. “Thank you.”
He managed a hint of a nod before he twitched his hand toward where the pitcher and a glass sat on a sideboard. “Could I have some water?”
“Oh, of course.” Adeline hopped to her feet and scurried to the sideboard. She poured some of the water into a glass and turned, pausing. Her already pale cheeks first went even paler before staining pink. She glided back across the room, hesitated a moment, and perched on the bed next to him this time, close enough that he could feel the warmth of her against his arm.
Lorne tried to prop himself onto an elbow, but his arm shook, his whole body quaking with a stronger shiver.
She slid her hand behind his head, her fingers warm as they threaded through his hair. But the glass was cold, the water even colder as it sloshed into his mouth.
He gulped at the water, some of it dribbling out of the sides of his mouth. But he was too thirsty to care about dignity at the moment.
When he coughed and sputtered, she pulled the glass away from his mouth and set it on the bedside table. “I’ll give you more in a moment. Or Jelsa will return with the tea.”
He coughed as she laid him back on the pillow. Compared to the way his head ached and his bones felt as if they were freezing from the inside out, the pain of his wounds faded into the overall misery.
Once he’d regained his breath, he cracked his eyes open again. “My men. Are they all right?”
He should have asked the night before. If things hadn’t been such a whirlwind, and if he hadn’t been in such pain, he would have.
“They’re alive. Yet until I’m queen, there’s isn’t much I can do.” Adeline clasped her hands in her lap again. But she remained sitting at his side rather than moving. “It’s bordering on treason having you here as it is.”
Lorne grimaced, even as he gripped the blanket tighter. Here he was enjoying a soft, warm bed and the ministrations of both a princess and a physician while his loyal men remained in the dungeon, possibly still being tortured.
“I’ve already given the order to the guards I trust and to the physician to halt the torture and see to their wounds just as soon as my grandfather dies and I become queen.” Adeline went back to staring at her hands rather than looking at him. “Hopefully my grandfather has been too preoccupied with dying and arranging my marriage to add any additional torture.”
Lorne blinked at her, his sluggish brain struggling to figure out just what stood out to him in her words. “Your grandfather is arranging your marriage? But you’re married to me?”
That last sentence shouldn’t have come out a question. Yet the more the fogginess settled into his brain, the more he doubted his own memories of the previous night.
“I haven’t exactly told my grandfather about you. I’d rather he die before ever finding out.” Adeline’s shoulders were hunching again, the slightest curve breaking her otherwise perfect posture. “I’ve bought time by claiming I’m taking time to think it over andexamine the contract. But unless he takes a very sudden turn for the worse, he’s going to push.”
Despite his shivering, Lorne held out his hand to her again.
