And that voice, I thought.His voice.
She hesitated a minute before answering. “Captain Kiyan went inside to help you. He pulled you out. But by then, you’d already done it.”
I touched my shoulders as if I could feel his hands there now, lifting me away from the fire, his body hard and strong.
Ramishah’s words shook me out of those thoughts as I processed what she’d said to me.
“I’d done what?”
She smiled, and her face transformed from my curious, concerned friend to someone a little bit awed.
“You’d already set it on fire. You killed the creature.”
I shook my head, not remembering any of it.
Just the soft burning. Just his voice.
“Your clothes burned off. I was surprised your hair didn’t. Kiyan carried you out and threw his cloak over you, ordering the guards to deal with the remnants of the beast and get you a healer.”
“And the Viceroy?”
“You seemed to save him by going inside the creature. He did get injured, which was more than anyone has been able to do in the years since he’s been here. But he’s alive.”
I didn’t think that was a positive thing, considering all he had done to the Court of River. But I needed that map, and I couldn’t regret saving it, not if I had any hope of helping Astola.
“Do they know how the beast got into the palace?”
She hesitated, her eyes darting to the side. There was something she wasn’t telling me.
“Mishah, I nearly got killed by that thing. Why?”
She dropped her voice so low I could barely hear her mumbled words. “They are saying it’s the work of the rebels in an attempt to kill the Viceroy.”
It was the first time I’d seen evidence that the rebels actually existed, despite Kiyan questioning me about them at every opportunity.
But if they could make something like that, a beast of rot and flesh—I could see why the Viceroy was wary of them.
Anyone that could create creatures of death like that was not to be underestimated.
Ramishah kept speaking, and I forced myself to focus on what she was saying.
“Kiyan ordered the entire staff to wait on you, whatever you needed. He’s been checking in on you since, should I tell him you’ve woken up? He was extremely angry you went inside the creature.”
“I didn’t really have a choice,” I murmured, barely hearing my words as I registered that Kiyan had carried me through the palace stark naked in his arms.
I looked down at my body again, glad I was now covered by a sheet to cover how flushed my skin had become.
“Yes, you are still naked,” Ramishah said, as if my thoughts were reflected clearly on my face.
I swallowed, then noticed Kiyan’s dark cape draped over the bed.
“Please tell me you have clothes for me.”
She gestured to a nearby chair, where a midnight-blue skirt and short blouse were folded neatly. “I’ll help you get ready.”
“I can do it myself,” I said hastily. “You’ve already seen far too much of my arse for my liking.”
She laughed. “After you destroyed that creature in the great hall, you could walk around naked every day, and the people of this palace would kiss your feet. It was heroic.”
