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“Stop fussing over me, I’m fine,” Riona objected as Amaris eased her onto the bed in their shared room. Auberon trailed them inside, followed by the healer Halston had procured. “I just need rest, and so do you. We must set out for Innislee tonight.”
Auberon leaned against the chest of drawers and crossed his arms. “If you’re feeling well enough, we’ll set out at dawn tomorrow. For now, we must all rest and regain our strength.”
“But—”
“He’s right, milady,” the healer said as he set his bag on the bedside table and leaned down to examine her. “A four-hour ride is only going to make matters worse. Now, where is the pain most acute?”
“My ribs.”
With a grimace, Riona sat up and pulled the hem of her tunic up enough for him to examine her ribcage. Her face tightened in pain, and by the time she sat back against the headboard, a sheen of sweat had broken out across her forehead. Fury rushed over Auberon when he saw what the overseer had done to her. Even with her deep onyx skin, he could see the dark bruises that snaked across her ribcage and around her back.
The healer’s expression didn’t falter, but Amaris sucked in a sharp breath and lifted a shaky hand to her mouth. It would be a miracle if her ribs weren’t broken. Riona had been moving gingerly since they found her, but to walk and ride without allowing even a flicker of pain to show on her face… She was stronger than he had imagined. Auberon dug his nails into his biceps, fighting to maintain his composure as the healer began to gently examine her ribcage. Every small grimace, every sharp intake of breath, tortured him.
He forced himself to remain still, a silent observer to Riona’s agony. A cry of pain slipped from her lips when the healer hit a particularly tender spot, and the sound nearly sent Auberon to his knees. Unable to bear it, he stalked over to the window and turned his back on them, his stomach twisting into knots.
“Your ribs are bruised, but they’re not broken,” the healer finally said. Auberon turned back as he pulled a bottle of shimmering golden oil from his bag and poured in a white powder, turning the mixture a milky beige. He lifted it to Riona’s lips. “Ienna Oil and dried Lady’s Grace. It will ease your pain and help you sleep.”
She pushed the bottle away. “How long until we can return to Innislee?”
“If you plan to ride horseback, I’d allow several days to recover first. The bruising continues along your spine, and it’ll be extremely painful to make the journey. Now please, drink this.”
Riona obeyed. Once she’d finished, she leaned back against the headboard and glanced at Auberon, her expression making it clear that she had no intention of following the healer’s advice.
“Rest now, and we’ll discuss our traveling plans later,” Auberon said, shooting her a warning look.
She huffed, but nodded. “Fine.”
The healer pulled several jars and bottles from his bag and set to crafting a topical mixture for her minor wounds. Riona winced when he smeared the herbal paste across the lines of bloody, inflamed skin where the rope had scraped her flesh raw. Her delicate, perfect wrists were a mottled mess of shredded skin and scabbing cuts. The sight made Auberon sick—not from the blood, but at the thought of how desperately Riona had been trying to break free. He didn’t want to imagine what the overseer would have done to her if he and Amaris hadn’t found her in time.
I put her in that position.I put her life at risk. I never should have told her my suspicions about the mines in the first place.
“Finished,” the healer finally murmured, long after Riona’s lids had drifted shut. He gently dabbed the last of the herbal paste along the cut in her cheek, then returned his supplies to his bag. “See to it that she rests. She can still move about freely if it doesn’t cause her too much pain, but no long rides until she has recovered more. If you must return to the capital, take a carriage—it’ll be more comfortable for her.”
“Thank you,” Amaris said, following him to the door. She dropped a handful of coins into his palm. “We’re very grateful for your help…and your discretion.”
“Of course, milady.” He placed the coins in his pocket and handed her a bottle of golden oil and a jar of white powder. “If the pain gets too much for her, mix these and give them to her before bed. Send for me if you need more.”
With that, he left to attend to Callan, who was waiting with his brother in the room across the hall. Amaris closed the door behind him, set the medicine on the bedside table, and pulled the blanket up to cover Riona. Auberon watched from where he stood by the window, aching at the tenderness on Amaris’s face as she bent down and stroked Riona’s hair.
Every trace of kindness vanished when she looked up at him. “Eudorite swords. Mythical blades that could cleave through steel as if it were silk. That could cut a man wearing full plate mail in two without the slightest nick. That is why you came to Innislee.”
Auberon crossed his arms. “You saw what those swords can do. If there were even awhisperthat my people were planning to use eudorite blades against yours, your king would have sent spies into the Empire to verify it, too.”
“All you were sent to verify was whether it would be worth it to take the Mountains from us. What do you think will happen once word of the mine’s existence spreads? Armies from around the world will come to claim a stake in the Howling Mountains. Rivosa will never know peace again.”
He took a step forward, and Amaris moved in front of Riona as if to shield her. “That is why your king must accept a peace treaty between us. Give us a stake in the mines, make us your partner, and we will fight alongside Rivosa. For the first time in thirty years, we can be allies rather than enemies.”
Amaris studied him warily. Then she sat on the edge of the bed and took Riona’s hand. “I don’t trust a word out of your mouth, but I saw the way she was looking at you back in the mine. Riona is the most honorable and moral person I have ever met, and somehow, she has fallen for you. If she can look at you and see someone worth loving, there must be some honor and humanity in your heart. I hope you prove that you are worthy of her.”
Every word she said sent one more fracture through Auberon’s heart. He wanted to tell Amaris that he would die before he let another person hurt Riona. He wanted to tell her that although he had been sent to secure eudorite ore for the Empire’s military, he could not bear the thought of more Rivosans dying in the war. He wanted to tell her that he deserved every ounce of hatred she felt for him. If King Domhnall refused a peace treaty, Rivosa could be destroyed, and Auberon would be powerless to stop it.
In the end, all he said was, “I don’t believe I am.”
ChapterFifty-Three
The Lady
