AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I almost laughed. My heart was a troublesome thing. It did not know its wants. “My heart is not so precious.”
“Lark’s the kind to twist what he touches.”
And how would Draven know that? “And my heart is not so fragile a thing, either.” I chuckled.
His serious face broke out in a smile. “I see that.” He swallowed his remaining wine in a single gulp and pushed to his feet. “Stay, if you like. But I’m asleep on my feet. Do you mind if I…?” He gestured at the bed through the doorway into his main bedchamber.
“No, please… And I’m sorry again for intruding like this.” At least he hadn’t laughed me off as mad. Tomorrow, we’d send for word on Lark, and hopefully learn he was fine. As fine as he could be.
“Arin?”
I looked up. Draven had stopped in the bedchamber doorway, his back to me. “You are welcome in my bed, should you need the company.”
“I… er…” This was the first time he’d spoken of feelings I’d suspected for a while now. There had been a few lingering glances and the occasional unnecessary touch. “Thank you, but I’ll rest here, I think.” Our walks, consuming bottles of wine until one or both of us fell asleep or fell about in fits of laughter… We’d become familiar, even friends.
His offer of company was tempting, probably more due to the wine dulling my wits and the fact he was nearly naked beneath that robe. But unlike Lark, I wasn’t so frivolous with my affections.
“Good night, Arin,” he said, then closed the door.
“Good night, Draven.”
We were of course about to wed, and any invite to his bed would likely gain teeth once that happened. I couldn’t think about that now, with Lark’s fate filling my head.
Hopefully Draven was right, and Lark would survive, like he always had. Because the alternative was a world without him in it, and that world was a cold, bleak place.
CHAPTER26
Lark
“That was a dangerous thing you did.”Razak’s thin voice resonated nearby.
A fire blazed in its grate and someone else shuffled about the warm, sumptuous room. This wasn’t my room, neither was it Razak’s. I attempted to lift my arm, to touch my throbbing head, but a thick wrap of bandages kept my arm from bending.
“When will he be fully awake?” Razak asked.
He was no longer talking to me, which was good, seeing as his every word threatened to shatter my skull.
“Give him time, my prince,” an elderly woman said. “Tomorrow, at the earliest.”
“I want him mobile tonight. We have a gathering, and Zayan is to be my honored guest.”
“Well, that’s… very soon. I am not sure he’ll be well—”
“Drug him, if you have to. He will not want to miss this very special occasion.”
My eyes closed, too heavy to hold open, and I drifted in warm, gentle seas, until the woman woke me with a soft shake. “I’m sorry, Zayan, but the prince wants you dressed and aware.”
The prince… Did she mean Arin? No, he wasn’t here. Where was here? I blinked at the room, trying to clear my vision. Swathes of dark purples bloomed, and reality reasserted itself, so pin-sharp it hurt my eyes, bringing the throb in my arm with it.
I’d survived. Razak had made sure of it.
I dug my fingers under the bandage.
“Please, don’t fight it. And no strenuous movements or the stiches will open. We’ll dress it again later.”
The woman, a nurse, had kindly eyes. Razak had probably forced her to care for me by threatening her, or someone she cared for.
I nodded and stopped trying to yank off the bandage. “You er…” I croaked. “You called me Zayan?”
