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Nava pressed her lips together and ran her fingers over the soft velvet covers of his bed. It was the first time she’d seen him looking this ill, and her worry for him only increased with each step that brought her closer to him.
The slick marble floors were cold beneath her bare feet. She had left her boots in her old cage. She inspected every dark corner for anything odd—a hidden fae waiting to ambush her, perhaps.
The castle said he was alone, but how could someone be truly alone in a place like this?
“Ark?” she whispered, perching on the bed and reaching for his hand.
A thick green salve covered the deep gashes on his knuckles from where he’d fallen after the Crows had shot him. He didn’t move or answer, and if it weren’t for his shallow breaths, she might have thought he was dead.
“I’m here now,” she said. Was she reassuring him or herself? Could he even hear her?
Best not to focus on his pale skin or the dark circles lining his eyes. The parallels between Ark’s and Devon’s appearance were a coincidence, surely. He’d only used the potion once, unlike Devon, who’d held the Vulcan twice.
Arkimedes’s lips twitched into a grimace. Even in his slumber, he seemed to be in pain.
Nava’s body sank into the plush mattress as she crawled closer to him. Her touch was the only way she knew how to use her healing magic. Even if, right now, she felt so depleted physically and emotionally that she could barely hold herself up.
Her eyelids drooped as her adrenaline dwindled further. The intense night and busy day had finally caught up with her. Still, she couldn’t allow herself to go to sleep. What would happen when Eris found out she’d left the room? Would he call the other guards, and would they try to break into this room to remove her?
What if he called the king? Even if the castle didn’t allow the guards in, surely it would let him in.
With each blink, it took her longer to open her eyes. The ache in her body throbbed deep, resonating through every inch of skin and bones.
“With the king and prince asleep, you are the one I heed,” the castle rumbled, and Nava’s ears rang at the sound. “Only those who intend no harm may enter until he wakes. When you wear the crown, then I shall answer to you.”
The mild pain dissipated quickly after the castle quieted. Or perhaps it had never spoken at all. Was she the one who had gone mad?
It didn’t matter. Sleep claimed her.
34
NAVA
Abang jolted her awake. Blinking sleep out of her eyes, Nava focused on the fae standing on the balcony outside Arkimedes’s room.
Eris stared at her through the glass, his arms crossed, his blond hair whipped around his face by the wind. She turned to Arkimedes, who was still asleep, but at least he felt warm to the touch once again.
Good. Whatever the healer—or Nava—had done to help him must have worked a bit, although he was still unconscious.
She scooted across the bed and walked toward the door. It was clear Eris couldn’t enter. Judging by the sun setting behind the castle walls, she’d slept for a few hours.
Once she stood in front of him, she mimicked his pose by squaring off her shoulders and lifting her chin in defiance, glaring at him. “What do you want?”
She’d not forgotten her promise when he hadn’t let her out. But now that she was here with Arkimedes, her fury had dimmed, and she didn’t see the need to kill him.
“How did you escape?” he asked.
The castle’s magic thickened before her, floating over the door with strings of gleaming power. It was keeping its promise to her.
“The castle released me,” she said, not seeing the point in lying.
Eris blinked, once, twice, thrice. His face lost all color as his lips parted. “The castle?”
“That’s what I said.” Nava took a step back. She was just about ready for that bath she desperately needed.
“Wait, madam. Don’t go yet,” Eris pleaded, pressing his hand to the door. A snap of energy popped him, and he quickly pulled his hand away, shaking it as he squinted at the wood. “You’ve got to let the healer in, madam. The prince needs him.”
“If the castle is not allowing them in, then it must sense they are a danger to me,” she said. “Is the king still sleeping?”
