Quinn didn’t budge. “We’ll have some trays brought up. You can eat with Linnea and me, and then I’ll go down to the clinic with you. I’m sure you can use more help.”
“That’s not necessary Quinn; it’s been a long day for you, too.”
“You’re going to eat first, Will, regardless. You can’t help them if you don’t take care of yourself.”
Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the incredulous look that Linnea and Thomas exchanged when William nodded. Thomas grinned, but his expression straightened when Quinn looked right at him.
* * *
They had the trays brought up to Quinn’s room, which seemed to be the place they’d taken all of their meals since they’d been back.
As soon as Mia had left after setting the trays on the table, though, Linnea turned to them. “I really should go and keep Rebecca company,” she said. “I’m sure she doesn’t want to sit with the Hardridge children by herself all night, and I’m sure Connie won’t be back up from the clinic for a while.” Without another word, she scooped up her tray and disappeared into the hallway.
Quinn felt color begin to creep into her cheeks again. “Well, that was subtle,” she said.
William chuckled. “It is Linnea,” he said. “Subtlety’s not her forte.”
“True. And, um … I suppose we didn’t exactly pick a private location earlier.”
He looked up at her, surprise in his eyes and a hint of pink on his cheeks, too. “Well, consider yourself warned. If we’re going to see where this thing between us goes … I have a lot of nosy siblings.”
The heat dissipated from her cheeks, and became, instead, a slow, warm burning in her chest. “Is that what we’re going to do, then? See where this goes?”
He nodded, inhaling deeply before he spoke. “I told you earlier that I have no idea how to do this, Quinn, and I don’t. But I am a prince, and I have been raised to be honest and respectful. Kissing you twice now without being genuine with you and telling you what my intentions are would be disgraceful.”
She sucked in a breath as his eyes met hers. The feelings she saw reflected in them were deeper than she’d imagined, and she was shocked when she suddenly felt less shy and awkward. “And what are those intentions?” she asked.
He looked down at her hands, and took them in his before turning his eyes back to hers. “I like you, Quinn Robbins, and I want to get to know you better. I know that right now we have a hundred strikes against us, and neither one of us knows what tomorrow is going to hold, let alone any further into the future. I don’t ever want to force you into anything, and I know that things could change for you, and we could both get hurt.”
She looked down at their hands, twisted together in her lap. “That could happen, William. I’m probably not such a safe person to get close to like this right now.”
He reached up and brushed her hair back from her shoulder, clearing a spot to rest his hand. “I know what I’m getting into. And a few months ago, I would have thought this was crazy. But do you remember the conversation we had that one morning, right before I went to Cloud Valley?”
“Yes.”
“I know this isn’t what you were talking about, but basically you asked me if a relationship wasn’t worth it, just because I didn’t know what was going to happen – if I should throw away the time I have with someone now, just because I might lose them in the end. And I keep hearing that over and over in my head, every time I think of you. And I’ve finally decided that you’re right. It is worth it. Taking this chance, for me, is worth it, even if in the end I don’t get to keep you.”
A single tear dripped down her cheek, and she shivered when he reached up and wiped it away with his thumb.
She took a deep breath. “Really?”
“Of course, that’s assuming you feel the same way…”
She put her finger against his lips. “I do, Will. I still can’t make any promises to you, but if you’re willing to put up with that for now…” the rest of her words disappeared in the kiss.
When William finally pulled away from her, they were both out of breath. He grinned at her sheepishly. “Speaking of being a prince, and being respectful,” he said, standing and walking across the room, “it’s probably best we’re not alone in a closed room if that’s what’s likely to happen.” He opened the bedroom door partway before coming back to sit beside her on the couch again, although this time he put a few more inches of distance between them.
She nodded, still trying to collect her thoughts. “You’re probably right,” she agreed. Kissing Zander had never been like that.
“We really should both eat,” he said, after a few minutes, when the room had finally stopped spinning. “And I really do need to go down to the clinic.”
She nodded, combing through her hair with her fingers, trying to straighten it back out. Finally, though, she gave up and pulled it up into a ponytail. “How are things going down there anyway?”
“Not great. The father, Eldon, suffered some pretty severe burns on his arms trying to pull his daughter, Payla, out from under a bed where she’d hidden during the fire. They both inhaled smoke, and they’ve been traveling like that for far too long.”
“Are they going to be okay?”
“I hope so. The skin on one of Eldon’s arms is pretty badly infected. If Lily and I can’t get the infection under control, he could lose his arm, or worse, the infection could spread throughout his body.”
“He has all of those little kids.” There were six of them altogether, the oldest a little girl who was only nine cycles.
“I know. This whole situation is mind-boggling to me. How they could be so afraid, and be turned down for help so many times before they made it all the way here … it’s not what things are supposed to be like in Eirentheos. It’s not what things are supposed to be like in Philotheum, either. Something has got to change, this has to stop.”
“Can I go down to the clinic with you?” she asked, as he pulled the lid off his tray and picked up a biscuit.
He frowned. “You’ve done so much already today, Quinn. You really don’t have to.”
“And you’ve done what, Will? Sat around watching television?”
He chuckled, but then his expression turned more serious. “This is me, Quinn, it’s what I do. It isn’t your responsibility, though. You could relax tonight and get some sleep.”
“Yeah, staying up here alone in my room is not any guarantee that I’d be able to sleep.”
He sank back into the couch, tentatively setting his hand on her knee. “Dreams again?”
She nodded, shuddering slightly at how it felt, having him touch her like that. “Every night since I’ve been back.”
His eyes softened. “What are they about now?”
“They’re mostly the kind I can’t remember once I wake up,” she said, shrugging. “Sometimes I can hold on to tiny pieces, but mostly I just wake up way before I should, and I can still feel the dream. Then I can’t go back to sleep.”
William took hold of her hand and squeezed it gently. “What does it feel like? Are they still scaring you?”
“It’s…” Quinn closed her eyes, trying to think of the right way to describe it. “They’re different than the dreams when Thomas was missing. Then I would wake up just feeling terrified … and cold.”
He reached for her hand now and moved closer, waiting silently for her to continue.
“These ones … I wake up kind of confused, I think. And feeling like there was something I was supposed to do and I haven’t. It feels like forgetting to turn in a homework assignment or not remembering something at the store. I don’t know if I can explain it any better than that.”
He nodded again, and then sighed. “Yeah, let’s eat and then you can come on down to the clinic with me. Maybe it’ll wear you out enough to let you sleep tonight.”
* * *
When they reached the clinic, Lily was still inside, standing by one of the cabinets organizing supplies. Th
e other healer that Max had brought back from the city today had only been able to stay for a few hours. The two patients, Eldon Hardridge, and his daughter, Payla, were both asleep. Although they’d kept the two of them separated in the clinic earlier while Lily and William worked on the severe burns on Eldon’s arms, now they were on cots right next to each other, and Connie Hardridge sat on a chair in between her husband and her daughter.
“How are things going?” William asked quietly as he and Quinn approached Lily.
“A little better, now that they’re both able to sleep. Eldon should never have been traveling through the middle of nowhere like that with those injuries. The whole family is pretty sleep deprived, and Connie looks dehydrated to me, too.” She glanced again at the sleeping figures on the cots. He could see how exhausted she was.
“You should let us take care of things. Go spend some time with Graeme. Put your own kids to bed. I’ll see what I can do to keep Connie drinking fluids, and we’ll keep her company and see that she gets some rest.”
For a moment, he thought she was going to object, but then she nodded. “I think I’m going to do that, William, although I don’t like the idea of the two of you wearing yourselves out, either. He followed her gaze across the room to Quinn, who was carrying a full pitcher of water over to Connie. The feelings that stirred inside him as he watched her – this was something entirely new.
“I think we’ll be okay, Lily. If we can keep him stable enough overnight, we’ll be able to bring in some more help tomorrow.”
Once Lily was gone, William went over to check on his patients. He heard Quinn talking quietly to Connie.
“Would you like us to get a cot set up for you?” she was saying softly. “We can move another one over here so you can be close to both of them all night. The rest of the children will be fine inside the castle tonight.”
“I don’t know,” Connie said. “Are you sure it’s all right?”
William walked over between them, and leaned down so that his eyes were level with the woman’s. “You’re safe here. I know this last week has been a nightmare for your family, but you’re safe here. The children will be looked after inside, and we’ll take you up to them first thing in the morning. You need to get some rest, and regain your strength for them.”
Tears dripped down Connie’s cheeks. “We’d heard … At first, we were so sure it wasn’t true, but after so many days, and so much anger …”
William sighed. He glanced over at Eldon, whose chest was bared enough to reveal the tattoo that identified him as a Friend of Philip. He reached over and traced the edge of his finger along the circular outline. It struck him then, how odd it was that two sections in the design were raised in relief against the rest of his skin. He’d never seen a tattoo like that before; he wondered now if they were all the same.
“A lot of people here just don’t know,” he said. “Many of them were scarred so deeply by the poisonings that they are frightened. And they don’t know about the work the Friends of Philip are doing to restore unity to our kingdoms. But we owe Thomas’ life to the ones who were willing to risk everything to save him. And our goals are the same as yours and Eldon’s. I think it’s very brave of you to be willing to wear the tattoo and identify where you stand. You are welcome here.”
Though her eyes still shone with tears, Connie nodded. “Eldon met King Jonathan once,” she said. “He was only a toddler, and he doesn’t remember it, but his parents have always talked about it.”
Quinn looked up, interested in the story. “Really?” William said.
Connie stared down at her hands, rubbing her fingers along the edges of a handkerchief. When she spoke, her voice was quiet, still holding back tears. “His family was out one day, on a picnic near a river. Eldon and his sister, Adeline, were both tiny. They were playing by the edge of the river when Eldon wandered out too far, and got swept into a current and was pulled downstream. Their parents were terrified, of course, trying to fish him out of the river, and keep Adeline from going in after him too, screaming for help the entire time.”
William looked over at Quinn and saw that her eyes were as wide as his own; he reached over and touched her shoulder. “So what happened then?” he asked.
“Suddenly, two men came riding up on their horses. Both of them jumped into the river without even pausing to think about it, and only a few minutes later, they brought Liam back to his parents. It was only once everything had calmed down that they realized who the men were. King Jonathan pulled the blanket off his own horse to wrap Eldon in, and his friend, King Daniel, who was visiting from Eirentheos, immediately took Eldon’s sister, and calmed her and played with her so everyone could focus on Eldon.”
William smiled. “Daniel was my grandfather.”
“Yes. This happened not long before Jonathan died so suddenly, and things in the castle started to change drastically. Eldon was one of the very first members of the Friends of Philip, back when it first became apparent – at least to some, what Hector’s intentions were in marrying the Queen.” Connie yawned widely, and William could see that she was about to fall over from the exhaustion.
“As much as I’d love to hear more, you really need to get some sleep,” he said. “Quinn and I will keep watch, and we’ll bring you as much water as you can hold. You really need to drink as much as you can.”
It wasn’t long before Connie really was asleep, and William suddenly realized that he and Quinn were alone in a room together again. It was strange; he’d been alone with her many times before, but it had never felt quite like this – as if the room were charged with some kind of electric current or something.
When she stood to carry the water pitcher back to the sink to refill it, he followed her.
“Thank you,” he said quietly.
She turned to face him, raising an eyebrow. “I haven’t really done anything special.”
“That’s not true. You’ve stepped in and helped, and done so much work, without even being asked. It’s really not something you have to do.”
“First of all, Will, doing the right thing is the right thing. Second of all … it turns out that this is my world too, as least partially. I think I should do what I can.”
He was stunned. It was going to take him a lot more than three days to get used to that idea, it seemed. “I hadn’t thought of it that way,” he said.
She shrugged. “Anyway, responsibility or not – it’s a chance to spend some time with you.”
Ten minutes later, he decided that it was a very good thing they weren’t alone.
10. Hard Choices
“Are you sure you’re ready to try this, Thomas?” William asked, pulling the blankets off his brother. “It has only been ten days since your surgery.”
“Do you have any idea how long those ten days have felt to me? It might as well have been a lifetime,” Thomas answered, already sitting all the way up, and swinging his unbroken leg over the side of the bed.
“You need to wait a minute, buddy. Max said he would come up and help.”
Thomas sighed. “I know, I know. I’m just so ready to walk around further than the bathroom. And I want to surprise the girls when they come back later, since you’ll all be gone for the next couple of days.”
William nodded. “I know you do.” Tomorrow, they were taking the Hardridge family to Mistle Village. Eldon and Payla would be able to stay in Jacob and Essie’s clinic, while Connie and the rest of the family boarded nearby with an older couple who had a large farm.
“But they’ll probably be gone for a while. Linnea will have a lot of fun taking Quinn to the market, so you’ve got time to practice. There’s no rush. It might not happen today, though. You can’t push yourself too hard.” It would be a bright end, though, to what he hoped would be a good day for everyone.
Today was the big market day in the city, an event that happened only once every moon. There would be stalls filled with food and treats from all over Eirentheos. Linnea had been so excited to take Qui
nn. William would have enjoyed seeing Quinn’s first time there, too, but, despite his warning to Thomas not to get too excited, he wanted even more to be standing next to Thomas on his crutches when the girls returned, even if he could only manage it for a few minutes at a time.
“Do you think that guy, Eldon, is really going to be all right?” Thomas asked, and William knew he was changing the subject.
“He’s doing better. We finally got the infection under control. He’ll have some pretty bad scarring, but he’ll be in good hands with Essie and Jacob once we get him up to their clinic tomorrow. It will be good for the whole family to have a place to stay – I know being in the castle all of this time has made them a little uncomfortable. I just can’t believe we couldn’t find something closer than Mistle Village. Things are getting really crazy around here.”
“It’s hard for people to trust anyone from Philotheum when it was someone from there who poisoned their children,” Maxwell said, as he came into the room.
William looked up at his older brother. “One person from Philotheum was poisoning children, Max. Not the whole population. You can’t blame the people of an entire kingdom for something just a few are doing.”
“How are people supposed to know who to trust when the Philothean border is wide open? Anybody could just walk right in and do whatever they want. Including the kind of people who set the Hardridges’ house on fire.”
William had heard all of this before. Maxwell was in disagreement with their father and Simon on keeping the border between the two kingdoms open. “I don’t know how I feel about it Max. On one hand, I understand what you’re saying – that we have to protect our people. But we aren’t supposed to be against Philotheum, and closing the border – or treating people who make it across the way the Hardridges were treated – isn’t that worse?”
Thorns of Decision (Dusk Gate Chronicles) Page 11