Church services were still going on, and most of the people were inside, by the sound of the hymns filtering through the air. But small crowds of people meandered around, shopping for this and that, and I was glad to be one of them. Soon, the market would be flooded by people pouring out of the church.
I had no coin, so I passed the time by looking around and admiring everything. The scent of smoke took me to the far corner of the village where the blacksmith hammers pounded their red-hot pieces of metal into new shapes. Two men were inside the forge, an older man and a younger one who was closer to my age. He turned around, his sandy hair drenched in sweat. Using his sleeve, he wiped it away and took his gloves off.
“Can I help you with anything?” the younger man asked solicitously.
“I’m just looking, thank you.”
He inclined his head.
They had blades, ladles, forks, and spoons with swirled handles. I let my fingertips trail over the twisted metal as I slowly walked around the tables he had set up. I looked up from the iron and saw Trevor standing across the lawn, his body rigid.
“Trevor? Are you okay?”
He set his jaw and turned on his heel, stalking away from me. I jogged to catch up with him. “Hey.” He wouldn’t stop. “Trevor, what’s wrong?”
He stopped and threw an arm toward the blacksmith. “I couldn’t find you, and then I find you at the smith’s shop?”
“We didn’t discuss a meeting place. I was just looking around. I didn’t realize church had let out.”
He gestured toward the blacksmith’s shop. “There, of all places.”
“What exactly are you accusing me of?” I responded indignantly. “Did you have a quarrel with him or something?” I glanced over my shoulder at the smith, who had already gone back to his work, oblivious to what was happening between me and Trevor.
Trevor shook his head and muttered something, and then stormed away. The crowd between us thickened and eventually, I lost his head among the other men and women. The sea of people swallowed him, and he never paused or looked back.
What in the world just happened?
I spent the rest of the day speaking with the vendors about their wares. Before coming to find me, Trevor went around to many of them, describing me and telling them he would pay them for anything I selected.
There wasn’t much I needed, but I paused at a booth near the edge of the market where an assortment of shells caught my eye. Among the collection of conch shells was a small basket of pearls. Some were the size of a pea while others were larger, but the color of each was unique. The shades spanned from white to peach to gray to pale blue. I picked up one that caught my eye and the woman behind the booth smiled. “Princess Raya, I presume.”
“Yes. How much is this pearl?”
“The Prince said to give you anything you wanted. I’ll square it away with him later.”
I pinched my lips together and thanked her, my eyes welling with tears. I didn’t want his coin, but I couldn’t make myself put the pearl back into the basket, either. It felt like home. Pearls were as common as coin in Paruth, and each tip of my mother’s scalloped crown was tipped with pearls just like this one; dark gray and opalescent.
I thanked the woman again, tears clogging my throat. She simply inclined her head respectfully and offered a small smile. The smooth orb felt cool in my palm as I walked away.
Stopping by the bakery, I asked him for a small loaf of bread and some butter. He threw in a tankard of ale, and I carried my lunch past the castle. The port was busy with men loading crates from the docks to their ships for new voyages. I found a place far enough away from the bustle and sat in the warm sand.
I ate my lunch and then sat there the rest of the day, holding the pearl in my hand.
Missing Tross.
Missing Trevor, and wondering what I could have possibly done to offend him so badly.
Missing my parents and my home.
I even missed my tower.
TREVOR
I made a complete and utter ass out of myself.
I tried multiple times to see her to apologize over the next two days... but her attendant, Hannah, refused to let me in. Raya must have told her what I did, because Hannah leveled me with an icy glare every time I knocked.
That night, it was Hannah who came to me.
“Pardon me, Sire, it’s about Princess Raya.”
I stopped in the hallway. “Is she okay?”
“She’s very sick, and while I’ve offered to call for the healer, she refuses. She’s going to be mad I told you, but she needs help,” she whispered urgently. “I’ve done everything I can think of, but her fever won’t come down. She told me to turn you and anyone else who came to see her away, but I think she needs the healer. I don’t want to disobey her, but I’m afraid for her safety.”
My stomach clenched. “Get the healer and meet me in her chamber,” I ordered. She glanced to the side, fearful. “Hannah, please. Go fetch the healer. I’ll deal with Raya.”
She swallowed, but curtsied quickly and ran toward the back of the castle as I ran up the staircase and down the hall. Knocking on the door, I let myself into her room.
Upon stepping inside, I could hear her teeth chattering even though her bed was across the room. I walked toward her and put the back of my hand on her head. She was on fire. “Ray, we have to cool you down.”
“I’m fine,” she breathed, and then coughs wracked her body.
I pulled the covers away from her, but she pulled her robe tight across her chest, shivering as I helped her sit up. “Why didn’t you let me in?” I asked gently.
“I didn’t want you to worry,” she rasped, “and you were mad at me.”
I pulled her to my chest and apologized over and over, feeling the hotness of her clammy skin. She scorched my body, but shivered so violently, I was afraid to let her go. Hannah and our healer, Tenia, came into the room moments later.
I held Raya as Tenia examined her. “She’s dangerously feverish,” she assessed briskly. “We need to get her into a cool bath. Right now.”
Hannah rushed from the bedside to have a tub and water brought up.
“My head feels strange,” Raya mumbled, unable to keep her eyes open.
“Is she okay? Is she going to be okay?” I begged Tenia.
“Time will tell,” was all she would say. “She’s young enough, and strong of body.”
Servants brought in a large washtub and began to fill it with bucket after bucket of cool water. Hannah cleared her throat. “You’ll have to leave while she bathes, Sire.”
My fingers tightened on Raya. I didn’t want to leave her, but for propriety’s sake, I knew I had to. “You’ll get me as soon as she’s dressed. Do you understand?”
Hannah nodded and promised she would retrieve me the second Tenia gave her the okay. From outside her door, I could hear as they woke her again and helped her into the tub. When she cried out, saying the water was too cold, that she would die, I almost stormed in.
Her tearful sobs as they drenched her with water made me tug at my hair, feeling useless as I paced the floor and prayed she would be okay. When Hannah finally came to get me, I shoved my way around her and ran to Raya’s side. She was tucked into the blankets again. Her skin was pale and her long hair was soaked.
I looked to Tenia. “Did it work?”
“Well enough for now, but I think we’ll have to bleed her.”
“No,” Raya croaked. “Please, don’t... do that.”
Hearing the dryness of her voice, I asked, “Can she have water?”
“She can have small sips, but the only way to keep her fever from coming back or getting worse is to bleed her.”
I clenched my teeth. “Would you give us a second to talk it over?” I asked the healer. She wiped her hands on her soaked white apron and nodded, leaving the room. Hannah slipped out behind her.
“I don’t want to be bled,” Raya wheezed.
“I know,” I reassured softly, brushin
g the hair from her face. “But you’re still very sick.”
“You think I should do it.”
It had helped my father before; it might help her, too. My mother died from an illness that was as swift as this one. “I can’t lose you, Ray.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” she answered, tears welling in her eyes.
“How’d you get so sick?”
“Probably the market.”
She glanced toward the table beside her bed, where a small pearl sat in the middle of it. “Thank you, by the way,” she smiled. “You bought that for me.”
“You’re welcome. I’d buy you a thousand more just like it if you’d let me.”
She shook her head once. “I wouldn’t.”
“Because you’re stubborn.”
She grinned with her eyes closed, and then the smile fell off her face. “I don’t feel right,” she gasped haltingly.
“What’s wrong?”
She wouldn’t answer, and moments later, I couldn’t wake her.
“Ray? Raya!”
Tenia and Hannah burst through the door. “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,” the healer cursed. “Get my bag! I’m bleeding her, Prince – and unless you’d like to call the priest and arrange her burial, I suggest you move aside and let me do what I’m best at.”
An hour later, I rushed to Raya’s door when Hannah opened it.
“You can come in. She’s resting fine now, Sire. No signs of fever.”
A lump the size of Galder clogged my throat as I walked stiffly to her bedside. She’s okay. Tenia looked at me reassuringly.
“She’s going to be fine, and you know where to find me if you need anything. To be on the safe side, Hannah should stay with her tonight.”
She bent beside the bed and picked up a bowl filled with Raya’s leeched blood, where her very life had stained the white porcelain a bright crimson hue. Walking out of the room, Tenia asked Hannah to carry her bag for her. Hannah promised to return in a few moments, grabbed the bag, and rushed after Tenia.
I stared at Ray, held her hand, and brushed the soft skin on the back of her hand as she slept. And I fought off tears. Princes weren’t supposed to cry or show weakness. My father ingrained that into my head from a young age, but seeing Raya like this broke me. Seeing her lying there so frail, when she’d been perfectly fine just a couple days before... I was unable to stop the flood of memories that reminded me how I lost my mother in a similar way.
It felt like life was filled with one loss after another. Like we were all floating in a great sea; some days were sunny and calm, and the next thing you knew, a storm blew in and took away everything you held dear.
Hannah entered the room and eased the door closed behind her. “Thank you for staying with her, Sire.”
“I’ll be staying tonight as well.”
She stopped walking and stiffened. “Pardon?”
“You may stay in here with us if you like, but I’m staying. I’ll watch over her.”
“I’m not sure that’s proper...” she began, striding forward.
I stopped her with one glare, one warning not to push me on this. Raya was everything to me. I was staying in this room – proper or not – and no one, not her, and certainly not my father, was going to stop me.
Chapter twenty
RAYA
My eyelids felt as ponderously heavy as my arms and legs, but I opened them anyway. A chair had been scooted up right next to my bed and Trevor lay in it asleep, his head awkwardly angled backward. He’d intertwined his fingers over his stomach and crossed his feet at the ankles.
Just then, Hannah walked to the other side of the bed. She smiled as she took us both in. Placing a cool hand on my head, she nodded. “Good. The fever is still gone. How do you feel?”
“Awful.” My voice matched the heavy feeling.
She giggled and Trevor jolted awake, his eyes focusing on me. “Ray?” he rasped. “You’re awake. How do you feel?”
“Like I’ve been trampled by Winter’s hooves,” I answered honestly. “How is she?”
“She’s well,” he responded, smiling indulgently. “The stable hands see to her every need.”
I opened my mouth and closed it again. My mouth was a desert, but Trevor looked just as bad. “You look tired.”
“I’m fine,” he lied, looking away so he didn’t have to look me in the eye. It was his tell. He wiped the corners of his eyes and asked Hannah about the fever. They continued to talk as if I wasn’t right there between them, and I fought the urge to wave and remind them I was still there.
“I’m fine now, Trevor. You should go rest, or at least freshen up and shave.”
He smiled and rubbed his jaw with his fingers. “You don’t like the stubble?”
Actually, I did. But I wasn’t admitting it to him. “I’m starving. Can I have something to eat?” I asked Hannah as I sat up in bed.
“Right away, Princess. I’ll be right back.” She hurried from the room.
“How long have I been sleeping?” My back was stiff.
“It’s Thursday,” he answered. “Hannah came to me on Monday about your illness.”
Three days. I’d been asleep for three days. I dimly remembered the cold bath, followed by the leeches. My arm was still sore where Tenia bled me.
“Please don’t hesitate to call on Tenia the next time you’re sick. You haven’t been around people for a long time. You haven’t been exposed to illness or disease, but now, you’re susceptible to everything.”
“I’m not a delicate flower, Trevor, and I won’t be locked in this room just to keep from taking ill. Everyone gets sick,” I grumped.
He nodded. “I would never lock you away. I just want you to be... less stubborn about seeking help if you feel poorly. You scared me.”
“I’m sorry.” I picked at the thread on the blanket until he stilled my hand with his.
“Don’t be. You’re better now. That’s all that matters.”
“How long have you been staying with me?”
“Since Tenia left you.”
“Day and night?” I asked.
“Of course.”
I pinched my eyes closed.
“How angry is your father?”
The muscle in his jaw ticked. “It doesn’t matter.”
“It does to me.”
“He’s infuriating!” Trevor exploded. “He wants me to sit through meetings, strategize with the head of his army, and speak with the captains, but he doesn’t understand that I don’t care about any of that. I can’t focus on any of that mundane nonsense—especially when everything in Galder is running smoothly—while you’re so ill, the physician feels the need to drain the very blood from your veins.”
“I wasn’t dying,” I declared softly.
“You could have fooled me, Raya.” He stood abruptly. “You know, I think I’ll take your advice and go shave and bathe.”
“I didn’t mean to upset you. I just don’t want to be another rift between you and your father. There seems to be plenty enough of those as it is.”
“There are.” He shoved his hands into his pockets. “But you aren’t one of them. My father thinks he has to control everything in the Kingdom, including me. I’ve reminded him time and time again that I’m not one of his servants, and not a thing to be controlled.”
“I know you aren’t.”
“My mother took ill very suddenly, and then she…” his voice cracked.
That’s what this was about. It’s why he was so afraid and upset. “I understand your fear, Trevor.” I’d felt the same helplessness as he lay in front of the hearth beneath layers of fur. I couldn’t do anything to make him better, either, and the feeling of utter impotence nearly tore me apart. All I could do was wait, watch, and pray he didn’t die, and I didn’t even know him then. If he took ill now, I’d be terrified. The plague took away everyone I loved in one fell swoop.
His shoulders relaxed a little. “Can I come back later?”
I gave a laugh. “It’s
your house.”
He rolled his eyes. “This is your chamber, and your personal space. If I’m not welcome, all you have to do is tell me.”
“You’re always welcome, Trevor.”
He nodded and walked to the door, opening it and closing it behind him.
To the empty room, I echoed, “Always.”
TREVOR
It was the first day of summer, a fortnight until the Ball, and I couldn’t help but wonder if Raya would be well enough to attend. The lingering effects of the fever left her weakened, and she was still paler than normal. She was disappointed that she couldn’t attend the nuptial festivities today.
Aric’s wedding was at his father’s manor house. I hadn’t been there since we were boys, but I remembered every nook and cranny, and the sorts of things we had to hide in them to keep his parents from sending me home.
When the stone home came into view, I sat up straighter. Aric was happier than I’d ever seen him, and I knew this evening would mark a turning-point in his life. I was grateful to have been rescued in time to see it. I wished Raya was here to see it with me.
Our carriage pulled up to the front doors. The footman opened the door and my father exited first, then I followed. As I stepped out, I straightened the heavy crown on my head. Father insisted I wear it as a mark of my stature to lend a formal air to the ceremony, but for some reason it felt heavier tonight.
My hand twitched at my side. If Raya were here, I’d have taken hold of her hand. I pinched my lips together. I had to stop thinking such things, let alone doing them. People were getting the wrong idea about us. When I walked into the kitchen today to ask someone to fetch a few bottles of our best wine for the bride and groom, I overheard a few of the women talking. They insinuated that it was clear we were lovers because of the close proximity of our rooms, adding that our intimacy was palpable.
One squawked about me staying in Raya’s room while she was sick. Another was about to say something even more inappropriate when I walked into the room and cleared my throat. Their eyes bulged and their backs straightened like iron rods. I let them squirm for a full minute before asking for the bottles.
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