Stone of Hope

Chapter 21

Those two words send my rationale out the window. It takes all the strength and magic the Elder gave me to remove myself, Jewel, and my men from the ballroom and throughout the Northern castle and transport us back to my castle.

As soon as my feet hit my castle’s stone floor, I see my men staring at me wide-eyed. They know who just showed up at the Festival of Woods. I see Miko glance at Jewel with sorrow in his eyes. I know I just started a war by taking her, but Timber claiming her to be his female at the last second is unbelievable. Does he really think King Gus will play by the rules? I had to get Jewel out of there. She was already hurt, and Joycelyn is a much better healer than the one employed by King Forrest. There is no way King Gus would have entertained the same rules all the other kingdoms have; chiefly the one that states all female trolls must be kept safe.

“Miko?”

“Yes, King Destine,” he answers, his face grief-stricken.

“Get a headcount. Make sure everyone is accounted for.” With that, I squeeze Jewel tighter and run until I find our Healer. The door almost breaks off its hinges in my haste to get to the healing ward. “Joycelyn!” I yell, hoping she’s down here already. She bustles out of a room and rushes to my side. She takes one look at Jewel and runs down the hall, me hot on her tail.

“Place her on the bed, face down,” Joycelyn instructs. She gets scissors, towels, and a water pan.

I gently lay her down as Joycelyn instructed, but Jewel doesn’t move. She remains unconscious. Joycelyn cuts through the fine threads of her dress and gently wipes the blood from her back, cleaning the wounds gingerly My eyes are trained on the wounds, though I’m scared to see how badly she is injured. As each gash is revealed, I wonder how slowly I should make her attacker’s death. Sensing my rising anger, Joycelyn gives me an order.

“Destine, I need a cold, clean compress. She feels hot.”

I rise to do her bidding when Joycelyn’s gasp makes me turn back around. I drop to my knees and take a closer look at Jewel’s wounds.

“How?” Joycelyn breathes. “There’s too much blood here for the scrapes to be this shallow.” Her voice is awestruck, but her wide eyes are full of shock.

“I don’t know.” My mind wanders as I remember the blood on my hand when I grabbed her. “Does she have any other wounds?”

Joycelyn goes to work searching Jewel’s slender frame, but only discovers bruised ribs. Joycelyn slowly moves her around, tugging the dress down to her hips to reveal the rest of her back. “Destine, I’m sure she’ll be fine. She barely bled at all, going by the depth of the scrapes. Maybe the blood on her was from someone else?” She applies ointment. “Who is she, anyway?”

“Her name is Jewel, but that’s all I know. Prince Timber tried to claim her as I was bringing her here. She must be important.”

Her hands still and she frowns, looking up at me warily. “How did you get back here so fast?”

“I used the Gift.”

Her eyes widen. “So, the North knows?” I nod my head, not wanting to scare her further by telling her about King Gus’s sudden appearance. “I thought you were going to try to keep that a secret so you would have an advantage over the other kingdoms?”

I look back at Jewel. “I found it didn’t matter as soon as she whispered, ‘Help me.’

A small smile crosses her face before her brows tug together. Her hands fly to my forehead. “Destine, are you feeling well?”

“I’m fine,” I sigh. I don’t know why I lie; she knows how much energy using the magic takes from me. I know the fever will come, yet I must admit I don’t feel as depleted as I normally do after using my Gift.

“Go check on your men. I’ll continue her healing.” She effectively dismisses me, wiping more blood off Jewel where the dress smeared it on her body.

Knowing she’s in good hands, I nod and stop to pick up Jewel’s tattered dress on my way out. I hear a clink and notice a necklace with a silver pendant is lying on the floor, the thin chain broken. A bewildering sensation comes over me as I stare woodenly at the pendant, and a memory flashes in my mind.

A fire so hot, it’s white…Another memory from the Elder.

“Destine, go talk to your men,” Joycelyn chastises in her stern voice. “The sooner you get back, the sooner I can restore your energy.”

I place the necklace in my pocket and head off to find Miko, feeling almost like my old self again.