Chapter Seventeen
The cool night breeze kissed my skin as I made my way through the palace gardens, the revelry of the celebration drifting through the open doors as I basked in the fresh air.
I needed a moment away, time to catch my breath after socializing and dancing most of the night away. A headache had begun to form at my temples and my feet ached from the heeled shoes Rena had forced me into.
I admired the pretty flowers that lined the cobbled pathways as I walked, the stars twinkling far above.
I had never seen the private palace gardens before as they were cut off by tall hedges from the rest of the grounds, accessed only from within the massive structure itself.
It was the marble fountain that caught my attention though, all pathways leading directly to it as the moonlight cast a silver glow across the stone as if highlighting the beautiful craftsmanship.
It depicted a massive flame blossom tree, the intricacies so delicate and detailed that if I were to brush my hand against the trunk, I thought I’d feel the rough bark of wood rather than marble.
Water flowed from the top of the structure, twisting and traveling down the path the leaves created, before pooling into the basin around it.
Sitting upon the marbled edge, my fingers dipped into that swirling water and I was delighted to find it surprisingly warm.
Heated by magic, perhaps? To always flow and never freeze in the Tavarrian winters.
Kicking off my shoes, I bunched the elegant satin up around my knees, twisting to slip my tender feet into the water, a gentle sigh escaping my lips as it soothed away the aches. Leaning my head back, I gazed up at those stars now, at the moon that shone so high above.
What is your plan for me?
I wanted to ask, to pray, to beg for an answer. For something. If only to ease the guilt that still laid heavily upon my heart.
I could still picture little Mirabel's face, so fractured with despair as she watched the suffering of her father, unable to do anything. Could still picture Fenrir laid out and growing cold on the Institute floor, his body twitching and so wrought with pain.
My arms hugged around my body, hands rubbing up and down at the chill that danced across my skin. Had I too once looked like that? So small and broken as I watched on helplessly while my mother was tied to that Goddess forsaken stake?
Where were they now? Were they safe with the rebels that I knew hardly anything of?
"You appear deep in thought, Potion Maker."
A gasp escaped as I turned quickly, catching sight of the man that approached, his golden eyes a glowing beacon in the night.
Prince Kairen gave me a warm smile. "I apologize for startling you. Mind if I join?" He gestured to the rim of the fountain and I nodded, watching as he too removed his shoes.
Settling in beside me, feet dipping into the water, he followed my gaze up to the sky. "I've always found the night sky to be far more poetic than day."
I blinked.
Then blinked again.
"Excuse me?"
A Solerian Prince openly admiring the embodiment of the Goddess Lua? It was sacrilegious.
He gave a knowing laugh, low and tense. "Ironic, isn't it?
For someone such as myself to admire something that everyone claims to be sinister.
" His expression turned wistful, his eyes trailing the stars.
“Yet my fondest memories are beneath the night sky.
How can something so beautifully and intentionally created be something of evil and worth abhorrence? "
"I don't know, Prince." My response whispered softly, unsure what to say as my gaze trailed from him back to the stars above.
"Still intending to use honorifics, then?" The sly look aimed in my direction had my eyes rolling, fighting the tugging that twitched my lips.
"I'll let you know when you've earned the familiarity of me using Kai again."
He laughed then, the act lighting up his whole face, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "Very well, Potion Maker," he said, moving to stand. "Let me take a step towards that trust then. l'd like to show you why I'm so desperate to find this cure."
The walk had me grumbling beneath my breath at the ridiculous amount of stairs, the twisting halls that had my feet aching once more. We finally came to a stop before an extravagantly large door, two guards standing alert outside it.
My blood chilled slightly as I caught a familiar blue gaze sparking with recognition beneath his golden helm.
Aldrin McCay.
Stiffening slightly as his hand moved to rest against his chest, the other guard mimicked the gesture. "Your Highness."
"Apprentice Sommers has been cleared to access, we will enter now."
Aldrin moved to open the large door, his gaze lingering as I brushed past, my nerves prickling as I felt those eyes studying my skin. There had once been a time when I thought I could drown in his gaze and die a happy death.
Now I just wanted to gouge them from his head so he couldn't ever look upon me again.
The doors shut behind us with a soft click as I took in the scene. A healer sat beside a large four-poster bed, the mattress the largest I had ever seen and covered in fluffed pillows and soft blankets. But it was the man laid up in that bed that caught my focus and held it firm.
I stepped closer, hesitantly. His dark hair was slick with sweat, I presumed.
His skin ashen as if sickness had leeched the color from him.
His eyes were closed, and breaths labored with each harsh rise and fall of his chest. I eyed the rash that spread up his throat, but it was the golden glow of the Healer that had the curiosity within me swarming.
The Healer appeared exhausted, his eyes screwed shut as he focused all his energy into maintaining the golden light that encased the ill man's entire body.
A feeling of dread bloomed within me.
"Who is this?"
Kairen's expression was one of grief as he too gazed upon the man. “My brother.” His response was soft, too quiet in this room of sickness and sorrow.
"The Crown Prince?" I was in disbelief, suddenly understanding why Rena had been so skittish about my question earlier.
He nodded, a curt thing, his throat bobbing as he moved to a chair beside the bed, motioning for me to sit beside him.
"Yes, Kaemon is to rule after my father," he said as he took his brother's hand in his own, careful to keep it within the bounds of the golden light. “It is his birthright."
"He is not Goddess-blessed," I stated thoughtfully as I took in the information, trying to process.
His golden eyes narrowed. "That will not make him any less of a great king."
Startled by the unusual display of displeasure, I quickly shook my head. "Of course not, that is not what I meant."
His expression softened, his full lips pulling into a frown. “He has many dreams for this kingdom, many wrongs he wishes to right in his rule."
The admission had my head tilting in question—many wrongs he wishes to make right?
"We switch the Healers out every two hours.
" Prince Kairen continued on, head nodding in the direction of the man sitting across from us, who hadn't broken his concentration to so much as glance at us.
All of his attention was solely fixed upon the dying heir.
"They cannot heal him, but they can stall the progression of The Fever, slow it until we can find something that will eradicate it completely. "
I sat back, my mind whirling. The Fever could be slowed with healing magic?
"How do they manage it?" To keep a constant stream of magic like that, even for two hours, was a feat that must have been exhausting. To expend that much was a dangerous thing. If one reached too far into their blessed magic, used too much, they risked death.
There was give and take to everything in life. Even the blessed magic had its limits.
"The guards check in every ten minutes," he answered, "to make sure they are not growing close to their limits. Another Healer is always on standby in case of emergency; we have sworn many to secrecy under threat of execution to accomplish this and keep it hidden from public scrutiny."
Silence surrounded us before he spoke again, his gaze searching for something that must have shown in my expression. "You do not agree."
"I think it selfish to put the lives of so many at risk."
He dropped his brother's hand then, turning to face me, to study my reaction. Shifting beneath that golden gaze, I watched as his lips pursed. "You met my brother Kassius tonight, yes?"
He continued before I could answer. "If Kaemon succumbs to this illness, Kassius will be next in line to claim the throne," his eyes hardened as he spoke.
"There is no life I would not risk to ensure that never happens, Potion Maker.
" My breath hitched at the thought of that brute of a man reigning over us all.
"Kaemon has never wanted to be King. He is kind, but fierce to protect what he believes in.
He is honorable, and I would serve a thousand lifetimes under a rule like what he could offer.
I would rather brave the demons of the Nine Hells than serve beneath Kassius, let alone allow the people of the kingdom to suffer the terrors he would reign upon us all. "
I let out a breath, gaze shifting between the Crown Prince and the Healer as I slowly nodded.
I had met Kassius, had seen how he disrespected Roan so openly. I heard the fearful warning in Rena's voice when she spoke of him.
No, Prince Kassius could never take the throne.
"I understand."
And I truly did.
I understood the desperation that clung to Prince Kairen, the need that leached from his pores. He needed this quest to be successful, for this cure to be found. Not merely to save his brother, but for the fate of Tavari.
For if the kingdom fell into the hands of the second born Solerian Prince, everyone would suffer the consequences.