Chapter 15 #3
“But I am sure of one thing,” I continued, my lips so dry they cracked. “She can never be underestimated. Ever. While on this envoy, I’m not letting Sylvi out of my sight, not even for a second. If my mother sought to carve a rift between us, she’s only succeeded at stitching us closer together.”
Something flickered across Ravin’s face. Hurt. Jealousy. Anger. It passed so quickly I might have imagined it. But the chill it left in its wake was real.
“Of course,” Ravin said gruffly. “And knowing you, you’ll probably have her sleep in your tent. I’m sure that won’t spark rumors inside the Unseelie Court right before you’re set to meet their princess. You know, your betrothed.”
I closed my eyes as Maelis added yet another cool layer of balm over my shredded back. Gods, it felt heavenly. “You think I want this? The last thing I need is to stir up trouble with the Unseelie Court, but right now keeping Sylvi safe is my top priority.”
“I honestly don’t know what it is you really want, Jack,” Ravin shot back. “You’ve made up your mind to marry some distant cousin for the sake of your realm, yet you keep kindling this…thing between you and Sylvi. You can’t have it both ways.”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
“That it’s wrong,” Ravin said, stepping closer. “It’s wrong to string her along when you’re already promised to another.”
“Stringing her along?” Fueled by a fresh surge of anger and pain, I pushed up on my arms, trembling violently as I sat upright on the table. Maelis and one of her healers rushed to steady me as my lungs puffed ragged breaths. “I’m just trying to protect her,” I ground out.
Ravin stared at me, his posture rigid, a storm gathering behind his eyes. “You can lie to yourself if you want, but you can’t lie to me. I know you, maybe even better than Sylvi does. Even if you can’t see me like you see her.”
“That’s not fair. You both mean the world to me. You’re both my closest friends.”
“We both know that’s not how you see her.”
I stared at him, heart hammering against battered ribs, speechless.
The silence between us grew, taut and ugly.
Ravin was right. Sylvi meant more to me than I allowed myself to admit.
The way the mere thought of her with someone else had turned me into a rabid beast—and when I saw her with Leoric proved it.
What right did I have to not want her to share herself with anyone when I was already tied to somebody else?
Ravin’s mouth twisted into something between pity and understanding.
“Sooner or later, you’re going to have to face it.
This whimsical friendship you’ve clung to since childhood can’t remain untouched forever.
Your future queen won’t allow it. She’ll see Sylvi for what she is—a threat.
And we both know how your unseelie kin handle threats. ”
My fists clenched, the pain in my back flaring like wildfire.
I wanted to punch him; I wanted to deny everything.
But I couldn’t. Because deep down I knew he spoke the truth.
“I know there are unresolved issues between Sylvi and me, and I plan to address them, but in the meantime, while we wait for all this shit to boil over, I need to secure her safety and ensure she gets her job back.”
“Good luck. Varik seems pretty comfortable in his new position.”
“That remains to be seen.” I gripped the edge of the table again as Maelis and her assistants laid wet bandages over my ravaged skin. “Are the bandages necessary now that my magic’s back?” I asked Maelis, wincing.
“Your magic is weaving the flesh together,” she said softly, smoothing another cloth over me, “but blood still seeps through the wounds. Until the flesh fully closes, you are vulnerable to festering. These aren’t tight wrappings.
They’re soaked in healing salves to speed the process and to shield the injuries from further contamination. ”
I hated feeling defenseless and weak, but I let them work.
“Please lie back down, Your Highness,” Maelis urged.
Reluctantly, I obeyed. “I want to see Sylvi.”
“I don’t advise you walking around just yet,” Maelis said gently.
“Then bring her to me.”
“The queen has forbidden her from leaving her chambers,” Ravin said. “And I doubt even I could bribe the guards to let her out tonight.”
Maelis crossed the room to a far table where she began mixing more herbs. “There is…one other option.”
Ravin and I both perked up at her words. “We’re listening,” Ravin said.
“Per the queen’s decree, Sylvi is still gravely ill. Ill enough that healers must check on her condition at regular intervals. I could send two of my healers to examine her.”
“And…Sylvi could disguise herself as one of them to sneak back down here,” Ravin said, catching on immediately. “Brilliant.”
“Mistress, are you sure you haven’t doubled as a spy before?” I asked, a strained smile pulling at my lips.
Maelis gave a wicked little smirk. “A healer mustn’t ever reveal her secrets.”
For the first time since the whipping post, hope flickered inside my battered chest, frail and bloody, but burning, nonetheless.