The pale light of dawn filtered through her eyelids, but Arden wasn't ready to open them yet. Her head still throbbed. She ran her hands over the silk cushions under her and immediately cursed, wondering if Loku was playing the same trick on her that he'd played on Dev.
"No, my Soulbearer, you're not dreaming. I'd have you naked if you were."
The damp wool of her tunic rubbed against her shoulders, answering her next question. Her thoughts turned to the face of the man she saw last night. Kell. His dark brown hair curled at the ends and framed his square jaw when he looked down on her, and his brown eyes danced with amusement. He even had a dimple in his left cheek when he smiled. All and all, it was a handsome face. One she wouldn't mind seeing again. "Loku, did I dream him up?"
The chaos god's laughter filled her mind. "Is that where your tastes roam?"
"No, not usually, but I liked the look of him."
"I'll have to remember that if I decide to tempt you."
Kell intrigued her. Maybe it was because he actually seemed warm and friendly to her, a sharp contrast to Dev's cool and distant demeanor.
A mixture of metal clanging and conversation began to fill her ears. She tensed. Wherever she was, she wasn't alone. Then something furry stretched next to her, and she relaxed. Cinder had stayed by her side. But where was Dev?
She called out his name and opened her eyes.
"He's still in the healer's tent," an unfamiliar voice answered.
Arden shot up and immediately wished she hadn't. The room spun in circles, matching the swirling in the pit of her stomach. She crumpled back down on the cushions.
A face swam above her. "Still dizzy?" Cool fingertips brushed her hair from her face, and the man from last night came into focus. "Should I send for the healer?"
Her tongue refused to cooperate with her and form an answer. She didn't know if her speechlessness was from the fact that he didn't appear to regard her as some kind of freak or that he was probably the most gorgeous Ranellian she'd ever seen. She licked her dry lips and found her voice. "I think if I try to sit up slowly, the dizziness won't hit me as hard."
"Then let me help you." A pair of arms encircled her and lifted her back off the cushions. "Tell me if I'm moving too fast."
If he had been a customer at the inn, she would have some sarcastic reply to that, but he was one man whose touch she welcomed.
"Enough to let him under your skirt?" Loku asked.
Her cheeks burned. Leave it to Loku to take her attraction and add some perverted twist to it. "Why does everything have to come down to sex with you?"
"Because it's the one thing all you humans seem to have in common. It's what drives your species forward. I have a feeling you'd enjoy it if you ever gave it a chance."
"Absolutely not. I don't want to be labeled a whore and end up with a bastard child."
"Always picturing the dreariest outcome, huh?"
Her gaze flickered to the man at her side. His brows knitted together as he studied her.
"Will you just shut up so he doesn't think I'm completely crazy?" She forced a smile on her face. "Thank you," she told Kell. "The dizziness is slowly going away."
"I'm glad to hear that, Trouble."
Her body flinched at the sound of that name. "My name is Arden, not Trouble," she replied with a bit of steeliness in her voice.
"That sounds like a more respectable name. May I ask why Dev calls you Trouble?"
"Because he can't get it through his thick head that my name is Arden."
He laughed wholeheartedly. "Yes, he seems like a stubborn man."
"You don't know the half of it." His arms still steadied her, even though her initial vertigo had passed. "You said your name was Kell, right?"
"You remember that from last night?"
"Bits and pieces." She refused to tell him that the only things she remembered after Loku released her from his control were Kell's name and his face. "What exactly happened?"
"A group of undead ambushed me and my men as we were making camp. You and your protector showed up. Sulaino and you had a little conversation, and then you turned all the undead into frozen statues. Sulaino broke free of the ice that surrounded him, and you got hit in the head."
"I wonder why the spell didn't work on him," she whispered aloud and immediately froze. Her eyes felt like they were stretched to their limits, and her throat tightened. Sweet Lady Moon, she didn't just admit to using magic in front of him, did she?
She listened to the pounding of her heart, waiting for him to shove her aside and call her a witch. When nothing happened, she met his gaze with caution. The accusation she feared shown from his eyes. May the goddess protect me, she prayed.
"Who needs that silly moon goddess when you have me? Say the word, and I'll reduce him to a pile of ashes."
Magic welled up inside her, and her heart beat faster. "No, not yet, Loku. If he wanted to burn me at the stake, he would have done so by now."
The tingling in her arms and chest retreated. "Very well. But I will not tolerate anyone hurting you while you still carry my soul."
The silence between them stretched too long for her comfort. "Um, so, everyone's all right?" she asked.
"For now," he replied, still staring at her. His mouth formed a thin line, and he pulled his hands away from her back.
Wonderful, she inwardly groaned. He's one of those guys who wants you to be in perfect health before he begins his torture, isn't he?
She jumped to her feet. The sudden movement made her sway, and she grabbed the small table nearby until she regained her balance. Sweat prickled along the nape her of neck, but it was a small price to pay in order to get away from him.
He reached for her. "Take it easy. I don't want you hitting your head again."
"I'm fine." She swatted his hands away. "Where's Dev?"
"I already told you—he's in the healer's tent."
"Take me to him now. I need to speak to him" Her voice trembled. Dev would know what to do. He'd know how to get them out of this mess before they both burned for it.
"There's no need to be frightened. I'm not going to hurt you."
"How do I know that?" She stumbled toward the opening of the tent, with Cinder leaning heavily against the side of her leg. "Go find Dev," she ordered the wolf.
Cinder sniffed the air and bolted for the flaps. Arden followed him, startling the guards posted outside the tent. The wolf paused to sniff the ground before loping toward a tent across the clearing, allowing her time to catch up to him. Two soldiers stood in front of it. They both cocked their crossbows and aimed them at the snarling wolf.
"Let them enter," Kell said behind her.
"Yes, Your Highness," they replied simultaneously, lowering their weapons.
"Ooh, a prince. You did well this time, my little Soulbearer."
The sarcasm in Loku's voice singed her already wounded pride. She closed her eyes and inhaled through her teeth. Perfect. Now he can add 'disrespecting royalty' to my list of crimes.
Inside, the smell of blood and unwashed bodies burned her nostrils. She resisted the urge to pinch her nose while she scanned the faces of the men inside. In the far back corner, she spotted Dev and rushed to his side. "Thank the goddess you're alive."
"Feeling better this morning, Trouble?" he asked dryly.
A quick glance over her shoulder told her the prince was standing right behind and listening to every word she said. "I've been better."
Dev's one-note laugh broke some of the tension. "Has His Royal Highness finished his interrogation of you yet?"
The bones in her spine locked. He hadn't asked her many questions. Had he already made up his mind?
"I was trying to find out more about your apprentice when the sudden desire to check on you seized her."
Dev rubbed the back of his head. "Nice to know she appreciates me."
"Of course I appreciate you." She examined the mound of blood-soaked bandages on his leg. "That looks horrible."
"I tried to convince him to let my healer sew the wound up, but he stubbornly refused."
"I have my reasons," Dev muttered.
"Dev doesn't trust traditional healers," Loku replied before she could vocalize her question. "He prefers to be healed by magic. Faster healing, no infections, and no scars."
"How do you heal someone with magic?"
"If you can cast magic, you can heal yourself, although the wounds knit together at a snail's pace. It's much faster if someone else heals you."
She glanced down at his thigh and cringed. How many days would that take? "Show me how."
"Just touch the area around the wound and picture it healing. The magic will flow from you and do what needs to be done."
"What are you thinking, Trouble?"
Dev's words jerked her from her conversation with Loku. She couldn't just announce that she was going to cast a healing spell, not in a room full of Ranellians. They'd probably have her tied to a tree within minutes with enough kindling around her ankles to build a nice bonfire. But she couldn't leave his leg like this either.
She took a deep breath, then pressed her fingertips against his thigh just below the bandages. Magic stirred inside her chest. She directed it toward her hand. "Do you trust me to examine your wound?"
He hissed when she released the first trickle of magic and stared at her in disbelief. His gaze flickered to Kell before he nodded. "Just be careful."
"I will." As she untied the layers of dirty linen, she increased the steady stream of her healing spell. In her mind, she saw the angry red depths of the wound and the beginnings of infection in the surrounding tissues. "Why do you have to be so stubborn?"
"Because I know what I need to do."
She tugged at a knot that refused to come undone and sent of jolt of magic toward him, causing him to wince. Good, let him suffer a bit.
"Do you have to be so rough?"
"I need a knife to cut through the last few layers."
"No, don't," a new voice said. A grey-haired man knelt next to her and pulled her hands away from the bandages. "You'll risk disrupting the scab and restarting the bleeding."
"Let her do what Sir Devarius wants, Cero." Kell pulled a knife from the sheath on his belt. "At least he's allowing her to address his injuries."
She took the knife and shimmied it under the bottom layer. After another surge of the healing magic, she angled the blade up and began sawing through the stiff linen.
"Careful where you point that thing," Dev said through clenched teeth. "I have no desire to be castrated."
Her cheeks burned long enough to disrupt her concentration, and she waited until she regained her composure before she continued. "The tip isn't that close to your, um, groin."
"That's what you think."
Part of her wanted to aim the knife at his throat. "Why do men always seem overly concerned about that one area of the body?"
"Because if it were injured, the ladies wouldn't want us as much," Kell replied with a smirk.
Great—now she had both of them obsessed with their dicks. She tried to imagine why ladies would want that flaccid collection of appendages between men's legs. "It's not that impressive."
"That's what you think. Perhaps I should come to you tonight and finish what I started with Dev."
Arden paused, took a deep breath, and bit her tongue. Once her anger subsided, she resumed cutting the bandages with renewed fervor. She didn't miss the amused light in Kell's eyes as she worked. Fine. Let him assume she was Dev's whore. As long as she could finish healing her protector and get the hell out of here, she didn't care what the prince thought of her.
The blade sliced through the final layer of the bandage. She pulled back the material with caution. Her heart pounded in her chest like she'd just run a mile, and fatigue crept into her joints. "Please let my spell have worked."
Kell's breath warmed the back of her neck as he peered over her shoulder, raising her guard. Was he trying to collect more evidence for her trial? If she got one, that is.
A smile formed on her lips. No evidence of the wound remained, not even a scar. "Seems you made a big fuss over nothing."
"Impossible." Cero shoved her aside and examined the wound. "I saw the wound last night. How did it heal so quickly?"
"Has it ever occurred to you that maybe I can heal on my own?" Dev hugged his knee up to his chest and then straightened his leg several times. "As Prince Kell so kindly pointed out last night, I'm not human."
Arden's pulse slowed, and she wished she could lie down on the silk cushions in the other tent. Every spell she cast seemed to leave her exhausted when she finished.
"It will get easier with practice, my Soulbearer."
"I don't care right now. I just want a nap."
"Did you use magic?"
She held her breath when she heard Kell's question but slowly released it after she saw him focused on her patient, not her.
Dev stood and tested his leg, hopping up and down on it and appearing satisfied with the results. "Did you see me cast any magic?"
"No."
"Then you'll just have to be satisfied with the theory that elves can heal themselves."
"Dev, please stop arguing with the prince." Her head grew heavier by the second, and she feared that if she didn't get moving soon, she'd curl up into a little ball and fall asleep. "Let's just find our horses and get on the road to Boznac."
Both men stared at her with frowns on their faces. "I take it His Royal Highness hasn't informed you that we're under arrest."
"I was going to get to it," Kell said, glaring at Dev.
"When? After you wrung all the information you could out of her? Or after you added her to the notches in your headboard?"
Her cheeks burned. Did they really think she'd hop in his bed because he was a prince?
The familiar sound of swords being unsheathed echoed around her. "How dare you speak to the prince that way?" one of the soldiers demanded.
Kell motioned for his men to lower their weapons. "He's just full of piss and vinegar. Not appropriate behavior for a man who calls himself a knight. I guess Gravaria holds their knights to a lower code of behavior."
The scowl deepened on Dev's face, but he didn't say anything else.
"Why are we under arrest?" Arden already knew the answer, although it didn't hurt to play innocent.
Kell raised one brow. "As if you didn't know. No matter how good your intentions were, the law clearly forbids the use of magic in Ranello, and I doubt any man present will deny what you did last night was magic."
"Just keep your mouth shut for now," Loku interjected. "Arguing will only make it worse."
"Why?"
"Because you don't want to piss off anyone else. I know Dev, and he's already forming a plan. He's more than your grouchy protector, after all."
"But we need to get to Boznac before the winter storms," she pleaded.
"And we will." Dev grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet. "Come along, Trouble."
Kell crossed his arms and blocked their way. "You sound awfully confident for a man whose fate is out of his hands."
"That's because I know a few things you don't, Your Highness."
"Dev, please stop." She closed her eyes for a moment and waited for the room to stop spinning. Was it due to her head injury or her recent exertion from the spell? "I'm still not quite myself, and I'd prefer to not hear you two arguing if you don't mind."
When she took a step away, he tightened his grip on her hand and pulled her closer so her head pressed against his chest. The possessive nature of his action both angered and comforted her. She didn't belong to him, after all, but she also appreciated having him near. She tucked her head under his chin and enjoyed his warmth for the moment.
"Agreed," Kell said at last. "I'd prefer to get back to Trivinus as soon as possible and report last night's activities to my father. If we leave soon, we might be able to reach Lord Pryan's keep before nightfall. I'm sure we'd all appreciate sleeping with a roof over our heads for one night." He stepped closer to them. "Arden, I regret that I have to uphold the law, but I have no other choice in the matter. Please know that I'll do all in my power to convince my father to pardon you when we get to Trivinus."
A turmoil of emotions swirled inside her. Part of her told her the only person she could trust was Dev, but something in the prince's voice soothed her. "Well, since I'm not a roasted carcass yet, I suppose I should believe you," she replied with a bit of cynicism in her voice.
The corners of his mouth twitched. "It seems you've been teaching your apprentice how to be sarcastic, too."
"No, she comes by that naturally." Dev placed one hand over her head, brushing the stray strands of hair back from her face.
"If you two will excuse me, I have some things to attend to as we break camp." His gaze flickered between them. "Please don't try anything foolish."
Dev's half chuckle vibrated through his chest. "I'm not a fool, Your Highness."
At this point, any energy she might have had for foolishness had abandoned her. She closed her eyes again and surrendered to Dev's embrace.