Chapter 19
Lilly Redblood was sitting in Paige and Dean's sitting room when Zane entered the royal quarters. Dean was nowhere in sight.
"Good morning, Lilly. I've come to talk to Dean," he greeted.
"How is everything going?" Lilly looked like she had been up for a while.
"You heard?"
"It's the talk of the castle."
Zane nodded. Of course word of the queen's actions would spread like wildfire, and so would the knowledge that he had hit the queen. There were no secrets for a royal. "I think it's going well, but since I can't understand a word they are saying to each other, I can't say for sure."
"Well hopefully, she's learning something useful."
"I hope so. You're up early."
"Dean had a nightmare, and without Paige here, he was almost inconsolable." She shook her head, then pressed her fingers to her temple, as if she was trying to erase a bad memory. As if it were that simple. Zane could only imagine what Dean would have been like without Paige around. He thought he had a vague idea of what she had experienced, so he could sympathize with Lilly's stress.
"Maybe he will feel better when I tell him what's going on with Paige."
"Yeah, maybe." She sat back down, sighing tiredly. "I'm just so glad they are here now. I hate the idea that a boy as sweet as Dean had to suffer so much."
"I know what you mean." His knowing tone told Lilly he knew just what she was talking about. She stared at him, blinked a few times, then informed him that Dean was in the next room. Maybe she was afraid Zane would elaborate on his knowledge, but he had no intention of doing that.
He went into Dean's room and woke him. The boy's hair was standing on end and his eyes looked puffy. He asked Zane what he was doing there.
"I came to tell you about Paige," Zane said, sitting on the edge of Dean's bed.
"Is she okay?" he asked, immediately concerned.
"She's fine, but she's questioning the man who tried to hurt you yesterday."
"Is she interrogating him in a little room, like on TV?"
"Uh..." Zane was confused by what Dean had asked, and Dean caught on, explaining it better.
"That sounds close. She's pretending to be a prisoner too, because she thinks the man will talk to her if she tricks him into thinking they are on the same side."
"She's an undercover spy?" Dean asked, sounding impressed. "Are you undercover too? Is that why you're dressed like the guard?"
"Yes." Zane smiled with relief that it was so easy to explain where Paige was to the boy.
"How long will she be undercover?" Dean asked.
"Not much longer. We need to pull her out to see Maze and take her medicine."
"What if she's not done?"
"She doesn't have a choice because she has to take her medicine. I know she'll be upset if I ruin her game, but she needs to take care of herself."
"Don't blow her cover," Dean said seriously, but Zane had the feeling he was imitating someone.
"Any Ideas?" Zane questioned, indulging Dean's obvious desire to be in on what he thought was a game.
"Umm..." Dean thought for a moment. "Is she in jail with him?"
"They are locked in a cage in the guard station, so yes."
"She can reach through the bars?"
"Yes."
Dean planted a seed, and Zane could see real possibility in it, but there were issues. "I don't know," Zane murmured when Dean finished telling him the idea he had.
"Please, Zane, I want to help."
"How about you go get some breakfast. I have to talk to Maze before I go back to Paige," Zane advised to put the boy off. He left Dean to get ready while he set off to find Maze. After he spoke with her about Paige's condition, and let her know Paige would be out of the cell within the hour to see her, he returned to the guard station.
Ash was still sitting in his chair, his arms crossed over his chest as he scowled at the floor. It didn't take Zane long to see what had soured his mood even more. Paige was now sitting with the assassin. He had his arm around her, and she was leaning into his side.
They were talking quietly, and Paige was even smiling every once in a while, but Zane suspected their conversation had little to do with the things he desired to know most.
"How long have they been like that?" Zane asked as he sat down next to Ash.
"Since you left. He picked her up off the floor, and they have been like that ever since."
"Hopefully she's getting something good," Zane said doubtfully.
"I think we should pull her out. Obviously, she's not getting the information she needs."
"I don't know." Zane saw something in the man's posture that told him he was boasting about something. Somehow, the story he was telling her was meant to impress her. She listened intently, as if his story was the greatest one she'd ever heard.
When he finished his story, she asked him a question that caused him to pull away from her, removing his arm and standing to pace the cell.
Zane became apprehensive. No one knew how to push buttons or drive a person to anger the way Paige could. He leaned forward in his chair, placing a hand on his dagger. Paige saw his move and gave him a sharp warning look while the man's back was to her. He released the dagger, but couldn't relax any further.
The conversation in the cell turned increasingly hostel with the two making short, sharp comments to each other. Paige stood and moved to the edge of the cell, pressing her back against the bars.
Zane stood, unable to let her spend another moment with the dangerous individual, but before he could move, the door opened. Dean walked in with Ryder and their guards. Dean looked every bit the young prince with a new blue cape, coupled with a set of fine clothes. His little head was held high like a proper royal, and Zane could see he was playing the game.
"I've come to see the prisoners," he announced.
Zane had no choice but to fall in step with Dean as he bowed and escorted him to the cell. Paige had turned at the sound of Dean's voice, and she was now leaning against the bars, watching him cautiously. The man moved away from the bars, retreating to the back of the cell.
Paige said something over her shoulder to the other prisoner. He nodded, but didn't move any closer.
Dean stood next to Zane while Paige crouched down to his level. Dean turned to Zane, his little face fierce with anger.
"Who hit her?" he demanded, no longer playing a part. His anger was raw and as ferocious as a child his size could get.
Zane turned to Ryder, instead of answering Dean's question. "How could you bring him down here?"
"He was rather insistent. He was not going to let me put him off."
Zane heard Paige say something quietly to Dean, but he couldn't make it out. Dean must have not heard her either, because he stepped closer to his sister before Zane could stop him. Paige grabbed Dean's hand and pulled him against the bars, wrapping her free hand around Dean's throat. Zane was shocked by the challenge in her eyes.
"Get her off me," Dean shrieked in a shrill voice. Paige jostled him, and Zane drew the dagger from his belt, placing it between the bars, just under Paige's chin. A look of real terror entered her eyes; it threatened to shake Zane's performance. She released Dean, but she was now shaking in genuine fright.
"Restrain her!" Zane ordered, pulling the dagger away as he fought to keep his face hard. Ash yanked the cell door open to grab Paige, and threw her over his shoulder to carry her out. The man watched, shocked by the sudden outburst, as Ash took Paige out the side door. Zane picked Dean up and carried him out the front door, with Ryder and his guards on his heels.
Once they were outside, Zane sat Dean down. "Are you okay?" Zane asked, worried that the scene had been too much for him.
"How did I do?" Dean asked with a thrilled giggle. "Where's Paige?"
Zane and Dean walked around the edge of the guard station to find Ash kneeling over Paige, where she laid on the grass.
Dean ran to her side while Zane asked what happened.
"I think she's overdone it. She passed out as soon as I set her back on her feet," Ash informed him.
"Run and get Maze, have her bring the queen's medicine," Zane ordered one of Dean's guards. She nodded, then turned to her errand. Zane leaned over to Ryder and whispered, "It would be best if you took a more active role in looking after the queen."
Ryder looked down at Paige. Anger flashed in his eyes while his jaw clenched. "She doesn't want my assistance."
"What will you do when you are forced to exchange hearts with her to save her life? What are you going to do then? You need to make every effort now to break through her defenses."
"She would rather die."
"She won't let down her walls if you don't show her you care. Just try to be her friend."
Ryder shook his head, and Zane joined Dean at Paige's side, trying to ignore his frustration that Ryder couldn't see Paige's hard words as those of a girl who was scared and overburdened beyond her years. Dean was shaking her as he called her name. Zane reached over, removing the quell from around her neck. As he did, she pulled in a deep breath and her eyes fluttered open.
"Hey, you," she said to Dean, giving him a weak smile.
"Are you okay?" Dean asked.
"Yes, sweetie, I'm fine," she whispered, but her eyes slid closed again.
Maze ran out a few minutes later with her leather bag in hand. She started pulling glass jars from the bag, then told Zane to wake the queen and prop her up.
Zane lifted Paige in his arms, cradling her to his chest, and she finally came to, enough to drink the thick dark concoction Maze offered as the cure for Dragon's Eye. She also ate some herbs Maze said would give her energy.
She leaned against Zane as she chewed slowly, her eyes far away, as if she was deep in thought. Zane desperately wanted to badger her for information, but he stayed quiet, knowing she needed to recover first.
I'm dying, not dead.
Her words from the previous night ran though his mind. What if they didn't cure her in time? What would happen to them all without her ability to translate documents and to listen to what prisoners had to say? He glared up at Ryder. His unwillingness to save the much-needed Bluescale was infuriating.
He looked back at Paige and watched her chew the second round of herbs Maze had offered. Her black eye was eating at him. It was one thing to watch her tired and weak, but the cut coupled with the bruise made everything worse. While he had her in his arms, he blew a bit of dragon's fire into his palm, but when he went to raise it to her face, she caught his wrist.
"Not yet," she said softly.
"Please, Paige, I can't stand it anymore."
"Careful, Lord Prince. You're not supposed to care so much."
"And despite your best efforts. Sorry, but you are not as mean and offensive as you pretend to be. I see you, Paige Bluescale." He whispered the last part in her ear.
She sat frozen for several seconds before saying, "I guess you can't help it, being the sentimental fool that you are."
Zane barked out a laugh. "How long do you need to rest before you tell us what you learned?"
"I can talk now. Get Byran and the others."
Zane didn't bother to ask her if she could walk, he just picked her up. Placing her arm around his neck, she leaned her head against his shoulder, and he knew she was asleep before they reached the castle. Dean and Ryder trailed behind as Zane walked slowly through the castle, giving her a little extra time to sleep.
Just as he was passing Queen Greenwing's rooms, Lavender came out, stopping when she saw him. "The queen is going to share what she's learned. Would you like to join us?"
Lavender's eyes moved to Paige cradled in his arms. "No. I see you have this under control." There was a thick coldness in her eyes that saddened him. He would have to make time to talk to her as soon as he heard what Paige had to say.
She was supposed to be his future, his whole reason for any of this, the reason he hit the Queen of Bluescale and spent hours poring over records. These were dark times, and hard choices had to be made. Why couldn't she see that?
"Is she okay?" Lilly asked as she ushered Zane over to one of the couches in the queen's sitting room.
"She's overexerted herself." Zane sat her down carefully, trying not to wake her. She didn't let go of him easily, and he had to pull her hands away from him as gently as possible. She was able to sleep for almost an hour while they gathered everyone.