“I’m sorry, Percy, I didn’t know. I didn’t know he was so obsessed, not enough to do something like this,” she said.
“I trusted Dylan too,” I told her.
26. Queens Don’t Cry
Persephone Flores
After a few hours of driving and dozing, I found myself in a Healers Hall. I’d never been to a Healers Hall. Our healer back home would come to us if we were sick or injured and couldn’t fix ourselves. It was a very clean place. Off-white tiling everywhere, even the walls, and it seemed someone was mopping down every hall.
They had taken images of my shoulder and ankle to make sure the damage wasn’t worse than it looked. I was given a local anaesthetic injection before they began cleaning, cutting, and stitching up the wound, but the real power was in the painkillers they gave me. They were the kind that sometimes made you a little too relaxed, carefree, and sleepy. The dosage I was given had affected me so.
I was cuddling with Ana, enjoying her company, and talking about her time at the summer ball before Leilani dragged her out. It was nice to have a distraction, to imagine the night had gone how it was meant to have gone, to forget the last couple of days.
“Harris was extra dapper,” she said, describing his appearance on the night. “And he can dance.” She practically swooned at the memory.
“Dapper?” I repeated and giggled.
“Stylish, smart, elegant, debonair,” she continued, her voice changing and becoming more dramatic with each new descriptor, and we laughed together.
“I didn’t get my dance,” I told her, remembering Selene had asked me to dance with her.
“We danced,” Heidi said from her position at the foot of the bed where she had been whispering with Markus - or Mark as he preferred.
“I didn’t want to dance with you though,” I said, my words slurred together.
“I am an excellent dancer,” she protested.
“Yeah, but you aren’t her,” I replied. Heidi smiled softly in return.
Sasha, standing guard at the door, straightened and bowed low. Mark followed, copying his soldier.
I looked to the door and there she was, Selene, like a goddess in the flesh. I untangled myself from Ana and would have fallen from the bed in my haste to reach her, if she hadn’t reached me first. Her hands steadied me and sat me up.
“Percy,” she said my name like it was precious, and when a goddess says your name like that, you can’t ignore it. It’s a call to action. Without thought, I leaned forward and pressed my lips to hers. She didn’t pull away and returned my chaste kiss.
“It’s been too long,” I told her when I pulled away.
“Far too long,” she agreed and stood back a little, her eyes roaming over my entire body, pausing at my injuries. She inhaled deeply and I could see her relax. Her hand moved to my head, stroking my hair back with care and her fingertips danced over the bruise at my temple before travelling down to my neck, where I knew Clara’s bite was visible.
“Who?” she asked me, her voice quiet and strained.
“Clara,” I answered. I watched her eyes glow brightly like silver flames.
“I’ll never allow another to harm you again,” she told me, and her lips trembled ever so slightly.
“My Royal Highness, you have received the healer's report. It’s my understanding that Percy can be discharged if you would like to return home,” Mark said, and with that, Heidi and Ana stood.
Looking at my friends, I noticed how tired they looked too and wondered how long they had been tracking me. Ana, in particular, looked as tired as I felt. How much of her magic had she expended to search for me?
“I think it would do us all good to return home. Markus, please arrange travel for our guests. Ana, Heidi, we can discuss reward for your efforts later,” Selene spoke and turned her attention back to me, taking my hands in hers. “Can you walk? I could carry you,” she asked.
“If I could walk, would you carry me anyway?” I asked her playfully and bathed in the smile she gave me. She released my hands and swept me effortlessly into her arms. I wrapped my arms around her neck and laughed as her nose tickled my neck and she breathed in my scent.
“The healer told me you might be silly, pet. How are you feeling?” she asked, smiling brightly.
“I feel relaxed, very relaxed. I’ve only felt similar to this when with you before,” I told her slowly. It was true, often Selene left me feeling all floaty and so calm, so relaxed I could hardly speak. The drugs given to me made me feel like that almost but without the happy love feeling.
Heidi laughed loudly. “What have you been doing to the girl, Selene?”