"No, this looks serious. Come on, can you stand? We should get you checked out. There's a doctor waiting downstairs."
Theo tried to stand, but he forced all of his weight onto Lily, and they stumbled back onto the ground. The last thing he remembered was the shiny patch of metal where Kaleus had spilled his blood, and then everything went dark.
Chapter 11 - Lily
The double doors into Theo's suite flew open, and Lily's heart landed in her throat as the goblin doctor who'd been attending to Theo's injury hurried out. "How is he? Is he going to make it?" Lily pressed. "Is he going to die?"
Although she was sure the goblin's smile of sharp, yellowing pointed teeth was supposed to be reassuring, it was far from. "Just a flesh wound, like he said. The blade didn't puncture deep enough to damage any vital organs, only hurt like a bitch. He'll be fine after a week of rest."
"Then I can see him?"
The goblin shrugged. "If you want, although he's asleep. Better not to wake him."
Lily didn't wait to hear whatever else the doctor had to say, and she pushed through the doors to find Theo sprawled out on his back in the large, four-posted king bed that they'd slept in together during their stay at the palace. His face was pale and he was covered in sweat, and blood stained the sheets, but his eyes fluttered with sleep beneath his closed lids.
The horrible strain in Lily's chest lessened somewhat at the sight of him, and with a deep breath, she wiped away the tears pooling in her eyes and pulled up the nearest chair to sit by the bed. She watched him as he slept, guilt and worry gnawing at her from the inside out.
Was this her fault?
After all, Theo had fought so hard for her, for the future that they both wanted. And now he was injured, while she'd been kept away from the battle and made it out unscathed. Should she have fought harder to be by his side? Could she have made a difference if she'd been there to help him with Kaleus, or would she have made the whole fight worse?
It seemed that every decision she made had somehow led to this moment, and she wondered if she should have acted differently. But how could she have known that the enemy would be so dangerous? Or that the war would become so bloody?
Nevertheless, Lily resolved to stay by Theo's side. She would be there for him through the long nights of pain and healing, and help him to rise stronger than ever before. Because he was her love, her hero, and the future that she wanted more than anything in the world.
As much as she wanted to deny it, the truth slammed into her like a flying brick to the chest, stealing her breath away.
At some point during the past few days, Lily had fallen for Theo, beyond a shadow of a doubt. There had been the slow creep of feelings at first, rising whenever he showed her a gesture of kindness, only to be swiftly suppressed.
But when had that turned to love?
Maybe it had been when he finally convinced her to open up to him about her parents, and they'd made new memories together in Kaldron. Or perhaps it had been in that tender moment in his office, where they'd been exhausted on his desk, and he'd revealed his desire for a future with Lily. A future where they had a family together.
Or was it more recent than that, in the barracks before they left to take out the rebel hideout: when he'd admitted that he would rather have her closer to him when he went to battle, rather than leave her at home?
It was impossible for her to say, and now, despite the doctor telling her that Theo would recover, Lily couldn't ignore the worry that she might never be able to tell him how she felt.
Or, if he did wake, and she did have the chance, he wouldn't feel the same.
After all, Theo told her from the beginning that he secured this marriage for the sake of his people, not the illusion that she would ever love him, or, left unsaid, thathewould ever loveher. Yet here she was, irrevocably in love with this man, who'd shown her both sides of him: kind and cruel, gentle and cold, wrathful and loving.
Could she bank the rest of her life on whether the softness she'd shown him was his true self?
But then, as she gazed upon his handsome features and the peaceful look on his face, Lily knew that she would do anything to protect him.
For he was her mate, her true love, and everything she had ever wanted in a partner. Theo was, without a doubt in her mind, the one she'd spent her entire life looking for. And now that she had him, whether he wanted her the same way as she wanted him, she knew she couldn't sit by and not fight for their love.
She couldn't lie to herself any longer, or ignore the powerful bond that was pulling her towards him, drawing them closer together with every breath they took. No matter what trials lay ahead of them, no matter how fierce the battle against destiny might be, she would not surrender. For there was nothing more precious to her than this man who'd captured her heart and made her whole.
And to protect that, Lily would even put her own life on the line.
After spending several hours by his side, Lily realized that she couldn't sit by and do nothing while Kaleus was still out there, likely assembling more rebels to try and finish off Theo. As soon as they got word that Theo was alive—and it was inevitable that they would—they would storm the palace.
So Lily believed they had to stop Kaleus first.
She found Daniel where she expected him to be: raiding the kitchens. He was nose-deep in the pantry, sniffing the ingredients and surveying the food with a hungry gleam in his eyes.
"Goblins don't have the same appreciation for good food as we do," Daniel sighed and pulled back from the cupboard as she approached. "I'd hoped for some better scraps in the palace larders, but I'm finding myself disappointed ..."