“Oh, just wondering if anything else about you is as fragile as your dignity,” I teased.
He chuckled deep in his throat. “I can’t wait to show you the parts of me that are anything but fragile.”
My face heated as I realized what he was talking about. I fought through my surprise and searched for a clever line of my own to throw him off balance too.
“I shall welcome them with nothing buttenderness,” I said in a near purr.
He bared his teeth, letting out a little growl. “Ms. Sunder, you better watch the things you say to me, or I will not hold myself responsible.”
I opened my mouth to say something, but Arabis walked up to interrupt our banter. She looked at the flask in my hands and said, “You better hurry up and take that.”
I felt another blush coming, though this one was for a different reason. I’d been too busy flirting instead of doing my job.
“Here.” I pushed the elixir in front of Kalyll, who immediately gulped it down.
“Just as nasty as the last time,” he said, wiping his mouth with the back of his index finger.
“Good.” Arabis gave me another disapproving glance.
Huh? I thought she liked me, but maybe I’d been wrong. Maybe she was jealous since she’d lost her prince-sitting job. For all I knew, she had a thing for Kalyll, even if they were distant cousins, and she was jealous about more than just losing her job. Maybe she didn’t like the Fae prince showing any interest in a lowly human.
“I’d better lie down,” Kalyll said, blinking rapidly and swaying slightly on his feet.
“Yes. You’d better.” I draped his arm over my back and helped him walk toward the stretcher. Jeondar had it ready, its poles attached to a harness that was strapped around the horse. The stretcher sat at an angle and seemed sturdily built for a male of Kalyll’s size and weight.
Only moments after he lay down, Kalyll was out, breathing deeply and looking at peace.
Jeondar wrapped several straps around him, securing him in place. Once that was done, we set out once more. Every so often, we stopped so I could check Kalyll’s vitals. It all seemed as expected, but still, as we weaved further up into North Crosswood, my eyes remained on the prince, watching for the slightest change.
CHAPTER 28
Kalyllrequiredonlytwodoses to stay asleep until the sun started going down. He woke up groggily just as we finished setting up camp at the mouth of a ravine, whose rocky sides rose fifty feet above us.
Cylea had guided us here since she was familiar with the area. It was close to the Spring Court, her home. We laid everything out in front of a small cave, which was the main topic of conversation at the moment.
“Kalyll will stay in the cave, which we can guard,” Jeondar was saying. “If he comes out, whoever is on watch can raise the alarm. We can then—”
“Hope we don’t get eaten?” Cylea put in. “This is very, very stupid.”
“What else do you suggest we do?” Jeondar asked.
“I don’t know. Run far away?”
“Maybe you should,” Kalyll said from his spot on a boulder, where he sat holding his head as if it weighed a thousand pounds.
They all looked at me as if I had the answer. “Um, I’ll inject him with a low dose of hemlock. It shouldn’t interact with the marsh flower, but I make no guarantees.”
Kryn threw his hands up in the air as if to say, “What good are you?”
“This is not Daniella’s fault.” Kalyll made an effort to sit up straight. “She’s here against her will and doing the best she can to help us.”
Kryn huffed, but said nothing else.
“Maybe, as Cylea suggests, it would be best if you leave me here,” Kalyll said. “You can find a safe place to rest.”
“It would make no difference, and you know it,” Jeondar put in. “If you wake up, you’ll find us, and then what? We still have to defend ourselves against you.”
“And if he doesn’t wake up,” I said. “He’ll have to catch up with us and we will be delayed.”