Chapter Twenty-Five

The darkness was warm and quiet and peaceful, and a welcome break from the chaos that surrounded her, but it would not let her stay. In fact, she had the sinking feeling that she had stayed too long. She was needed elsewhere, needed for something important, though she couldn't say what.

The warmth and quiet and peace slowly faded until Darina was left in only the common darkness of sleep. She rose through that and opened her eyes to find her surroundings darker still. Her eyes adjusted to the ambient moonlight filtering in from the window high above her head until she could see clearly enough to discern that she was in a small room, but not hers. Where was she? The sterile, antiseptic scent in the air penetrated the fog around her brain. Healers. Of course. Lady Catalla. Memories flooded her thoughts. A brief mindtouch told her Aibrean was sound asleep. She had to learn what happened—to the king, to the queen, to—

Tears filled her eyes at the memory of the sparkling dagger embedded in Karan's chest.

She drew in a tentative breath and then a deeper one when she felt no pain or need to cough. With a hiss, she pushed herself to a sitting position in bed. Her lungs were healed, but her back felt like Leofric had offered her up as pells to his first year students. She swung her feet over the edge of the bed and grimaced from the ache it caused her. How long had she been in Healers? It felt like she hadn't moved a muscle in months.

She stood, swayed for a moment, and caught the headboard to steady herself. Her lips and mouth felt sticky and dry, and she moved across the room to a small table with a full water pitcher on it. She drained its contents and headed for the door. Even in the dead of night, there would be at least one Healer on duty.

She pulled open the door and winced as its squeak disturbed the stillness. No matter. She wasn't trying to sneak outside. Flickering candles in holders along the wall bathed the full length of the corridor in dim light. Her room was midway down the corridor and seeing no advantage to taking one way over the other, she turned left and glided down the hall. It felt good to move.

She followed the corridor around a sharp corner to the right, and in the distance, saw a soft light emanating from a room at the end. As she drew closer, she could hear a soft voice humming the most recent tune to come from Bardic. She stepped into the doorway to find a young Healer trainee sorting papers at a desk.

"Excuse me."

The trainee glanced up, his eyes widening as he took her in. He rose to his feet. "Your highness—"

"The king and queen," she interrupted. "Are they alive?"

"Yes, highness."

"Stop calling me that." She gestured to an empty chair. "May I sit, Healer—?" It felt good to move, but it also tired her out.

"Jadwen. Of course," he said. He came around the desk with a blanket in hand. "You shouldn't be out of bed."

"I had to know they were all right." She sat with a sigh and smiled her thanks as he draped the blanket over her. "Lady Catalla?"

"Dead. Herald Vaden's work. Their Majesties left standing orders to be informed the minute you woke up." He eyed her curiously. "Which, according to Samyel, should not have been until morning."

"How long have I been asleep?"

"Asleep? About eight hours." He returned to his desk. "But you've been a patient for nearly a week. We've kept you in a healing trance so you wouldn't move while we worked on you. That dagger pierced your lung and nearly your heart, and came awfully close to your spinal cord."

Darina pulled the blanket closer. "Except for the muscles in my back, I feel fine."

Jadwen smiled. "Except for the muscles in your back, you are fine—though everyone in Greens will recommend you do nothing at all for the next week."

She returned the smile. "Thank you." But it faded. "My sister. Is she—?" The words faltered on her tongue.

His smile held steady. "She's fine, too—or she will be. She's still in trance. She lost oa lot of blood, and her dagger nicked the side of her heart. Samyel wants to make sure everything is perfectly Healed before bringing her out of it. We'll check her in the morning, and if all is well, we'll bring her out of the trance. She should wake up by late afternoon."

With a sob, she pressed her hands to her face and started shaking with relief. "Oh, thank the Lord." The trainee's chair scraped across the floor, and she glanced up to see him standing over her.

"Let's get you back to bed."

She nodded and stood. "Could I sleep in Karan's room?"

He ushered her out the door and back down the corridor. "You'll have to fight your mother for the extra bed."

"Mother's here?"

He nodded. "She hasn't left Healer's in a week, rules be damned." But his smile bespoke his approval. "She nearly wore herself out, moving from your room to your sister's." He led her down a different corridor. "We'd have put you next to each other, but we'd just gotten a wagonful of burn victims from a fire at one of the taverns in the city—you may have heard of it—and dared not move them." He steered her around another corner and into the first room on her left. "She makes a good Healer's assistant, your mother. She's been quite helpful, and not just with Karan. Gives her something to do, she says."

Darina stood in the doorway and gazed at her mother sleeping in a bed next to Karan's. Both she and Karan breathed slow, regular breaths. "I hate to wake her. Could you bring in a cot or pallet? I could sleep on the floor."

Jadwen shot her a look. "Samyel would have my hide if I let you sleep on the floor." He nodded to Lady Liandra. "Wake her up. She'll never forgive me if you don't."

With a smile, Darina slipped into the room and sat on the edge of her mother's bed. She shook her shoulder as she had a thousand times as a child when a frightening dream woke her, or she felt unwell. "Mama?"

Liandra roused and blinked. "Darina?" And then, as if realizing what she'd said, she shot up in bed with a gasp. "Darina! Oh, my sweet darling!" She held her tightly.

Darina could feel her shake, feel her tears fall. "I'm all right, Mama. And Karan will be all right, too."

Liandra pulled away and dried her eyes with a handkerchief she pulled from her sleeve. "Oh, my darling." She looked her over and her demeanor changed. "You must be chilled! Get into this bed this moment!" She exchanged places with Darina and covered her with extra blankets.

"You need your rest, too, Mama."

"Don't you worry about me," she said, fussing with the blankets. "I'll find a place."

"Milady," Jadwen said, "I do have a standing order from their Majesties, and from Herald Vaden, to inform them when you waken."

"Not Arden," Darina said. "Please." She looked to her mother for support. "Leesa will understand."

"Of course she will. We all understand," said Liandra. She turned to Jadwen. "She'll be asleep before a messenger gets to the royal suites. I think you should wait until morning, but if you feel you must wake up someone, let it be Vaden. He can decide if further action is necessary."

Jadwen nodded. "A wise choice, Lady Liandra." He smiled at Darina. "Rest well, milady." And he vanished down the corridor.

"I can't see him, Mother," Darina said, fighting a sudden weariness. "I'm too tired to deal with his madness."

"I know, darling," she said, leaning over to kiss her brow. "No one will make you see him. But he's changed, Darina. Everything's changed."

Sleep began to tug at her and she stifled a yawn. "What do you mean?"

"I can't say." She smiled down on her. "Leesa wants to be the one to tell you. You'll find out everything in the morning." She kissed her again. "Good night, darling. Sleep well."

A/N: Getting close to the end. Thank you to everyone who has patiently stuck around!