Page 93 of The Kingdom of Flames

"Will I heal?” Celestine asked.

Azure stopped sliding his hands along her wounds, now sealed, inspecting them. “That is up to you.”

“The women who came to the Bride Hunt in the years past. What happened to the ones you caught?”

Azure stood, walking around her, going to the tent to fetch something. He was tall and broad, but with a hunter’s grace. “They are here, among the plains. Many are buried here.”

Celestine watched him. Am I, too, to be a screaming skull under the plains of your land? What terrible atrocity do you have in store for me?

Azure continued, “Many had children, are grandmothers now. Not all took to my bed, but many did.”

“Did any leave?”

“No.” Azure turned, his circlet upon his brow. Unlike other Lords, his did not seem to emanate power. His sword hung in its ornate scabbard on the post near the falcon Ferro. “Though they were free to. The plain heals and gives so much; many wish to remain within it. But my people are travelers, revelers in great contests. They sing beautiful songs and write poems, and they wander. Seeking to be seen.”

Celestine pulled the fur closer to her, feeling the pull of the fire. The pipe still had her feeling soft and fuzzy.

He means to heal me. He read me to see what occurred and now wants to fix it.

“Please, dress.” Azure smiled. “It will take much more time, but we will heal the Final Bride in time.”

Celestine reached for the clothes he had set for her. Lord Azure stepped beyond the tent to give her privacy. The trousers were soft linen, not the thick and roughness she had worn with Encarmine. The shirt fit her perfectly, and the nape at the neck opened with ties.

Tristien would have picked something more revealing. To punish me for daring to show my flesh.

The shirt opened as much as she wanted, so she tied it completely closed. Long sleeves ended at her wrists, and leather boots and thick slippers were her options for her feet. She chose the latter.

Once she had dressed, Lord Azure walked from behind the tent. Her wounds ached less, but she still felt like shaking. The herb from the pipe dulled some things, but like he said, it didn’t remove anything.

“Thank you.” She motioned to her clothes.

“Please,” Lord Azure spoke and beckoned her to sit. “It is worse than I had thought. Solis almost killed you, which would have been understandable. It is his way. But it is worse than I imagined. He nearly split your soul apart. It hangs by threads.”

“Can you fix that?” Celestine sat and looked at him, the handsome and broad nomad-night with skin of dark pallor. She remembered who had stood against Encarmine’s swiftest wrath and was at ease.

Azure shook his head. Celestine felt her heart tumble.

“Someone I know may be able to.”

They sat by the fire, and they sat in silence. Azure had brought her to this place, this plain, and despite everything, he had surprised her with his attention. He had left her to herself to wander barefoot among his fields. Shared fire and food and comfort with her and tended to her wounds.

But his greatest gift after her time with Tristien was their silence. Sitting by the fire. Celestine’s mind found peace in its flickering light, like the stars above. If just for a moment. If she looked within her soul would be in tatters. A ravaged corpse. Emaciated, dying for the need of something she did not know the name of.

The only sound was the wind and the fire, the soft whinny of the horses wandering the grasses.

It was enough.

Chapter 20

The Great Healer

That next morning, they walked together from camp after a light breakfast of cheese and bread. Lord Azure made no motion to break down the camp, so Celestine assumed they would stay here another night.

“Where are we going?” Celestine asked him.

Azure turned to her. “The one who may heal you. He is ahead.”

“And if I don’t want to be healed?” Celestine asked.

---