Page 36 of The Broken Prince

“She’s been beaten badly. We lost a lot of soldiers. But she’ll recover, as she always does.”

“And news on King Rolfe?”

I shook my head.

“Do you think there will be more?” He spoke quietly, as if he didn’t want me to hear the question out of fear of the answer.

“We should hope for the best and expect the worst.” Aurelias’s face entered my mind, a man who pulled me close and pushed me away simultaneously. For a man who didn’t want me, he was more loyal than the ones who did. “Let’s discuss this later. I want to see my mother. How is she?”

Steward John guided me into the castle, into the cool darkness of the stone that was lit with crystal chandeliers and decorated with deep rugs and colorful portraits of the landscapes and the royal family. “The healer applied tonic to stop the swelling, and that seemed to calm the skin enough to open her airway. She can breathe, but she’s still in great pain.”

I closed my eyes in relief, grateful that she was alive.

“She said the burns traveled all the way through the skin, so it’s hard for her to drink or eat.”

Knowing my mother was miserable was too much to bear, so I focused on the fact that she was still alive—and that soothed my heart.

Steward John guided me down another hallway then gestured to one of the bedchambers. “I’ll give you some privacy.”

I turned to open the door.

“Your Highness?”

I looked at him again.

“Thank you for defending the Kingdoms. If Delacroix had fallen, Minora would have been next.”

I didn’t know how to accept the compliment. Aurelias had praised my dedication, but I still didn’t know if I deserved it. All I could do was muster a nod before I stepped inside, immediately swallowed by the darkness of her bedchambers, the curtains drawn shut over all the windows. I closed the door as gently as possible then crept into the room, seeing her lying in bed with the covers to her chest, her eyes closed.

I approached the bed and looked down at her, seeing the horrible scars all along her neck and down to her collarbone. The top layers of her skin had been burned away, so there were still flaps where the outer layer of skin was visible. It was hard to look at, knowing the pain must be unbearable.

I was so glad Aurelias had killed that monster, but I wished I’d done it myself.

My hand moved to hers, and I cocooned her fingers in mine, just the way she did with me, and I forced myself not to cry, to cherish the fact that she’d survived instead.

My touch stirred her, and her eyes opened, finding mine instantly. It took her a second or two to recognize my face or to distinguish dream from reality, but then she sucked in a deep breath then grasped my hand like it was the hilt of a sword. “Honey…” Her eyes watered at the sight of me, her relief potent.

“I’m okay, Mama…”

She squeezed my fingers hard, the tears coming from her eyes. “My baby…”

I let her cry and felt my own eyes water.

“Atticus?” she asked, bracing for impact.

If he had been well enough, he would have been beside me, checking on her with his own eyes—and she knew that. “He was injured in battle…but the maiden said he should pull through.”

She closed her eyes, her joy replaced by pain. “No…”

“He’ll be okay, Mama.” I didn’t know what possessed me to say it, to make a promise I couldn’t keep, but I guessed I just wanted to make her feel better when she was already crippled in pain. “He has Father’s strength.”

She squeezed my hand. “No word from your father?” She knew he would be the first person to see her if he were here, so if it was me instead of him, it meant he was still unavailable.

“I sent a letter to HeartHolme this morning. If he’s there, he’ll be here by tomorrow morning.”

“Delacroix needs its king.” She continued to squeeze my hand. “But good thing it had you…”

I couldn’t take the credit, not when the soldiers had lost their lives to protect our gates, when our dragons had served us at their own expense. “Delacroix would have been taken without Aurelias.”

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