Page 76 of The Shadow Heir

As I took in my surroundings, foggy memories floated in. Snippets of the trial returned to me. The pale dragon watching me. Dropping my sword. Hiding from the flames. I glanced at my hands. Red blisters bulged across my skin.

“Can you stop the pain?” I asked, desperate for one of Cas’s antidotes right about now. These fae had magic. They had the means to heal me, if they chose. I sensed several people watching me and heard a few giggles.

I propped myself on my elbows and took in the cavern and the fae sitting near me. A dark-haired fae still displaying shadowy wings grabbed my hand and pressed it to his lips. The pain in my wounds subsided with a wave. My stomach somersaulted, and my ears heated.

“You want to make the pain go away,” he said. “I have just the thing.” He reached for a goblet that a woman had extended toward him, and he brought it toward my mouth. “This will make all your pain go away.”

Finally, an antidote.

“Where is Cas?” I mumbled as I took the goblet.

The fae exchanged a glance. “The heir is away, tending to court business.”

“But he specifically asked that we take good care of you.”

“He did?”

One of the fae women pressed her lips together to hide a smile, and I distinctly heard a snort from someone behind me.

A stab of doubt prickled through me, but fae couldn’t lie, and I would do anything to stop this pain. If Cas had asked them to take care of me, I was safe. I lifted the goblet in my hands and inhaled deeply. It had a sharp scent, cinnamon and ginger and something stronger. This mulled wine had a lot more than simply grapes. I’d heard of the fae’s spiced wine, but I couldn’t remember exactly what else I’d heard about it. But if I’d heard of it, it must be famous. And famous must mean good. It smelled good.

The pain was making it hard to think straight. Maybe if the pain disappeared, I’d be able to remember more.

I brought the cup to my lips and took a small sip, afraid I wouldn’t like the flavor. But as soon as the liquid touched my tongue, it traveled all the way down to the depths of my body and warmed me. “Oh,” I said aloud, embarrassed at my exclamation but unable to contain myself. This was the most delicious thing I’d ever tasted. I took one more sip, a larger one. Several of the fae around me chuckled behind uplifted hands, but the man who had given me the cup smiled with such intensity, such desire that my entire body leaned toward him. I handed him back the goblet and he took it gently, careful to caress my fingers with his own as he passed the cup to the woman behind him.

I stared at my hands. The bulging blisters began to recede, and the skin across the back of my hands began to mend. I let out a small cry of relief, and then my head began to spin. I crashed back into the pillows as dizziness overtook me. The cavern spun as if someone had picked up one end of the floor and was going to flip it over, much like the dance floor I had been forced to perform on my first night here.

Ignoring the laughter all around me, I slammed my fist into the pillow by my head, willing the dizziness to go away.

“That’s only the magic of the dragon fire leaving your body,” one of the fae women said, suppressing a giggle.

A few people shifted their weight, and the pillows around me moved. Somebody was lying down next to me. My shoulders rocked back and forth.

“The dizziness will go away soon. Don’t worry.” A hand stroked my back.

And then a sound, different, louder, cut through the dizziness and mental chaos.

“Get your hands off her!” a deep voice boomed across the open space.

The hand that was stroking my back leaped from me like a frightened animal, and the people around me scrambled to get away. I still couldn’t open my eyes against the reeling sensation in my head. Even the piano had cased.

I tilted my chin to get a glimpse at whoever was coming, and the entire world began to revolve again. I pressed my mouth into the pillow and groaned. Then, strong hands were turning me over gently, slipping underneath me, pressing firmly under my shoulders and knees. I shook my head, but the movement tortured my dizzy mind.

“Hold on, little spark,” a familiar voice said. I knew this voice. I peeked one eye open as my face sagged against a man’s chest. Cas’s chest.

“You didn’t come,” I mumbled.

He coughed. “I tried. I was delayed. But close your eyes. I’ve got you now.”

My body bounced and clunked against Cas as he carried me. The gentle swaying of my body kept the dizziness at the forefront of my consciousness. I wasn’t aware of where he was taking me. My entire world was still tilting. But when we burst out into the sunlight, my eyes popped open, and I looked around.

Keeping one arm looped underneath my shoulders, he dropped my feet to the ground, where my shoes met tall grasses.I stumbled against him, pressing a hand to his chest as I gained my footing. He gripped my arm with his free hand, steadying me.

“You should sit down,” he said, guiding me to the warm grass. We were in the middle of a large field atop a small knoll. Horses grazed in the distance. A breeze tousled his hair and rippled over the ocean of green grass.

“Where…?” I was so dizzy, so confused, so cold, despite the warm air. My head hurt, and my body ached.

Cas sat beside me, squinting in the bright sun. “Rest for now. The sun will help.”

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