Page 86 of Unbetrothed

We dashed to the infirmary. Many more beds had been filled with bloodied soldiers from the Himzo and Giddelian lines. I steeled myself from any connection to them, already sensing waves of sorrow and pain crashing over me.

Zichri’s sleeping form came into view.

Laude gasped. “What happened? Is …” She trailed off, chin quivering.

“He’s safe, but I don’t know what happened to the others. They were all here.”

Laude bit down on her bottom lip. Her eyebrows pinched together with worry. Even with me attempting to put a barrier over my gifting, a shrill note pierced my soul, and a single word echoed in my mind:Jaime.

How I wanted to see Jaime and Laude reunite. I would not let her out of my sight until then. “Come now, we should figure out what happened to everyone.”

CHAPTER 45

“SISTER, YOU MUST REST.” Cosme blocked me from entering the grand hall. Candlelight danced in his eyes, and a heavy shadow fell on half his face as he stood in the doorway with his hands on his hips. Two more of his Dotado friends leaned against the doors. Their faces looked familiar, but I hadn’t bothered to get to know any of them.

I craned my neck to see past him. Shadowed figures lined the floor, but I couldn’t make out any features. Only a few lamps had been lit.

“Cosme, please. Let me through.” I stepped around Cosme.

He clasped my shoulders. “I’ll escort you to your room.” He whistled to a tired-eyed Sir Lucas. “Can you transport us up?”

Lucas grabbed ahold of Cosme’s forearm with a limp smile tugging up one of his cheeks. “Ye—”

“That’s all right. Laude and I can walk,” I said. Something unsettled my heart. Had it been other people’s twists of emotions knocking into my chest? I pulled Laude’s hand and stomped through the main corridor and to the base of a wide stairwell.

Upon seeing the many stairs we’d need to ascend, I thought my knees might buckle. A long breath slipped between my lips. I climbed.

Each step pounded in a new fear. What if Mamá did not approve of Zichri? Even worse, Papá might ban me from seeing him again. What if Zichri’s father held us responsible for Zichri’s injuries? What if Zichri was considered a traitor? The Himzos did lose the battle.

Laude and I trudged the second set of stairs. My mind raced with ways to convince Papá to approve of a betrothal between Zichri and me. It seemed easier for us to run away, living out our dreams in the woods, with no politics—no worries. We’d be free to make our own choices. That would never happen living in Giddel. What if Zichri asked me to move to Himzo? I could never do that either.

Corridor lamps shone on the giant doors to my room, and each of my muscles relaxed. My body knew what to expect upon entering. Laude pushed open the glistening wood.

The balcony doors let in a cool breeze. Laude tapped the wick of my bedside lamp, sparking a flame to life. My canopy bed was in the same place as always, but it somehow felt too big. I had been here earlier today, but my entire life had shifted even more since then.

Laude laid out a simple chemise.

“Where will you sleep tonight?” I peeled off my slippers.

“I’ll find a place to lay my head. After sleeping in hammocks in the woods, I’m sure I can handle sleeping in a palace, Princess.” The playful ring to her voice lightened the tightness coiling inside of me.

“Please, stay in my room tonight. You can sleep in my bed. It’s much too large after so many nights in a hammock.” I lifted my index finger when she began to protest. “I will not take no for an answer. Plus, you need to tell me what happened during the battle.”

Laude couldn’t resist an invitation to talk and talk she did. I changed for the night and lent Laude a chemise. As we wiped our feet and braided our hair, I listened to every agonizing detail about how the servants launched attacks using the secret tunnels. She went on and on and on. I considered practicing my gifting while she spoke, but that would intrude on her privacy. And really, everyone should be allowed some privacy within their own skin.

We finally slid under the duvet and sunk into the silken bedcovers. Laude put out the lamp flame. Darkness covered us while a churning sensation circled within my chest, sending a riptide of emotion throughout every part of me. Laude’s voice hummed on like a melody to comfort an achy soul.

But even she couldn’t keep me from reliving all that had transpired: The blank stares of soldiers fallen over marble floors. Lux’s smirk before he attempted to murder Zichri. My hands from whipping out my panic and launching Lux through a window.

Laude yawned. “Goodnight. Don’t let the nightmares give you a fright.”

“Goodnight, Laude,” I said breathlessly.

Laude had broken me out of my thoughts, and I grasped for happier memories. Even picturing Zichri’s handsome smile couldn’t stop my jaw from quivering. I needed peace that could calm the storm raging from the ache at my temples to a throb on my little toe.

So I did the only thing I could think to do.

“If it isn’t too much to ask, could you, Ancient One, help me rest?” I whispered. The words didn’t have the right feel in my mouth. Almost like I bit into a hollow chocolate when I expected something more. “Why did you give me my gift? I didn’t deserve it. Look at what I did to Lux.” Quick tears slid down my temples. “But if I would have done nothing, Zichri would be dead. Am I an awful person?”

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