Page 34 of A Vow of Wrath and Ruin

“What’s going on?”

“You wouldn’t wake. I was worried, so the healer gave you a tonic.”

“I… I was having a nightmare about the night our kingdom burned.” She ran her hand down her face. “So much terror. So much destruction.”

Guilt tugged at my heart. “I’m sorry those came to the surface when we entered your mind.”

“I wish you could take them like you took Caiden’s.”

I must have blanched, because she forced a smile.

“I didn’tactuallymean it.” She gave a half-hearted chuckle.

“We’d have to tame the storm in your mind and fight whatever creature lurks there before I could, and I haven’t quite figured out what to do about that yet.”

“No. This is something I need to face.”

The healer brought her a glass of water, and Baylis drank it down in one breath.

“Will she be able to travel tomorrow?”

The healer nodded. “I assume so. She is physically healthy. It’s her mind that is tearing her up.”

I let out a breath as I helped my sister out of the bed. “Thank you,” I said to the healer.

“I’m alright, Aelia. I can walk on my own. I just had a nightmare. That’s it.” Baylis pulled away from me, bracing herself on the stone railing. “I just need to collect myself, and I’ll be fine.”

“I’m just worried about you.”

“I know, but I’m not some delicate flower. I can handle a nightmare.”

I backed off. “I know. I’m worried we did more harm than good when we went into your mind.”

We reached the foyer of the palace, where a large chandelier of elk antlers hung. Baylis straightened her blue gown. “I think I’ll take a walk through the botanical gardens to clear my head.”

My muscles stiffened. Was Baylis well enough to be on her own? Was I being too overbearing? I want to protect her—to help her heal, but everyone heals at their own pace, and perhaps Baylis needed time on her own to sort things out for herself.

“Alright. We’re leaving tomorrow, Baylis. I’m having the servants prepare your things.”

“I’ll be ready.” She brushed her ashen hair behind her ears. “Need to get some fresh air before we depart.”

“Don’t forget a cloak. It is terribly cold out there.” I waved down a nearby servant. “Please bring my sister a cloak and some boots. We can’t have her catching a cold.”

The young halfling with rosy cheeks and curly hair nodded and went to fetch her things.

“Oh, and one more thing!” I shouted after the man. “A cinnamon roll too.”

He nodded and continued on his way.

Baylis shook her head. “Always the big sister.”

“Hard habit to break.”

The servant returned moments later with a cloak, boots, and a cinnamon roll wrapped in parchment.

Donning the cloak and slipping the confection into her pocket, she bid me farewell.

I waved her goodbye. The memory of Gideon’s touch replayed in my head. The feeling of Gideon’s light touch on her collarbone—how her heart spiked. My head swirled with possibilities. Maybe Tharan was right. Maybe this was all a carefully laid plan to ensnare me and tear my sister and me apart. Maybe she had loved him, and he’d done the same thing to her he’d done to me. The lack of scars on Baylis’s body gave me pause. Either Gideon changed his tactics, learned to hide them better, or… he’d never hurt Baylis.

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