Page 82 of The Exile's Curse

She swallowed, sadness for her house mingling again with the mix of terror and relief that she hadn’t gone with him. "I'm sorry, Wardmeister. He bolted in the storm. He went over the cliff. I am fortunate that I fell or I would have gone with him. I don't remember it all, but I think there was a lightning strike quite close. He was terrified."

Roland looked briefly sad. "Ah. Thank you, my lady. That is unfortunate, but the weather here can be deadly."

"Was the storm yesterday unexpected?" Lucien asked, staring at Sejerin Silya. Guidance on the weather was one of the talents the seers claimed.

"Balance broken," she said and clamped her lips shut, seeming to think that was enough of an explanation. It seemed a convenient excuse to cover the fact that the sejerin had gotten the weather wrong or perhaps decided not to tell the truth about it for reasons of their own. That seemed a risky game. It could have been anyone in the party who’d been injured. Even Mikvel.

Had they wanted something to happen to the king? Or maybe to her? She wished she knew what was going on in Deephilm.

"It came faster than anyone anticipated," Mikvel said. "It happens sometimes. I certainly wouldn't have risked the hunt if I had thought it would happen yesterday. So, my apologies." He looked up at the skies, which were clear and sunny, though it was cold. "We should make our way back. But first tea, and Irina can see to you both. Then we'll be underway."

And so they were. They drank tea, ate rolls stuffed with cheese and ham, and then Chloe let Irina inspect and clean her arm before she rebandaged it.

"I will do something to block the pain," Irina said with a glance under her eyelashes at Sejerin Silya, who was standing apart from the others, looking like she wanted to blast the mountain into rubble. She hadn't offered to help Irina. "One of the more senior healers should look at it for anything more complicated. I don't want to trap any potential source of infection. Though it looks like you did something already. How, exactly?"

"I used some of Lucien's power," Chloe admitted. "I used an augmentier."

"A what?" Irina frowned. "Oh. A bond. Shards. Is that what that is?" She gestured vaguely at Chloe's side.

"You can see it?" Chloe asked. Sure enough, there was, now that she was paying attention, still a thread of light snaking between her and Lucien, and the song of him played in her head once more. More familiar than it should be.

"I see something," Irina said quietly with another glance at the seer.

"Is the bond what she's so upset about?" Chloe said.

"Maybe. Being found naked with a man you're not married to is generally not acceptable around here either."

"Is she going to try to use this to make trouble? Honestly, we needed to stay warm. We would have frozen to death."

Irina shrugged. "I don't know. Hopefully Misha can talk her round." She grimaced slightly. "You're lucky, being a foreigner. If it were me they'd found in a cave with a man who was not my husband, then he would become my husband in short order if he wanted to live."

Well, that was plainly ridiculous. But she wasn't going to argue the point out here in the wilderness with her arm smarting and the seer glaring at her. So she just thanked Irina and turned her attention to staying on the bay mare Roland had brought for her. Lucien looked rather like he wanted to grab her off the saddle and put her up in front of him. But she shook her head at him when he approached. Better they keep their distance.

The ride back was long and uncomfortable despite Irina's work on her arm. It didn't hurt much, but the rest of her felt like she'd, well, stampeded through a storm, fallen off a horse, and then spent the night sleeping on rocks. It took all her attention to stay awake and in the saddle, and she would have killed for some kafiet to numb the pain by the time they rode into the stable yard at the palace and Captain Theisse helped her down from the horse. She swayed slightly, and he grabbed her before Lucien could.

She kept hold of the captain's arm as they walked slowly back inside. There were far too many curious looks on the faces of the courtiers they passed, even though they were hastily swept away and turned into bows or curtsies as the king and the seer walked by. When they reached one of the intersections in the corridors that would lead back to the Illvyans’ quarters, Mikvel said, "I suggest we meet again this afternoon. The two of you need to bathe and rest and let the healers—"

"Balance must be attended," Silya said, cutting him off. "Coddle them later. We need to address this. Now."

Chapter 24

The king pressed a finger to his forehead, sighing as though it pained him. Lucien sympathized. Sejerin Silya was enough to give anyone a headache.

"Very well. We will go to the Copper Chamber and discuss this further. Irina, go and fetch Royve Ava, please. There's no reason Lady de Montesse should remain in pain while we talk. Colonel Brodier, if you want someone from your own party to attend to her as well, feel free to send for them."

He turned on his heel and started walking.

"Good luck," Irina mouthed at Chloe before she headed back the way they'd come.

Lucien moved up to stand next to Captain Theisse as they followed the king. Chloe stuck close to Honore, avoiding him.

The Copper Chamber was aptly named, the metal gleaming from candlesticks and lanterns and copper gilt—if that was the right word—on the flowers embroidered on the autumn-shaded tapestries on the walls. An oval table in a burnished red-brown wood was surrounded by eight chairs finished in coppery silks. Mikvel sat at one end, and Silya took the chair next to him.

Chloe sank into one of the chairs farthest from the seer with a grateful sigh. She was too pale, and he bit down the immediate instinct to request that she be allowed to rest before this nonsense continued.

Best to get it over with. Still, sensible or not, he sat beside her, leaving Honore and Captain Theisse to bridge the gap in the center.

No one spoke immediately. It was protocol to let Mikvel go first, but Lucien was ready to ignore protocol if it would speed up proceedings.

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