Page 98 of The Exile's Curse

"This one is important," Giane said, grimacing. She turned back to the door. "You might as well get in here."

Chloe looked up, wondering who she was talking to. Her mouth dropped open as Irina stepped through the narrow doorway.

"Bloody hell. What are you doing here?"

"She stowed away," Giane said, glaring at Irina. "So, it seems we've kidnapped an Andalyssian princess on top of everything else. This is going to be an issue."

"I'm not a princess," Irina said, squaring her shoulders and matching Giane’s glare.

"You're the queen's little sister, and that's close enough, my lady," Giane said. "What were you thinking?"

Quite possibly that here was a chance to get away from Andalyssia. One Irina had seized. Chloe wasn't sure whether she felt admiration or irritation.

"Lady Castaigne will need my help," Irina said, lifting her chin in a manner reminiscent of both Imogene and Sophie. She might not be a true princess, but apparently she could do haughty with aplomb. "None of you know Andalyssian herb lore. And most of you have to help fly this thing, from what I understand." She swept a hand around the cabin. "Chloe can't stay awake for three days. She probably thinks she can, but if she takes redwort to do it and gets it wrong, then that could be very bad for Lord Castaigne. I might be a problem, Lieutenant, but I imagine a dead marq would be a bigger one."

Giane opened her mouth, but Chloe cut her off. "She's right, Giane. And we're not turning back to take her home. Nor are we going to leave her at the next stop. She needs a chaperone and an escort back to Andalyssia, and we can't spare anyone. She's here. We'll deal with the rest in Lumia."

Chapter 28

By the time the navire settled in Lumia, Chloe was near delirious with exhaustion. But she fought it back with sheer will. She would sleep when Lucien was safe. When he was smiling at her once more.

She wasn't ready to let him go.

When she saw Imogene standing on the dock, she almost burst into tears of relief but bit them back as she descended from the navire. Imogene hurried over to her, slipping her arm through hers to offer support as a team of ensigns carried Lucien’s stretcher off the navire, Irina supervising. The girl had been goddess sent. She hadn't slept much either, staying by Chloe's side and working with her tirelessly to make sure she stayed strong enough to keep Lucien alive. As far as Chloe was concerned, if Irina wanted to stay in Lumia, then Chloe would damned well make sure she could. She and Lucien both owed her.

"Who's that?" Imogene asked. "She's not Illvyan."

"She's the queen's younger sister, Irina. And what she's doing here is too long a story." Chloe leaned into Imogene, willing herself to stay upright.

"Darling, you're shaking," Imogene said, “Do you need a healer?”

Chloe shook her head. "I'm all right. I just need to get Lucien to the temple. And then I need to speak with the emperor."

To her credit, Imogene didn't bat an eye, or ask any of the ten thousand questions she must have wanted to ask. "Of course. The fer-taureau is waiting. And we have an escort through the streets. But you need to rest. You aren't any use to him if you collapse."

"I can't rest yet." She hadn't slept. "Our bond might be what is keeping him alive."

"Your bond?" Imogene's brows flew up. Then her eyes narrowed as she looked from Chloe to Lucien’s stretcher. "So I see. This is going to be an interesting story once you have time to tell. I have to admit, you returning from Andalyssia married to Lucien de Roche was not a possibility that entered my head."

Chloe nodded. "Mine either. And I'll tell you all about it. But first the temple."

The next few hours moved quickly. The healers at the temple took charge of Lucien, even Domina Francis herself coming to the hospital wing of the building to assist. The dominas questioned Chloe and Irina about firewort and everything they had done, including the bond. Then shooed them both outside the room after assuring Chloe the bond wouldn't be affected by a distance of twenty feet or so.

They sat with Imogene, waiting. The urge to force her way back into the room crawled under Chloe’s skin. Being unable to touch Lucien after the near constant contact of the last few days felt wrong. Irrational or not, she wanted to be with him.

Strange. A little over two weeks ago, she'd still hated him. Now she didn't know what she would do if he died. Other than, perhaps, burn the world down around those who had hurt him.

After an eternity, Domina Francis reemerged from the room. She was smiling, and Chloe's heart started pounding. "Is he awake?"

"No, child. But he has improved. I think he will rest a little longer, but I expect he will wake in the next day or so." Domina Francis had eyes as green as any Andalyssian, but her hair was blazing red streaked with silver, a sign of her strength in earth. Her words tolled through Chloe, and she knew they were true. "You and the Lady Irina did well. But now both of you need to rest. Then we will see how to proceed with your husband once he awakens and we can assess him. Whatever he was given, it was strong. He may need to recuperate for some time."

"But he won't die?" She sounded like a child asking to be reassured that there was no monster under the bed, voice quivering.

"No, he will be well,” the domina said, voice pitched to a soothing tone. “And you must rest. Your bond will give him strength, but not if you make yourself unwell through worry and exhaustion."

"I—" The urge to lie down and sleep was overwhelming. But she wasn't done yet. "I need to talk to the emperor."

"You need to rest. Aristides will wait." The domina's tone was steely. She turned her attention to Imogene. "Your Grace, perhaps you can tell His Imperial Majesty that Lady Castaigne needs to recover from her journey before she speaks with him?"

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