Page 76 of Caress of Fire
It didn’t matter. She couldn’t help Devan but she could help the refugees. She could help Dr. Ylco. Marielle got to her feet and Rela looked at her. The girl was much better now, with only the faintest traces of bruises on her face.
“Can you stay with Devan in case he wakes up? I have to help with the others.”
Rela cast a wide glance around at the twenty or so people pressed in the medical suite, then nodded quietly. She had become so quiet in the last day—ever since the refugees came in with their stories of horror and murder, the mark of the Knat-Kanassis burned onto their bodies.
If Devan didn’t wake up soon, Rela would be lost to silence altogether.
Marielle turned her back to Devan and Rela and walked to Dr. Ylco. The Delradon was bent over an old man whose chest was slashed by a long wound, puffy and angry. The doctor worked with a strange device that emitted a pulsing blue light. Marielle frowned as she stared at the young doctor’s face. His cheeks were hollow and his lips chapped, his skin an ashen gray color. Dark circles underlined his reddened eyes.
I should have done this sooner. I was too caught up in my own pain to see.
“Just a bit more, and I’ll be able to cleanse the wound and seal it.” Dr. Ylco spoke in low tones, never breaking his concentration. Then, finally, he finished his work, and the old man’s skin glistened anew with a fresh pink glow. “Now, eat and sleep. You will be okay.”
“What about you?” Marielle asked, and Dr. Ylco looked up at her with surprise but also the kind of exhaustion that couldn’t be ignored. “When was the last time you slept? The last time you ate?”
“I don’t recall.” Dr. Ylco passed a hand through his short brown hair. He looked older, more fragile than ever before. “But it doesn’t matter. I can’t stop now. These people need me.”
“You’re right.” Marielle crossed her arms. “But you won’t do them much good if you break down from exhaustion, will you?”
When the doctor didn’t answer, his eyes hardening with pride, Marielle exhaled forcefully. What was it with men and refusing to accept help?
“You’re coming with me now. I’m going to find you some food and a bed to sleep in for a few hours.” When the doctor opened his mouth to protest, Marielle lifted a hand in authority. “There will be plenty of time to kill yourself performing the task after. Now, I’m the Lady of this house and I order you to eat and sleep. And you don’t want to disobey me.”
Marielle lifted a brow in challenge and Dr. Ylco sighed with resignation, but also with relief.
He must have been hanging on by a thread for a long time.
She shooed him away into a back room, where a Delradon servant brought him a hot meal and a cup of wine. His eyes were heavy before he even finished eating. Marielle closed the door on him, promising to come back after two hours, but already deciding the doctor could use at least five hours of sleep.
Then she turned around to see Fedryc standing over Devan, his face closed off and his eyes cold. She hugged herself. She hadn’t seen him since the refugees had come. It had taken a toll on him.
He wasn’t the same man who walked down the dungeon steps on that terrible day. He looked older, his sculpted features harsher, his eyes colder.
Her heart lurched but she didn’t move.
“Fedryc.” Marielle said his name softly and it sent a current of whispers across the medical room. “You came back.”
Fedryc looked up at her, and she saw in his expression that there was something hurting him. She walked up to him and stood on the other side of the bed where Devan lay, looking up at him expectantly.
“What did you find out?” She was scared to ask, but knew he needed to talk. Whatever burden he carried, she needed to share it with him.
“It was her.” Fedryc shook his head, his voice low and somber. “Isobel killed my father. She also killed the girl, Asha. She ordered the massacre in the border town. She did it all. She’s the snake in our bed.” His voice was steady, but she knew him well enough to see the signs of the pain from the betrayal. “I had her and Hydrad brought to the dungeon.”
Marielle stared, wide-eyed, not knowing what to say or do. Fedryc had done it. He had solved his father’s murder and uncovered the head of the malevolent order that had wreaked such havoc on so many lives.
“So you did it.” She blinked, then hugged herself. “What are you going to do to her now?”
“She will be judged after I wipe the Knat-Kanassis from my kingdom and restore order.” Fedryc nodded to himself. He stared at her, then seemed to come to some kind of reluctant conclusion. “Nyra still hasn’t come back. There is no dragon to protect Aalstad.”
“I know.” Marielle spoke softly, knowing Fedryc was hurt by her absence. “Nyra will come back. I’m sure of it.”
“In the meantime, this is too dangerous. I have to send you and Silva to Katanie, under Lord Aldric Darragon’s protection.”
“What? You want to send us away?” Marielle was confused, then she frowned. “Why?”
Fedryc inclined his head like Marielle had just slapped him and his mouth curved with a grim determination. Marielle’s breath caught as she understood their troubles were far from over.
“Lord Anion of Virhot has declared war on Aalstad.” The simple words left Fedryc’s mouth in an even, controlled voice but they had the effect of a punch in the guts. “I go into battle immediately.
