Page 100 of Shifter King
"I'm afraid not." He dropped his gaze. "I'm so sorry you had to hear that, Amelia. And I apologize to you, your Majesty, for even attempting to deceive you. I understand if you'd rather not have me here. I'm not strong. I'm not clever. I'm not good at intrigue. I'm really only good at taking up space. But I will do my best to my best to serve."
"This may be difficult for you." Zorna leaned back in her carved throne and sighed. "You seem to be a sincere and simple girl."
"As I said, it is our purpose as skinchangers to serve. I give my vow to serve you. And the first manner in which I will serve you is to ensure that my sister is a fit bride and will bring honor to you, your son, and your people."
"Good. There is one more thing you must do to earn my trust."
Amelia closed her eyes, wincing already.
"You will make her drink the psychic wine now."
WroOth stiffened. Why was this little tyrant so focused on her drinking the psychic wine? His brothers were right. There was no reasonable explanation. "If the purpose is to make her compliant and see the wisdom of serving you and your people, then the psychic wine may—"
"Surely you recognize that I must be respected. Punishment is essential. You yourself recognized the disrespect and the potential for more." Zorna's glare intensified.
"Perhaps—"
The door opened. A young servant with intertwined winged serpent tattoos on the back of her neck slipped in, bowed, and gestured with her hands. Zorna motioned for her to come forward. When the girl did so, she whispered in Zorna's ear. Zorna's face contorted. "I will deal with him then. Get him to his underground quarters immediately. Do not permit him to leave."
The girl darted away.
She sighed then, pressing her index finger to her lips. "You've pleased me, Ruth, despite your sister's unseemly showing. So I will grant you thisonefavor. The attendants will take you to the suphrite chamber on the third level. Your sister can finish cleaning herself up and no longer shame herself. Then you will both return to her chambers. In the morning, she will appear before my assembly and drink the psychic wine."
WroOth drew in a deep breath, weighing these statements. Something else was happening; he'd make sure it worked to their advantage. "Let the morning bring what it brings. We are most grateful for your compassion and favor. And as surely as I am a simple girl from the wilds, it is my delight to serve you and bring you honor."
PROTECTION
Of all the ways her rescue might have gone, Amelia had never guessed it would be WroOth showing up like this. It didn't even seem real until the guards showed them into the suphrite chamber and WroOth demanded that they bring back water for her to drink.
This room was relatively small but well-lit with an elevated pool that the suphrite streamed into. The waters moved slowly, a much darker turquoise here than out in the wilderness and far more pungent and chlorine-like in scent. Enough to mask over everything else including the strange floral scent emanating from WroOth.
As soon as the door clicked, WroOth motioned for her to be silent, then checked the door and the walls. He slid his hands over them quickly, his eyes changing back and forth between red and blue and green as he searched the area for heat marks and other signs. Sighing, he pointed to the waters. "All right. It's safe to talk. Get in."
"I'm so happy to see you," she said tearfully. "I could hug you." She paused. Something was off. He smelled strange. Bloody and sickly floral. "Are you all right?" she squinted at him. No. There was pain as well. He wasn't entirely well. Not that she was either. If he weren't so vividly and chaotically present and if she hadn't managed to dream, she would have thought that was what this was.
"Get in the suphrite now before that queen changes her mind. It's going to take awhile for you to heal with all this damage."
She made her way awkwardly to the edge, then sat down. Every step ached. The warm waters engulfed her legs, making them itch and sting. She clenched her eyes shut. This was going to be rough. Especially with her arm.
"In all the way." He lifted her up by the waist and set her in. "No time for lingering."
The hot suphrite splashed all the way up to her neck. She gasped. No matter how prepared she was for it, healing always hurt. The itching and pulsing felt as if they were going to last forever, spiraling and twisting over her. The voices and chaos of the other minds faded away, her own mind distracted with the intensity of the itch and burn.
"Heal as quickly as you can." He kept her steady, not letting her slip under. "Deep breaths, dear heart."
She tried to find some sort of response but only managed incoherent words.
But, breath by breath, it got easier.
As the pain started to ease, WroOth released her. She relaxed against the stones. It was working. She was healing. She was healing and getting stronger by the second. Her head still ached, pulsing with every breath. But it was bearable. Everything was more bearable now. "So what is the plan? Is everyone here right now? Or…" How was she even supposed to finish that question? "I'm just so glad to see you. Time passes so strangely here."
Chuckling, WroOth adjusted his hair so that one strand remained over his left eye. "Well, I am delighted to see you again as well. As for the plan, if Naatos had his way, he’d have been here himself. But, aside from the fact that he can’t touch you and hold a form for more than half a second, he isn’t in a position to be a particularly convincing woman. Let alone charm his way through one of the most ridiculous shams of a court I've ever seen. Barely in a position to be a convincing person actually. He’s essentially frothing at the mouth. The one thing holding him together is you and getting you back. Of course, we've all been very worried."
"I'm sorry for that."
"Yes, well, you have been tedious, going and getting yourself abducted like that. Now that you're healing, you need to reach Naatos with your mindreading."
"I've been trying to, but…" She shook her head, resting her chin on the stone. "Every time I open my mind, there are just too many voices and too many thoughts. I don't know how to get past them. I feel like I'm collapsing. Even before my arm was broken, I couldn't get through. It's like swimming in molasses. I'll try again though. Just…" She rubbed her eyes. "What if I hurt him when I do? What if I drag all this with me?"
