Page 83 of Of Serpents and Ruins
His brow remained furrowed, his gaze pained. "It's the least I can do." He edged closer.
Was he going to kiss me? Surely not. I frowned, drawing the robe tighter around myself as I stepped back.
He didn't look rebuffed or even shocked. Just attached the moonstone to the charm on my necklace. "I know you can do this, Stella. You are strong enough to survive. You will get through this. Just take care of yourself, please. Don't keep running to Brandt while this curse is eating his mind. Even with Candy there to comfort him, it isn't enough to counter all that has happened."
Footsteps sounded outside the open door.
He glanced over his shoulder and sighed. "I think I need a walk to clear my head. If you change your mind and want me to stay here or even if you want Kine to sleep in here, I'm sure he would. We both want you to be safe." He dipped his head forward then and left the room, giving me one final look before he disappeared.
Bad feelings abounded. I had to admit, now that I was alone in my room, an odd feeling struck me. It was like I was being watched.
Glancing at the window, I took a moment to listen. The storm hissed and boomed outside.
Elias was right. They were strengthening the wards here, but the Gola Resh was something else. Maybe I shouldn't be alone.
Regardless, I needed to get dressed.
I pulled the wardrobe open on instinct. Halfway through, it occurred to me that there was no reason for my clothes to be in there. Then I realized that some of them were. Someone had taken the time to choose clothing for me and bring it here.
Hmmm. Scents of strawberries, grapefruit, and salt water with hints of orange, smoke, leather, and bergamot transported me back. Not to this room, but to another, lush with silks and velvets and a massive four-poster bed with red silk sheets and a black coverlet. Heavy curtains hung over the windows, blocking out all traces of sunlight.
Our bedroom. Our marriage bed. Our…
Tears rose to my eyes.
Ducking my head, I drew in a sharp breath. More memories crashed over me. Gentle touches. Ferocious kisses. Trailing fingers. Ihlkit.
Did Brandt sleep in our old room? In the same bed?
My heart clenched as Elias’s words washed back through my mind, bitter and bile-filled. Candy had been the one to comfort him.
Except…no. I drew in the scent from the wardrobe once more as I pulled out an indigo dress with a silver waistband. It didn’t feel right. Comfort did not mean sexual. Closeness did not mean romantic intimacy.
Would the man who had insisted I remain queen and had refused to let anyone else take my ring have taken another lover? It didn’t seem like something he’d do.
Not that he was incapable of cheating. Anyone could cheat. But still…
I cringed inwardly as I recalled the way his tail had struck her. Her violent strike against the wall. Her crumpled form. Concern spread through me.
After Elias's offer and his obvious dislike for Brandt, I didn't want to ask him about it again. No. I needed to go check on her. It wasn’t like I could sleep anyway. It was too early.
I needed to hear it from her own mouth if she could speak. There were so many things that this could mean. Maybe it was just one-sided on her part. She might have had eyes on Brandt. Even if she did, that didn’t mean she deserved to suffer. Besides, visiting just felt like the right thing to do.
Shadows danced on the way to the infirmary, my own rippling and halting along the wall. The few attendants I passed bowed and nodded. Some offered to escort me to the infirmary or to bring me food. One told me where to go, but it simply confirmed what I had thought. The infirmary itself was on the third floor.
I peeked my head through the first of the doorways.
"Stella!"
Candy lay in the bed, her face lighting up as if she had been waiting for me. Half her head had been bandaged, and her right arm was in a woven cast. Her lips weren’t purple from lipstick, though. The bruising along her face and neck and chest from Brandt’s tail flinging her was vivid. She winced, shuddering as she realized she couldn’t sit up.
"Is it all right if I still call you that? I didn't think to ask," she said.
Even injured, her smile was absolutely infectious. Now that we were alone in this room, it felt different than when I’d seen her before. A lightness flowed from her. A sincerity.
"You can call me anything you like." I walked up to her bed. The cut lemons and herbs set out in small saucers with fragrant oils gave the room a pleasant fragrance.
Up close, her injuries were even more apparent. The stones had sliced her up, and it looked as if Brandt's tail had crushed part of her body. His scales, too, might have been sharper thanI initially thought based on some of the smaller cuts along her unbroken arm.
