Page 19 of The Promise Born
Hearing those words spoken aloud sent a shiver down my spine; it felt strange and unsettling.
“What happened?” Asante’s uncle asked.
“She fell,” Asante began his explanation, but was hushed almost immediately by a hand in front of his mouth.
“It’s your leg that hurts, correct?” Eivek asked. “So, your mouth works just fine?”
“Yes,” I answered.
“Great, tell me what’s wrong. And don’t let this one start talking for you. Trust me, he will never stop. He’s just like his father in that way.”
“Must you treat me like a child?” Asante huffed.
“Yes, because in my eyes, you’ll always be one.” He patted Asante’s arm again before turning to me. “So tell me everything.”
I went into detail about the vines that wrapped around my ankle and caused me to fall. I left out the part about the kiss, choosing instead to cut to the point in the story when I landed on my ass.
“I think I might have hurt my tailbone as well.”
“We’ll make sure we’re thorough in checking out your injuries.” He grabbed a small stone cup from the tall woman and handed it to me. “Drink this. It will stop the pain and might make you sleep while we work. It is the ideal condition. The more relaxed you are, the more effective our practices are.”
I looked at Asante for reassurance. When he nodded, I took the cup and drank the warm liquid. It had a powerful spiciness that was only mellowed but the strong earthy taste. I swallowed the liquid hard. Before I could make any comment on the taste, my body went limp.
“Well, that worked faster than usual! Usually takes a bit for it to contend with your inner fire. You must be in a lot of pain if your flame is that weak.”
Part of me was glad to hear him say that, as if it validated all the attention I was receiving. Then I turned to Asante, whose face grew wearier with his uncle’s comment. The flash of concern that this was a bad idea was too late. There I was, slipping into unconsciousness, an ice dragon in the land of fire. What could possibly go wrong?
When I woke up, Asante was gone, and in his place was Uradis.
“You're awake.” She looked down at me with a mothering expression. “How do you feel?”
“Groggy.” I looked down at my ankle and rolled it a bit to see if there was pain. It still hurt, but not nearly as much as before. “That's amazing. There's barely anything at all.”
“The Royal Healers,” Uradis said proudly. “They have some extra tricks up their sleeve.”
“I'm glad.” I scanned the room once more, acknowledging the disappointment that Asante wasn’t there with me. “Where is he?”
“The prince?” She smiled knowingly. “He had some business to take care of. So he told me to stay by your side. But now that you're awake, I can take you back to your room and make sure you're comfortable. We also need to get something for you to eat.”
“You don't have to do all that for me.” The last thing I wanted was to have someone fuss over me. “I’m sure I can manage on my own.”
“You might be okay with turning down Prince Asante’s requests, but I am not.” She raised a brow. “Besides, you're the prince’s intended. Of course I do.”
“So, everyone knows about that now?”
“That his mother caught him kissing you and he proclaimed you were the one to bring him so much joy? Yes, word spreads quickly.” She chuckled. “Besides, the prince carrying you across the field to the healers gave everyone quite the show. If they didn't know before, they’re definitely speculating about the relationship between you two now. Some of them are even whispering that that’s the only reason you're in the position you are in now.”
“Great,” I muttered.
“Let's test your strength.” She stepped away from the bed to give me room. “Please stand. Take your time. We don’t want to cause reinjury.”
I stood, but my legs gave way a little, and before I could steady myself, her hand appeared with a cane.
“Use this for now. You shouldn't need it for long.”
“Thank you.”
“Ah, she is awake.” Eivek entered. “Uradis, do you mind if I have a moment alone to discuss prognosis?”
