A Crown of Lilies by Melissa Ragland

Author:Melissa Ragland [Ragland, Melissa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781093480047
Published: 2019-06-30T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

I woke in confusion and fear, the dimly lit room unfamiliar. Every inch of me hurt. I wasn’t sure I could move. Panic began to set in and my breath came in short, terrified gasps.

“Easy, miss.” Quintin’s shadowed figure sat nearby, lit by a single guttering lantern on a table beside my cot. Sky blue eyes watched me, carefully guarded.

The events of the last few days came tumbling back into my awareness. I stared at him, my mind a torrent of nightmares. “Water,” I managed to whisper. He picked up a cup from the table and lifted my head carefully with one hand. With the other, he dribbled a few sips into my mouth. It was stale and warm and the best thing I’d ever tasted.

“Slowly,” he warned as I gasped for more.

I closed my eyes and focused on the feeling of my body, trying to assess the damage. My left hand was wrapped in something coarse and hard, likely a splint of some kind. Sharp pain radiated through my sides when I inhaled, and I guessed a few ribs to be broken. I could feel bandages on my feet and torso, the fabric rubbing slightly as I breathed in and out. My face, too, felt swollen and slightly numb, and I was glad the room lacked a mirror.

“How long have I been asleep?” I asked quietly, my throat still hoarse.

“A few days. The surgeon’s been. He says you’ll live if we can get some food into you.”

I almost laughed but resisted the urge for fear of my ribs. It was a bitter parallel to my mother’s brutal youth. I’d avoided the rape, though, and for that, I counted myself infinitely fortunate. A soft knock sounded at the door. Quintin shifted in his seat, one hand resting on his dagger as it opened and Tommy shuffled in, followed by another familiar face.

“Lord Reyus?” I whispered in disbelief. He pushed back his cowl and offered me a nod in greeting.

“We need to talk, lass.” Tommy dragged a second chair to the foot of my bed, sinking into it.

“I didn’t tell them anything,” I grumbled bitterly.

“We know,” he said gently.

“The King is dead.” Reyus leaned against the wall, arms crossed, and watched me with his hard gaze. “And Selice is missing.”

My heart lurched in my chest. “Is she alive?”

“We don’t know. She vanished from the castle the night her father died. We were hoping you could tell us where she was.” Suspicion rang clearly in his voice. I couldn’t blame him, after the spectacle in the temple square.

I took a deep breath and struggled to sit up. Quintin moved to help, shifting my pillow as I heaved my worthless mass backward to lean up against the wall. Wincing from the effort, I replied through gritted teeth as waves of pain radiated through my torso and legs. “I don’t know where she is. That was never part of the plan.”

“And the assassin?” Reyus pressed.

I met his gaze unflinching. “We did what needed to be done.

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