The Final Rider by Elyzabeth Trickey

Author:Elyzabeth Trickey [Trickey, Elyzabeth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-01-03T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

The apothecary doors muffled Ulfric's raging, but Hazel could still hear him demanding exactly which patrol had let a witch so close to the castle. The general and the captain of the guard insisted that they had no idea. No one had noticed anything. Typhenete, Elfleda, everyone but one female healer had been locked out of the apothecary to help Hazel recover. Her wounds were treated while Resgal watched, his tail flicking irritably. None of the injuries were too bad, but the ones on her face were going to scar.

She was still shaking and had thrown up a couple more times even though nothing but bile came out. Even if that woman was a witch, she was still a person, and she’d died right in front of her… And Typhenete hadn’t hesitated for a moment.

Her stomach heaved again, and the healer quickly uncorked a bottle and pressed it to her lips. Hazel drank it without a thought. It eased her nausea, and the healer got right back to work.

“There are teas to help you sleep if you’re going to have trouble,” the older woman said, wrapping the final wound on Hazel’s arm. “I imagine you would, after something like this.”

Hazel shook her head. “That’s fine, I don’t need—”

She was interrupted by a knock on the door. The healer, cleaning her hands on a dampened towel walked over to it.

“Yes?” she said in a stern voice that said she wouldn’t be letting the king himself in if Hazel said no.

“It’s Elfleda,” the voice said. “I’d like to speak with Hazel.”

The healer looked to Hazel, who nodded. She put a clean, untorn shirt on as Elfleda entered.

“Glad to see nothing was too serious,” she said. “How are you feeling otherwise?”

“Sick to my stomach,” Hazel replied, pulling her hair out of her shirt. “And shaky, and anxious, and I don’t want to see another sword ever again.”

“That’s understandable.” Elfleda walked a bit closer. “As we speak, everything you own is being transferred to a room in the royal wing. You will be safer there. If you’d like a bodyguard, I can arrange that.”

Hazel dropped her voice as low as she could. “And if I want to avoid Typhenete no matter what?”

“I can try to do something, but we don’t want to offend her, and she usually does exactly what she wants anyway. If I may ask, though, why?”

Hazel met her eyes.

“She killed someone,” she whispered. “Without pausing for a second even when I screamed for her to stop. She killed someone, and then turned around immediately after and asked me if I was all right as if she hadn’t just…”

She couldn’t finish her sentence. Tears were threatening to fall, trembling at the corners of her eyes, but she squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her face into her palms for a few seconds as she took two long, deep breaths before straightening and wiping away the twin tears.

“I’ll be fine,” she said quietly. “But I can’t face Queen Typhenete. Not now.”

Elfleda, who had stood there awkwardly after Hazel started forcing back her tears, shook herself and nodded.

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