Page 231 of The Mercy of Dawn

“Cyr?” Mikael said softly, “We need to get you down, and Kaia is going to help. Then we’ll go upstairs and clean you up, okay?”

He hadn’t expected a response, but Cyril nodded. Her tongue darted out to wet her chapped and blood-crusted lips.

“Mika, I…”

Mikael stilled.

Cyril’s voice was just a rough rasp of noise, and the whine that came out of her was heart-rending. She hadn’t made a sound the entire damn ride. Had barely even moved against him as he rode faster than he was sure he ever had.

It was all catching up with her now.

She shifted, tensing, and made another quiet noise. “Everything hurts…”

“I know, I know.” Mikael didn’t waste any time, untying the lead wrapped around them and easing her uninjured leg up and over his horse’s neck. Something that sounded like a protest left Cyril when he turned her to the side in front of him, readying to slide her down into—

Tears streaked down Kaia’s face as she looked up at Cyril.

“Not now, Gatlin, please,” Mikael said quietly.

Kaia gave her cheeks a rough wipe, her chest heaving with a shaky breath.

“Sorry, gods, I…” She cleared her throat, extending her hands up. “Give her here.”

Lowering Cyril down felt like moving a cracked piece of glass. Mikael’s movements were slow and measured, and he waited until Kaia had her hands tucked up under Cyril’s arms to let her take the brunt of her weight.

Not that there was much to her anymore, not with all the weeks she spent not eating, sleeping, or really living. Her body didn’t go into this with a fighting chance.

Kaia took a step back from his horse, and Cyril’s body slumped against her. The cry of pain that left her had Mikael gritting his teeth.

A slow, deep breath, and he dismounted his horse onto unsteady legs.

“You’re okay,” he heard Kaia say over and over, her voice quiet and thick with emotion. Her eyes met his, and she just shook her head.

“What else can I—” They both grimaced at Cyril’s sob as Mikael eased her away from Kaia, sweeping an arm behind her knees and one at her back. “What can I do? For you, for her?”

Mikael inclined his head up the steps.

“Doors, please, then deal with the horse, if you don’t mind. Someone needs to go back and find Attie too. I don’t know where she left her…”

Kaia nodded and took a few steps ahead of him before she hesitated.

“I should warn you…everyone is still here, from the dinner. Ari tried to keep it quiet when he notified your father and the general, but it turned into fucking mayhem. They were all too afraid to leave, not knowing if there was some kind of…imminent risk.”

Mikael scoffed. The men in that room were a bunch of fucking cowards, his father and the general included.

“Well, you can tell them to pull their heads out of their asses, because she took care of the issue for them.”

Mikael looked down at the battered and broken woman tucked in his arms, her hand clutching at his blood-soaked jacket. His chest fucking ached.

“Oh, I will, gladly.” A smile tugged at Kaia’s lips as she set her hands on the palace doors.

The wood groaned as the enchantment pulled them open. Beyond the threshold, the humming activity pouring out from the atrium fell silent. Dozens of bodies turned slowly, and shock spread across their faces like a wave.

In only a whisper, Kaia wished him good luck before she strode toward a group of lords and councilors, waving her arms in the air.

“Alright!” she shouted, “Gentlemen, if you’ll gather ‘round…”

Mikael locked eyes with his father.