Page 34 of Dragon Unbound (Dragon Kings 3)
He quickly got out of the way and let Jenefer and Sian do what they could. For the second time that night, he felt powerless. It was an emotion he was coming to detest greatly. He’d be happy to never feel it again. Unfortunately, he wasn’t sure he had that option.
“She screamed,” Jenefer said.
Sian didn’t pause as she felt Tamlyn’s forehead. “What?”
“She screamed,” Jenefer repeated.
Sian sat back after a few moments. “Her breathing has finally evened out. She should be fine in a few hours.” She took a deep breath and then released it. “Tam has never screamed before.”
“She said she hears the screams in her head,” Cullen said.
Jenefer nodded. “That’s right.”
“We have myths on my realm about Banshees, but they’re the ones who scream. If you hear their scream, it means you or someone in your family is about to die.”
Sian shrugged and looked between them. “I know what Tamlyn tells us. I’ve never met another Banshee, so I don’t know if this is supposed to happen or not.”
“It’s not,” Jenefer said in a hard tone. “It can’t. One of these days, she’s not going to breathe again.” The Amazon got to her feet and paced the chamber. “I told her to find me the next time. She promised she would. She promised she wouldn’t go by herself.”
Sian stood and ushered them out, saying in a low voice, “Something woke me. I don’t know what it was, but it could have been Tamlyn shouting for you. I got up, and when you weren’t in bed, I decided to check on Tam. That’s when I found her gone.”
“There was an army waiting for her,” Cullen said as they walked down the hallway to the kitchen and sat at the table.
Sian’s face paled. “She would’ve died tonight.”
“She nearly did anyway. A wildcat was after her,” Jenefer said. She looked across the table at Cullen. “What did you do to the animal?”
“I showed it what I was,” he explained.
Sian’s brows lifted. “What happened?”
Cullen twisted his lips. “Oddly, it didna run off. It sat there and looked at me. Then I reminded it that others were in the forest.”
“It turned the army’s attention from us,” Jenefer said with a small smile.
But it faded quickly. No doubt she was thinking about Tamlyn, just as Cullen was.
* * * *
Tamlyn woke to a horrible headache. She put her hand to her forehead and winced. There would be no more sleep for her until it abated. Memories of what’d happened filled her. They weren’t as stark or unforgiving as before, but the pain was still fresh. Raw.
Tears filled her eyes. They fell down her temples and into her hair. The agony from the child’s death would stay with her for some time. It didn’t matter how many she saved; it never lightened the load of the dead that she carried with her.
She sat up and drew her knees to her chest. Much about the end of the night was fuzzy, but she did remember Cullen being there. He’d tried to stop her and had warned her about an army. An army!
If he hadn’t been there, she would’ve been captured. A shiver raced down her spine as she imagined what the priests would have done to her as punishment for meddling with their so-called sacrifices. It wouldn’t matter what torture they put her through. Nothing was worse than not saving a child and having to live with that.
“You were supposed to get me.”
Tamlyn lifted her head to find Jenefer in the doorway. “I called out for you several times.”
“You should’ve waited.”
“I couldn’t. You know that.”
Jenefer sighed. “It’s a good thing Sian woke up and checked on you. I’m beginning to think you shouldn’t sleep alone.”
Her thoughts immediately went to Cullen. Tamlyn looked away from Jenefer so her friend couldn’t see her thoughts.
“You really scared us tonight, Tam.”
She looked into Jenefer’s brown eyes and gave her a woeful smile. “I’m sorry.”
“I know,” Jenefer said with a sad smile before walking away.
Tamlyn wouldn’t be able to sleep until she had taken something for her head. She rose and went to Sian’s lab to look for the vial of purple liquid. It was a concoction Sian had made specifically for Tamlyn and the headaches that assaulted her after failing to reach a child.
It tasted vile, but it worked. Tamlyn scrunched up her nose and took a big swig of it. She gagged and forced herself to swallow. She gagged a second time and rushed to a bucket in case it came up. After Tamlyn was sure that it would stay down, she straightened and turned around, only to find herself staring into pale brown eyes.
“How are you feeling?”
She shrugged and returned the vial to its rightful place. “I’ll be better once that kicks in and takes away the headache.”
“Was it from the headbutt you gave me?” Cullen asked with a grin.
Tamlyn bit her lip as his words triggered her memory. “No, but I’m really sorry about that. When I hear the screams, I have no choice but to go.”
“I found that out tonight.”
“I would’ve been caught if it hadn’t been for you.”
He quirked a blond brow. “It doesna make your unsuccessful rescue easier to bear, does it?”
“No.”
Cullen pushed away from the door and walked into the lab. “I’ve been doing some thinking while you slept. The soldiers know you come through the forest.”
“But they don’t know who I am.”
He waved away her words. “That isna what I mean. When you hear the screams, you have to run the length of the forest to get to the temple and free the children. Then you have to make your way back through the woods, as well as past whatever animals or soldiers might be waiting.”
“Yes,” she said, wondering what he was getting at.
“There’s a way we can get around that.”
Tamlyn forced a smile. “We’ve thought of everything.”
“You have no’ thought of already being in the city.”
“You’re serious?”
He smiled and turned on his heel. As he walked away, he said, “I told you I was going to the city, lass.”
