Page 236 of A Touch of Poison
“Not much of one. Fixing bodies isn’t my primary gift.” Instead of a rueful smile, he gave a meaningful smirk.
“And what is?” I edged the bounds of politeness, asking about his magic, but he’d bridged part of that gap by hinting there was something else.
“I can do all kinds of things with bodies, Bastian.” He glanced at my hand and a tingling sensation crept over my skin, not wholly unpleasant. “It’s a pity Kat didn’t get a chance to discover that sooner. I think she might’ve chosen differently. But I can take care of minor injuries, and stop bleeding from the major ones while we wait for a true healer to get here… or for this to all be over.” He frowned at Dawn’s entrance.
Perhaps he and I weren’t so different.
The warmth of his magic shifted, stinging now. It was always the way with healing—the sensation of flesh or bone knitting together was not a pleasant one. And the worse the injury, the worse the pain.
“… a run for it.” A voice drifted from a nearby couple.
“We should get out of the palace.” A gold-haired woman clasped her hands at her chest as a few more guards sidled over.
“Not just the palace—the fucking city.” The man with her, tall and slender, shook her by the shoulders and cast his gaze over the rest of the group forming around them. “First the Horrors, now this?”
Sighing as Caelus’s magic withdrew, I rolled my shoulder. No pull of sliced flesh. No hesitation. Evin and my father were right.
“Don’t be idiots,” I called to the group. “Stay here.”
The man scowled. “Why should we, Serpent?”
“Or don’t.” I buttoned up my shirt. “It’s all the same to me. But if you want to live, you’re better off here. There are only two entrances for enemies to attack through, so it’s easier for the guards to defend. If you go that way”—I pointed to Dawn’s door—“well, last time I saw, there were almost a dozen guards and more arriving. And that way”—I indicated Dusk’s door—“is more fighting.”
Caelus folded his arms as I pulled on the blue jacket. “You’re no safer over there.”
The tall man’s shoulders slumped.
Patting his back, the blond woman gave us a tremulous smile. “We’ll stay.” She pressed her lips together before dipping her chin. “Thank you for the warning.”
The group around them dispersed.
“Thanks for that.” Caelus huffed. “He’s been stirring since he got here, and I’ve been trying to calm him down, but…” He gestured at the injured folk around us.
“And thanks for this.” I raised my shoulder. “Here.” I handed him my borrowed sword. If everything went according to plan, I would soon replace it with my Shadowblade. “Just in case.”
With a tight smile, he inclined his head. “Good luck, Marwood.”
As I turned, Dusk’s door opened and a falcon shot through, grey wings tight to its body. Slowing, it enlarged, legs growing longer, feathers retreating. A second later, a fae landed, accepting a cloak from one of the other guards.
I sidled over as Evin ordered the panting shapechanger to give her report.
“We tried to get to the throne room, but the way was blocked.” Her voice rasped. Someone pressed a drink into her hand and she took a gulp. “The king and the Kingsguard were spotted fighting their way through, but more Ascendants closed in on their position.”
“Shit.” Evin echoed my thoughts.
Whatever Hydra Ascendant’s bigger plan, they were after the king for now—perhaps also the rest of Dawn’s royal family.
Knowing the queen was safe, I could return to Dawn’s side of the palace and look for Kat… or aim for the throne room and protect the king.
His two heirs meant his death wouldn’t be as catastrophic as Braea’s, but with Hydra Ascendant clearly made up of Dusk Court fae—every one I’d seen had midnight hair—if one of them killed Lucius, it would become more than a diplomatic incident. I wouldn’t put it past Cyrus to argue he’d been assassinated by Dusk—technically true, but not the full picture.
I shared a glance with Evin before asking, “Have reinforcements been sent to His Majesty?”
The messenger’s eyes widened when they landed on me. “We tried, ser.” Her voice shook. “But the attackers have secured all entrances to Dawn. They’re on their own.”
Evin swore again. “Every lodestone’s cut off? You’re sure?”
“Every one, ser.”
