I reach her just as she sways and nearly falls over. I catch her, grasping her forearms and holding her upright. She blinks fast and gives her head a shake, and I can’t help but notice she’s become increasingly pale during our conversation.
“Prince Lucas no longer helps lead the Summer Court army. I’m entirely in charge now. However, months ago when we conquered Sorsston, he was there. He talked to you, saved you from a bloodthirsty crowd in the banquet hall, returned you to your parents’ house, gave you a bag of silver, and glamoured you into forgetting most of the events.”
Her head tilts to the side, and when she sways again, I lift her in my arms. Gods, it feels so good to hold her. But she’s clearly injured, and I must tend to her leg now.
“Bloodthirsty crowd? I remember you, but I-I don’t remember a…” Her voice trails off and she faints in my arms.
I kneel on the ground and set her upon a soft bed of clover. Then I push up her right pant leg. The bite marks and green ooze reveal she’s been attacked by a hurllan, and an adolescent one at that given the tiny size of the marks. She’s lucky she didn’t encounter a full grown one. Hurllans aren’t venomous but theirmouths are so dirty that an infection usually sets in rapidly after they bite someone.
I hold a hand over the bite marks and beckon healing light. Gold rays emit from my palm as I move my hand back and forth over her injured leg. It doesn’t take long for the green ooze to disappear along with the bite marks, and the swelling in her leg also goes down. Lastly, I heal the scratches on her face.
Is she hurt anywhere else?
I pull up her other pant leg but only glimpse smooth, unmarred skin. I contemplate tearing the clothes off her tiny body, but I worry that if she awakens during the process, she’ll assume the worst and believe I’m about to violate her. I don’t want to cause her such a terrible fright, so I lean close and take a deep inhale. Relief fills me when I don’t detect the scent of blood or another infection. Thank the gods.
I lift her in my arms and start walking through the forest. I resolve that I’ll summon wings and fly her back to Glenville, where the Summer Court army has set up camp, once she’s awake and I’m entirely certain she’s in good health.
As though reading my thoughts, her eyes flutter open, and she stares up at me. She blinks a few times and wiggles in my arms, but I hold her more tightly to my chest, unwilling to put her down.
“Settle down, sweet human. You were bitten by a hurllan and likely still feeling weak. I healed your leg, but you might feel tired for about an hour.”
She stills in my arms. “You healed me? How?”
I meet her eyes. “With my Summer Court magic.”
“Oh.” She lowers her gaze to my chest. “But why? Why would you heal me? Aren’t you going to kill me? Or do you simply want to keep me alive long enough to have your way with me?”
“I’m not going to kill you, sweet human, nor am I going to have my way with you. Not unless you’re eager and willing.”What am I doing? Am I actually bringing her back to the camp to keep as my war prize? If she lives with me among my people, that’s what she’ll be considered.
My little captive. The spoils of war.
“You didn’t answer my first question,” she says after a long pause. “Why did you heal me?”
We reach a small clearing that contains a multitude of glimmering, ussha-blessed flowers, and I finally summon my wings. Holding her close, I ascend into the sky at a slow pace, not wanting to scare her. She clutches onto me with a gasp.
“I healed you because there’s something about you that calls to me, Amelia, and I intend to keep you as mine.”
CHAPTER 5
AMELIA
There’ssomething about you that calls to me
I intend to keep you as mine.
As General Dalgaard flies toward Glenville—at least, I assume that’s where we’re going—I can’t stop thinking about the reasons he gave for healing me.
I don’t quite understand, and more than ever I regret that the highborn fae in Sorsston stole my memories.
Was it truly Prince Lucas who saved me from danger and then glamoured me? It seems like a fantastical story.
A dark thought hits me.
What if the general is lying about the bloodthirsty crowd he mentioned earlier? What if he’s lying to cover his own misdeeds?
What if my previous suspicions hold merit and he’s actually the one who hurt me, or attempted to hurt me, at the Sorsston castle, forcing Prince Lucas to intervene?
And now I’m the general’s captive.
