Page 44 of The Rebel's Prize

"It's my decision in the end." Beside him, the horse shook his head as though in agreement, snorting softly. Lucien patted his neck.

Chloe, however, did not agree. "No, it's not."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Because, as you pointed out last night, we did actually make vows, and I believe one of mine was something about tending to your well-being. I'm not going to let you faint, fall from your horse, and bang your stupid head on a rock in the desert. For one thing, I really don't want to have to explain to your mother why her favorite child and the head of the family is going to spend the rest of his years under the care of the goddess's healers with his brain addled."

Goddessforbid. Still, if he did fall from his horse and bang his head, this whole mess would be someone else's problem. Not entirely an unappealing concept.

"I can see you've thought this through thoroughly."

She stood on tiptoes and leaned into his ear again. "Yes, and if you refuse me, I will tell Lieutenant Envier exactly what happened last night."

He stiffened, and Chloe snorted. "At least that's made some impression on your stubbornness. Do you think the lieutenant will want you riding if he knows the current state of your health?"

Lucien grimaced. It would probably be all he could do to stop the lieutenant from suggesting they turn around and head straight back to Lumia if he admitted he was ill. "You win. I'll join you in the wagon."

The smile she gave him was triumphant. And pierced his heart. She was beautiful, his wife, and yet each day it felt like she was drifting further out of his reach. Before the attack at the palace, he thought that maybe he would be able to convince her that they could make it work together. But since she had so carelessly destroyed the bond, he wasn't so sure, or at least not so sure that he could bear to put in the effort and then lose her at the end of it anyway.

He gestured toward the wagon. "You go ahead. I need to finish talking to Corporal Chartres."

"Don’t take too long," Chloe said, smiling smugly. "I believe Silya has a tea prepared for you."

Just what he needed. Some disgusting healer's tea.

The thought must have shown on his face, as Chloe lifted an eyebrow. "I would take the tea, my lord. I spoke to the caravan's healer just now, and the best they would be able to offer you would be something that would knock you flat for at least a day. Until we reach the next town and I can stock up on some things to make a tonic that I think might assist you, you'll do what Silya says and rest. If you're feeling better this afternoon, perhaps we'll ride for an hour. At most. Do we have an agreement?" She glanced meaningfully toward the front of the wagon, where he could now see the corporal and the lieutenant discussing something, their expressions businesslike.

In other words, conveniently close if she wanted to make good on her threat to inform on him.

He set his teeth, not sure if he was annoyed or impressed at how neatly she'd flanked him. Or perhaps just a little happy that she seemed to be genuinely worried about his health. "We do."

* * *

By the end of the day, Lucien was glad that Chloe had convinced him not to ride. It had been unusually hot, the sun boiling down, warming the inside of the wagon despite the cooling charms. Being on horseback under such heat would be an exercise in endurance, not an enjoyable experience.

Silya had dosed him with some sort of tea that he had to admit had helped his lingering fatigue. But even with that boost, he wasn't entirely sure quite how much of the day he had dozed on and off, lulled to sleep by the rocking rhythm of the wagon. Chloe and Silya had talked softly, or napped a few times themselves, and at one point, Chloe had produced a book from somewhere in her bags, tucked her feet up on the bench beside Silya, and read.

By the time they reached the campsite, even though he had slept part of the day, he was more tired than he liked to admit, eager for their evening meal and then going to sleep as early as he could manage it. Which might depend on how much paperwork was waiting for him now that the caravan would have picked up mail in Fallea.

Chloe and Silya were both somewhat flushed and moving stiffly as they climbed down from the wagon. He resisted the urge to stretch. And made a mental note to talk to an ingenier when they got back to Lumia. Surely there was some way to make the wagons more comfortable. He hadn't noticed how bad the ride was when he'd traveled a few routes with his father. But then, he'd been eighteen and apparently made of rubber or something else equally impervious to the constant rattling ride.

Now he was all too clearly flesh and bone, neither of which appreciated being jolted around for hours on end. It wasn't outside the realm of possibility that he would travel with a caravan again. Besides which, it should be more comfortable for those who worked the caravans for him regularly.

The evening air was holding on to the heat, making him aware he was dusty and travel stained. The campsite only had rudimentary bathing facilities, so it didn't take long to wash up. He forced himself to eat despite having little appetite. He hoped that was because he'd slept part of the day away rather than his...hiccup from the previous night. When he'd been recovering from the firewort, it had taken several months for his appetite to return to normal. He didn't want a relapse and made himself finish off everything on his plate before he pushed it away.

"I need to get back to the tent. I'm sure there will be papers waiting for me. Chloe, are you ready to retire?"

She shook her head. "I'll just finish my conversation with Sejerin Silya and then I'll join you."

Meaning they probably wanted to discuss his treatment without him trying to convince them he didn't need it.

He nodded, resigned to the fact that he wouldn't be able to stop them, and left the two of them to talk, trying not to yawn as he located their tent. Private Blaise had drawn guard duty tonight, and Lucien nodded at him before he ducked inside. There was a pile of papers on the small folding table that served as his desk, and he bit back a groan. For a moment he envied Chloe, who could have Octarus transport an urgent message instantly if she chose, rendering paperwork unnecessary. But he was no water mage, and it was unlikely that he would bond a sanctii any time soon to help him avoid his responsibilities.

As though Lucien had summoned him with that thought, Octarus appeared in the middle of the tent. Lucien took an instinctive step back, only just managing to avoid knocking the table over. The sanctii looked around the tent curiously, and Lucien cleared his throat.

"Chloe is still talking to Silya," he offered.

Octarus gave him the sort of steady look that suggested he wasn't entirely sure if Lucien had a brain or not. Which was difficult with the craggy face of a sanctii, but Lucien had had enough experience with the sanctii in the forces to know how to interpret most of their expressions. "Sorry. I guess you know where she is."

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