Page 77 of A Touch of Royalty

“It’s the middle of the night,” she told him. “I can wait for breakfast.”

“Alright.” He laid back down, arms tight around her. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

She nodded against his shoulder, letting sleep claim her again.

In the morning, they had breakfast and Emryn crawled back into bed. The investigation of how the assailant had gotten in had been concluded while she was sleeping off the poison.

He’d come down the chimney of all places and the top of it was now blocked with an iron grid so that avenue was closed.

But the question that was bothering Emryn was twofold. Myconia was under the umbrella of the Eternal Empire, so did the Empire have a hand in sending someone after her.

And if that was the truth, then why? And if the answer to that was because the Eternal Empress knew about Emryn’s wings, then who had told the Empire?

But those weren’t questions that she was going to be able to answer on her own. She was going to need help, and her Three.

50

COLLEGE

Cas was tired, but he’d been on high alert for as long as Emryn had been unconscious, and she was awake now, so maybe he could rest. He laid down and closed his eyes, immediately falling into the dark.

But there was a light, and Cas needed to know what it was.

So he picked up his feet and went in the direction of the leaking light. Finding himself in a meadow, or at least it looked like one, with a bright being wearing an exact duplicate of what Cas was wearing.

In fact, the being facing him was an exact duplicate of Cas. Right down to the forelock of hair that his man despaired of ever getting to stay in the right place.

“What?”

“Hello Cas,” the voice was musical, reminding him of that song that Emryn’s wings had sung with the oracle. “You finally found me.”

“Who are you?”

“I’m you,” the being said. “The you within you, and it is time you became.”

“Became what?”

“Yourself,” the being said with a smile. “When you wake, speak to Emryn. She will know what to do.”

The light faded out before Cas could get his feet under him to ask what the being meant. And the dark was crushing, sending him down until there was no way up and no way out.

And then it let him go, He felt marginally better and when he looked over, Emryn was sitting at the side of the bed with a tray in her lap.

“How long?” He tried to sit up and failed.

“Two days,” Emryn said. “You had a mild fever, some sort of illness. I healed you, but could do nothing for the exhaustion, so I just let you rest.”

“Thank you,” He tried to sit up again and managed it this time. “Is that for me?”

She nodded, rising and placing the tray on his lap. “I had cook make her special soup for you.”

“Where’s yours?” He took the cover off the bowl and breathed in the fragrant steam.

“In my belly,” Emryn smiled, but there was an edge of worry in it. “Are you feeling better, Cas?”

He nodded. “I had a strange experience, Emryn, and I need to talk to you about it.”

“Alright?”

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