Page 144 of Enchanted Crown
I moved to stand and stumbled a step, wondering how much blood I had lost out of my wing.
I am getting you to a healer immediately,Esta snapped as she caught me with her large dragon head.
She turned to a few shifters and evidently demanded one of the healers who had been checking out the hostages come over to look at me before we headed back to the castle.
So bossy,I told her.
I listened when you needed me to,she offered lightly.
Had she not breathed fire on us like I had commandedtelepathically, Morana would have likely killed either me or another one of the hostages. Our bond had saved this day. Saved our people. I was sure I would relive the scene from her lair a hundred times over in the days to come.
The healer put some healing ointment on my wing and wrapped it, telling me I would need to keep my wings out so it could heal faster, and I would need to sleep it off.
After this long and bloodied day, a fresh new dawn sounded great.
I turned to Esta.Take me home, wife.
I woketo the smell of food and soft singing around me. Esta was singing along with Emric, and much to my horror, she was teaching him a new sea shanty. As I listened in, I knew it was one I hadn’t ever heard before.
“Beast nor storm shall ever tear. Wills alone the only snare. Together as we ride.”
I had to admit their voices together sounded good.
“Oh, good afternoon, Prince,” Emric said as he looked my way.
“How do you feel?” Esta asked as she reached for her teacup.
“I feel as if you’ve been holding out on us,” I told her. “That sea shanty is far better than the other.”
Her lips twitched. “To be fair, it is more of a war shanty than a sea shanty.”
I rolled onto the side of my good wing and up to sitting, realizing with my wings shifted, the things took up the entire damn bed. “Is Nana all right? When Avril came in, I’d just taken her to the healers.”
“She is,” Esta stated. “A bruised tailbone, and a broken heart, otherwise as feisty as ever.”
“How long was I out?”
“Just a very long night,” Emric offered.
“Do you have healings today?” I asked him, rubbing a hand across my forehead and rising to stand.
“No. And tomorrow the week-long celebration will begin, so long as you were awake.”
I quickly used the lavatory and freshened up. “So long as I was awake?” I finally repeated minutes later. Had he just said aweeklong celebration? Words were happening so fast and I was trying to grab onto all of them, but it was too much.
“You are a guest of honor, Keir,” Esta told me as I made it back to the edge of the bed to sit. “Along with Zaire and the hostages. Nyx too. We are celebrating the death of our enemy. Across all of Dra Skor. A bonfire a night in each of the cities and another ending here in Halikaara Keep with the largest. We were waiting on you to wake.”
Knowing how Dra Skor liked to celebrate victories, big or small, I was shocked last night there hadn’t already been one. “You could have started them without me.”
She gave her head a shake. “No. We couldn’t. Not when you saved us in my lair. You are the reason Morana is dead.”
“Pretty sure I cannot breathe flame, nor do I have talons,” I argued.
“Neither my flame nor talons would have had the confidence to do what was needed without your guidance and belief in me. In us.”
Emric asked kindly, breaking apart our martial spat. “Should I go tell Amory he is up so she can send word that the bonfires can begin tomorrow? She was all but poking him awake earlier.”
“That would be helpful,” Esta agreed. “Can you have her send Keir more food as well? He has that look about him which I have learned means he’s going to destroy everything in his path.”
