Page 34 of Thief of Dreams
The wall spits me out onto the hallway floor and I gasp for breath, clinging to it for dear life. Thank the Goddess. My mouth tastes dry and my heart is hammering, and what in the Cauldron's name is wrong with my eyes?
"Merisel?" There's a knee in front of me, though floating specks of white obliterate the center of my vision. "Are you all right?"
Keir.
There's blood on his leather breeches, blood all over the tiles. I see the body, but the white lights obliterate the worst parts of it.
It's only when I turn my head that I realize he decapitated her.
And I'm shaking as he draws me to my feet. Me, who's faced the worst the Wraith King can throw at me.
But not this.
Not being buried alive in a wall.
I want to vomit.
"You're all right," Keir whispers, hauling me into his arms. He cradles me against his chest, squeezing tightly, and for a second I close my eyes, breathing in his scent. "I knew the killer would strike tonight. The second Ismena came screaming around the corner, I knew we had her, but I didn't realize she hadyouin her sights. You're lucky you're still alive." His voice roughens as he says it, and his hand strokes through my hair.
It feels... nice.
It feels like all the things I want and can't have.
"She was mad." I cannot shake the look in her eyes. "She thought that if she ate your heart she'd... transform. She thought herself a dragon."
"A dragon?" He draws back, his hands resting on my shoulders. "Are you all right, Merisel?" A tender thumb traces the blood dripping from my temple. "You hit your head."
"Shehit my head."
Smashed it right into the nearest column.
"Here," he says, sweeping me up into his arms as if I'm some sort of damsel. "There's water and cloth in my rooms. That wound looks like it needs tending."
Nobody's ever carried me in their arms before. I grab his shirt, feeling awkward and precarious. If you cannot afford to stand on your own two feet, then you're in danger.
But that's the kind of thinking I grew up with.
This is Keir. He just saved my life.
I peer over his shoulder as his guards tend to the body. I didn't even realize they were there.
Calliope's eyes stare accusingly at me, her head several feet away from the rest of her.
Fuck it. If the prince wants to carry me, then he can.
Curse the training camps.
Curse my father.
And above all, curse the Dragon's Heart. For one hour of my life, I want to pretend I know nothing about it.
10
Prince Keir takes me to his rooms.
My mind's starting to clear as my pulse slowly comes back under control. I won't pretend I'm not a little dizzy still, but at least when he puts my feet on the ground I don't fall in a boneless puddle.
"Sit down before you fall down," he says.
