Page 66 of Monster's Bride

“Darsan,” I say, gently shaking his arm. “Can you hear me?”

A pitiful noise sounds in his chest, but it spurs on my determination. I nudge his arm again, slightly harder this time.

“Darsan, it’s Irissa. Please open your eyes.”

This time his eyelids flutter before slowly sliding open, and I sigh when his gaze focuses on me.

“Irissa,” he says, his voice a ragged whisper.

He lifts a hand shakily, and I take it between both of mine, grabbing onto it to reassure myself this is happening. Darsan is here and alive, but he’s badly hurt, and I feel like it’s my fault somehow.

“I’m here,” I assure him, dropping my voice. “Lizette and I are going to get you fixed up. She’ll be here in a few minutes.”

Realistically, I don’t know how long it will take her to collect her things and make it down here, but I try to sound optimistic for his benefit.

“Y-you’re all right,” he mutters, his lips barely moving when he speaks.

“Yes, I’m fine.”

Tiny lines form between his brows, and he makes to sit up, but winces and slumps back down instead. “We thought,” he says, already out of breath from the little energy he’s exerted. “We thought you were in danger.”

“No. Everything is fine.” I run my fingertips gently along his cheek that isn’t soaked in blood. “You just rest for now.”

He shakes his head, almost indiscernibly, and squeezes my hand still in his. “Things are dire in Hyatt. They attacked and destroyed so much. We thought you’d been killed.”

“What?” Icy fear shoots up my back. “Who attacked?”

“The minotaurs.”

“Darsan, it couldn’t have been them,” I assure him. “Ulleh is our ally. The raids should have stopped after the wedding. When did they attack?”

He hesitates, and I can see the gears turning behind his hazel eyes. “Three days ago.”

Three days ago.

My whirlwind of thoughts come to a screeching halt. Nothing makes sense. Someone tried to poison the royal family, and now my kingdom has endured a brutal attack by the minotaurs. How can the war still be happening if the alliance has been established with our marriage? Why did I give up my life to come here if nothing was going to change?

I want to cry. I want to scream. Most of all, I want answers, and none of those seem like options at the moment. The only thing I can do right now is wait for Lizette so we can treat Darsan and Sedric.

After that, I can worry about everything else.

When Liz finds us, she’s out of breath from running and leans against one of the stone walls to rest. A large bag is slung over her shoulder, which she carefully lowers to the stone floor for me to unpack while she catches her breath.

“I’m sorry it took so long,” she pants, sucking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly.

“Don’t apologize. You were faster than I would have been.” I unfasten the bag and start pulling out what’s tucked inside. Towels, bandages, a container of water, and several healing ointments are among the contents.

My eyes drift to the corridor, expecting to see Nor waiting for me like he was minutes ago, but only a lone guard stands watch outside the cell. As we get to work, I try to ignore the disappointment his absence causes and distract myself with taking care of Sedric and Darsan.

Lizette and I get them comfortable and clean their wounds, applying the healing ointment to the cuts and gashes before dressing them. Darsan’s head injury looks worse than it really is, and I prop his head up on a rolled towel to keep it off the stone floor, doing the same for Sedric. It isn’t much of a comfort, but it’s all I can do for them right now.

There’s no telling how long it takes before we finish but sweat has collected in my hairline by the time I’m done. Liz looks just as exhausted. We sit on the cool stone floor for a few moments, watching the men rest, before I quickly fill her in on everything Darsan divulged.

“That doesn’t make sense,” she says, her lips dipping into a frown. “If anything, Ulleh should be protecting Hyatt now that they’re allies.”

“Exactly,” I say, sounding defeated. The afternoon weighs on me, dragging my shoulders down, making me feel helpless. Even after everything I’ve done, nothing is better. Everything is much worse than before. How can I not blame myself, at least a little? “I have to talk to Nor as soon as possible.”

There’s so much I need to say to him, so many questions I need to ask. I don’t know if I have the strength to deal with it right now, but my kingdom is counting on me for answers. Waiting only prolongs their torment, if the minotaurs haven’t destroyed everything by now.

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