Page 109 of The Beast King's Bride

“He’s bleeding too much.” I follow with the wet cloth one of the long cuts in Talen’s side, mopping up blood. “Can’t you help stop it?”

“I can.” He watches me from under heavy lids.

I force myself to keep cleaning the wounds. “So what are you waiting for, a written invitation? And why do you want everyone out? Is your magic, your healing some sort of secret?”

“Do you know the riddle, girl?”

This is becoming really annoying. “Are you here to heal him or not?”

“The riddle says—”

“Heal him! I know the damn riddle. I’m not human, not Fae, nor am I a princess, and yet I am one. And no, I don’t know how to lift the curse, but please, help him!”

He still doesn’t move, scrutinizing me as if he can read something on my face that even I am not aware of.

“Riddles are deeper than they seem,” he eventually says and deigns to approach Talen. The sheets are already soaked in his blood and my chest hurts and my hands tremble. The thought of him dying is killing me, too.

“Please,” I whisper. “Don’t let him die.”

“What would you give?” he whispers, crouching down beside the king. “What would you give to stop him from dying?”

“Anything,” I whisper.

“Are you sure?”

I shake my head but it’s mostly confusion. “What do you want? If it’s gold, the king can give you a reward. I don’t own anything or I’d offer it to you.”

“Move back,” is all he says and I scoot back just a little, not sure what he is about to do but not willing to move far. After all, I don’t know this sage, don’t know if he even cares about saving Talen or if he’s about to take out a blade and finish him off.

But only a soft glow emerges from the sage’s bony hands, a glowing mist that floats over the bleeding wounds, and before I start questioning again whether it’s a healing art or a poison to end him, the ends of the wounds begin to pull together, the mist solidifying over them, forming a transparent membrane, sealing them shut.

I stare, amazed. Seeing Talen pushing back the black tide of the Decay with his power was impressive, but this is closer, more tangible, the sealing of the wounds happening right in front of my eyes.

I wish I had such a power. I wish I could have been able to heal Talen myself, or killed the dragon to begin with. But above all, I’m grateful that he’ll be okay.

“Thank you,” I whisper as the glow fades and the sage stands. “Why hasn’t he woken up yet? What do I have to do?”

“Let him rest,” the sage says, “replenish his life force, and when he wakes up, give him rich food and water. The king is strong and should weather this just fine.”

I get up when the sage turns to leave. “That’s all? Wait. What about your reward?”

But he walks out of the room, his steps slow and measured, his long white hair barely fluttering as he leaves, giving no more answers to my questions.

What he said, what he did will have to be enough.

The guards, under Jassin’s direction, have carried Talen to his room and now he’s lying in his bed, looking lost in the middle of it, the covers pulled up to his bare chest. His black hair and the horns rest on the pile of dark-blue pillows, the braid curled beside his head. Even though Talen is a tall, impressive example of a male, the bed seriously seems made for four people, not only one.

“The sage really said he will be all right?” Jassin is wringing his hands together.

“Yes. What happened with the second dragon? Is it dead?”

“I don’t… Yes. Yes, it’s dead. Maab, why are the monsters awake during the daytime? They were not supposed to be.” He shoves his hands through his hair. “Things are getting worse.”

“That’s what the sage said, too,” I whisper. “The curse is worsening.”

“I knew it.” Jassin paces the room as the guards who carried Talen here hurry away. “The palace isn’t safe during daytime anymore. I have no idea how we will stop the rest of the guards and servants from running away. How we will keep the fight going. The monsters come out of the shadows, it’s impossible to predict where they will appear.”

The Empress wants him to submit to her willingly. She is afraid that with me here, he could find the cure so she upped her attacks. But I’m not the cure.

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