Ruby Red

Chapter Eleven

"Do you have any idea when he's going to wake up?"

"It's hard to say, General Morrigan. He lost a good amount of blood by the time you brought him back to us. We can only hope that it's going to be soon."

Slipping in and out of focus, Karis could only hear snippets of the conversations going on around him. His eyelids fluttered open and closed, blinded by the bright light of the room around him. He tried to sit up, but an ache ran through his side and he groaned. "Alana? Is that you?"

"Oh! Karis, we were just talking about you," Fallon said, bounding over and sitting on the side of his bed. "You're in the infirmary. What were you thinking, going out in the middle of the night like that? You heard what the queen said earlier. And look what happened, you're hurt."

She offered him a hand to help him lean against the mound of pillows at his back. "I wanted to talk to Alana. I did what I had to do."

"You saw her?" Fallon's voice dropped to a whisper. The nurse was across the room, but she wasn't taking any chances. "Why didn't you bring her back? What is she doing? Is she okay?"

Karis chuckled. "You're asking a lot of questions." Before he continued, he sighed. Memories from the night before came flooding back into his head. His emotions had clouded his head, but sharp feelings of pain and the sensation of falling jolted him back into reality. "Yes, I saw her. She seemed to be fine, but something is different about her. She's more... aggressive than we're used to."

Fallon nodded. She thought for a moment, then said, her voice serious, "Did she hurt you?"

"Yes." In more ways than one. "She admitted that she's coming back to the ball tomorrow, so I'm going to be there to meet her. And she may be bringing a plus-one, so we need to be alert."

"A plus-one? You're not telling me... she's not. Alana wouldn't do that."

"Apparently she would." He knew exactly what Fallon was referencing. She had connected the dots earlier. Karis's encounter with her at their spot only confirmed what Fallon had already suspected. "There's only one reason they would come to the ball: the Scepter. We're going to need a total lockdown on it tomorrow night. You and I are going to need to be on Alana and Indigo's tails personally."

She held up her hands in protest. "Karis. I love you and all, but Alana literally stabbed you last night. There's no way you're going to the ball, much less to follow Alana around all night."

He knew she meant well, but there was no way Fallon was going to stop him from doing this. He leaned closer to her. "Indigo is dangerous. They've been in prison for five years with a record extending back god knows how far." Karis looked his friend straight in the eyes as he whispered, "You know what the queen said. This is our investigation. I'm going."

The look in Fallon's eyes could kill a man. She and Karis were close, but when it came to Alana, he knew her best. There was no changing his mind. "Fine," she grumbled. "Let me go talk to one of the royals. We'll increase the number of guards around the Scepter at all times. There won't be a single second someone's eyes aren't on it."

"Thank you."

"Now lay back down. If you're absolutely sure you're going to the ball, you need to be somewhat healed and well-rested." Fallon squeezed Karis's shoulder and stood up. With a wave goodbye, she left the infirmary and wandered through the halls of the castle.

She was just crossing the main hall when she heard a sweet, singsong voice from the steps. "Fallon!" Princess Lévian exclaimed. Fallon turned and smiled as she watched her girlfriend pick up her blue tulle skirts and rush down the stairs.