Serpent in Shackles

Chapter Twenty Three

Every movement of the horse sent an excruciating ache soaring through my body.

The ache subsided for a moment when we finally reached the house. I kept my wincing and cringing to a minimum all the way home. Partially because I didn't want anyone to worry about me. And partially because it wasn't until I saw the familiar stone exterior that the events of the day finally hit me. That I finally realized I was safe, that I could rest.

Like usual, the Shadow Knight kicked his leg over the neck of the horse and slid down. I waited until he turned away, until they all turned away, before trying to climb down myself. All my adrenaline had run out and I was left in sheer pain.

As I leaned slightly to the left, a surge of pain shattered through my leg, straight up my arm and into my neck. I didn't know the human body could feel such immense pain. This body was certainly not adequate enough to deal with the greater strength and speed of monsters.

My throat was dry, hoarse, but I still managed a low cough, grabbing everyone's attention. "As I'm sure you're all aware, I can be quite-"

"Stubborn," Caeden answered.

"Independent," I countered, eyes narrowing. "So I'm sure you can imagine it's quite embarrassing for me to ask this, but could someone please help me down?"

Vincent choked out a laugh and rolled his eyes. "Humans."

Danver looked to Caeden, who merely said, "bring her to the sitting room. I'll get stuff to clean her wounds."

I let out a pitiful cry as Danver wrapped his arms around my waist, carefully pulling me down. One arm stretched across my back, tipping my head into his shoulder, the other stretched under my knees.

Even though Danver set me on the soft couch gently, the pain found me once again. He stayed with me until the Shadow Knight returned, and then conveniently remembered something he urgently had to attend to.

The suppleness of the soft fabric enveloped me, holding me, soothing me. It brought a bit of relief to my exhausted body as I tilted my head back against the couch and nearly drifted off to a deep sleep.

The ruffle of a package jolted me awake and I found Caeden sitting in front of me on the granite table, ripping open a package of cotton pads. A small bowl rested on the table beside him.

Noticing my staring, he lifted a brow and tossed the empty package onto the table beside him. "Elianna will bring you medicine later to help with pain and healing."

His fingers pushed against the back of my hand, pulling it to rest on top of his leg.

The half smile flashed from his face as he looked down at the dried blood and scrapes of skin he held onto. He dipped the cotton into the small bowl before pressing it to my palm. Surprisingly, it didn't sting like I expected it to. The pure alcohol we used to clean wounds back in Abneer was enough to make a soldier cry.

With his elbows digging into his thighs, he leaned forward examining the wound as he cleaned it. Brown waves dangled in front of his eyes as he lowered his head.

There were so many questions I wanted to ask him. So many answers I was dying to know. But there was an ounce of hesitation that I couldn't shake.

Princess is not afraid to ask me anything.

After a moment of silence, I finally said, "the war between our Kingdoms. How did it start?"

He took in a deep breath, eyes drifting away for a second as if he was remembering the entire event in detail. But his focus returned to the wound as he told me the story. "The Queen who ruled here at that time fell in love with her second in command, Nikos. She was supposed to meet with the King of Abneer to maintain relations between the Kingdoms, but she had fallen ill for a few months and was not well enough to travel. As her most trusted member, she sent Nikos to meet with him instead. King Reyes' great great grandfather. Nikos spent quite a bit of time there, where he met a young human woman. Morana."