Power and The Queen

Chapter Fifty - Two

As the slavers' retreated, Barun let out a sigh of relief. He ran towards Turk to carry his brother. Tears burned his eyes as he saw the scars and injuries on his body. He pulled Damiel to his chest, allowing the tears to flow freely.

Even with his men watching, he could not hold back his tears. Finally, he found his brother. All the time, he wondered if he would find him alive. He blamed himself for being too weak, but now his brother was safe again.

"Thank you," he said to Turk, who pulled his body up. "I owe you my life,"

On Turk's face and arms, he had a few scratches from the whip hitting him as he protected Damiel.

"You owe me nothing," Turk replied. "As a prince, your life now belongs to the people of Dabrack,"

Barun's eyes widened. This is who he was now, and he had to get used to it. He had come to the slavers' market looking for his brother as a knight but his royal status, but Lida's comment made him realise his royal status would follow him for life.

"Does that mean Damiel is a prince too?" Logan whispered to Lida.

"Obviously," Lida jabbed his stomach.

A horse neighed in the distance behind them, getting their attention away from the somber reunion. They stood on high alert, wondering who would come here after seeing the villagers panic.

Lida reacted first, straining his eyes to see through the dusty hue. The sunset was on the horizon, blocking most of his vision. As soon as he caught the sight of a red veil with gold beads wrapped around the head of a woman, his eyes widened in shock.

"It's Jaquia!" Lida exclaimed. "She followed us,"

A frown stretched through his face as he climbed his horse to block her path. Barun wiped his tears and carried his brother to his horse with Logan's assistance.

"Sir Barun, let me see him," Jaquia said, stopping her horse in front of Lida.

"Why are you here?" Lida asked.

"I came to help," she replied.

"It's dangerous here!"

"Yet here you are. Barun knows I can help. It's faster than finding a healer."

Lida didn't look convinced. Though he was relieved to see her again, he would have preferred her waiting in the capital city. The slave market was too dangerous.

"Let's go into town," Barun said, pushing his horse to walk in the direction she came from.

"I booked an inn," Turk said. "It's very secluded. We can treat him there,"

Jaquia climbed down from her horse and handed the reins to Turk.

"Lead the way," she said. "I'll ride with him,"

Although she was pointing at Lida, the pout on his face told her she wasn't off the hook yet. Yes, she took a big risk coming here alone, but it was Barun's brother and she had to help in any way she could.

Turk climbed the horse and rushed to ride ahead of Barun. He led them to the inn, where they booked more rooms. His inn was located in the least crowded part of town, making it easy to hide from the slavers.

"Lay him on his stomach," Jaquia instructed as she neared the bed with a bowl of water and a piece of cloth.

Barun did as she instructed and looked away from his injured brother. The more he stared, the more his heart broke for him. Logan patted his shoulder in support while Lida went to assist Jaquia.

"We have to leave tonight," Turk said.

"We can't travel with my brother in this state," Barun replied.