The crown prince of Esaria has been wounded in battle many times. He's braved the slashes of swords, the cuts of daggers, the piercing shot of an arrow. All those injuries were at the hands of enemies when an enemy discovered his true identity. In the end, those enemies have always died, either at the hands of his brother or his own, a death worthy of any prince's sword.
But Silas, walking down the halls and clasping his arm with his free hand, hadn't expected Roux to be the one to injure him. It happened so fast, he couldn't prepare himself for it, but having stepped in the way of someone not willing to stand against a physical blockade was a mistake.
Silas realizes that now. The servants that pass him offer concerned looks, but when he smiles back at them, a silent promise that everything is all right, they continue on. The trail of blood leads him from the training room, up flights of stairs and into his tower, all the way to the shut door of Hallie's chambers.
He doesn't care whether she's inside or not; he kicks open the door and makes his way inside, only to find the healer laying in bed, wearing a lace nightgown of a night-blue. She raises her brows at him, but knowing immortality; goes back to reading her book.
"I take it you earned that wound," she muses.
Silas pouts and walks around her bed to the bathing chamber. He runs the open gash underneath the warm water of the sink and removes what blood he can. He hadn't lost to her, a trained warrior that holds his father's skill in her grasp. Battling her isn't part of the mistake, it is the truth he shared—information she may relay to the king.
Mistakes and all, Silas doesn't regret trying to get his point across.
Once the wound is clean of blood and he applies pressure to stop anything further, Silas takes a roll of bandage back to Hallie. Although he may be immortal, exhausting his power to heal can be draining. Especially for a witch of his power, one able to take on more than one in a single moment. Silas has to be careful—around every corner, he's forced to watch his power like a hawk.
"If you want me to heal the wound, I suggest you look elsewhere. I've exhausted myself too much today, I don't think it's wise for me to do anything for you," Hallie says to her book. She purses her already plump lips; that pout drives Silas insane.
He frowns. "If it was Celestine, you'd jump at the chance to heal her."
At that, Hallie shuts her book and shoves back the covers, revealing the bottom half of the nightgown. Hardly anything past her hips and just barely covering her thighs. Silas keeps his eyes high, on her face and the lips he has kissed before, only a single feature on that beautiful body of hers. In some aspect, they get along. In other aspects...the same cannot be said.
"We agreed on one common goal when the king transformed Roux into his third hand. Protect Celestine at all costs; it's what Roux would have wanted, so that's what we will do. So, if you're saying I'm not doing what I'm supposed to do, you'd be right." Hallie steps close, bringing along the smell of strawberries with her, and hovers a delicate hand over Silas's arm.
After the years they've known each other, Silas isn't afraid of the white light that unfurls from her skin and warms his own like a breathless kiss. At a pace considered being slow, yet careful and calculated, the open wound stitches together underneath her power—Hallie never once breaking her stare away from his.
Once Hallie heals the wound, she brings herself to her toes and kisses him in the most delicate way she can. Silas can hardly resist, he's learned not to, especially at a time like this where both of them could use a proper distraction.
In previous months, he'd wanted to stop this, the toxic relationship they have together. It's sexual and only that, even if they look out for each other when the time calls for it. But when Celestine came along, the crown prince hadn't been able to think about anyone else. Hallie didn't fulfill his desires, he wanted to be with someone—not have a permanent bedmate for the rest of his life.
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Aligning the Forgotten ✓
Fantasy[Book 3 of the Grounding the Storm series] Renit's worst nightmare has come true. Roux isn't at his side, and he's banished from his throne and his crown, leaving him nameless and on the run. While trying to escape his father's cruel reign, he has t...
