The King's Cursed Bride

Playing With Fire: Part 3

Carissa pulled back. "You told him?"

Ryther cleared his throat. "Told him what?"

"Well..." Mera grimaced. "I might have mentioned... certain things. But we can trust him."

"You've known him for how long, Mera?" Carissa's words escaped past her gritted teeth. Foolish, besotted girl. Why couldn't Elon have saved a war-hardened warrior? A master of espionage? Or at least a lock-picking thief. Someone with some degree of sense.

Mera's face flared with red. "I can see that you're upset..."

"Upset? Upset? If you think I'm merely upset, then I don't think you see anything." Carissa released a slow breath. "If you'll excuse me."

Mera stepped back, and Carissa slipped past her into the room. Tian was propped up with pillows, his arm wrapped in bandages.

Carissa stopped at the bedside, her arms folded. "Tian. I'm glad to see you're doing better."

He nodded slowly, his expression growing wary. "Yes. Mera was speaking to me..."

"I heard." Carissa forced a laugh, rubbing the back of her neck. "I hope you won't take anything she's said too seriously. You know how she likes to talk."

Tian's brows dipped into a frown, while Mera gasped behind her.

"Actually," Tian said, "I took it very seriously. And I'd like to help."

"Help with what?" Ryther asked.

Carissa whirled around, panic slipping past the seams in her composure. Because of Mera, there would soon be a widespread rumor that they were going to kill the Reaper King. "Nothing. Mera was telling Tian a story."

Mera stepped forward, placing her hand on Carissa's upper arm. "But I—"

Carissa grabbed Mera by the elbow and steered her toward the corner of the room. "Mera, please. I'm trying to salvage this."

Mera glanced over her shoulder, at Ryther at Tian. "But there's something about Tian that I trust."

"Mera, it's not Tian your trusting; it's your heart."

"Same thing."

"Your heart will lead you astray, Mera. It will use your emotions to blind you when you need clarity. It will evoke your pride when you need humility. It will fail you when it matters most."

Mera tossed her head in an eye roll. "Really, Carissa. Has it ever occurred to you that you might just be paranoid?"

"Mera, listen. I was like you not too long ago, before my marriage to Elon."

Though Mera raised her eyebrows skeptically, she leaned a bit closer. "And?"

"And I thought that Elon was an arrogant jerk, that I didn't need him, and that I was going to run away from my home to find my destiny—and maybe love. Instead I found pain, and darkness, and heartbreak. Your heart guides you based on your impulses and desires. Had I continued to follow it, I would have never found Elon."

"But if you don't follow your heart, what do you follow?"

"I follow Elon. Even now." She smoothed her thumb across her wedding ring.

Mera threw up her hands. "That's well and good for you, but how would I follow Elon?"

Carissa's gaze slowly slid to Mera's. It was a fair question. What would Elon want Mera to do? "Have you... Have you tried talking to him?"

Mera's face went slack with shock. "Talking to him? Carissa, ever since Elon died, I think you've been one straw short of a haystack."

"Mera, he's in Second Life. He might be dead, but he's not gone." Carissa shoved her hands into the pockets out her trousers and leaned against the wall.

She'd nearly forgotten she was wearing men's clothes. If she was trying to blend in when she'd come to the Capital, she was failing miserably. She'd have to change clothes as soon as they were done with this conversation.

Mera shrugged. "I suppose."

"And did Elon say anything to you when he took you to the safehouse? Since he already knew what was going to happen, if he had wanted you to do something, he would have told you then."

Mera's face slowly brightened, like the slow ascension of the sun at dawn. "I think he did say something, actually." Without another word, she turned and left, marching straight out the door.

Hopefully Mera wasn't misinterpreting whatever Elon had told her.

Carissa strode back to Tian's bedside. "I do apologize for whatever she's said to disturb you."

But Tian's gaze was fixed on the door, where Mera had last stood. "Where did she go?"

"Likely to find some food."

"Alone? In the Capital?" Tian clenched his jaw and pushed himself into a sitting position.

Ryther placed his hands on Tian's shoulders. "Tian, I'm not sure that's a good idea."

Tian glared up at Ryther. "It's only my forearm that's been wounded. I'm perfectly capable—"

"If I go looking for her, will you remain abed?"

The determination on Tian's face melted slightly, glancing at his forearm.

Carissa followed his gaze. The skin peeking above the bandage was swollen and red. Infection had already set in. She hoped the healer Mera had chosen was a skilled one.

Carissa stepped forward to stand by Ryther. "I'll look for her as well. She couldn't have gotten far."

Ryther only had to push Tian back down to the cot, and he remained there.

Tian's gaze zipped between both of them. "Very well, but only on one condition."

"Name it," Ryther said.

"If you don't find her within the hour, tell me so that I can join you."

"It will be done." Ryther placed a light hand on her back, urging her toward the door.

Carissa quickened her pace, so he wasn't touching her. "I can look for her on my own."

Ryther opened the door into the bustling street and gestured for her to proceed. "As Tian said, it's not good for a lone woman to be in the streets of Esmeray by herself."

"I can defend myself."

"Not without drawing lots of attention. And given your mission here, you're most likely to survive this endeavor if you blend in."

Carissa glanced sharply at him. Her mission here? Tian must have told him. But surely Ryther couldn't approve of it. Would he report them? Carissa opened her mouth to ask him.

A shriek of fear and anger tore the question from Carissa's lips. That was Mera's voice. She'd been gone for less than five minutes, and she'd already gotten herself into something.

***

Author's Note: Sneak peek is up! Look at my profile bio, the link toward the top.