Chapter Forty

 

 

Url stood breathlessly to the side as Nae slipped through the crowd, moving back to him. The healer was stony-faced, stopping just short of him and looking at the glasses in his hand. There was a rage about the woman that spoke of personal experience.

He was not allowed to kill people who belonged to palace lands.

“Did you manage to get close enough?” he asked quietly, handing her the glass that he judged to have more liquid in it.

She snatched the glass from him, downed the champagne and held out the empty in exchange for the other one. That received a similar treatment, but was replaced by a servant slipping up with a wine glass that clearly did not have wine in it. As wine and champagne was all that was to be served until the children went to bed, it wasn't something to question. Both the servant and Nae would be in trouble for having something stronger.

Then Url recognized the servant. Wena, dressed in plain serving grey, slipping back into the crowd, unnoticed by anyone but him. He might have gone after the woman and questioned her, but Nae was there and she had to be seen to first.

“Yes, I did, though he nearly saw me,” she said.

“And?” he pressed.

“I'm sorry, are you mate to the throne?” the healer demanded. “I swore to him that I would do this for him, to allay his fears. Turns out I should have kept my mouth shut.”

Url looked around for Cerlot, causing Nae to glare at him. “What? I'm not stupid.”

“Nor am I. If we touch a hair on either of their heads, Av will take his rage out on us instead of them.” Nae sighed. “I might survive. You would not. Then the North would go to war with palace lands, and then where would we be?”

“The North won't go to war and Av would not take me down, but I won't go looking for a fight either,” he said. “The question is, can you resist the temptation?”

“Temptation?” Nae asked. “When he is ready to make his move, he will come to me and ask my help in the matter because as much as he will rage, he needs both alive, well, and breathing. She may have cut them off, but they are still the ones who birthed her. That means no death, no crippling, just instilling a fear that is everlasting.”

“Healers shall not be used to the purpose of a warrior's rage,” Url said.

“Sounds like you're quoting something,” Nae said.

“I am. It's the agreement between healers and warriors. We protect you, we allow you to gather and pass on your knowledge even if our queens think you are a threat to us. You heal a warrior above a commoner in times of war, to put him back in the field. In return for these services you cannot be used to do what you just suggested. Av may not be aware of the agreement, but I will be certain he knows of it.”

“He has not asked me to do any such service. I would offer it willingly.”

Url felt a possessive chill wash over him. He wanted to pet her, hold her, care for her. All while wishing he knew who had put such a thought into her head so that he might bleed them dry.

He didn't quite recall what happened after they had left the hall that night. His next full memory was Telm dumping a bucket of icy cold water on him and Nae being long gone. Her scent barely lingered in the room, not that there was much smell to the healer to start with.

When he had gone to the healer hall to invite her, she had readily accepted his invitation but still made no comment on the time they had spent together. He had no idea if he would be crossing a line to even think such a thing.

“Take this,” Nae said, thrusting her glass at Url.

He took the glass and watched her rush off to the dance floor, lavender skirts swirling around her as she spun around and took hold of the first body she found.

The musicians were not playing.

Url watched as commoners all began drifting across the floor in a waltz. All belonging to palace lands. The two high lords who were also commoners stood to the side, watching with wide eyes. There were too many to fit the dance floor and the crowd began moving together, dancing to some song that he could not hear.

Why could Nae hear it?

She had rank just as much as he had.

“The ones that touched her or partook in something stronger than wine,” Jer snarled into Url's ear, startling him into nearly dropping the glass. “I've never seen this before, have you?”

“No, goodness no. We spread rumour of queens doing this, to protect them,” he hissed in response. “This is, I mean, I've heard myth of this, but they'd all have to be...”

He looked down at the glass of drink Wena had thrust into Nae's hand. The commoners were reacting to something beyond themselves because they were nothing more than people. They had no defences against rank. There was no more to them than the shallow, brittle exteriors.

Wena sat on the head table, not at it, but on it, right where Aren had sat before. In the seats behind her the children sat, eating sweets, giggling to one another and ignoring the adults below them. Ranked children were more capable at blocking out emotions they could not understand.

There was something very, very dangerous about the way the handmaid watched the crowd and placed herself between them and the children.

He turned to Jer. “Get Anue out of here, now. Take Mie as well—make an excuse.”

“Why?” his cousin asked.

“The children aren't feeling it because they don't understand adult emotions,” Url hissed out. “Anue's come to her time. She's blooming as a queen.”

“She's also afraid of men,” Jer said as he slipped away from Url and through the commoners.

They could do nothing without fear of inciting the commoners. Even removing Anue might cause a problem if a man amongst the dancers had his eye on the little queen. Url caught a man by the arm and spun him, away from the head table where he had been heading to. Without a question, he dealt the man a blow and walked off, not caring that he gave no control to the strike.

There was a very good chance that the commoner was dead, but he'd be damned if he allowed harm come to a child simply because nature matured her body faster than her mind.

Jer and Ervam were at the head table and speaking with Anue and Mie, who stared up at them. Ervam motioned to all the children, then to Anue and over his shoulder. Obviously telling her to gather the children and that it was her duty as the eldest amongst them all.

Relief flooded him as the children gathered at Anue's bidding.

“Url, come dance with me,” Nae said, stumbling into him.

She frowned at him, then trailed her hands down his arm and lifted his hand, where blood flowed freely. He had struck the man with the hand that had held the glass. The healer removed a shard, dropping it to the side as she looked up into his eyes.

“I feel funny,” she said. “In a laughable sort of way. What's going on?”

He assumed she was back to her own mind for but only a moment. With gentle hands, he drew her away from the dancing commoners.

“I'm not certain, but I believe you affected by it because of the drink.”

“The servant gave me something?” Nae asked.

“No, no, she simply gave you drink that was stronger than wine. There are a few ranks moving as well. They partook in stronger drink, just the same as you.”

“It's not a bad feeling.”

“What's it feel like?” he asked.

“Like you've slid between my legs,” she purred out, reaching for his face.

She caught her hand halfway there and frowned. Ever so slowly, Nae came back to herself. Her rank seemed to slip away as he watched. Hiding herself from something bigger than herself. She was of her own mind only once she was very nearly invisible to his very eyes.

“You were here before,” she said.

“They didn't have sex before,” he responded. “They did things, no doubt about that, but this is a different sort of relief. No one is going to question them. They're mated and now have a legal right to execute anyone who tries to get between them.”

“Where's Danya?” Nae looked around, moving around Url to stand on a chair so that she had a better view. “Danya!”

“Why are you calling Danya?” he asked.

“Threesome?” Nae asked.

He knew she was joking, but that didn't stop him from seeing black cloud his vision. Nae didn't know Danya's relation to him, not unless Danya had told the healers.

“No,” Danya said, appearing at Url's side. “That's not nice to tease, dear. It seems I am related too close to him for that.”

“We need to get you back to the healer hall,” Url said quickly.

“The commoners are already pairing off,” Nae said.

“Do none of you know how to guard?” Danya asked. “Close your minds.”

“Close my mind?” Url asked.

“Like when you used to do something foolish and your mother went looking for you,” Danya said. “You grew up around queens. That ought to make sense to you. Ah, there you go, almost gone even to my sight. Go poke your mother boy. Give your father some distraction.”

“What?” Url squeaked out. “If I poke her, she'll lash out at me.”

“But you are all but invisible to her magic,” Danya said.

“Which means she and my father will have sex and it'll have been my doing,” he said, feeling a sinking feeling in his stomach. “I know they do that, but because of my actions?”

“Go do as Danya said, without argument, before I get distracted and fall into bed with another lord.”

Url stared at Nae. The healer simply looked back at him as his lips curled up and he snarled through gritted teeth.

“If any man touches you, I will wipe out his entire bloodline!”

The commoners around them went still, then drifted away from Url as they continued their dance.

Danya gave him a pat on the arm, then made a shooing motion. Groaning, he turned on his heel and went in search of his mother.