Chapter 29

 

I floated around the tower.

“Hang on,” someone said.

“…stairs...” That sounded like Nick.

Nick.

Nick curled on the floor. A black pool of blood spreading beneath him. Barely breathing.

There was a bump and I opened my eyes. A man leaned over me. “I have you, my lady. Never fear.”

I returned to the dark, and the knife. The rage in Gothel’s eyes as she struck.

“…her down on the seat…”

There was something soft beneath me. The sensation of movement. Something warm and heavy over my body.

In the blackness behind my eyes, the thin man leaned over me and licked my face. “You taste so sweet, Rapunzel,” he whispered. “Now I finally get my chance to devour you.”

I struck out, and someone caught my arm. I heard Nick’s voice. “It is all right, Tressey. I am here.”

But he was not. He was not here. 

He was curled on the floor. 

Lying in a lake of black blood. 

Dying.

“Nick!” I screamed. I bolted upright, my chest heaving. My eyes were open, but I could not see anything. Everything was so dark…

“Tressey.”

I jumped when a hand touched mine.

“I am here, Tressey, I am here.”

“Nick.” I turned my head and the darkness evaporated, revealing Nick, leaning over and lighting a candle. He smiled at me from a chair next to the bed.

Leaning forward, he stroked my brow and reached for a cup on the table near the bed. He brought it to my lips and the water was cool and smooth going down my throat.

I let out a sigh. My throat felt immensely better.

“How are you feeling, Tressey?” Nick asked

“Better.” My head did not seem to be aching as badly, though I had not tried moving.

“I should hope so,” he said with a smile. “You have been asleep these three days past.”

“Three days? But how?” I tried to rise, but Nick put his hand on my shoulder.

“Easy now,” he said. “Do not try to move too much. You have been through a lot.”

This was not my tower. It was a large space with more than one window, where cool air blew through. The sky was dark, and I could not see much beyond the little bit of moonlight coming in, and the candle Nick had burning in the room. “Where am I?”

“Castle Hohburg. My home. We have been caring for you.”

“Thank you,” I said.

He smiled. “No thanks are required, my Tressey.” He touched my hand. “You saved my life.”

“And you mine,” I replied.

In the faint moonlight, I watched Nick, hoping I was not dreaming again. He moved through the room very gracefully, refilling my cup, and I realized the bandage I had made was gone. “Your wound. Are you healed?”

Nick handed me the water. “I am healing.” He twisted to the side, raising his shirt. “The wound is almost closed.” His finger grazed the cut which had been laced through with stitching to close the wound, though it hardly looked necessary. The puckered skin seemed nearly sealed.

“The patch helped?”

He nodded. “I do not know what magic your hair holds, but it has healed my wound as though it were a mere scratch. The healer here at the castle insisted on stitches, but in another day she will remove them. You truly did save my life, and I will forever be in your debt.”

I blushed, looking at the blanket. “You have removed me from the tower. I could never repay you for–” Gothel’s image appeared in my mind, dagger in hand. “Gothel! What about Gothel? Where is she?”

Nick took my hand. “It is all right, Tressey.” He clutched my fingers. “Madame Gothel is detained in a cell, until the king or one of his representatives arrives to determine her sentence.”

“When will that be?”

“Sadly, I am not privy to the king’s plans.” He smiled. “There is no way to know when, or if, he will come. He might merely send the grand duke to deal with the situation.”

I bit my lip, and stared at the pattern our fingers made, pushed together, as though the mere skin had the ability to answer my questions, solve this mystery.

Yet I knew the fingers did not hold the answers. I started to reach for my braids before I remembered they were gone and let my hand fall. 

I could not wait for the king.

“I want to see her,” I said.

Nick sighed. “When you are ready, I will take you, but I do not think it wise. What could you have to gain from it?”

I nodded, reaching down and fiddling with the blanket over my lap. “If I know why, maybe the nightmares will go away.”

He scooted his chair next to the bed, and he put an arm around me. “I am here. The nightmares do not stand a chance.”

I smiled at him and curled into his arm. “I hope you are right.”

“I know I am.”