The Elf King’s Lady: Wildecoast Saga Book 2

by Bernadette Rowley

  And then the good doctor entered the sitting room from the bed chamber, but instead of leaving the rooms, he sat in the very chair behind which Kain was hidden.

  “Goddess, help me,” Doctor Mosard said, “I have done all I can and still she does not respond.”

  Kain’s heart bled at the despair in Mosard’s voice. No, you can’t give up! You must try everything! Everything! Kain was so helpless, trapped behind the chair, not able to expose himself, even to give the doctor a piece of his mind. If the man was this close to giving up, no wonder Alique still lay in her bed.

  While Kain still railed at the doctor, Mosard rose, squared his shoulders and left the room. Kain stood and hurried to the bedroom door. He froze, not able to believe the sight before him.

  Alique was thinner than she’d been five days ago, the skin stretched tight over her cheekbones, her lips cracked and dry. Had everyone given up? Were they all just waiting for the inevitable? Gwaethe had said there was no change. She’d lied or was completely unaware. Alique hovered on the brink of death, her body under-nourished. And Kain had thought Mosard was the answer to her recovery. I’ll kill him!

  After all the days he had longed for Alique and wondered how she was, he’d never imagined this. This shell of a woman was not the feisty, beautiful, daunting Alique Zorba. He fought down the sob that rushed to his throat. It would not help! But what would help?

  Kain forced himself to place one foot in front of the next as he covered the six paces to the bedside. Close up, Alique looked far worse. What keeps her alive? He drew a deep breath and reached for her hand. Skin and bones! And her skin was so dry it felt like it might tear if he didn’t handle it gently.

  “Alique,” he said, barely recognizing his own voice. This would never do. “Alique.” That was stronger, more like the man she was used to fighting with. “Come back to me.”

  There was no response, indeed her chest barely rose and fell. He had no medical training but he was certain she was moments away from death. Surely no one could last long in this condition? Kain dropped her hand and strode across to the water jug. He poured a glass and returned to Alique, lifting the cup to her lips and dribbling some of the liquid into her mouth. She swallowed! Goddess, she swallowed it. Careful now, Jazara, don’t overdo it. He offered Alique three more sips and placed the cup on the bedside table. Alique whimpered and Kain’s heart leapt with joy.

  “Darling,” he said, “I’m here and I won’t leave you.” No matter how difficult, he would see her through this. He was not leaving her side.

  A pot of honey rested on the bedside table. He placed a scoop in the water and mixed it in then offered Alique several more sips. When he had finished, she sighed and appeared to relax against the pillows. At least I’ve been able to make her comfortable. Was it his imagination or did her face have more color than when he’d first entered the room?

  But then she seemed to lapse into a deeper sleep where he couldn’t reach her. As he bathed her arms and face, Kain pondered how he could stay with her. Was there room under the bed? He ducked down and found there was just enough clearance underneath for a body to lie. Yes! He could do it. He could stay with his love until her fight was over, one way or another. It was obvious she needed him.

  After the bathing, Kain applied cream to Alique’s skin, rubbing it in until she regained some of the suppleness she’d once had. But though he talked to her throughout the entire process, she gave no indication of hearing him. He was almost finished when he heard the door to the sitting room open. Kain replaced the cream pot on the table and slipped under the bed. A maid had entered the room. She crossed to the larger table and placed something upon it, then light flooded the room as the curtains were swept back. She snuffed the candles, refilled the water jug and left the room.

  Kain slipped out from under the bed and strode to the table. A breakfast tray lay upon it, complete with goat’s milk, crusty rolls, butter and creamy porridge. He buttered the rolls and wolfed them down. After a gulp of the milk, Kain carried the tray over to Alique and placed it on the bed beside her. He trickled honey over the porridge and held the bowl under her nose, allowing the steam to waft across her face. She stirred and moaned.

  “Alique, you need to eat something,” he said, taking a small spoonful of the porridge and offering it to her. She took several mouthfuls before turning her face away. “You’ve done well, my love,” he said.

  Her cooperation was encouraging, and a small ray of light crept into the darkness in Kain’s heart.

  All day, he followed this pattern: offering honeyed water and whatever invalid food was brought; bathing her and applying cream to her skin; hiding when the servants or Doctor Mosard came. Kain ate a little from each tray, always careful to leave the bulk of the food to avoid suspicion. Not once did he hear Doctor Mosard offer Alique anything except for the medication he religiously forced down her throat. Alique had had so much faith in Mosard but Kain was beginning to wonder if her trust was misplaced.

  Alique’s parents visited late in the day and almost caught Kain dozing in the chair by her bedside. They said prayers to the Goddess and Lady Zorba senior cried as she bathed her daughter. At least Alique might know her parents prayed for her recovery.

  The Zorbas left when the evening meal was brought and Kain slipped from under the bed, hoping for some sign that Alique had been improved by the visit. There was none. He spooned a little soup between her lips and washed it down with goat’s milk.

  The strain of the day had brought Kain almost to breaking point and he had new respect for Alique. She cared for people day in and day out, watching them get better or die and never showing the pressure of it all. But Kain had never felt this on edge – not when awaiting a battle, not when fighting, not even when he was called up to explain his actions to the King. He began to wonder if he could endure the hours and days ahead, and as he wondered, he finally fell asleep.

  *

  A nagging pressure in his bladder woke him and Kain lay there, under the bed, watching the dawn light creep under the curtains. There was nothing for it. He would have to use the chamber pot then place it where it would be emptied. Hopefully the servants would think that a visitor had relieved themselves. Kain lay still for another full ten minutes to be sure there was no one else in the room then rolled out from under the bed, pulling the empty pot with him. He stood and gazed upon the face of his beloved, still lost in a sleep she might never awake from.

  The day ahead crashed in upon him and he fell to his knees, his face in his hands. Another day like yesterday: tending her, feeding her, watching for the slightest sign of improvement or deterioration; trying to push his fears for her to the back so he could be the man she needed. A crouching sick dread swamped him.

  “What are you doing here?” The hissed words were like ice water over his body.

  Kain turned to find Gwaethe glaring at him and fury replaced the fear. How could she walk these halls freely when he had to skulk around like a criminal? “I could ask you the same thing,” he said, not bothering to climb to his feet. He must look a sight, kneeling before this furious elven woman.

  “You are risking everything,” Gwaethe said.

  “Oh,” said Kain, rising slowly, “that again. The whole elven civil war thing. Do you think I care about that? It’s so far down on my list of priorities it doesn’t even register.”

  Gwaethe’s eyes widened in shock. He’d probably done irreparable damage to their relationship but he really didn’t care.

  “So this woman is more important than your people?”

  “She is my people, so yes. Go back to your family and to your life. I have my own concerns.”

  “You are not the man I thought you were,” Gwaethe said, her body trembling, her hands bunched into fists.

  “That’s not my fault,” Kain said. “I’ve tried to tell you so many times I’ve lost count. You’re focused on what needs to happen in your world and you expect I’ll just fall in with you.” He softened his voice. “It’s no
t as simple as that, Gwaethe. I have my own needs and plans and until very recently, they had nothing to do with you.”

  “And your plans are?” Gwaethe asked.

  “I need to support Alique, right now. She was dying when I found her yesterday,” Kain said, pointing to his love. “I have to try to help.”

  Gwaethe offered him a sad smile. “After all this time you still believe she can be saved?”

  “I don’t know but I sure as hell know she won’t be saved if she starves to death.”

  “Tuthariel would not allow that to occur,” Gwaethe said.

  “He hasn’t been here, at least not yesterday. I’ve only seen Mosard and the servants.”

  Gwaethe frowned. “That is strange.”

  “Not if Mosard is so conceited that he thinks only he knows how to care for Alique,” Kain said. “What of the other injured?”

  “Most are well now. Tuthariel has been helping with their care.”

  “Why haven’t I seen Julli?” Kain asked.

  “Julli has been helping Tuthariel.”

  This is wrong, so wrong! “You need to go now, Gwaethe,” Kain said, turning away from her and back to the bed. He began dribbling honeyed water in Alique’s mouth. She looked a little better this morning, her skin had more give and her cheeks had picked up color. He wasn’t imagining it.

  “I have to know what you intend,” Gwaethe said. Kain couldn’t mistake the desperation in her voice.

  “I can’t give you what you want right now,” he said. “I have to see this through, whatever the outcome. Then I’ll be able to move forward.”

  “If you are caught here, you will be thrown in the dungeon,” Gwaethe snapped.

  He didn’t turn to her. “Don’t worry. I don’t intend to be locked away. Alique can’t afford to lose me yet.” There was no noise but Kain knew the exact moment when Gwaethe left because he felt her absence. She wouldn’t give him away, he knew that much, but her continued presence nagged at him, reminded him he had unfinished business with the elves and the kingdom.

  When Alique had taken as much water as Kain could administer, he relieved himself and pushed the pot back under the bed. At a noise from the outer door, he shuffled into his hiding place.

  A maid and Mosard entered. The maid went about her duties while the doctor prepared his medications. Kain lay unmoving, anger gripping his gut.

  “She looks a little better today, doctor,” the maid said.

  “Do you think so?” Mosard asked. “I suppose there is more color in her cheeks. Perhaps the medicine is working.”

  “I’m sure it is, my lord,” the maid said, “you are a gifted healer.”

  Gifted healer, my ass!

  Seconds later they both left and Kain rolled out from under the bed. This was killing him! If he had to listen to much more Mosard-worship . . . Kain pushed the anger aside and prepared the porridge the maid had brought. Alique took the food more readily than yesterday. She really was stronger, he wasn’t just deluding himself. All he had to do was get through another day like yesterday, another day where he didn’t know if there would be a tomorrow for Alique.

  *

  The candles were lit. Night had fallen and the evening meal had been delivered. Alique had eaten much of the soup but otherwise there had been no change. What was the use of this if her body improved but her mind withered? Gwaethe had sent him several mind messages which he had ignored. He could tell she wasn’t a patient woman. She would have to learn forbearance.

  All that remained was to turn in, spending another uncomfortable night on the floor under the bed, but the thought of that wasn’t the only thing keeping Kain awake. In this light he could almost forget Alique was ill, could almost believe she was merely asleep. She was in a way, her brain resting from the rigors of the injuries she’d sustained.

  How did she feel in there? He had talked to her all day, telling her about the weather and the small things he could see from her window. He had ranted about Doctor Mosard and the lack of care. He had told her that when she recovered she could no longer train under the man. He had told her that she was so superior to Mosard it did not matter. There was no response.

  He knew she felt pain from time to time because she cried or grimaced. Did she hear him? Was she lying there trapped in her body, yearning to communicate? Did he just have to find some way of breaking through to her? But how?

  Kain remembered the last time he truly had connected with Alique – the night before he shut himself away to save her. It was the night he had confronted his mother, and he had been drunk. She probably believed he’d forgotten.

  “Remember that night in my rooms, beloved?” Kain asked. “You came to see me because Grif couldn’t think of anyone else who could help. You came even though you had no real reason to. I loved you from that night. Remember how our bodies felt together? We fit together like two halves of a whole and ever since I’ve been running away. It scared me a little, I think. Did it scare you?”

  Kain leaned toward Alique, raised her hand to his lips. He kissed each finger from the tip of her nail down to her palm. “This connection with you is special to me, even if you can’t feel or hear. I need to say this, I need to do this, to connect with you.” He pushed back her sleeve and kissed the velvety skin of her inner forearm up to her elbow. She whimpered. Was she in pain or was this a response to his kisses?

  He stared at her face. Her eyes moved beneath the lids, as though she had forgotten how to open them. He leaned over and kissed her restless eyes through the lids until they stilled and she sighed. Now he knew she responded to his attentions. If he never had anything else from her, at least he would know he had reached her in the end, had given her some solace.

  Kain kissed Alique all down the bridge of her nose and she murmured something and fell silent. He had to chance this, had to give them one last kiss. It had been so long. He allowed his lips to drift over the top of her nose and planted a chaste kiss on her mouth. But the feel of her lips against his undid him and the pressure of his mouth increased, deepening until he felt her lips open to him. He drew back but Alique’s eyes were still closed.

  “Don’t stop,” she whispered, so quietly that Kain wondered if he had imagined it.

  His mouth fell upon hers then, his tongue forcing its way past her lips of its own accord and then a miracle happened. Alique’s arms enfolded his body then slid up so her fingers could trail through his hair.

  “You need a trim, general,” she said, and Kain wept.

  *

  “I knew you would come for me,” Alique said, when Kain had pulled back, frightened he was too heavy for her. “I waited for you. It is the only thing that kept me alive.”

  Kain drew her fingers to his lips, the tears still fresh on his cheeks. “You were near death yesterday when I arrived. If I had waited another day—”

  “You did not, beloved,” she said, grimacing.

  “What is amiss?” Kain asked.

  “I still have frightful headaches,” she said.

  “You should rest,” Kain said.

  “Will you be here?”

  “I’ll be here,” he said.

  Chapter 22

  The next morning, Kain awoke from his best night’s sleep in weeks. He lay under the bed in the near dark trying to come to terms with the events of last evening. Had it been all a dream? Casting caution aside, he rolled from under the bed and stood to find Alique’s glorious blue eyes upon him.

  “It’s not a dream, beloved,” she said, smiling.

  He took her hand and kissed her longingly on the lips. “I thought I had lost you.”

  “You never gave up on me, not for one moment,” Alique said, tears in her eyes.

  “When you were hurt, a part of me died,” he said. “I realized then that our lives are inextricably linked. Even if we are from different worlds, and despite the fact that I don’t deserve you ... Alique, I can’t live without you.”

  “Oh, Kain, I know all of that. I heard your words of love, I t
hink that is what kept me going. And then you went away.”

  “Not by my own choice, my love. I’ve been banished from the castle, stripped of my position.”

  “And yet here you are.”

  “I had to see you and I’m so glad I did.”

  Alique raised her palm to his face and the love in her eyes sent a fire burning though his chest. Hope for their future nearly overwhelmed him after the bleak days he had endured.

  “We will face whatever the future holds together, beloved,” Alique said.

  “But first you must heal,” Kain said.

  “What is the meaning of this intrusion?” Doctor Mosard said from the doorway.

  Kain, still in his priest’s cassock, stood and turned to face the doctor.

  “You!” Mosard’s voice rang in the chamber. A maid who appeared behind him scurried away.

  Kain walked toward the doctor, his fists bunched at his sides. He had waited two whole days for his chance to make the man pay. He held up his right fist and the doctor stepped back. “I should smash this into your sad old face, Mosard,” Kain snarled.

  The doctor drew himself up to his full height which was a little taller than Kain. “I do not know why you would. What have I ever done to you?”

  “Your handling of this lady’s illness has been nothing short of neglectful. If I have my way, you will never practice again.”

  The doctor looked smug. “I hardly think you are in a position to make that threat, general. Or have you had that title stripped from you?”

  “I don’t care about that,” Kain said. “All I care about is this woman. When I arrived here two days ago she was near death, from starvation and thirst. Her people trusted you. I trusted you! And you almost allowed her to die.”