“It is,” Jules said, his voice catching.
His tone of voice made her turn from the miracle occurring in the heavens above. Mesmerized by his eyes, all at once the energy flowing between their clasped hands overwhelmed her senses. It swept up her arm and made her heart pound. Heat pooled in her middle, and she took a step back as the sensation nearly made her ill.
She lifted the hand not holding his and traced the side of his cheek with it. He pulled away; her lips curled into a small, unsurprised smile.
“What’s wrong?” Natalie whispered.
“You … you’re my student. I can’t. I shouldn’t. And I’m—” He shifted his gaze over her shoulder.
Had this been the problem all along? Natalie wanted to laugh out loud. Smiling, she pulled him toward her with the hand that clasped his, and then she let go and cupped his face gently in her hands. “Juliers Rayvenwood. I am eighteen years old, Healer in my own right, and I haven’t been your student in years. If you don’t kiss me now, I swear by all we both hold holy, there will be consequences.”
Jules’s jaw fell open.
Natalie shook her head. “Insufferable man,” she whispered and drew his face down to hers. She brushed his lips lightly with her own and nearly whimpered with pleasure when his lips responded. Jules ran his fingers through her hair and wrapped his other arm around her back, and Natalie moaned as he pulled her closer.
With his body pressed against hers, desire and energy bubbled to the surface of her skin, mixing to form a combustible, intoxicating blend of desire and lust. Natalie slid her hands through his silky dark hair and deepened their kiss and struggled not to wrap her legs around him and pull him to the ground.
Some conscious corner of her mind thought to pull away to be sure he was all right, but he growled and drew her back into an even deeper kiss. Her heart soared at the knowledge he wanted her just as much as she did him.
After several minutes, Jules trailed a series of kisses along her jaw and cheek and then rested his forehead against hers. “Natalie Desmond, if those are the consequences of not kissing you, please know I am absolutely never kissing you again.”
Natalie’s joyous laughter filled the star-filled night until Jules bent his head to capture her mouth again.
“What would happen if we didn’t go back to the Abbey?” Natalie said against Jules’s back. They rode double on Elric, leading Benji, who carried all the supplies and tack. It was a blissful way to spend a morning, bareback on a tall, sleek horse with her arms clasped around the man she’d spent the night kissing before falling asleep curled up tight in his arms. The tree-dappled sunlight shone on her back, the birds and insects sang in the trees, and aside from wanting to get Jake, it was hard to think of a reason to return to the Abbey and walk into Aldworth’s web of lies and intrigue. Jules had already lost enough.
Jules sighed. “I know how you feel. However, Aldworth is after me with a powerful will. I don’t think he’s given up entirely on me helping him put a brand new megalith on the mainland.”
“Is there anyone who can protect you from him?”
“So far, Anli, Onlo and the soldiers they command have been my greatest allies. I am not certain even Headmistress Gayla and Healer Hawkins know of the extent of his treachery.”
Natalie made a rude noise. “We have to get him off the Council.”
Jules raised his eyebrows and glanced over his shoulder at her. “How?”
“I don’t know. Can’t we tell someone? The King and Queen? Or the Council of Isles?”
“Ah, that’s where it gets interesting. Their Royal Majesties support the effort to put a megalith on the mainland.”
Natalie almost fell of Elric. “What?”
“Yes. Think—if they had an army of Healers who could Heal on Lorelan, they could invade Lorelan by land and have much fewer casualties.”
Several puzzle pieces clicked into place—Jules’s lack of respect for the monarchy, Aldworth’s betrayal, the timing, duration and nature of the war. Of course the King and Queen wouldn’t negotiate for peace; why would they if Aldworth succeeded with this new megalith and they could invade and take Lorelan for their own? Natalie swore.
Jules nodded. “And the Council of Isles is intent on keeping the Isles to themselves. Which is not a bad idea; the Isles are self-sustaining, each Isle with its own unique magic and skills to offer. However, when we face threats from both within and without, being isolationist is not a wise viewpoint.”
Natalie swore again.
“Which means it’s down to us to save us all, and you know it,” came a smoky voice from the woods. Natalie jumped and Jules drew his dagger.
Two dark-haired figures materialized from the underbrush on the right. Jules put his dagger away and grinned.
“Greetings, brother,” Onlo grinned.
“Onlo.” Jules threw a leg over Elric’s withers, jumped down and strode over to clasp his friend’s hand, and then turned and gave Anli a hug.
Anli poked Jules in the chest. “I wasn’t kidding, Jules. We’re here to save you. Again.”
“We got your message,” Onlo said.
“Message?” Natalie asked from Elric’s back, baffled.
Jules turned to her. “I sent Anli and Onlo a message from Mistfell at the same time I sent a message to the Abbey. I suspected things weren’t going to go well for us. I hate being right.”
Natalie put her hands on her hips and glared at Jules. “I thought you weren’t going to keep me in the dark anymore.” She dismounted and stalked off into the nearby woods, viciously pulling her way through nearby vegetation to see if she could find something edible. She kept one ear toward the conversation nearby.
Jules proceeded to tell his friends what had occurred in Mistfell, their current disgraced status with the Abbey and the summons from Aldworth. Anli spat on the ground at the mention of the traitorous Healer’s name.
“There is much more you need to know, brother,” Onlo said, his voice grave. “But first and most important—the sweating fever has reached Roseharbor. The capital city is falling.”
Chapter 19
R
N
atalie tore raspberries from a raspberry patch she’d found, her fingers turning a macabre shade of red in the process. She did not turn around when she heard footsteps behind her.
“Natalie, please come listen to what they have to say. You need to hear this.”
“No,” she turned and pointed a red finger in Jules’s face. “You three seem to have everything under control, good old buddies that you are. So figure out how to help Roseharbor, and I’ll ride back to the Abbey and get out of your way.”
“Nat, stop being childish.”
“Childish? I wasn’t the one who went behind my partner’s back making plans. Childish.” She huffed and turned back to her raspberry patch. The silence lengthened as berry after berry dropped into Nat’s satchel.
“Nat, please? We—I need you at Roseharbor. I can’t Heal without you.”
Nat whirled back to him, nearly spilling the berries. “You can’t Heal without me, but you can plot and plan our fate without me? Is that how you think this works, Juliers Rayvenwood? If so, then I’m out. I have had it up to the back teeth with people and diseases determining where I go and what I do.”
“Nat, I’m sorry.”
“Damn right you’re sorry.”
Jules took her free hand in his “Nat, please, I—we—need your help. I promise we won’t leave you out of the loop again.
Natalie looked over his shoulder. She could just see Anli and Onlo in the distance. The capital city was falling, they said. Judging by their stances, they looked pretty agitated. She’d been left out—again—but maybe she needed to hear what they had to say. She rubbed her thumb along Jules’s hand, warm inside hers. Images of a thousand shared kisses from the night before flitted across her mind.
She brought her gaze back to his face and made sure he saw the warning i
n her eyes. “All right.”
The four companions ate lunch as Anli and Onlo told them all that had transpired since their last meeting.
“Whitestrand harbor is under Obfuselt’s protection,” Anli said, “and Lorelan tried to get past us. They know Whitestrand is weak and they want it.”
Jules’s mouth hardened into a thin line. “Which means there are spies telling Lorelan of the sweating fever and what it’s done to our people.”
Onlo nodded. “Soon after we heard reports of Lorelan’s attempts to get past our coast guard, we got your message from Mistfell. We told our Council the fever had spread to another town. Even now, they mobilize more protection for Ismereld.”
Natalie breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, some Isle folk still took care of their own, despite the treacherous machinations of a few.
“Right before we left, an Imperial messenger arrived asking for aid defending Roseharbor,” Anli said, her face sober. “She said a great illness had befallen the city. From her description, we knew it was the same illness you fight.”
Natalie put her hand on her heart and shook her head. “All those people in Roseharbor. The Abbey will send many Healers since it’s so close.” She caught Jules’s eye. She saw the same desperation in his countenance she felt in her own soul.
“Give us a moment, please,” Jules asked his friends. He and Natalie walked some distance away so they wouldn’t be overheard.
Jules turned his intense green eyes on her. “What do you want to do?”
“We have to get there. Fast.” Natalie’s tone brooked no argument.
Jules nodded. “I agree. It’s down to us to stop this thing.”
Natalie put a hand on his arm. “I worry for your safety. If you’d asked me this morning, I’d have said we should find a remote corner of the island, change our names and be ordinary town Healers to keep you hidden away. But …”
Jules shook his head and put his own hand on hers. “I am a Healer like you, Nat. I can’t turn away from a city full of dying people. Particularly when that city is my home.”
“But Aldworth …”
Jules grimaced. “I’m scared, too. But I’ve got you. And Onlo and Anli. We’ll find a way, the four of us together.”
Natalie swallowed the lump in her throat, reached for his face and kissed him as if he might disappear right in front of her. Jules kissed her back with a ferocity that made her knees weak. With a last determined look at one another, they took hands and walked back to his friends.
“We ride for Roseharbor,” Jules declared.
Anli swore. “Jules, you can’t go back. This is the perfect time for Aldworth to make another play for you. Besides, neither of you is allowed to Heal right now.”
Jules crossed his arms. “What would you have me do, An? Let my home city die while I hide? Besides, I don’t think the Abbey is going to turn away two experienced Healers while everyone in the capital dies.”
Anli turned to Natalie with her hands on her hips. “And I suppose you’re going to let him do this.”
“I’m not his mother. This is his choice,” Natalie retorted. “I am a Healer and so is he. We have to save those people.”
“Let someone else save them,” Anli shouted.
“No,” Natalie yelled back. “This disease killed my father and I failed to save him. I’m going to go save those people if it’s the last thing I do.”
“And get Jules killed in the process?” Anli was in her face now.
“What Jules does is his own decision. I don’t know how to keep him safe from Aldworth, but let’s bloody well figure it out after we get there. Who knows what worse horrors await us if we return to the Abbey? You are wasting our time. We need to get on the road.” Natalie pushed past Anli and stalked over to Benji.
Natalie fumed as she transferred Jules’s supplies from Benji to Elric, making sure everything could sustain a fast pace. Taking Jules into Aldworth’s domain and disobeying the Council of Healers to fight the sweating fever again was bad enough without having someone yell at her for doing it. There was no way to explain the passion driving her; despite the danger, she had to try and save Roseharbor. For Da.
With everything ready, she mounted her horse as Jules mounted Elric.
“Onlo and Anli are coming with us. They will be our eyes and ears while we’re taking care of the city,” Jules informed her.
“Wonderful,” Natalie drawled. The thought of spending more time with Anli set her teeth on edge.
When everyone mounted, they set off at a canter on the road toward Roseharbor.
Natalie sat on her bedroll that night, certain dust inhabited every bit of her body. It stung her eyes when she blinked and crunched in her mouth when she bit down, and her hair felt stiff and strange. Was it only this morning she rode Elric bareback, her hands clasped around Jules with the sun shining blissfully on her back?
Jules entered the tent and she smiled wearily at him. He took off his boots, sat next to her and bent his head to hers, his lips touching hers lightly. She returned the kiss with equal gentleness. When they broke apart several minutes later, Natalie rested her forehead against his.
“I’m sorry about Anli’s behavior today,” Jules began. “When I was on the mission …when I was kidnapped, she was on the same mission. She blames herself for my capture.”
Natalie sighed. “I don’t understand why she doesn’t like me though.”
Jules rubbed her back. “Anli can be a tough nut to crack. I don’t always understand her myself, sometimes. But her loyalty, once given, is unswerving.”
Natalie picked another glob of dirt out of her eye. “But I also see her point. I would give anything to keep you away from that spineless excuse for a human being.”
Jules kissed her forehead. “First we have a city to save.”
Natalie laughed and kissed him. “Oh, well then. Easy as pie.”
Jules’s deep laughter filled the tent. He put his arms around her waist and tugged her against him so they lay spooned with her back against his. Sleep claimed them both quickly.
The next morning’s hard ride brought them in view of Roseharbor. Onlo scouted for and found a secluded campsite, while Anli hunted game they could eat. Jules and Natalie prepared to go into the city for the first time.
“What are the odds the other Healers have heard of our punishment and will tell us to get out when we arrive?” Jules mused.
Natalie considered this. “I suppose it depends on what Aldworth’s true motives were when he told us we couldn’t Heal.”
“So. The Five only know.”
“Pretty much.”
Natalie checked her satchel for the umpteenth time. She had plenty of supplies, though she’d need to buy a pot of honey in the city. Finally, she mounted Benji.
“Five be with you,” Onlo said. “We leave today to scout the Abbey and learn what we can of Aldworth’s whereabouts and plans. We hope to return in four or five days.”
“Oh,” Natalie exclaimed, her face lit with excitement. “Can you do me the biggest favor? Can you find my friend, Emmeline Arnold? She’s taking care of my dog, Jake. Can you please bring Jake back with you?”
Anli grunted in frustration and stalked away.
Onlo’s forehead wrinkled in concern. “How will your friend know to trust us?”
Natalie thought for a second and then reached into her satchel and tossed Onlo a vial. “Tell her this is from Natalie Desmond, Jake’s owner.”
Onlo looked at the vial and back at her dubiously. “All right.” He pocketed the vial and turned his horse to follow Anli.
“What did you give Onlo?” Jules asked.
Natalie glanced at him and grinned. “A bottle of moonbark extract.”
Jules laughed so hard he choked, his face bright red. “Contraceptive herbs as a message to a midwife. Only you, Nat.”
Unlike Whitestrand, Roseharbor’s streets still had people going about their business. However, they
looked over their shoulders as if something might grab them from behind at any moment. No one talked with anybody else, and everyone seemed in a hurry to get off the streets.
“Should we go find your family and check on them?” Natalie inquired.
“Maybe later. We don’t get along well and I haven’t been home since … well, let’s just say they don’t approve of me, and I doubt they’d approve of my new look.”
He’s joking, right? How could his family not welcome their son home after everything that had happened to him? Deciding to save the matter for another day, she changed the subject to their current mission. “I need to find a place where I can buy honey.”
“This way.”
As they navigated the streets, Natalie and Jules observed occasional broken doors, abandoned shops and signs of looting.
“The Queensguard should stop this. Are they ill with the fever?” Jules wondered.
Thankfully, an open-air market was still doing business, and Natalie bought her much-needed pot of honey.
“We’re Healers newly arrived from the Abbey,” she told the beekeeper innocently. “Where are the other Healers tending the sick?”
“Up at the palace,” the beekeeper replied. “The King and Queen fled the city in fear of the illness.” Natalie pinched the bridge of her nose. If they’d taken the disease with them, then their job had just gotten a whole lot harder.
“Is that why there’s been so much looting? Did the Queensguard go with them?” Jules asked.
“No, most of the Queensguard took ill with the fever,” the beekeeper replied.
“Thank you,” Natalie said. She stored the honey safely in her satchel and mounted Benji.
“With the Royal family gone, the Queensguard decimated, and the population dwindling, it’s a good thing Obfuselt knows to protect the coast. Lorelan could attack at any time.”
“If the Royal family took the fever with them, this Isle is in deep trouble,” Natalie added.
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