Alori felt weak vibrations and the rumble of constant movement underneath her as she opened her eyes into the waking world. It was dark. An overhead gas lamp swayed back and forth, casting a dim orange glow on a close, curved ceiling. The cushion under her hand was plush velvet. Someone's arm was slung across her waist, the weight a comforting pressure on her stomach.
She tilted her head back, yawning. It felt like she'd been asleep for hours, or maybe days. The muffled sound of hooves clip-clopping over a stone street caught her ear, and she sat up, banging the top of her head on something soft and unyielding.
The arm lifted off of her.
"Alori. Thank the goddesses you're awake."
Oh no. No, no, no...
She turned toward Taelan as the memories came rushing back to her— Reeve's panicked knocks on her door; then, mind-melding with a feverish Yuka and trying to save him; standing at a riverbank in a dream and forgetting. Forgetting everything.
She pressed the heels of her palms to her eyes. How could she? Taelan was her fiancé. She loved him, although she hadn't gotten the chance to tell him yet.
They were supposed to be married soon. They'd almost made love, and then...
She couldn't look at him as she spoke. "Where are we going?"
They were in the royal coach, that much was obvious. She peeked through her fingers at the opposite bench, her spine stiffening. Reeve sat across from her. Yuka was beside him, slumped against the wall, either unconscious or sleeping. His color was better than it had been before, but not much.
Clearly, she hadn't helped him.
Alori kneaded her forehead, wondering what in the bloody hells was going on. She'd mind-melded dozens of times, but she'd never lost her grasp on reality. She'd never lusted after anyone so wantonly, without regard for the consequences of her actions.
But that wasn't true. She'd nearly done the same thing this morning with Thelix, under Dantalion's influence.
Was the demon responsible for this debacle, too?
"Good thing this is a dream, right?"
Alori groaned, leaning over her knees. Nothing about her situation was good. She felt queasy, but the only food in her stomach was a few pieces of bread and cheese from the charcuterie earlier in the night. She managed to hold them down, while Taelan rubbed her back.
"We're heading to the palace," he said softly. "You fell into a coma during the mind-meld and spiked a fever, like Yuka. Your grandmother demanded you both be taken to the mendmasters in Ville-Saseum. She's coming at first light with the next carriage." He moved his hand to the back of her head, gently massaging her scalp. "How do you feel?"
"Terrible," she groaned. But it wasn't a physical ache. "I didn't heal Yuka. I became disoriented and forgot why I was there."
"Were you able to communicate with him?" Reeve's voice was quiet.
A moment ago his eyes had been closed, and Alori had thought he was asleep, but she wasn't surprised he was listening. Reeve was perceptive, as quiet people tended to be.
Was it asking too much of the goddesses to pray Yuka wouldn't recall their tryst when he woke up? If it turned out her vision was one-sided, Alori could live with herself. Maybe. But if he remembered...
No, if Yuka survived. That was what mattered most. She needed to stop focusing on herself.
"I spoke with him," she admitted, her eyes downcast to the shadowy floor. "Although, I don't know for certain if it was him or my mind's own manifestation."
YOU ARE READING
The Princess and the Bard (Royals of the Realms #1)
Romance*Beta version -- still editing* Crown Princess Alori must choose her consort before her coronation. As the Ville-Realms' most powerful mage, she alone possesses the ability to protect her people from the looming threat of demonkind... with the help...
