Dark Prince & the Doe

Chapter 90: Misplaced Truth

Chapter 90: Misplaced Truth

Anne

Daniel had fallen asleep at her bedside, head bowed, with his chin resting against his chest. After sleeping like that, he'd need a healing enchant. Knowing Daniel, he'd think he deserved neck pain and berate himself for falling asleep on duty, but the man couldn't be awake at all hours of the day. Even honor and duty couldn't trump the human requirement of sleep forever.

Last night, when she'd arrived in the Healer's Hall, she'd been given an unpleasant, bitter powder that made her sick at first. Then, her mind had drifted away, slipping in and out of consciousness with the rise and fall of the healers' harmonious chanting. The drug-induced sleep abandoned Anne in the wee hours of the morning, leaving her mind to blearily dwell on the horrid thoughts she was trying to ignore.

All the gashes sealed up nicely on her back, but her chest wound must have given the healers trouble. She slipped her hand under her shirt and pressed her fingers against the gauze bandages. The ointment the healers used transferred to her fingers, making them smell strongly of mint. She wiped her hand off on the bloodstained shirt Lodon lent her, rippling the fabric. She wished the wound still hurt for there was nothing left to distract her mind from the truth. The truth that Calden was a liar. It was so obvious! How could she not have seen it before?

She pressed her face into the uncomfortable pillow to drive back her welling tears, then turned to glare across rows of occupied cots. It had to be almost dawn by now. Enchanted crystals, dimmed for the sleeping patients, were slowly brightening.

A healer chanted over Calden. An eerie blue glow suffused around them. Thank the Arias, the prince still appeared unconscious. How could she look that lying barbarian in the face ever again? Twisting her shirt in her hands, she tried to control her breathing. It would be beyond embarrassing if the healers rushed to her side and asked what hurt. What would she tell them? Her heart?

Every single man in her life was a liar who used her for their own gain. Her fiancé lied to her, her brother lied to her, her father lied to her, her guards lied to her. Everyone lied to her! Calden was no different. At least Aiden never manipulated her by shooting her with an arrow to fake her assassination! Honestly, she was surprised Aiden hadn't thought of it first – he loved to play the hero.

She had to get out of here. Forget peace, there could be no peace with beasts. She'd demand to go home at the soonest opportunity. They should have left sooner. No, they should never have left Atrezino!

A hot tear streaked from the corner of her eye, slipping along her hairline. The tear gathered in the shell of her ear as she glowered at the ceiling. Calden said he'd fallen in love with her, and he couldn't lie to her anymore. Hah! And she'd fallen for his lies, swooned, and thought herself in love. He must have thought her a naïve idiot. A foolish princessa! She smacked her balled-up fist against her bruised thigh, relishing the pain.

Calden had even given her that ridiculously stupid love letter, and she'd though tha...

She bolted upright, clutching at her chest. The letter!

She pressed her hand between her breasts, knowing full well it wasn't going to be there. Calden had acted so odd when he'd given her that letter. She'd thought it was nerves, that he was frightened to admit he'd grown feelings of hopeless affection for an Atrezin, but what if she'd misunderstood? What if he truly meant that he couldn't lie to her anymore? He'd begged her to read it, and she hadn't listened. She'd thought herself so clever, insisting she didn't care what the letter said. Her heart raced, thundering out of control.

She was getting ahead of herself. It was highly unlikely the letter contained a confession of guilt, but she wouldn't know for certain until she read it herself. Surely Calden wasn't stupid enough to create physical evidence of a war-worthy crime but...she rolled to her side and stared at the slumbering prince. His battered face was hidden in the darkness. The blue light made the bloodied bruises on his arms look like he'd been splattered with ink.