Sentinel

Chapter 17 - For the King

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Chapter 17 - For the King

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Skye blinked as Tayne covered her hand with his own. 

Tayne looked up, meeting her eyes with a steady gaze she didn't quite know how to read. “Does that mean you’ll come to the palace?” he asked.

Skye nodded. His hand was warm despite the chill in the air, bringing with it a sense of comfort she wasn't familiar with. “I won’t let you face them alone after all you’ve done for me. I doubt I’d be here if it weren’t for you.”

It earned her a small smile. “I’m not sure what’s going to be worse. The last few days, or the next few hours,” said Tayne. He sighed, removing his hand to run it through his hair. He glanced at the Silverborn. “Pull up your hood until we reach the palace. I’d rather keep you a secret until after the King has met you. The last thing we want is to get mobbed again.”

Skye reached for her hood, fingertips still tingling with magic. He was right; her hair was still lit like a beacon, surrounding her head in a halo of green light. When her fingers found nothing, she waited for Tayne to glance at her again. 

"Slight problem,” she said. “The fifth or sixth tainted I fought tore it off. I lost the one you gave me.” 

He raised an eyebrow, confused.

She touched her fingers to her shoulders. “The cloak.”

“Oh!” Tayne brought his fingers to the knot at his throat and hastily untied it. “Sorry. Preoccupied with my own thoughts,” he said as he roughly bundled it up and held it out to her. 

Skye accepted it gratefully, albeit slightly embarrassed. “Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it. Follow behind me once it’s on.” With that, he turned Wing sharply and rode towards the Silverborn.

She threw the cloak around her shoulders, careful to avoid touching the mark on her shoulder. The thing was hideous. 

More than that, there was something distinctly wrong about it. The ward sparks had known, too. They’d gathered around it, as if trying to decide whether they were right to let it pass or not. No, she decided. There was more to it than scorched flesh that refused to heal. Even though she’d passed the spark’s test, she still felt like she was helping the corruption infiltrate Alguarde. 

The cloak secured around her neck, burn mark hidden beneath folds of material, Skye gave Alida a gentle nudge with her heel. The mare followed Wing’s path without complaint. They came up behind Tayne, winding through silver clad bodies to reach him. He was talking quietly with Andro, who was helping him adjust his tunic to hide the wounds across it. 

Skye winced. 

Verdrana had healed the tainted's damage to Tayne's back, but bright red blood still seeped through the lacerated material. Without his cape, it was painfully obvious. 

His armour much have punctured and torn his skin before he took it off, realised Skye. And he didn't say anything about it when we stopped for the night. 

She contemplated moving over to them and demanding he let her heal it--damn the people who might be watching--when an array of emerald sparks flashed into existence and danced over his back. They sank into his tunic, presumably to heal the damage beneath. 

Skye glanced at her hand, trying to figure out if that'd been her. 

Nodding his thanks to Andro, Tayne rolled his shoulders experimentally. Skye couldn’t hide her smile as he ran his hands over his back, expecting to find the wounds. He frowned and twisted around in the saddle, trying to get a glimpse of them instead.