The Summoner

Chapter 30: Hard Choices

The king's words proved true the following day. The people raised Brenden up as a martyr who did what needed to be done to rid them of the evil summoner. That the king pardoned the demon only showed how bewitched he was: otherwise why would he side with the thing that skinned his cousin alive and ripped out his heart?

When Kylihr heard the slurs and the desire for Kaylen death, she was barely able to prevent a massacre in the garden. Only feigning a bout of dizziness weakness stopped him. Unfortunately the stress of the encounter made the feint all too real.

She stopped going out in public.

The king moved them to rooms in the royal wing where there was less risk of well-intentioned assassins. Kaylen was grateful despite the nastiness that necessitated the move, because it granted her access to the private royal garden. There, amongst the vibrant colors and fragrant smells, she felt at peace. The only thing more beautiful than the roses was Kylihr framed by them.

Kylihr never left her side. They had dinner in their rooms. Occasionally the king joined them, but those meals were strained by the pressure the court exerted on him allowing for little more than civility between them. Kaylen wondered if he used the obvious deterioration of her health as a reminder of why he did not give into demands calling for Kylihr's punishment. Resentment mixed with appreciation that at least some good came of her condition.

Elon visited more often than the king, but it was her master's apprentice that was fast becoming a constant in their small world. And a friend. Even Kylihr liked the earnest young man. He teased and goaded him relentlessly, and Kaylen often had to curtail the two. She suspected the distraction it gave her was their intent.

The days settled into a routine: Breakfast in bed. A walk in the garden. Nap. Lunch with Raven who would stay until Kaylen's energy waned and Kylihr chased him out so she could nap again. More often than not he returned with dinner. The three of them would walk the gardens. Kylihr entertained them with tales of Unbye and his people. Kaylen particularly loved the ones that included Brekk and their antics. Raven was an endless fount of questions. She didn't know how Kylihr kept up with them, but he was exceedingly patient. It made her love him all the more.

The emotion had probably been there for a while, if she were honest. It became increasingly hard to hide each time Kylihr brought her breakfast in bed. Each time he curled around her for a nap he didn't need. For the way he distracted her with the stories and history of his world that she was pretty sure he wasn't supposed to share. The way he never complained about the confinement her health enforced. The way he stayed beside her despite her offer to release him from his contract.

That was the only time he left her side in the eight days since her collapse. He stormed out of their bedroom, and she heard shattering and crashing. Even then he stayed within hearing range in case she needed him.

How could she not love him?

His care was so different than Talon's. Talon always treated her as if she needed his protection: as if she was too emotionally fragile to survive without him. Now she was weak in truth and Kylihr never made her feel it. His outbursts had a setting effect on her. It made her feel like they were equals in this – both struggling to cope but able to lean on the other. He staunchly refused to let her disparage herself and the words death and dying were forbidden. A peace and belonging she'd never known filled her.

Unfortunately, that peace only lasted till the ninth day when the vomiting and convulsions started.

She rapidly became too ill to rise from bed. Kylihr had to help her with everything including the bathroom and bathing; it was far different than the baths they shared before. Anger and despair took root. She felt helpless, useless. During the daily walks in the garden, the stories shared between friends, and the leisurely naps, she'd been able to ignore her condition. There was no hiding from the stark truth now.