Dawn of Arcane Destiny

Chapter Eighty-Three

Drayce and Caelum returned to the castle at dusk. Caelum held Kaelyn's hand as they walked through the front gates. They had gotten permission for Kaelyn to stay at the castle overnight. Awe sparkled in the girl's eyes as she stared up at the castle.

"What would you call those?" Kaelyn asked eagerly pointing at the western tower.

"A tower?" Drayce said, unsure of what she meant.

She gave him a suffering look. "No, silly. The windows. They're gothic right?"

Drayce looked back up at the windows set in the stone. "They are. You like architecture?" he asked.

She nodded eagerly. "I do! I can't wait to study the rest of the castle!"

Caelum chuckled. "You might also find some books on architecture in the library."

She gasped in delight. She turned her eager face towards Drayce. "Is that alright? Father tells me that architecture is an unladylike interest."

Drayce snorted. "Of course, he did. It is completely fine. You are more than welcome to any books you wish."

Drayce's smile retreated immediately when he saw D'Hara, Lillia's lady's maid, hurrying to meet them. Her face strained with concern.

Drayce jogged forward to meet her. "What is it?" Drayce asked.

"It's Her Highness, she's having a fit. We don't know what to do." D'Hara gasped out.

Drayce was running before she finished her sentence. His leg smarted, but he ignored it. Hopefully, he wasn't making the injury worse.

Drayce tore through the castle. He ran up the stairs two at a time. His shin screamed in pain. each forceful step sending a jarring pain up his leg. He could only guess at what was happening to Lillia, but one thing was sure. It was his fault. Utterly and completely, his fault. He couldn't ignore this like he had hoped. Things were only going to get worse. Pretending it wasn't happening was going to accomplish nothing.

There was a maid walking the hall in the opposite direction. He stumbled to a stop. He barely managed to prevent his leg from giving out. "Where..." He gasped. She pointed down the hall, past their room. She must be with Ella then. He nodded his thanks and hurried to Ella Rose's room.

He entered the room to see Lillia on the floor, Ella kneeling next to her, her face tight with concern. Drayce walked over and knelt next to her.

"What happened?" He asked. Lillia looked pale, but she wasn't unconscious like Drayce had assumed. Her face was strained like she was in pain. She was muttering to herself, as if delirious. Drayce couldn't quite tell what she was saying.

"We had been talking. She stood to leave, and it was like all the energy drained from her." Ella took a fortifying breath. She collapsed and started muttering to herself."

Drayce looked back down at Lillia. Her murmurs were getting louder. "No, no..." she said. Drayce shook her shoulder softly, it didn't seem to affect her.

"Lilly?" He said. "Lilly, can you hear me?" No response.

"Do you know what's wrong?" Ella asked him.

Drayce purposely didn't answer. The last thing Lillia would want is for everyone avoiding her for fear of her beginning madness. He would find a way to fix this. He had to.

"Not the babies, no, anything but them..." Lillia muttered.

Babies? Drayce shook his head in confusion. He looked at Ella. "Go get some salts. That might help." He said. She nodded and left the room.