Cold.
So cold that it almost looked weary.
Edrick stared at him for a moment before facing forward again.
Now was not the time to wonder what was going through that man’s mind.
Forcing the distracting thoughts from his head, Edrick quickened his pace and led them out of the densely wooded forest.
* * *
It felt as though her leg was on fire.
Groaning from the sensation of her flesh boiling, Talia forced her heavy eyelids open.
The ceiling above her wavered in the glow of torchlight.
Confusion briefly crossed her face.
Then pain stabbed through her bones.
Talia twisted violently and released a piercing scream.
“Hold her down! Don’t let her move!”
Drawn by the unfamiliar voice, she lowered her gaze.
A broad-shouldered, middle-aged man was bent over her leg.
One hand pressed against her thigh while the other worked at her blood-soaked knee with something that looked like a pair of forceps.
Talia stared at the sight with horrified eyes.
Then she tried to flee.
The moment she twisted away, someone standing beside the bed slammed a hand onto her shoulder.
“Your Highness! Please calm yourself!”
Talia gasped for breath and looked up at the dark figure looming above her.
The exhausted face seemed vaguely familiar.
Only after several seconds did she recognize her as one of the maids Senevier had assigned to her.
But the recognition brought no comfort whatsoever.
Her pupils dilated.
Her gaze darted between the maid’s hardened face and the man probing her knee.
Then she lashed out.
Her nails raked across the woman’s face.
The maid cried out and instinctively withdrew her hands.
Talia seized the opportunity.
She immediately began crawling across the bed.
Before she could escape, a strong hand shot out from somewhere and pinned her wrist to the mattress.
Like an animal trapped in a snare, she thrashed violently.
“Let me go! I said let me go!”
“Please calm down! We’re treating your injuries! You can’t move like this!”
A desperate voice shouted as armored weight pressed down on her upper body.
Talia struggled even harder.
The agony felt as though it were tearing her entire body apart.
Yet the terror urging her to escape overwhelmed every other sensation.
“No! Don’t touch me!”
“Bring the sleeping draught immediately!”
The man shouted.
Talia stared up at the rough face cast in deep shadows.
Her personal knight.
The knight who usually looked perpetually absent-minded.
Now his face was hard and frightening as he restrained her.
A familiar sense of helplessness and fear wrapped around her throat.
She reached toward his face.
“Stay away! Leave me alone!”
The words came out like a scream.