Dark One Rising(107)
She surprisingly hadn’t really thought about Dain for a while. She winced. He would be very angry with her for leaving without telling him, and without escort. He’d really be furious after he found out what happened here.
She felt guilty. She loved him, and she knew that he at least cared about her and genuinely didn’t want anything to happen to her. She should’ve been more aware of the effect of what her rash decision might have on others, Dain and Kevaan especially.
She tried to mount her horse with one hand, while grasping her torn blouse closed with the other. She wasn’t embarrassed but was a bit uncomfortable with being exposed. She stopped trying to climb up and, instead, wrapped her arms about herself to cover her naked chest.
The elf dismounted and pulled a woolen cloak and rope out of his bag and handed it to her. She pulled it around herself and tied the rope in a knot.
She got on her horse, and the magician followed. They turned toward the gates, the elf leading. He had covered his ears back up with his hood, and they sauntered past the remaining buildings on the outskirts of the city.
They went out the gate without incident, Melenthia suspecting that the magician had something to do with the fact that no one paid them any mind at all. Much less the fact that no one had stopped them to question them about the dead bodies left on their city streets.
As they left the city gates behind and approached the edge of some woods, the elf reined in his mount and waited for her to catch up. He dismounted and untied the pack that was tethered to the saddle of Sol’s horse. She stopped her horse in front of him; he looked up at her. “Come down and let me have a look at your face.”
“I’m fine,” she lisped through a swollen lip.
Sol looked at her now and smiled slightly. “There’s no need for embarrassment here. Let him look at it. It’s worse than you think.”
She dismounted and approached the elf. He reached out and probed the swollen lip and bruised cheek with surprisingly long and delicate fingers. He pushed a bit, and she winced. “You will have quite a good bruise in the morning, but your lip is going to need some attention if you plan to eat.”
He pulled a wadded up bunch of cloth out of the bag and opened it. Inside was a blob of something white and creamy, and when she leaned over to look closer, she got a whiff of it. She pulled her head back and cringed.
“What’s that?” she asked, wrinkling up her nose.
“It is a salve made from the rotten eggs of the faerie swan. It has healing powers that even the most gifted alchemists cannot duplicate. It smells but works wonders. After a few minutes your lip will get numb, but in a couple of hours the swelling will have gone down and the split will have healed almost completely. It cannot, however, do anything for your cheek. You will have to endure having black and blue on your left side for awhile. It is, however, better than what it could have been.”
“Thanks to you.”
“I do what I can, Your Highness.” He bowed to her and then looked straight into her eyes. She felt a warmth there, a soothing presence that emanated off him and made her feel calm.
He leaned over and rubbed a large dollop of salve on the left side of her mouth. It stung her cut tender lip and gave her a feeling of prickles in it. She tried to purse her lips together in order to keep the salve from going into her mouth. As bad as it smelled, she certainly didn’t want to taste it.
“Do not worry. It smells bad but has no taste and no ill effects. You can unclench your jaw now. If some of it gets in your mouth you will taste nothing.”
“Try not to lick your lips though,” Sol added with amusement in his voice. The elf was done applying the cream, and she looked at him.
“I thought he said I wouldn’t taste it.”
“You won’t, but your lip will heal faster if you don’t lick away all the medicinal cream.”
She rolled her eyes at him. The elf remounted and she followed suit.
“I suggest we be on our way now. I don’t want to take the chance that there were more than the five. I don’t want to be followed. I have put a concealment spell on us, but it won’t hide us from all the eyes.”
“Do you think they know where I’m hiding?”
“They know you’re on this side of the kingdom, but exactly your whereabouts I don’t know. If it was only those five, we may be lucky and word won’t travel. But, if he has more spies, then I don’t doubt that he’ll know sooner than later.”
“Is Dain in any danger?”
“Dain is skilled in warfare. He’ll be fine.”
She was not convinced. “I have put everyone I know and love in danger.”