At the wedding, the Bow Men had invited Raife and I to the beaches of Archmere to watch a sailing competition the very next day. The married Bow Men were bringing their wives and there would be beach games and suntanning. It sounded fun. I’d gone ahead to Samarah’s this morning and had her sew me a two-piece swimsuit like the ones we wore in Nightfall. I hoped it gave Raife a heart attack. Since bedding on our wedding night last night, Raife had softened. Kisses here and there at breakfast, holding hands, saying sweet things. He was allowing himself to feel his emotions without being afraid of what they would do, and that made me happier than I’d ever been. All I wanted was for us to give this a real chance. Let it be what it could be.
There was a knock at our bedroom door and I opened it to find Raife with his nose shoved in a typography book.
“Ready?” he asked without glancing up.
“Yep,” I announced.
He looked up then, and his eyes ran over my sundress. I normally wore the formal floor-length gowns with heavy embellishments, but that would be ridiculous for a beach event and suntanning. Instead I had on a short little sundress that came well above the knee. It was in a thin purple silk, my favorite color, and the neckline dipped low, giving a small peep of my cleavage.
“I can wait while you get dressed,” he said jokingly.
I laughed, throaty and sarcastic. “Oh, darling, I am dressed.”
His eyes narrowed, going from my cleavage to my bare legs, and I was delighted to feel a little jealously coming off of him.
“Oops, I almost forgot.” I ran over to my wardrobe and grabbed the large wide-brimmed white hat. “Now I’m ready.”
Raife took in a deep breath and then exhaled, holding the door open as I passed. I swear when I brushed up against him, he smelled me. “You kill me,” he breathed, and I just grinned.
Mission accomplished.
IT WAS an active horse and carriage ride to the ocean. Our carriage sat six with a table in between. Raife and I sat across from each other and there were two other couples. Raife’s top Bow Men, Ares and Cahal, played a card game with him, and I sat next to their wives, Baylie and Naia, talking about fashion.
“We were so sad when you couldn’t come to craft night,” Baylie said. “I hope you’re feeling better?”
I eyed Raife. He’d told them I was sick and they bought it? Raife was the greatest healer in the land. Would they not think he would heal me?
“Much better, thanks,” I told her.
Over the course of our carriage ride, I learned that Baylie was the chatty redhead who knitted and Naia was the quieter blonde who liked to sew. Both were extremely welcoming and I was relieved to see that the hem of their dresses was also short. I had no idea about being queen, but dressing appropriate while also sexy was my goal.
“I love that neckline.” Naia pointed to the beading I’d asked Samarah to add. It sparkled and drew the eye.
“Thank you,” I said.
We talked about the wedding and how divine the cake was and other light topics. All in all I was feeling pretty relaxed by the time we reached the beach. The carriage came to a stop and the boys exited first before reaching out a hand to each of us. When I took Raife’s hand, I started to descend and the tip of my sandal caught the lip of the carriage step. One second I was gracefully exiting a royal carriage for a beach date with my new husband the king, and the next I was flailing. A shriek ripped from my lips as I tumbled forward, ready to faceplant. Raife repositioned himself, grasping my hips tightly and lifting me up like I was made of parchment. When he set me back down before him, I reached out and grabbed his shoulders to steady myself.
“Thanks,” I mumbled.
How humiliating. Not only were the Bow Men and their wives looking at me, but so was half the beach. The first time the people meet the new queen and I couldn’t even exit a carriage properly. I wanted to die.
“Sorry if I embarrassed you,” I whispered to Raife.
He leaned forward, brushing his lips along my neck until they were up against my ear. “You could never embarrass me, Lani,” he said, and my stomach dropped.
With that, he slipped his hand into mine, stroking my palm with his thumb, and escorted me to the beach.
We passed some market stalls that had been set up and I peered at the items. Some artisans were selling crafts made of seashells, and some of the tents were food stalls. It all reminded me of my father. He’d written about this very place in his journals, where he would sell his wares. If he were alive today, would he be proud to know his daughter was queen of his people, even if it was all for show? I liked to think he would.
Raife had already counseled me that we would not be eating at this event as the risk was too great. Also, any gifts given needed to be taken by a Bow Man or one of their wives to be inspected later. There apparently were liquid poisons that could be painted onto objects to kill you with one touch. I wasn’t sure I would ever get used to constantly being on guard for an assassination plot, but it was my new life so I was trying to settle into it.
There was a trio playing the elvin violin, and with them was a hauntingly beautiful singer. She wore a thin cotton ankle-length beach dress, her black hair braided at the sides hanging way past her waist. She belted a sad love song into the sunny air and chills ran the length of my arms.
“Oh, Raife. She must sing at the Winter Ball,” I said. Now that I was queen it was no longer appropriate that I taste Raife’s food or be his assistant for much longer. I had been told I would be planning all the palace events until I could find the right tutor to help me become the physician I always dreamed of. They’d need to know the human science aspects of healing as well as the elvin ones. Raife said he would find someone for me, but to throw elegant parties in the meantime, starting with the Winter Ball in a few months’ time.
Raife looked at the woman as if sizing up her threat to poison him.
“Pleeeease,” I begged, hanging on his arm.
Naia grinned. “Your Highness, you’d better give your wife what she wants. Life is easier that way.”
Cahal laughed, swinging an arm around his woman. “It’s true, my lord.”
Raife looked over at me and I popped my bottom lip out, giving him a frown.
“Fine,” he chuckled, and I squealed happily.
After talking to the singer and her band, which we learned were called Mona and the Brigade, we booked them for the Royal Winter Ball in two months’ time. Mona seemed stunned and honored to be asked.
After that, we were ushered into a special cordoned-off area of the beach that was private with an open cabana of sorts. There were some chairs and towels on the sand for lounging.
“Let’s sun. I need a tan before winter hits,” Baylie announced and began to shed her dress. She wore an adorable bright yellow one-piece suit with ruffles over the butt. Naia then took off her dress and revealed a pale pink suit that looked modest from the front but was missing the entire back.
I started to take off my sundress, pulling it up over my head, and then locked eyes with Raife. When I finally revealed my black two-piece suit, I wasn’t sure if Raife was mad or in love. His eyes were hooded, jaw clenched.
“Oh, Kailani your suit is so chic! I’ve never seen this type of design before,” Naia cooed.
“It’s missing the middle piece,” Raife said dryly, causing Naia to roll her eyes at him. I loved that his friends didn’t treat him like a king with delicate feelings.
“I’m going to go home and cut mine in half,” Naia announced to everyone.
“Look at you, a trendsetting queen already,” Baylie said with a smile.
I grinned, feeling uplifted at their compliments, but I couldn’t get that gray-blue gaze off of me. Raife stared at my bathing suit as if willing it to grow back into one piece. I smiled, walking past him, ignoring his icy glare, and settled myself onto the towel next to Baylie and Naia. The men pulled up chairs beside us and I dug my feet into the warm sand as we looked out onto the water, propped up on our elbows. Raife sat next to me and I could almost physically feel his gaze running over my legs as I sat up talking with the girls about the different boats.
There must have been over a hundred of them, all lining up for the race. Some were small sailboats; there was a giant barge that looked like it could hold a hundred men; and a few bigger rowing boats.
“I’d like to own a boat one day,” I announced. “Go exploring around the entire realm and stop at Grim Hollow in Embergate. I hear they have wonderful artisan crafts.”
Baylie laughed. “Queen Kailani, you do own all of these boats now that you’ve married the king.”
I bristled and looked up at Raife. He was still staring at my legs. “All of these boats are yours?”
He nodded. “Ours. Most of them.”
Ours. I liked that.
“But there must be a hundred! What do you use them for?” I asked.
“Most are for war, some I rent out to fishermen to feed the realm, and a few merchant trading vessels are owned by private citizens,” he said.
A tall elf holding a golden horn stepped over to the edge of the tent and glanced at Raife. The king nodded, waving and looking out at the people who stood along the beach with a smile.
“Let the race begin!” the elf screamed, and put the horn to his lips. He blew a long, deep note, and the perfect line of boats broke apart as each one sped out into the water.
I noticed a medium-sized sailboat had broken away from the formation and was headed towards us.
“Someone can’t steer.” Naia laughed.
I smiled, looking at the poor flustered sailboat captain as he floundered about with the steering wheel. He wore a wool knitted cap pulled down over his ears—which was odd considering the sunny warm weather.
“Ahh, your war boat is beating mine!” Cahal said to the king.
Raife grinned, standing now to get a closer look. The ladies stood as well, throwing their sundresses over their suits, and I did the same. We all walked ten paces closer to the water in order to get a better view. I’d never seen a boat race before, and truth be told I was kind of excited. But the stupid sailboat who couldn’t steer had finally figured out how to turn to the side and rejoin the race, which meant he was now blocking our view.
“Sorry, lord!” the captain yelled as he was only a mere fifty feet away. Any closer and he’d get stuck in the sand.
Raife reached up and just waved him off, annoyed. We all turned sideways then to try and peer around the stuck sailing vessel so we didn’t miss the race, when something moved in my peripheral vision. I spun to follow what had caught my attention in the direction of the nearly moored boat, and the next second the beach was filled with screams.
Five archers had popped up from the boat and loosed arrows. The projectiles whizzed past me and I flinched at the wet sound of them sinking into flesh.
Cahal threw himself over Raife, knocking him to the ground, and by instinct I tackled Naia as we all went down in a pile. More arrows sank into the sand beside me, and Naia let out a blood-curdling scream.
Suddenly the tent that had been set up to shade us from the sun was upended and thrown over us by Raife’s Bow Men on duty—tipped on its side to shield us from the archer assassins.
“Kill them!” Raife screamed beside me, and the Bow Men took off running.
What the Hades was happening? It was all too fast for my mind to process.
Naia whimpered beneath me, and now that the tent was covering us I peeled myself off of Naia and looked down at her. I’d fallen on her sideways at a weird angle and wasn’t able to fully cover her. There, at the innermost part of her thigh, was lodged an arrow.
“Are you okay?” Raife suddenly swam into view and reached for me. There was blood on his fingers, and I scanned his body wide-eyed, feeling myself go into shock at the gruesome scene.
“You’re hit.” I looked down at his stomach and he followed my gaze. I saw it the moment the fear flashed across his face.
“I’m fine,” he lied. “Are you okay, Lani?”
“Naia!” Cahal screamed for his wife, scrambling from where he’d been at the king’s side to where his wife now lay.
I nodded to Raife, staring at the arrow sticking out of his gut. He needed healing, but as I was painfully aware, no one could heal the king except those waters at the healing cave several hours away.
Raife kneeled beside Naia, and Cahal seemed to look at his king for the first time.
“My lord, you need a healer!” The Bow Man looked torn between his wife and his duty to the crown.
“I’m fine,” Raife growled, and grabbed the hem of Naia’s dress. “I’m going to pull this up and inspect the wound, okay?” he asked her.
She nodded, tears streaming down her face.
When he pulled her dress up, we all winced. The arrow was so deeply embedded it looked to be pointing out the back side of her thigh.
Raife looked at Cahal. “Give her something to bite down on.”
Naia’s eyes went wide as her husband pulled off his leather belt and shoved it into his wife’s mouth. “You’re okay, my love. Just think of the garden. Your lavender is blooming,” he cooed into her ear.
“Screw my garden, Cahal—ahhhhhh!” she screamed through the leather as the king snapped the arrow in half and then reached behind her leg to pull it out the back end. Once the arrow tip was out, Raife brought it up to his nose and smelled it.
“No detectable poison,” he said with relief.
Blood bubbled out of the hole in her leg and the king placed his hands on her thigh. Purple arcs of light spilled out of his fingers and wrapped around her leg. The whimper died in her throat instantly and she sighed in relief.
When Raife pulled his hands back, there was no longer a bleeding gaping hole but a light pink, puckered scar.
“Thank you, my lord,” Cahal breathed, resting his head against his wife’s neck.
Raife said nothing, hovering over Naia.
“Raife?” I pulled on his shoulder a little so that I could look at his face, and my heart stopped when I saw his purple lips.
“Poison,” he said.
The arrow was poisoned. And now not only had he taken in her poison, healed her wound, but the arrow inside of him was as well. A double shot of that nasty odorless stuff the queen tried to kill us with before.
“No.” Cahal moved to catch the king just as Raife fell backwards.
Naia whimpered, getting to her knees beside the king and bursting into tears. Bailey and Ares were unharmed, and stood in shock at the edge of the tipped-over tent with their backs to it as the king gasped for breath.
No. Not again. Not like this.
A gust of wind kicked up and the tent blew off of us, revealing the king’s dire health to the entire beach. People gasped, burst into tears, and some even dropped to their knees in prayer.
It seemed that the Bow Men had taken care of the archers, because no more arrows fell our way, but even with a crowd watching on I couldn’t let that deter me.
I had to save him, even if it killed me. The world was a better place with him in it, and I couldn’t conceive of a healing gift I wasn’t meant to use.
Falling to my knees beside him, I snapped the arrow off like he’d done, a wave of emotions from everyone around me pressing in on me—Naia’s horror and guilt that the king would die because of her; Cahal’s remorse that he’d been unable to protect Raife; Ares and Bailey’s fear that they might see the king die and were helpless to stop it; the onlookers who genuinely loved their king and now were afraid of being without him.
I looked down at Raife as blood pooled on his tunic and his face went blue.
“No,” he whispered, knowing what I was about to do. “It… might… be your last…” was all he could get out before his breath fully left him.
Leaning forward, I brushed my lips against his ear. “Then it would have been worth it to save the man I love.”
When I pulled back, his eyes were wide, but I felt it in that moment, his complete and utter joy that I’d confessed such a thing.
Leaning forward, I pressed my lips to his and exhaled, calling up whatever healing energy I had left.
The purple breath rushed over his face, and one by one the people around me gasped.
“She’s blessed.”
“Is that the Breath of Life?”
“Her hair!”
I gazed down at Raife, and although the blue was fading from his face, he still hadn’t breathed. After one breath didn’t seem to do it, I did another, feeling a weakness throughout my limbs. Finally the color returned to Raife’s face, but he still hadn’t breathed or spoken, so I prepared to exhale again, a third breath, everything I had, when Raife’s hand reached up and clamped around my mouth.
He gasped and sputtered for air as a collective sigh of relief filled the beach and the crowd sobbed and screamed for joy. I smiled down at Raife, and then everything went black as I collapsed right on top of him.
