Sabine

Blood roared in my ears. My eyelids were so heavy I could barely keep them open. I kept trying to see what was going on.

It felt like the world was being ripped apart.

Walls crumbled around me. Rubble piled around the chair I was tied to. I was on my side seeing the world from an angle. Warriors clad in black clothing darted back and forth like rats in a maze.

One blink and Cara was casting crackling spells at someone else. I could only see his back but he looked familiar. His hair flopped to the side, and I got a clear view of his boots. His fire pushed Cara back and she disappeared into the smoke.

I blinked and there were bodies piled in front of me. Their vacant, dim eyes stared back, lifeless. Tears in their clothes revealed blood oozing from fresh lacerations. Flames lapped at the rubble and flickered at the edges of my vision.

Another blink and Prince Cole's face loomed over me. His eyes were stern and unyielding, his face expressionless. My arms and legs were cut free.

Someone cried out in agony. Was it me? I couldn't stay awake anymore. Exhaustion took me.

I blinked again and I was floating. My head pounded with a rhythmic whump, whump, whump. It felt like the earth was moving beneath me. Like it had a pulse and was breathing. A distant rumble of thunder reverberated through my bones. No, not thunder, a roar. Red scales flashed in my peripheral.

Above me, the sky was nothing but stars blinking and gazing down at me like watchful eyes. There was no barrier between me and the sky.

I was flying.

Riding dragonback was an honor for royals only. This was wrong. I tried to sit up but a firm hand pressed against my shoulder. Prince Cole's face flashed in my mind again, serious and unrelenting.

My eyelids drooped and I gave into the surrounding darkness.

***

I was free-falling through open air, spinning and twisting as air rushed around me. The ground got closer until...

I jolted awake in my own bed. The familiar sights of my room surrounded me, and the soft scent of clean sheets washed over me. I grabbed the blankets and pulled them tight around my body.

"Uhh..." every muscle in my body screamed and I bit my tongue to keep my pain from bursting out.

"Don't try and move." A woman I'd never seen stood over me, a bowl in hand. "Let me see your wounds."

My arms shook as I pushed the blankets back. The healer frowned. She grabbed my arm and forced my sleeve up, the lines around her mouth deepening.

There was a thick herbal poultice wrapped around my wrists. Underneath the blankets, I could tell my ankles were wrapped in the poultice, too. I remembered my binding ropes cut into my skin when I was being tortured.

"What's wrong?" Prince Cole demanded.

My eyes shot to where he stood in the corner. I hadn't noticed he was there.

"No wounds. There's nothing for me to heal." The healer set her bowl aside.

"She's obviously in pain," the prince said.

"Then she is very fragile because there is barely a mark on her." The healer replaced my sleeve and pulled the covers around me. "Perhaps she is more traumatized by the experience than anything."

She patted my shoulder and I winced, her touch like a hammer to an anvil.

"She should be fine to return to work. Unless she's trying to deceive you."

"Get out!" the prince demanded, pointing to the door.

The healer shrugged. She grabbed her bowl and left.

I kept my eyes down as the prince's heavy boots thumped on the floor, moving closer to the bed.

A healer wouldn't be able to see the tiny tears through my muscles from Cara's torture spells. She couldn't see my ligaments and joints stretched to their limit.

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A lump formed in my throat. I tried to swallow. It stuck and I moved my hand to my neck.

Based on the healer's diagnosis, I imagined the prince would be furious. Thinking I was shirking my responsibilities or being lazy.

"Drink this." His voice was stern as he thrust a goblet in my face.

My hands trembled as I grasped it, the water sloshing over the edges. I took a sip and the cool liquid quelled the burning in my throat. Sighing, I gulped down the entire goblet.

"Look at me."

I lifted my eyes to meet the prince's gaze. He took another step closer and reached a hand out.

I recoiled. A groan broke through my lips and I panted as shocks of pain rippled through me. The goblet slipped from my grasp.

"Where does it hurt?"

"The healer said I was uninjured, Sire." My voice was hoarse and burned my throat. The soothing effects of the water were gone in an instant.

The prince scoffed. "You can barely hold your arms up. That's not so easily faked. Tell me where you're hurt."

"E-everywhere," I gasped.

"What did she do?"

I glanced at him quickly. He was standing right next to my bed, arms crossed, imposing in my personal space. But his eyes were gentle.

"She tortured me with magic. It wouldn't leave a mark."

"The royal healers are supposed to be able to discern a magical injury from a physical one."

"Then perhaps they aren't as well schooled as you think." I rolled my lips in on themselves and closed my eyes. What was I thinking?

I'd spent too much time with Cara. To her, I was a nobody. I didn't need to act like a slave.

"My apologies, Sire, it's not my place to make such assumptions."

Prince Cole chuckled. "You're probably right."

I tightened my fingers around the bedspread, my weak muscles shuddering.

"By all rights, I should have been able to defend myself! That woman... she was weak, but I was helpless...."

"Weak? I went toe to toe with her and her magic rivaled mine." The prince leaned down, putting himself right in my field of view. "And you think she was weak?"

"Weaker than me," I corrected.

He narrowed his eyes. His face was so close to mine that I could see the little red flecks in his irises. "Who are you?" he asked.

"Sire?"

The prince shook his head. He hooked a finger around my collar and lifted it, forcing my head back. His warm breath struck my face, smelling of charcoal and ash; like he was the firebreather, not his dragon.

I stayed as still as possible on the outside. My bones trembled on the inside and my heart hammered in my chest. What was he doing?

"I don't disagree with you. Everyone should have the right to defend themselves." His voice took on a gentle purr. "Do you know any healing magic?"

"Of course." I furrowed my brow.

"Then heal yourself." He uttered the release word.

The flood of magic dulled my pain and I breathed deeply. It didn't feel like someone was sitting on my chest anymore.

I pushed myself up on the pillows and winced. I threw my hand over my stomach. "I have some wounds on my stomach. Probably from when they captured me."

Prince Cole peeled the covers back. "Royal healer my ass..." he muttered.

Blood soaked through my dress in a few places. It was fresh like my movements reopened the wounds.

"They're still bleeding. I need to heal them first but..." I bit my lower lip. "I need to see them to heal."

My cheeks warmed and blood pumped under my skin just as furiously as magic flowed through me. I glanced up at the prince. He had a deep crease in his brow.

"My dress... the tie is in the back." I motioned with my arm and my shoulder and elbow twinged. Gasping, I cradled my arm to my chest.

"Lean forward," the prince instructed.

"Oh... I..." Weren't there maids or healers in the palace he could call?

His mouth quirked up at the corner. "I'll be gentle."

My face flared with heat. "Do you even know the meaning of the word?"

He laughed and tilted his head back. The prince motioned to me with his hands.

I leaned forward, as much as I could. His fingers quickly unlaced my dress tie and the fabric loosened on my shoulders and torso, sliding down my arms. I clutched the garment to my body before I was completely exposed.

The prince stepped back. He continued to watch me from the edge of my bed. It didn't seem like he was going to leave or turn around.

"Do you mind?" I asked.

"Not at all," he retorted, another smirk on his lips.

I swallowed hard and let the dress fall away from my body. I tried to ignore the Prince's watchful gaze but my blood rose to the surface down my neck and over my breasts. What did he get out of this?

There were shallow lacerations on my stomach with dried crystals of blood caked at the edges. The wounds had closed and reopened multiple times, probably during my torture.

I covered the cuts with my hands and focused the flow of magic on the wounds. I could feel the tissues beneath my skin reconnect and weave themselves together. Blood stopped oozing out. I cut the magic off just before my skin sewed itself back together.

Closing my eyes, I fell back on the pillows. Healing others never took so much out of me but using my own life energy to heal was recycling energy for different purposes. It used twice as much as if I were healing someone else.

I rested for a moment. When I opened my eyes, I noticed the prince hadn't moved. His eyes traveled over the partially healed wounds.

"Is that it?"

"That's all I can expend on my physical injuries. I still need to heal what I can on the inside. The rest will heal naturally. Albeit, I'll be sore for a few days."

He nodded. His eyes shifted from my stomach and traveled higher on my body.

I snatched the sheet and covered myself, ignoring the flaring pain that shot through me like an arrow.

The prince chuckled and shrugged. "You seem to be out of immediate danger. I'll leave you to rest."

"Thank you..." I wanted to thank him for rescuing me. "...Your Majesty." I bowed my head to him, unable to form the words I wanted. How could I thank him for that? Words weren't enough.

I closed my eyes pulled my magic from deep within and uttered the words of a healing spell. Cooling, numbing magic coursed through me, bathing my muscles, bones, limbs, and joints. In my mind, I could see the flow of magic, like blood vessels, only they carried green, healing waves to every corner of my body.

The pain eased and I let out a long breath. It no longer felt like my chest, my arms, and my legs were being pinned down by weights.

The collar activated and my magic stopped. Just in time.