The Promised Queen (Forgotten Empires #3)- Jeffe Kennedy Page 0,8

finger, I realized, that we’d retrieved from the wizards’ workroom. “Lady Sondra said to give you this.”

Ambrose didn’t take it. “Conrí claimed that. It’s his.”

Ibolya glanced at me but hesitated. “Shall I keep it for you, Conrí?”

“Please,” I replied with a rush of relief. Ambrose watched me knowingly, though with amusement, contempt, or sympathy, I wasn’t sure.

“Syr Wizard, will you eat here or shall I have something sent to your tower?”

“The tower,” Ambrose answered with a nod and a sigh. “My cauldrons have not been stirred or cackled over these many days.” Though he’d said that last to poke at me, he didn’t look my way, instead hobbling toward the doors as if greatly pained.

“Ambrose,” I called after him. When he turned, cocking his head like his raven familiar would, I realized I didn’t know what I wanted to say. I’m an ass. I’m sorry. What are we going to do now? How do I fix this?

He smiled, as if hearing my unspoken thoughts. “You’re a good man, Conrí. Bathe. Eat. Sleep. In my great wisdom, I recommend you do so in that order. Be there when Lia wakes up. She’ll need you.” He left, and I stood there, in the empty room, not sure what to do with my hands.

Ibolya returned and handed me one of two mugs she carried. “Bone broth, Conrí,” she said. “Food is coming, but this will hold you until then. Your bath is ready, so I suggest drinking it there. I’ll give this to Lady Sondra, then take Vesno to be cared for. When I return, I’ll come help you with shaving and so forth.”

I huffed a laugh. “Is that necessary?”

“You’ll feel better for it, Conrí,” she replied gently. “And Her Highness will be reassured on waking to see you groomed. I promise: no jewels or flowers. Syr Vesno, would you like some breakfast?”

I drank the broth in gulps as I sank into the tub. Hot, salty, and robust, the nourishment filled the aching, exhausted pit inside me. Groaning, truly feeling the last grueling week now, I let my head fall back, the fury of the storm dimmed in this inside room. As with everything in Calanthe, the ceiling had been lavishly decorated. In this case, colorful pebbles swirled in a pattern like birds flying in a vast flock. As my eyes blurred, they almost seemed to move, flipping in mid-flight to alter their course in a flickering cloud.

Ibolya entered with quiet discretion, but not so silently as to startle me. I dunked my head to wet my hair, and she sat behind me to wash it. “It might be easier to cut it all off,” I remarked.

“Oh, but Her Highness loves it so.”

“She does?” An odd thought, to imagine Lia liking much about me at all—much less commenting on it.

“She does,” Ibolya said firmly. “And putting it in order won’t take much. Let me tend you, if only for Her sake.”

Slathering something warm over my head, she worked it through, using her fingertips to massage my scalp. Another groan escaped me, this one of pure pleasure as I relaxed. It took her a while to comb through all the snarls, along with several rinses of warm, scented water. But I didn’t mind the perfumes and fussing. After Yekpehr, it all seemed so … human. Nourishing in another way.

Ibolya cleaned the blood from my beard, dabbing something soothing on the lip wound I’d forgotten about. Then she lathered my skin above and below my beard, face a picture of concentration as she shaved me with smooth precision.

“Why is this what you do?” I asked her. When she raised a brow in polite question, I searched for the words. “You said before that this is what you can do. And you came with us to Yekpehr, a dangerous mission.”

“I stayed on the yacht, not exactly a hardship,” she replied, using a warm cloth to remove the last of the suds.

“Dangerous,” I repeated, “to the point of suicidal, and you knew it. Yet you asked to come along so you could tend Lia. Now you’re missing your own food and rest, doing the same for me. And after this, I bet you will for Sondra.”

“I doubt Lady Sondra will allow it,” Ibolya said with a rueful smile, “though I wish she would.”

“You’re clearly intelligent,” I persisted, “and can do magic, since it seems you have to be able to, in order to be one of Lia’s ladies. So why is this what you say you can