TheRedKing (23 page)

“Keep him under all those blankets with a fever like that
and he’ll be dead for sure.” Joshua pointed at Hypatios.

“And what would a blacksmith know about treating fevers?” Edith
scoffed.

“I know Hypatios himself ordered all healers in his army to
treat fevers by keeping the men cool.”

Mira and Edith again exchanged disbelieving looks.

“Pure insanity,” Edith said.

“Maybe, but it saved my life.” Joshua rolled up his sleeve
and showed a scar from an arrow wound in his powerful upper arm. “The Battle of
Oak River. I got hit and the wound infected. I damn near died. The healers,
under Hypatios’s order, broke my fever by giving me a lukewarm bath and
treating my arm with a salve that smelled so strong my eyes still burn at the
memory. You know that might not be a bad idea for him—the bath I mean.”

Mira glanced at Hypatios who lay shivering beneath the
blankets, his dark hair soaked in sweat.

“Do that and you’ll kill him for sure,” Edith warned. “I want
no part of it.”

“But if Joshua said such a remedy saved his life, shouldn’t
we at least try it?” Mira pressed. “You say he’s dying anyway, so what’s the
harm?”

“I mean no disrespect, Edith, and you have a great knowledge
of medicines, but I know this remedy works. I’m here because of it.”

“Fine then. Let’s get some water. Joshua, you can lug his
arse into the tub because there’s no way Mira or I can lift him.”

“You brought me here expecting a body. We’ve got a live man.
I’d much rather be lifting the latter.”

Jase had been quite good with his hands and had made a
wooden tub for Mira. It was probably the only thing he’d left behind that she
had use for. She and Edith dragged it in front of the fire while Joshua went to
fetch water. It took a while to fill the tub partway and longer for Mira to
heat some of the water to make it tepid.

Finally the bath was ready. Mira tugged the blankets off
Hypatios and Joshua pulled off his trousers.

“Turn away,” Edith ordered, grasping Mira’s shoulders.

“I’ve seen him unclothed already. How do you think he got
into Jase’s trousers?”

“You’re shameless, girl. That’s how you got here in the
first place,” Edith scolded.

Mira raised her eyes to the heavens. The last thing she
needed was yet another speech about her lack of virtue.

“Joshua, be careful not to wet his bandaged shoulder. We can
wrap his forearms again, but I don’t want that wrapping touched.”

“Yes, Edith,” Joshua grunted.

Mira glanced back at the men and saw that Joshua was half
carrying the semi-conscious warrior to the tub. No sooner had Hypatios sat up
to the waist in the water than he shivered violently, his teeth chattering.

Joshua scooped handfuls of water over him.

“Be careful of his shoulder, fool!” Edith snapped.

Mira grabbed a towel and quickly stepped near the tub to
cover the bandage. His eyes were wide, the dark pupils nearly filling his green
irises. She’d never seen anyone shake that much.

“Maybe Edith was right,” Mira said. “This can’t help him.”

“I reacted the same way,” Joshua told her.

While the blacksmith continued bathing Hypatios, Mira pulled
the sodden, bloodstained bedding off the mattress and turned it over. She
replaced it with fresh sheets and the top blanket only.

“If this bath doesn’t work, there’s lots of ice outside,” Joshua
said.

Edith looked at him as if he’d just sprouted a second head.
“You’re completely out of your mind, boy. Either that or you enjoy torture.”

“That should be enough.” Joshua helped Hypatios to stand and
step out of the tub.

Mira, having finished making the bed, approached with a towel.
She glanced at the tattoo of the snakelike creature that wrapped around his
hips. She also couldn’t help looking at Hypatios’s bare ass and fine legs
before she draped the towel over him. Then she reminded herself that he was a
taken man. No doubt that woman Cassandra was quite worried about him.

He was still unsteady, so Joshua kept an arm around him
while Mira rubbed him dry with the towel. Though battered, he had a gorgeous
body—long, lean and hard. She disgusted herself by noticing him when he was in
such a pathetic state, but she couldn’t seem to help herself. No doubt
Cassandra enjoyed his masculine beauty, or perhaps not. Maybe he was as
ruthless in bed as he was said to be on the battlefield. Yet another reason why
she had preferred running off with Jase to possibly facing marriage to Hypatios
or some other man of her father’s choosing.

“The trousers are still wet,” Edith commented, spreading
them by the fire. “Just put him to bed naked.”

“Good idea, because we’ll have to bathe him again later.”

“What?” Edith and Mira said together.

“Until the fever breaks. That’s what they did to—”

“It’s what they did to you in the Battle of Oak River. We
know. We know.” Edith curled her lip. “And despite what I told you, you’ve got
his bandage wet. I’ll need to change it, which probably isn’t a bad idea. I can
clean the wound again and treat it with more salve as well. Mira, you can
assist me. I brought more bandages, just in case he still lived.”

“Will you stop saying that?” Mira couldn’t take any more.
Strangely, she was growing fond of Hypatios. She had once been terrified of the
rumors about him, but she found his determination to live admirable. Now that
there was no chance of her becoming his wife, as her father had been planning,
she had no reason to fear him, especially in his present condition.

She stood nearby as Edith removed the bandages from
Hypatios’s shoulder. The wound was severe, but it didn’t appear infected, nor
were the wounds on his forearm on that side. Still, the healer cleaned and
treated them all with more salve, then bandaged them again.

As they guided Hypatios to a lying position on the freshly
made bed, his gaze lifted and locked with Mira’s.

“What’s your name?” he asked, his voice a bit hoarse. “You
told me, but my memory is muddled.”

Mira smiled slightly. “I can see why. At least you sound
rational now. I’m Mira. This is Edith and Joshua.”

“Can you tell us your name?” Edith asked.

“Hypatios.”

Mira and Edith glanced at each other.

“Are you thirsty?” Mira asked, filling a mug with water.
While Edith unwrapped his other forearm, Mira gently cupped the back of his
head and held the mug to his lips. He emptied it, then leaned his head back,
breathing deeply, his eyes closed. Mira’s hand strayed to his face, her
fingertips lightly brushing his scars.

His eyes opened and his gaze drifted to hers, his brow
furrowed as if he was surprised by her touch.

“Oh Spirit,” Edith murmured, looking at his forearm. The
wounds were bright red, the flesh around them puffy. “This explains your
fever.”

“They need to be cleaned,” Hypatios said. “And treated
with—”

“So we have another expert healer among us?” Edith snapped.
“First Joshua with the bath, now you.”

“I learned about the bath from him,” Joshua said, then
quickly added, “I mean you, sir.”

Hypatios glanced at the blacksmith. “You know me? I don’t know
you.”

“I was a foot soldier in your army up until about five years
ago. I was wounded in the—”

“Battle of Oak River,” Edith finished. “He said you ordered
all army healers to treat fevers by keeping the men cool. Madness. Absolute madness.”

“It works,” Hypatios and Joshua stated together. The men looked
at each other, their eyebrows raised.

Mira chuckled softly.

“Sir, do you want me to ride west and notify your army?” Joshua
asked.

Hypatios took a moment to reply. Finally he looked to Mira
and asked, “This is your home?”

“Yes.” She stared back at him. Despite the feverish haze and
exhaustion in his eyes, his gaze was so powerful that her stomach clenched and
her heart beat faster. She wondered what he was like at full strength. Then she
remembered Cassandra and reminded herself that he was taken. Not only that, Mira
had fled home to escape him.

“If possible, I prefer to recover here,” Hypatios said. “I know
it’s a lot to ask, but I promise, Mira, you will be compensated.”

Here.

He wanted to stay here.

“But, sir, I have limited healing skills,” she replied.

“You’ve done well so far,” Joshua told her. “And you have me
and Edith to help you.”

Mira shot him an annoyed look. She hadn’t wanted Hypatios in
her house and the thought of tending him daunted her.

“Why don’t you want us to contact your men?” Mira asked.

A tired smile curved Hypatios’s mouth. “Few people question
me.”

“No disrespect intended,” Mira said.

“Then none taken. I need time to think and this seems a good
place to do it.”

It wasn’t a detailed answer. Strangely, she sensed he was
asking for sanctuary.

Did he deserve it? Was he a monster like his father or just
a victim of the king’s brutality, as so many others in Zaltana?

If she declined, he would return to his men to heal. Would
he punish her for refusing him?

“All right. I’ll help you as best I can,” Mira said.

Hypatios nodded, then he asked Edith if she had a particular
herb that he claimed fought infection. A short time later, bandaged and
treated, he fell into a deep sleep, as if just the bath and a few moments of
conversation had drained him. No doubt they had. Though Joshua’s unusual
treatment seemed to be working, Hypatios was far from well. He was still
feverish and quite weak.

“I have to get back to the village, but I’ll come back
before dusk to bathe him again," Joshua told her.

“I’ll be back too,” Edith said. “With more salve and
bandages because believe it or not, I think he’s going to live.”

* * * * *

When Areus woke next, dawn was breaking. He was incredibly
thirsty, yet at the same time needed to use the privy. Still weak, feverish and
in pain from his wounds, he sat up and tried to rise, then thought better of
it.

Sighing, he glanced around for Sir Crag, but the Knight had
stepped out. He caught sight of Delia asleep by the fire and warmth that had nothing
to do with the fever filled him. He had never been so happy so see anyone as
when he’d set eyes on her. Had she actually said she was with child, or had he
imagined it while adrift in fever?

Even now, asleep on the pallet, her long hair rumpled, she
looked beautiful to him. He longed to take her in his arms. He rose and paused.
Not only were his legs unsteady, but the injured one hurt. It took him a moment
to collect himself enough that he thought he could walk without falling.

He slowly approached her pallet, favoring his injured leg,
but made it partway before he almost fell. Somehow he reached a nearby chair and
sat to catch his breath. He needed to be close to her, if just to reassure
himself that she was truly here.

Areus stood again, this time taking the chair with him to
lean on. Finally he reached her and sat near her pallet. He gazed at her, a
faint smile tugging at his lips. His hand hovered over her gently rounded
cheek, but he didn’t touch her, as he didn’t want to disturb her sleep.

She must have sensed his nearness because her eyes opened.

“Areus, what are you doing over here?” She sat up, looking
startled, and brushed a tendril of hair from her face.

“Watching you,” he said.

She smiled. “I’m supposed to be watching you. You shouldn’t
have gotten up without assistance. You could have fallen and made your injuries
worse.”

Caressing her cheek, he stared at her, lingering over every
inch of her sweet face.

“Areus—”

“Yes?”

“You’re quite unwell. Let’s get you back to bed. If I help
you, can you make it or should I get Sir Crag? He must have stepped out to use
the privy.” She rose, but he caught her hand and tugged her close.

Wrapping his arms around her waist, he rested his cheek
against her breast and closed his eyes. Not since he was a child had he held felt
the need to hold someone like this. He’d bedded women before Delia, but he had
sated his lust without emotional attachment.

Holding her was more than embracing a lover. This woman had
come to mean so much to him. She was his friend and somehow she had become his family
as well. Now that family was about to expand.

Delia stroked his hair and held him close.

After a moment he moved away to look into her eyes again.
“Did you say you’re with child?”

She smiled faintly. “Yes.”

He returned her smile. Taking her hands, he linked his
fingers with hers. “Good.”

She didn’t reply and it struck him that she might not want
this child. She hadn’t wanted their marriage. Why should this change anything?
Yet hadn’t they grown to care about each other? He couldn’t imagine a future
without her, but perhaps she didn’t feel the same way.

“Are you happy?” he asked.

“Now that I’m here with you I am.” She disentangled her
hands from his so that she could cup his face. “You need to rest.”

“I need to piss. Sorry to be so crude.” Another smile tugged
at his lips.

Delia chuckled. “I’ll fetch the chamber pot.”

That sounded better than dragging himself to the privy.

“That’s not a queenly duty.”

“It’s better than watching my king
rain
on the floor
when he should only
reign
in Lortia.”

“Making jests at my expense.”

“What better time to do it than when you’re too weak to
chase me,” she teased and went to fetch the chamber pot.

She turned her back while he used it, then put it aside for
a maid to empty later.

The door opened and Sir Crag entered. Seeing Areus sitting
across the room, his brow furrowed and he strode toward him.

“Are you insane?” Crag demanded. “You shouldn’t be up, at
least not until I’m here to assist you.”