Page 47 of The Last Guardian

“I guess so. Maybe I should ask you the same question then?” Zaidkiel shrugged, still with a playful gleam in his eyes.

I wanted to punch him in the face and wipe that unbearable smirk off, but I had to remember that he was my way out.

“So?” I persisted.

He leaned forward, his face brushing against my cheek. Not in an invading way—he wasn’t crowding me or trying to corner me. The gesture took me entirely by surprise.

“I don’t know,” Zaidkiel murmured, his warm breath caressing my ear. My body froze.

When he stepped back and left the room, I remained motionless. I found myself alone, and the urge to jump overboard had never been stronger.

“Prick,” I muttered under my breath.

I don’t know. Did he not know why I had that mark on my wrist, or if he could ever tell me?

I DELIBERATED FOR hours whether to get up. My body ached, not just from the wounds—even though they still throbbed—but from adjusting to life on the ship as well. Sometimes, water lashed against the hull like a whip, making my stomach climb into my throat. The exhaustion from lack of sleep didn’t help ease the nausea.

Slumber eluded me last night. Whenever I closed my eyes, I saw faces, I heard voices, and I replayed the conversations again and again. How did you return to sleep after your world had been shaken to its core?

I tossed and turned all night, searching for a position to ease my mind, but dawn crept into the sky before sleep ever came. The dim light seeping through the closed curtains sent throbbing pressures behind my eyelids.

But then a knock at the door roused me, pulling me out of my thoughts. At first, I did nothing, hoping that whoever it was, they would leave if I didn’t answer. I didn’t want to see Zaidkiel. If he was here to play a trick on me again, I’d prefer to stay in bed, away from him.

A second knock thundered. “Alyana, are you here?” said a female voice at last.

Nefeli.

I sighed, nestling my head on the soft pillow for a second before I straightened up from the bed, my legs hanging over the edge of the mattress. I rolled my neck, trying to shake out the soreness and the forming knots at the base of my skull. My muscles twitched with each step as I tightened my robe and opened the door.

The sunlight burned my vision, nourishing the persistent headache behind my eyes. I blinked and faced Nefeli with a beaming smile on her lips, a tray of food in her hands. Next to her, a blond woman stood, clothed in a navy blue uniform and a satchel full of bandages and bottles at her side.

“Morning,” Nefeli greeted me with a joyful tone. “You never came to eat last night, so I decided to bring breakfast to you.”

My eyes trailed from Nefeli to the tray of food piled high with fruit and bread. My stomach rumbled. Last night, I had been so upset that I didn’t even go to the dining room to eat. Now, it was regret that filled my empty stomach and not food.

But why the stars would she have brought me my breakfast? What reason did she have to be so nice?

The captain glanced at the blond woman and added, “Solasta needs to check your wounds first.”

Oh, the healer.

“Your Highness,” Solasta said with a gentle smile, bowing her head slightly.

I cringed at the formal greeting and opened the door wider to let them in. “Morning,” I said at last.

Solasta placed her satchel on the nightstand and invited me to settle in on the bed. “Are the wounds still painful?” the healer asked gently, her voice full of warmth, as she checked the two holes marking my neck and cleaned the wounds with a warm, wet cloth.

Once cleaned, the healer’s fingers traced the two holes and applied the salve. The contact sent a shiver through my body, followed by flashes of teeth and crimson eyes.

I cleared my throat, chasing Haedeon’s face from my mind, “The one on my leg is still sensitive.”

Her focus moved to my leg. She carefully unwrapped the bloodstained bandage. With gentle strokes, Solasta cleaned the wound—a white, hot pain exploded through me. After administering the salve, she wrapped a clean bandage around the injury.

“The wounds are healing well,” she said as she tucked her supplies in her satchel. “But I’ll continue treating you with the salve for a few more days, at least until the pain stops.”

With a nod, I said, “Thank you.”

I hesitated to ask her about the mark, but after what had happened with Haedeon, I didn’t. Zaidkiel already knew, and there was no point in shouting it to everyone. I needed to find out what it was and if Zaidkiel knew why it was on my wrist.