Gael looked around the now assembled group, completely confused, yet not willing to back down. He had pulled a weapon of his own, directing the blade not toward Kane but toward me. "What is this nonsense, Thaid?” he addressed the second man. “I demand to know the truth. I will not have another incident in my establishment over yet another sex crazed vampire and his mistake."
Thaid, hands out as if to stave off further altercation, looked between the men. "Gael... I would urge you to watch your tongue. I cannot save you from what you take too far. He is Kanedraven Rathmore, your king, I assure you."
“I do not believe this set of lies!” Gael roared, coughing from the pain of what I could only guess as a few broken ribs among other things. “She needs to be put to death before she is discovered!”
Kane’s jaw set. “Listen you backwater Emalne, leave us in peace before I put you to rest.”
My hands wrapped around Kane's arm. I tilted my head at Gael. "Why would you want to kill me? What has happened that would make you do such a thing?"
Thaid waved his hands. "Come, Gael. Do as he says."
I stepped forward, not caring that the injured man still had a weapon pointed at me, even if his eyes were focused on Kane. "No. I'm curious."
Gael’s voice rose, "It's an Abomination! Against Nature and the gods! How dare you soil your body by giving life to that monstrosity! SHAME! Why would you bring the prophecy down upon our world when we’ve finally had a life with something close to peace? We cannot suffer any possibility of the prophecy coming about! And you whoring yourself with the likes of them brings nothing but death!”
Kane pulled me back, stepping in between us. Walking up to Gael, he hit him, punching him square in the jaw. “You will not speak to her like that!”
I had been prepared to give the man an earful when Kane swung at him, but being swept behind his large frame threw me off guard.
Rubbing his jaw, that was clearly broken, Gael started to rise, not lowering his blade.
Thaid stepped back as did the several other Emalne people that had gathered around us. "Gael. Back down!"
“I do not wish to fight you,” Kane growled, “but you will lower your weapon and explain this fear and what your people have been doing to stop this misguided prophecy talk.”
Kane held a hand out to the man to help him stand, presumably to calm the situation. But Gael did the opposite of cooperating. Instead, he lunged after Kane, snarling, moving to pin him against the wall while reaching for me.
Caught off guard, Kane was shoved toward the side slightly, exposing me to the man’s sharp instrument, aimed right at my chest. I gasped, stumbling back, barely missing being impaled on Gael’s short sword. But Kane’s next move was not as miscalculated. He swung forward, lodging his own dagger into the side of Gael’s chest, burying it to the hilt.
"It didn't have to be this way," he said, pushing Gael away, letting him drop to the floor. Walking over the bleeding man, he looked over the broken railing, peering out over the hushed crowd. "I am Kanedraven Rathmore. Know my face now. I will not tolerate harassment of myself, my kind, or Auriena Raulson, who should be regarded as your queen." He wiped his dagger off on his sleeve, turning to look for me.
Seeing me now on the floor, he rushed to my side. "No..."
In the shuffle, I had fallen. The impact sent a shockwave through me that sent my vision into blackness as I struggled against the crashing waves of pain. It was starting to engulf me as I curled in on myself both physically and emotionally. I tried to move to sit up, but I don’t think my body cooperated an inch. It was all I could do to not pass out… or scream out.
He scooped me up and kicked the door closed behind him as he took me back inside to the lounger in the sitting room. "Auriena? Auriena!" His voice was desperate for me to respond.
The door slowly opened, the creaking alerting Kane to a commotion outside where we’d left the still growing crowd. His head whipped around to look back, and I followed his gaze, trying to see what was going on through blurry vision.
Two men carried a groaning Gael away. Thaid, on the other hand, slowly walked in. "King Rathmore? Should I call a healer?"
"Call a healer, yes. Immediately." Urgency pushed his words out fast, and he turned to back to me.
Kane’s hands roamed my body as he checked for bruises, injuries and even a heartbeat. All I could do was breath out slowly and try to respond, but it came out in a whisper, “He didn’t hurt me. I fell.”
Thaid bowed his head. "Yes. Right away." Then, he disappeared the way he’d left.
I heard Thaid as he exited barking out orders, “You two, stand guard over the room here. You six, guard the entrances up here. Nobody comes in or out without me or without my or the king’s approval. Do you understand?”
Kane, still hovering, inspecting the last couple inches of me, sat on the seat next to me, pushing my tangled hair back away from my face. “It looks like we won’t need to search for the herbs. They’re bringing you a healer. I am confident that Thaid will bring his best.”
“Mhmm…” I moaned, gripping my stomach and curling in more.
Moments later, Thaid returned with a woman who carried a bag. She was equally
