Heirot

Tenele nodded, showing her arm to Sinead. Tenele pursed her lips together and then shut her eyes tightly. "I'll dismiss him and speak to him later, when Atul is rested." Tenele swallowed, wanting desperately to alleviate any misunderstanding between them. But, she couldn't, not yet. "Sagara ne ero."

Knight stood silent in Sinead's bathroom, door closed. Sho was nestled in the queen's blankets in the other room. He'd assured her Sinead would come for her soon, though the girl insisted she only needed to see Talon.

That completed his role. He wondered when he would see her again. It would be wrong to wish for her to get into enough trouble to require his services. But he was still allowed to miss her, wasn't he?

He would see her, when she needed him next, and protect her. That was his meaning. He would be sure to carry it out without fail.

The thought came just as the pain ripped into him. He clutched his chest and leaned into the wall, sliding to the marble floor. "Damn it," he hissed, and was gone.

* * *

Sinead reached for her arm and touched it very lightly. A soft glow flowed from her fingers into Tenele's skin, knitting together flesh. When the spell no longer absorbed her concentration, she lowered her hands and looked at her pale complexion. "You've done quite a bit of healing. I can feel your body straining to comply with my spell."

"Holy wounds and demon flesh is hard to mend," Tenele murmured, glancing away. She touched under her nose where the blood had started when she began healing Atul after healing the two lizard-children. Of course, there was no blood now, nor was there the throbbing ache in her head.

She waved it off. "I'm fine. I will take it easy on healing for a while and I'll go back to normal," she explained. "Besides, I'm getting married in... Oh, Gods. I'm getting married tomorrow." Tenele's legs felt a bit weak.

Sinead chuckled. "Just like my daughter to forget her own wedding. Too busy galloping about the desert being a superhero," she teased. "But you must get plenty of rest tonight. My healing art works by magnifying and channeling others' life force to their injuries. But yours means you give away your own life force. I cannot heal you if you are empty!" She tapped the maiden neatly on the head.

Tenele smiled softly. "I will rest," she said. She planned on resting a lot as soon as they got back to the palace.

It was then that Atul materialized on his feet near the hut. But, as soon as his form was solid he collapsed in the sand.

"Atul," she breathed, falling down next to him and taking his face in her hands. He was a mess, sweating, panting. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have made you do that."

Sinead walked over to Tenele's side next to Atul and looked the man over carefully. The king looked pretty pale himself. "You two really don't take vacations, do you?" She was channeling Vlad's sense of humor to conceal her anxiety about their condition. If life here was like this, then they were no safer in Hajara than they were running missions in Ighten. A difficult life. Although they did have a lifeboat in the form of Knight, a precaution Sinead was becoming increasingly thankful for. Except proper lifeboats didn't have feelings. That did complicate things.

"I'll get him some water. Is there any with the horses?" she asked, focusing on the young ruler struggling to breathe before her.

* * *

Vlad reformed, hovered over his bed where he'd pinned Talon just before disappearing. He leaned heavily into the bed, breathing thickly as the life returned to his body. He couldn't remember anything Knight had done or how long he'd been gone. "Shit. Talon!" he barked into the mattress, voice muffled by the sheets he was still smushed into. He pushed himself up on his arms and managed his weight back onto his legs. Remembering Talon's state when he left, the vampire took in his surroundings hastily.

"There is water with the horses," Tenele told her, focusing on her lover. She ran her fingers through his hair. "Its okay, my love. We will be home shortly and we can rest. Thank you for taking Sho to safety."

* * *

Talon sat where Espha had landed, amongst the broken pieces of pottery and blood stained marble. His silver hair hung over his face while he stared down at the floor.

Espha was sitting in the living room with Tenara, cradling a bandaged arm as she listened to the little girl tell her fascinating stories about a brave princess slaying an evil dragon.

Vlad took in the sight and smell of Talon sitting amidst Espha's blood on the floor. *Talon*, he called to his bloodling as he tested his balance. *What happened here?*

"I hit Espha," he replied, staring at the blood. "She got cut when she fell. She's fine. She's bandaged up and playing with Tenara in the next room."

I didn't meant to hit her, he thought. "I didn't think..." He lifted his gaze to his master. "I wanted her to go away for her own protection, and I hurt her. At least now she will stay away... Its for the best."

Vlad studied the man quietly. He could tell the youngblood was suffering. There was little point in lecturing about it, and little he could do to hurt him any worse than he was already hurting. *You've lost her, then,* he asked, just to confirm what it sounded like.

Talon nodded. "She no longer wants to see me," he said. Talon know it was better that way. He knew that she would be safer if she wasn't with him. He just couldn't help but feel sad to know that he would not be with her, or experience her soft laugh when she found joy in something silly. He had enjoyed being with her for a lot of reasons, but also because she had never, not even once, treated him like a monster.

* * *

Tenele stood up slowly. "Can you take us back now?" she asked Sinead. "I'd like to get Atul home so he can rest on something comfortable, and be out of the sun."

"Of course," Sinead said. "I will return you both to the castle. Are the horses trained to return home, or will riders need to be sent for them?"

* * *

Vlad walked over to stand just behind Talon's shoulder, examining the floor. "Stand up. I'll call a maid. No sense sitting in this mess."

Talon stood up and went back to the bed, moving like a man that had weights tied to his limbs. He sat stiffly there, staring out the door at where Espha laughed with Tenara.

* * *

Tenele shook her head. "I'm not sure. I'll send riders anyway." She dipped under Atul's arm and took a deep breath. "Standing..."

She pushed up, and Atul used what he could of his strength to help her. He felt her shaking under his weight, and he felt guilty for being so weak. "I'm sorry," he huffed.

"Shh," she smiled at him, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "You're not so heavy."

Vlad walked back through Tenara's room, giving the girl an affectionate nuggie before turning his attention to Espha. "Thank you," he said tiredly. His eyes scanned her arm. What did humans do in these situations? "...If...you'd like to talk," he offered ungracefully.

Sinead stepped up closer to them and put a hand on each of their shoulders as they supported each other. A minute later, they were in Atul's quarters, with his huge bed just beside them. "Here we are," she said supportively as she helped Tenele guide the king to lean against the edge of the mattress.

Atul sighed when he sat on the bed. Tenele placed a kiss at the top of his head. "Rest," she whispered. She knelt and removed the king's boots and then guided him back in bed to where he rested against the pillows.

"Thank you," she said to Sinead, turning her green eyes on her. "You have been a great help. I'll see to it that Sho is moved from your room. I need to find permanent placement for them. I should check on Vlad..."

She really wanted to lie down and do all that in a second. Why did she feel so tired?

* * *

Espha looked up at Vlad, turning her eyes to the floor. "There is nothing to talk about," she told him. "Is everything settled. You left so quickly..."