* * *
Sebastian forced himself to relax under Kaylee’s gentle ministrations, though in truth, every light touch made him want to cry out in pain. He had pushed himself far too hard. The infection had raced through his body, and he had lost so much blood he could not believe he still lived.
Rhoswen seemed to have complete trust in her friend’s ability to heal him, but he still had his doubts. He had never seen anyone survive after the fever of infection had gotten into their blood.
He would surely die, but perhaps Kaylee had something to dull the pain. And Rhoswen would be here with him, holding his hand and caring for him, which was more than he had ever expected. He had always assumed he would die alone and forgotten.
At least Rhoswen was safe from Simon, Trevelan, and anyone else who wished to do her harm. He wanted his last thoughts to be of her in this beautiful place. He wanted to think of her in the rain box, which he now knew must be real, with the water pouring over her beautiful body in a cascading stream.
He only wished he’d had more time to explore this amazing place before he died. He had been overwhelmed by what he had seen so far — the towering buildings of steel, flawless glass and a stone-like substance he was not familiar with. Beautiful blond people walked the wide, clean streets and the vast parks and gardens and moved from one ring of the city to another in well crafted boats.
They seemed to have everything they needed in this underwater paradise, and he longed to explore the technology that had made such a thing possible so far beneath the sea.
Kaylee eased the last of his clothing from his body, leaving him bare as a babe beneath the thin blanket she had provided. His clothes were stiff with dried blood, the amount of it making him a bit queasy.
A grimace curved Kaylee’s lips when she saw the damage that had been done to him, and she shook her head. She and Rhoswen looked so similar in appearance they could have been sisters, so Sebastian found it easy to trust her.
“You’ve lost far too much blood,” she chided. “We may have to give you a transfusion.”
“Transfusion?” He did not know what she meant, but he did not like the sound of it.
She nodded as she cleaned his wound with a sharp-smelling, clear liquid that burned like the very devil. “If your blood type matches any of ours, we will give you someone else’s blood to help until your body can replenish what it’s lost.”
While he was still trying to digest the impossibility of that, she gave him a wry smile. “This will hurt, but I can’t make you better until it’s done.”
Leaning him forward, she clipped both ends off the arrow with a gleaming steel cutting instrument.
He shuddered as the shaft shifted slightly within him. Bloody hell, that hurt.
Without any further warning, she gripped the shortened base of the arrow and pulled it from his flesh with one quick jerk.
Bright light exploded inside his head. Excruciating pain raced through his body. Then his entire world went black, and he sagged back against the table, wishing he had told Rhoswen how much he loved her.
* * *
Rhoswen leaned forward, fear gripping her heart as Sebastian’s eyes rolled back in his head, and he lost consciousness. Kaylee’s face tensed with concentration as she stemmed a new rush of blood, which poured from where the arrow had pierced his flesh.
“Is he all right?” Rhoswen met her friend’s gaze, panic racing within her. “Please, Kaylee. Tell me he’s going to be all right. I can’t bear to think of living without him.”
Kaylee’s eyes widened in surprise. “You care so deeply? What happened up there? What did he do to you?”
“He showed me that not everyone who lives upon the Surface is a barbarian.” Rhoswen leaned forward and tenderly brushed a lock of silky dark hair from his brow. “You have no idea how amazing he is. How tender, how sweet. And the lovemaking… He’s so passionate, so incredibly intense.”
“He is a lovely beast,” Kaylee conceded, as she began debriding the wound. “I always thought Surface men would be cruder — monstrously ugly and angry.”
“Some of them are. His brother is. But Sebastian’s different. He’s special, Kaylee. I care about him more than I ever knew it was possible to care about a man.”
“My ears must be deceiving me.” A low, icy voice spoke from the direction of the door, and Rhoswen’s blood ran cold.
Not now. Not yet.
She needed more time.
Turning away from Sebastian, she spared a glance at the tall, elegant woman who had entered the sick bay and stood staring daggers at her. “Hello, Mother.”
Titania frowned and entered the room more fully, letting her gaze drift across Sebastian’s unconscious form.
“I thought Loralei had lost her mind when she told me that my daughter, my own
daughter
, had broken our most cardinal rule.” She gave Rhoswen a fulminating glare. “What were you thinking? To bring someone from the Surface into Halcyon? Don’t you realize the danger? How could you put us all at risk this way?”
“He’s hurt,” Rhoswen asserted quickly. “But even if he wasn’t, he would do no harm. I care for him, Mother. He saved my life.”
Titania frowned, shaking her head in disbelief. “I will pretend I didn’t hear that. You’re clearly not yourself.” She advanced even closer to Sebastian, wrinkling her nose in obvious disgust at the pile of blood-soaked clothing that lay on the counter beside him.
To her credit, Kaylee ignored Titania’s anger and concentrated all her attention on Sebastian. She finished his sutures, and then filled a syringe with antibiotic, giving him a shot to stop the raging infection.
Titania said nothing, watching grimly.
When Kaylee turned at last from her patient, Titania met her gaze. “Will he survive?”
Kaylee nodded. “I believe so. Though I’ve never seen such infection. He left his wound untreated for too long, and he’s lost so much blood.”
“His wound wasn’t tended because he was helping me escape from danger,” Rhoswen cried, determined to defend him. “If it weren’t for him, I would been raped, perhaps even killed. I would have failed completely.”
“You’ve lain with him, haven’t you?” Titania seemed horrified by the very thought. “How could you? Have I taught you nothing?”
“You’ve taught me to hate almost our entire species because of something that happened thousands of years ago. He’s a good man. You’ll see when he’s better. You’ll realize how wrong we’ve been.”
Shaking her head, Titania went to the door and opened it, letting in Oberon and some members of the council. “Your daughter has lost her mind, Oberon. Perhaps we should have her head examined.”
Rhoswen met her father’s grim gaze, refusing to be cowed by her mother’s damning words. She’d grown accustomed to disappointing the woman long ago. “He’s no threat, Father. I swear it.”
Oberon stared at Sebastian’s prone form for a few moments, then shook his head. “Where is Trevelan? I can’t believe he allowed you to do this.”
“Trevelan is the one who has lost his mind,” she countered. “He’s released a virus on the Surface. Sebastian helped me get back here to warn you.”
Oberon’s frown deepened. “Come with me, Rhoswen. Kaylee, watch over the prisoner. Make sure he doesn’t leave sick bay for any reason.”
Rhoswen let her father lead her away, though it killed her to leave Sebastian behind. First she must make her report to the council, and then she would return to his side. For now, all that mattered was that he was safe.
“Help him, Kaylee,” she implored her friend, before her father dragged her out the door. “Don’t let any harm come to him.”
“He’ll be fine,” Kaylee promised.
Rhoswen gave her unconscious lover one last glance, then left the sickbay, mentally preparing herself for the inquisition to come.
Chapter Sixteen
Halcyon’s grand council chamber was in the topmost level of the government building, with a bay of glass windows that looked out over the city below. Rhoswen had never had reason to enter these hallowed halls until today, even though her father had reigned over them for most of her life.
She sat in the seat her father indicated at the far side of the round table and took a few deep breaths, trying to bring her emotions under control. During the time she’d spent with Sebastian, she had let her heart rule, but that would only make her look weak in front of this group of eight venerated elders. She must present her case with cool detachment, as though the outcome had no meaning to her. She thanked Poseidon that her father had at least allowed her a half an hour to shower and change while he gathered the council.
“We are very troubled.” Aelfric, the oldest of the council members, was the first to speak. Rhoswen trembled inwardly as he fixed her in his steely old gaze. “Where is Trevelan? How is it that you return without him, in the company of this barbarian from the Surface?”
She took a deep breath and clenched her hands tightly together beneath the table. “I fear Trevelan has released a plague upon the Surface. He told me Marcus had created a virus capable of eradicating the people of the Earth, allowing us to come out of hiding and live upon the land once more.”
A low murmur of shock and something else rose at her pronouncement. Something dark and ugly. As she gazed around the room, she wondered if any of the elders had known of Trevelan’s plan. Worse, if any of them had been in on it.
Her father lifted a hand to silence the others. “Why would he do such a thing, daughter? He has always been one of our best and brightest. I find it hard to believe he would do something so terrible and foolhardy.”
Did her own father believe she lied? She’d expected her mother’s anger and disdain, but her father had always been on her side.
Heat rose in her cheeks, but somehow she managed to remain calm. “As did I, which is why I did not take him seriously when he first told me of his plan. I thought he merely spoke in anger and did not give his words credence until the people of Hawkesmere Castle began to fall ill upon his arrival. I believe he released the virus in hopes of creating chaos so he could engender my release.”
“And yet you appear to have left him to his fate.” Aelfric’s pronouncement echoed against the high ceiling, striking guilt into Rhoswen’s soul. She prayed she’d done the right thing, prayed she hadn’t overreacted and done exactly what Aelfric claimed. Had she abandoned her friend because she was so desperately looking for a way to remain with Sebastian?
She banished the thought, determined to see this through. She knew what she’d seen; she knew what she’d heard. Most of all, she knew in her heart that what Trevelan had done was wrong.
“He proposes, nay, has
enacted
, a plan that will wipe out every man, woman and child on the planet, save us few in Halcyon. He acts as though those who live upon the Surface are rodents, as though they have no souls.” She shook her head. “No matter how we may wish to once again take our place on the Surface, we cannot do it in this manner. We cannot allow millions to die, only to make ourselves more comfortable.”
Another round of murmuring ruffled the silence. Rhoswen remained still, forcing a mask of calm upon her features.
“Tell us of the man, the barbarian, you have brought inside our home.” Etain’s voice was calm, but she heard the anger seething below. Perhaps he was the one who’d plotted with Marcus and Trevelan.
This was the worst of her crimes, to bring a stranger into Halcyon. She could only hope to appeal to their compassion.
“I never would have done such a thing, if he hadn’t been shot in my defense.” She lifted her hands in entreaty. “He is a good man. I have delved his mind and know his heart to be true. He has helped me ever since I was captured by his brother’s men, has put his very life in jeopardy for mine. How could I possibly do any less?”
Her father pinned her with a knowing gaze. She hoped he could not tell how much she cared for Sebastian, but perhaps it was best if he did. Surely he knew her well enough to realize that her feelings for Sebastian were well-founded, and also that she would never endanger the people of Halcyon.
“Keep the stranger under guard and have Marcus brought to this chamber for questioning.” Her father’s voice rang commandingly over the assembly. “I have many questions for him.”
Five endless minutes later, Marcus hurried into the room, his blond hair a bit disheveled, his pale face flushed with obvious confusion. His blue gaze scanned the gathering, lingering for a moment on Rhoswen before settling on his leader. “You sent for me, Oberon?”
Oberon nodded, gesturing toward an empty chair next to Rhoswen. “My daughter has brought some distressing news back from the Surface.”
Marcus glanced again at Rhoswen. “Are you well, Rhoswen? Has something happened to Trevelan?”
“She claims you and Trevelan have plotted a plan to take back the Surface,” Odette answered, before Rhoswen had a chance to speak. “She’s fed us a tale of a killer virus that will wipe out the lot of them. She says you invented it and insinuates Trevelan has already released it upon the people of Britain.”
Marcus shook his head, his expression so stunned that even Rhoswen believed this was the first he’d ever heard of Trevelan’s plan. “That’s preposterous! Not to mention impossible. Even if such a thing were possible, I’d never be a part of it. I am no murderer, Rhoswen. Surely you know that.”
“Did he speak to you of it?” she asked quickly, as the murmur of the council members rose to a low roar. “He told me the two of you had been planning it. When the people of Hawkesmere fell sick, I thought he’d decided to put that plan into motion.”