Marcus gave her an exasperated look. “He may have mentioned something like that in jest. You know how frustrated he’s been lately. But he’s no geneticist, Rhoswen. You must be mistaken.”
Mistaken. The conversations she’d had with Trevelan upon the Surface flashed through her mind. In her panic, she’d forgotten that she’d originally thought he spoke in jest herself. She replayed every word and realized he’d never actually admitted having a virus.
What have I done?
Trevelan was her friend. He’d risked his life to save her, yet when he’d needed her most, she’d chosen to abandon him. She’d assumed something terribly foul and had made no attempt to see if it were the truth.
Once again, she wondered if she’d chosen to believe the worst simply because it was the only way to keep Sebastian by her side. She blinked away a rush of angry tears, determined not to let the elders see her weakness.
She had been wrong. She knew that now. The only way to redeem herself was to somehow rescue her friend.
Oberon stared at her, his disappointment obvious. “Well, Daughter. What have you to say for yourself?”
“If I have made a mistake, I will rectify it,” she assured him. “When Sebastian is ready to travel, he will accompany me back to Hawkesmere, and together we will find a way to rescue Trevelan.”
If Lord Simon hadn’t already killed him
. She quashed the tiny voice inside her head, refusing to believe it, even though she’d seen what Simon had done to his own brother in order to keep his people safe. She could only imagine how furious he must have been by the time he’d returned to Halcyon and prayed he hadn’t taken that fury out on Trevelan.
“Impossible,” thundered Ealhdun, who had thus far been silent. “This Sebastian knows far too many of our secrets. He must not be allowed to leave, to take his knowledge of our existence and location out into the world. The only choice is to either let him remain here, imprisoned, or to jettison him.”
“No!” Rhoswen cried, unable to believe her peaceful people were even considering putting someone to death for the simple crime of knowing of their existence. “I won’t allow it.”
“You have no voice in the matter.” Odette’s lovely face twisted with anger. “Or perhaps you should be jettisoned with him, since you were the one who brought this danger into our midst.”
“Enough!” Oberon did not raise his voice, but his obvious fury cut through the many arguments that had sprung up, silencing the entire chamber. “No one is going to be jettisoned,” he decreed. “But we have much to discuss. We must not only decide Sebastian’s fate, but also what is to be done about Trevelan.” He turned his pale gaze upon Rhoswen. “Do you think he still lives?”
She buried her face in her hands, unable to meet his chiding gaze. “I don’t know. It’s possible, but more probable that they killed him the moment they realized Sebastian and I were gone.”
Oberon nodded grimly. “You may leave Rhoswen. You also, Marcus.”
Rhoswen got woodenly to her feet, ashamed to the depths of her soul by how she’d let them all down. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “I never meant to be caught. I never meant for any of this to happen.” Then she fled the room.
* * *
“How is he?” Rhoswen stood beside Kaylee, peering at Sebastian through the observation window. She’d come to the hospital wing immediately after her meeting with the council, anxious to reassure herself he would be all right.
Kaylee squeezed her hand. “He’s going to be fine. His fever is down, I’ve given him some blood, and his wound is mending nicely.”
Relief washed through her, stealing the last of her strength. She swayed, and then sank into a nearby chair. Only now did she realize how long it had been since she’d eaten or slept. She’d been running on pure adrenaline for days.
“Are you all right?” Kaylee knelt beside her, peering into her face. “How did your meeting go?”
Rhoswen hugged herself, refusing to meet Kaylee’s concerned gaze. “Oh, Kaylee. I’ve made such a terrible mistake.”
“What do you mean?” Kaylee asked softly. “Do you regret having brought him here?”
“No, but I do regret having left Trevelan behind. Especially after my father had Marcus brought to the council chambers, and I found out they hadn’t been experimenting with a virus. Trevelan’s only crime was trying to rescue me. Marcus assured me they had nothing to do with the sickness at Hawkesmere.”
Kaylee drew in a quick breath. “What are they going to do? Are they going to send someone after him?”
“I don’t know. They’re still trying to decide whether or not to keep Sebastian as a prisoner here or jettison us both into the deep.”
“Surely they wouldn’t do that. No one has ever been jettisoned.”
“Well, perhaps that will be my contribution to the history books.” Rhoswen blinked back a rush of tears. “I don’t believe my father would ever allow such a thing. But I’d almost rather be jettisoned than deal with the consequences of my actions. Somehow, I’ve got to find a way to convince the council to mount a rescue for Trevelan and allow Sebastian to leave if he wishes, though it would kill me to let him go.”
“Truly?” Kaylee shook her head. “You were only gone a little more than a week, Rhoswen. What happened up there?”
Rhoswen gave a soft little laugh. “I don’t know how it happened so swiftly. I only know that from the moment I looked into his mind and saw what he’d been through, saw his very heart, I knew I could never let him go.”
Kaylee didn’t look convinced, but was a good enough friend not to argue the point any more. “How long has it been since you slept?”
“A long time,” Rhoswen admitted. “We’ve been on the run for days, and since Sebastian got shot I haven’t closed my eyes for more than a few moments at a time.”
“Go home and rest.” Kaylee switched from friend to doctor in the blink of an eye. “I’ll let you know when he wakes up.”
Rhoswen stared through the glass, her need to touch Sebastian battling with her exhaustion. “No, not yet. I’ll be all right for a little while longer. I need to see him.”
Kaylee frowned. “All right. But just for a few minutes. You’re so pale. You look as if you’re going to collapse.”
Pushing herself to a standing position, Rhoswen swayed for a moment, fighting a wave of hunger and exhaustion fueled dizziness. “Can you get me a glass of orange juice?” she asked, both because she needed it and because it would give Kaylee something constructive to do.
“Of course,” Kaylee murmured. “I’ll be right back.”
Once her friend had hurried away, Rhoswen let herself into Sebastian’s room. She approached his narrow bunk slowly, wishing it were large enough for her to climb in beside him. She wanted to fall asleep in his arms and let his warmth and strength chase all her problems away.
The deep cadence of his breath soothed her fears. He slept soundly, his bare chest rising and falling in an even, healthy rhythm. Trembling with the force of her relief, she bent and pressed her lips to his cool cheek, smiling at the feel of the rough beard that had sprung up within the last few days.
“Oh, Sebastian,” she whispered. “You beautiful, beautiful man.”
To her immense surprise, he opened his eyes and stared up at her. “There you are.” His voice was a husky rasp, but she’d never heard anything so wonderful in her whole life. “You came back to me.”
“Of course I came back. I never would have left you if it had been up to me.”
He studied her face, his gaze growing more alert by the second. “Are you well, Rhoswen?”
“Just tired.” She forced a smile. “I wish your bunk was big enough for two.”
He scooted as far to one side as he could, wincing a bit. “Come here.”
“Don’t be silly,” she argued. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“It would do me good to have you in my arms again. I have missed you. This world of yours is a miracle, but cold and strange to someone like me.”
She knew she should resist, but since she wholeheartedly wanted to do as he’d asked, she climbed up beside him, pressing along his side and resting her head on his good shoulder. “I’m not sorry I brought you here.” The tension flowed out of her, replaced with bone-deep contentment. “I know this has been difficult for you, but I couldn’t bear to lose you.”
“I am glad you did.” He pressed a swift kiss to the top of her head. “I would hate to die just when I found something worth living for.”
She gave him a sleepy smile. “We have a lot to talk about, but I don’t think I can keep my eyes open another second. Would you mind very much if I rested for awhile?”
“I would mind if you did not. You have been watching over me for too long. Let me watch over you.”
Too tired to argue any more, she nodded and relaxed against him, letting sleep carry her away.
Sebastian held Rhoswen close, breathing in her intoxicating scent, absurdly glad to have her in his arms once again. He had felt so helpless since he had woken to find her gone, too physically weak to get out of bed and find her, too overwhelmed by his surroundings to put together a coherent thought. But now that she had returned to him, he felt whole. In fact, his wound was mending well. He would be on his feet again in a matter of days.
The door opened with a whoosh, and Kaylee walked in, carrying a glass filled with a bright orange drink. She frowned when she saw Rhoswen had climbed into bed with him.
Before she could say anything, Sebastian put a finger to his lips. “Shh. She is sleeping.”
Kaylee’s stern look relaxed into a wry smile. “I suppose it can’t hurt to let her stay. Just make sure you don’t strain your shoulder.”
“I will be careful. Besides, I will heal much quicker now that I am not worrying about her.”
“Here.” Kaylee extended the glass. “Drink this. It was supposed to be for Rhoswen, but you need it more than she does, anyway.”
He gave the liquid a cautious sniff, then grinned. “Oranges?” He had become familiar with the exotic fruit in the desert, but had never expected to see one again, once he returned home to cold northern climes.
She stared at him, seeming transfixed by his smile. Her gaze slid from his mouth to his bare chest before she caught herself and looked away, blushing. “It’s very good for you. It will help your body reproduce some of the blood you’ve lost.”
Bringing the cup to his parched lips, he drank greedily, still smiling a bit at her reaction as he downed the pure, sweet elixir. He reached the bottom of the glass far too soon. “Thank you, Kaylee.”
“I’ll bring you more, if you’re feeling up to it. Perhaps something to eat as well?”
“That would be wonderful.” At the mention of food, his stomach growled ravenously.
“I’ll make a trip down to the kitchens and see what I can find.” As she turned to go, Sebastian caught her hand.
“Before you go, can you tell me if Rhoswen is in trouble for bringing me here?”
Kaylee’s smile slipped. “Her meeting with the council didn’t go well. Not only did they take her to task for bringing a stranger into Halcyon, they also interrogated the scientist Rhoswen thought helped Trevelan develop the virus. He claimed he did nothing to cause those people to fall ill, and she believes him. Now she fears the sickness at Hawkesmere was a coincidence, and she left Trevelan behind for no reason. The guilt is eating her up inside.”
“She is worried about her friend?” He glanced down at Rhoswen’s sleeping face, torn with unreasonable jealousy. “Does she want to go back for him?”
“I’m sure the thought has crossed her mind. But first we have to wait and see what the council decides to do about you.” Kaylee met his gaze uncomfortably. “They can’t decide whether to keep you here as a prisoner or jettison you into the deep.”
“Jettison me?” He did not like the sound of that.
“It’s a death sentence,” she answered, dropping her gaze. “But Oberon is a man of peace. As far as I know, no one has ever been jettisoned before.”
“So the best I can hope for is a lifetime of imprisonment?” The walls seemed to close in on him as he spoke.
A prison is a prison, no matter how comfortable.
Hadn’t Rhoswen said those words to him just a few days ago? How true they were.
“I’m sure they’ll allow you to roam freely,” she told him softly. “This isn’t a bad place, Sebastian. You might even come to like it here in time. Besides, you’d still have Rhoswen. She cares for you deeply. I don’t think she’ll let them separate you.”
“I care for her, too,” he murmured, brushing a moon-spun strand of hair from Rhoswen’s cheek. “I would do anything for her, but this complicates things. We came here to find a way to stop my people’s sickness from spreading. Whether Trevelan created the virus or not, people are still dying. I have to go back and do whatever I can to help them.”
Kaylee shook her head and gave him a strange, speculative look. “Well, there will be time enough to worry about that later. At the moment, you aren’t going anywhere. You need to rest and regain your strength.”
“I feel much better,” Sebastian hastened to reassure her.
“Rhoswen needs some rest, in any event. Why don’t you relax for awhile? I’ll go see about getting you something to eat.”
Chapter Seventeen
Miranda accepted a mug of spiced wine from Lord Simon, her heart thundering so loudly in her chest she felt certain he must be able to hear it. He had returned from the coast a few hours ago and everyone at Hawkesmere had been dodging his wrath ever since.