Ehren glared at the man who had so roughly shoved Kira.

“Are you blind?” he demanded.

The man looked at him confused.

“Alarik, he’s asking if you saw how much pain that girl was in before you shoved, yes shoved, her,” the other man said pushing his glasses up his nose with his middle finger, essentially giving Ehren the bird.

The first man didn’t say anything, just continued to glare.

“Niki, help me out here,” the second begged.

The girl between them didn’t answer. Her eyes were focused on the floor. Ehren followed her line of sight. She was staring at the spot where Akira had stood until a few minutes ago and the pool of blood she’d left behind. Ehren sighed. Akira had been right. That amount of blood loss meant she had torn multiple stitches, causing even more damage to her back. He scrubbed his hands over his face then turned to Kase, who had remained close but hidden.

“Kase, go get my Uncle Arri,” he said, exhaustion beginning to catch up with him. “Tell him it’s urgent.”

“Prince, is it wise for me to leave you here with three strangers?” Kase replied.

“My safety is of little concern at the moment. Lady Akira is bleeding profusely thanks to the jackass over there and…”

Ehren felt a hand connect with his cheek before he could finish his sentence.

“How dare you!” the girl seethed.

“Look, that man may be your husband but he didn’t care at all for the lady’s wellbeing, though I’m sure he could see how much pain she was in just walking over to you. He also should have noticed how distraught she was, yet she still went out of her way to help you, a virtual stranger. So you may say how dare I all you want. I say how dare he.”

“He’s right you know, Niki,” the second man said. “Not only did Alarik shove her away from you when all she wanted was to help you, he also injured her far more than she already was.”

Before the girl could say more, Askel made his way up the stairs.

“How is she?” he asked Ehren, oblivious to the strangers in the corridor.

Ehren sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

“She’s in her room, resting,” he replied. “Kase go get my uncle quickly. Akira’s stiches have split and she’s lost a lot of blood, seeing as she’s been bleeding all night.”

“Of course Prince Ehren,” Kase replied. “Would you like me to send my brother to you in the mean time?”

“Might as well send him and Ferros, Uncle is going to need help holding Lady Akira down while he restitches her. I doubt he’ll sedate her to do it too.”

Askel looked at him in shock.

“What happened?” he asked.

Ehren shook his head.

“She was bloody and in pain when I arrived, though the blood had since dried. Thus, I cannot say for sure what she did during the night. However, that man over there shoved Akira out of the way when she was only trying to help his wife stand.”

Askel turned to the group of unknown visitors, finally seeing them for the first time.

“You shoved my sister? For what reason?” he demanded of the man Ehren had indicated.

“My wife is in a fragile state of mind…” he began.

“Fragile?” Askel practically growled. “You have no earthly idea what fragile looks like, otherwise you would not have shoved my sister out of the way.”

“I am truly sorry for hurting her, it was unintended,” the man replied.

Askel scoffed, “However unintended it may have been, the fact of the matter is this: you could have killed my sister.”

The man’s face went white as he blanched.

“That may be going a little far, Askel,” Ehren said quietly. “Yes, she is severely injured now moreso than before, but I do not think his actions would have killed her.”

“Mayhap not directly, but certainly indirectly,” Askel replied. “Damn Loki and his curse.”

“Loki?” the man with glasses asked bewildered.

“Curse?” the girl in front of Ehren asked at the same time.

Askel gave them both a deadpan stare and didn’t reply. Nyneve whined at his side. She began nudging him up the rest of the steps. Askel complied wordlessly. Nyneve then began to paw at him until he sat against the wall. By now, his eyes were unfocused and his hands were beginning to shake. Nyneve nudged him until he was on his side against the wall then lay down in front of him. She whined continuously and worry clouded her eyes. The tremors started in earnest not long afterwards. Ehren knelt beside him and pushed his hair out of his eyes, all the while giving Nyneve comforting pats. When the tremors subsided, Askel moved to sit up but Ehren forced him to lay back for a minute so he could get his bearings. Askel muttered something in a language Ehren didn’t know before slowly sitting up.

“Fuck,” he muttered. “They’re getting worse.”

Ehren stared at him in shock.

“What do you mean, getting worse?” he asked.

Askel sighed, “They’re becoming more frequent and lasting longer than a minute.”

“And the medicine?”

“It’s barely helping anymore.”

“Jesus, Kel!”

Askel sighed and rubbed his forehead, “Gods you sound like my sister.”

“I’ve probably been spending too much time with her,” Ehren chuckled.

“She’s going to need you more now that our father’s gone. She’ll never admit it, but she needs someone who pushed her like he did. Someone who won’t hold her back.”

Ehren was about to reply when Kase, Kanoa, and his Uncle Arri appeared.

Uncle Arri, of course, took one look at Askel and knelt down in front of him.

“They’re worsening, aren’t they?” he asked.

Askel nodded, “They come three times a day now.”

“And the medicine?”

“It hasn’t helped since the day we burried mum, Adan, and Nell.”

His uncle sighed deeply, “Keep him here until he can find his feet then bring him to his sister’s room.” Ehren nodded wordlessly. “As for you three, I suggest you make your way downstairs. Here you will only be in the way.”

“Oh Uncle Arri, don’t you recognize me?” the girl asked in a whisper.

But Ehren heard it and he began to study her. Her hair was a rich and spicy golden copper. Her skin was a dark tan. Together her hair and skin made her stormy grey eyes stand out even more. Only one other person, that Ehren knew, had eyes that color. His mother. Tara had inherited her eye color from their mother. But Tara was dead and gone, wasn’t she?

“Tara?” Ehren asked, with a trace of recognition in his breathy whisper.