Chapter 20

Tara

Finally, my room is empty. The blood and the bear shifter are gone, and one of the servants thought enough to run me a hot bath. I watch as the steam swirls above the tub, like a phantom hand inviting me in. I accept the invitation and make my toward it.

Taking off my robe, I catch my reflection in the mirror. I'm drenched in blood; my once-white nightgown is completely red and see-through, far worse in the light of the room than I'd even thought before. I cringe as the memory of the man staring at me flashes in my mind. This is what he saw.

I'm sure my face is now as red as my dress. That's absolutely mortifying. Drogo knocking him out makes sense now. That's something positive from him, I guess.

Did he actually care that another man saw me like this?I try not to think too much of it. Maybe the asshole is possessive of me even though he doesn't want me for himself.

I peel the dress off and slip into the water. The water soothes my now aching body, and I close my eyes, enjoying the respite after such a whirlwind of a morning. I killed a bear this morning! With the sword that told me it would bring down something mighty. I chuckle and scoop a handful of warm water onto my chest.

A knock on my bedroom door scares me for a moment until I remember that anyone trying to attack me won't knock before entering.

"Come in! I'm in the tub!" I call out. A moment later, Lady Scarlet enters the bathroom. She steps over my bloody gown and looks at me, shocked.

"They told me what happened, but I didn't know it was that bad. I was coming to check on you. How are you feeling?" she asks, kneeling beside the tub.

"I'm alright. A little sore, but a battle with a bear will do that to you." I shrug.

"Spoken like a true warrior," she says, followed by a grin.

I smile back. "How is Prince Rinan?"

"I don't know what he looked like after the attack, but if his story is true, then it's even more remarkable he made it out without a scratch… thanks to your powers."

She points to my chest, which has wet bandages now that will need to be removed. "If only you did the same for yourself."

My heart races. I so don't want her to find out how bad I am with my magic. "A few scratches like these? I can handle them."

She seems to accept my answer but sighs. "I still can't believe a bear attacked us in our own castle. Prince Arlys is angrier than I've ever seen him in his life."

My mind starts working. "Speaking of which, there's some kind of tension between the bears and the wolves? I seriously don't understand the whole thing."

She leans forward and starts to gently take the bandages off, probably something I should have done before. Hell, we probably should have had me bathe and get clean before putting them on in the first place, but I don't think any of us was thinking clearly. "So, the bear is from Pack Fang. We aren't technically at war with them. We have more of an uneasy truce with them that never lasts long. I think, for the most part, they don't have time for us, since they have more monsters and monster hunters on their lands to deal with."

The bath still steams, but a shiver runs through my body. I've seen illustrations of quite a few monsters. They're something we've been taught about even though they typically don't go so far enough south that they encroach on witch territory. Instead, they occupy a lot of the shifter lands and vampire lands. It"s weird to even worry about monsters at all when I never had to before.

Lady Scarlet tosses the bandages on the ground beside the bathtub and inspects my wounds with a look of horror. But I'm careful to keep my back firmly against the tub. For some reason, I'm okay with her seeing the bears scratches, just not the injuries from my mom. "That's hardly a few scratches!"

I wave it away. "I'll be fine."

As mother always said, I have to be fine. As a princess, I have no other choice.

"Tell me more about the bears and shifters," I say, reaching for some soap.

Her eyes are still on the scratches on my chest, but she continues. "Bears typically leave the wolves alone, and wolves tend to do the same, although we tried to reach out when the Illness began, but our communication was ignored."

"If this is all true, why would they want to attack me?" I don't understand where I come into all of this. Why am I the catalyst for violence?

Lady Scarlet doesn't answer immediately. She looks down at my gown and back into the now clean room. I wait quietly. Everyone here has a hard time answering questions immediately it seems. Probably because they're choosing what information to tell the witch they don't trust.

"Shifters don't trust witches," she begins, practically speaking my thoughts aloud.

That's understandable. We've been at war with each other for generations.

"So the bears might not be very happy with this truce we've made."

The truce that brought me here. The truce that includes me as the main piece.

"Or, they might be worried that the wolf shifters and the witches will form an alliance and team up against the bear shifters." She gives a gentle smile, like she thinks this information is far more than I can handle right now.

An alliance? I hate to say it, but my mother is probably capable of that. Even if sending me here as a "healer" suggests my mom plans to screw these wolves over one way or another. I just haven't had the time to think about how. For me, at least, I can be confident that I wasn't involved in any of this. I just need the others to believe that too.

"What can I do to alleviate that worry? To stop the attacks?" I ask, scrubbing my body slowly.

Her expression is gentle. "Don't worry about all of that. Your purpose to heal the Illness should be your main focus."

My purpose… I thought it was to be their peace bride, but, apparently, that was just the beginning. Now, I've got to cure something I don't understand, using powers I don't have. No witch in her right mind would confuse healing injuries with illnesses; those are two entirely different animals. When men get sick due to their weaker human bodies, it takes our most powerful healers to help them. If they can even do that. I need help. Serious help.

"What do you know about the Illness?" she asks me with a bit of a wobble in her voice.

I tense, but try not to show it. "Not much. I just heard about it last night at dinner. It sounds awful, and I'm sorry it's plaguing your elders," I say sympathetically.

She stares at me like she's waiting for me to say something else. When I don't, she asks, "Do you know where it came from?"

I furrow my brows wondering why I'd know anything about an illness in shifter territory. Her questions are starting to freak me out. "No, I don't have a clue. Like I said, I just learned about it last night," I say, uncomfortable.

She frowns. "Tara, I'm going to be straight with you here. Can I do that?"

"Okay." I stop washing myself, confused.

She continues. "Most shifters believe the virus was caused by the witches, and that you're the only one who can cure it."

They think we caused this? They think I'm the only one who can cure it? My stomach turns. I'm no healer. I healed Rinan, sure, but to heal an illness strong enough to kill the wolf shifters? No way.

They're mistaken. Badly.

All I can hear is my heartbeat pounding in my ears, and my voice comes out as a whisper. "What will happen if I can't cure it?"

Scarlet's face contorts, and her whole body stiffens. "If you can't cure the Illness, then there"s no reason for you to be here and there's no reason for the treaty."

No reason for me to be here? Meaning, they'll just kill me. Is that why the men are so harsh with me? I'm just a means to an end for them–nothing more?

My skin feels clammy. My mother and my people never thought I was capable of doing anything, but these shifters seem to think I'm capable of actually saving their kind. What's more, even though it hasn't been all diamonds and roses, I've been treated better here in a week than I have my whole life with the witches. I want to help these people. I want to show them I belong here. I can do this. Can't I?

She flashes me a smile. "Don't worry about it though. You'll cure the Illness, and you'll show everyone how useful you can be. I'm sure of it!"

Bile rises in the back of my throat. And if I don't, I'm dead. Simple. Right?