Knightqueen (Oronis Knights #3)

He’d looked after her, and he was the one person who didn’t see the queen all the time. He didn’t expect her to have all the answers.

“You should’ve told me.” Worry sharpened her tone. She retracted her own armor, then ripped fabric off the bottom of her dress. She pressed it against his cut, putting a lot of pressure on it.

He winced. “Nothing…you could do.”

“You’re in pain.” She cupped his cheek.

His green gaze met hers, something deep inside them that she couldn’t read. “It’ll pass. And any pain is worth it to keep you safe.”

Carys bit her lip. “I can’t lose you, Sten.”

He raised his hand and covered hers. “Do my best not to go anywhere.” The corner of his lips lifted. “And I always obey my queen.”

Worry and love mixed inside her. “I’m going to search for a medical kit, or bandages. Something to help you.”

“No.” He shifted on the ground. “You’ll be unprotected.”

“I’m Knightqueen Carys of Oron. I’ll protect myself. You know that. And I won’t go far.”

She hated leaving him, but she turned and made herself walk down the tunnel. She ignited energy on her palm, again using it to guide her way. She hadn’t gone far when art and engravings began to emerge on the wall.

She gasped. The images were stunning. The depicted beings were tall and red-skinned. The scenes showed them living in the mountains, in the cliffside villages. Groups crossing a maze of bridges crisscrossing the ravines. Workers in a mine. She saw that they were mining a bronze powder. She frowned. It looked like they were using another substance—a brilliant, bright-blue liquid—that was part of the mining process.

Dragging her gaze off the artwork, she spotted a doorway covered in cobwebs. She shoved the webs aside.

The room looked like an office and dining area. Several long tables were covered in a thick layer of dust.

She quickly checked the shelves. There had to be some sort of medical kit.

She spotted a black box covered in the markings of an alien language. She pulled it open. Her heart dropped. All that was left was disintegrated powder in the bottom. She opened the next box.

Her pulse leaped. It wasn’t exactly like an Oronis medical kit, but there were bandages and other gear. Turning, she hefted the box, and hurried back down the tunnel.

When Sten came into view, he was so still, his eyes closed. Her heart squeezed.

“Sten?”

Green eyes opened. “You okay?”

“Yes.” She knelt beside him.

She quickly set to work, tearing open packages.

“I want to sit up,” he said.

“No.”

His face turned stony. “I don’t want—”

She stroked a hand over his short hair. “That’s an order, knightguard.”

He blew out a breath, and she swiped a medical wipe over his wound. He hissed. She cleaned his wound, and then the blood off his skin. Then she pressed a thick bandage over his side.

She wished there was more she could do.

“You need time to heal. At least our implants seem to be fully functioning now.” She noted her feet had healed, and the faded bruises from the beatings the Gek’Dragar had given him were gone.

A muscle ticked in his jaw.