Broken Prince (The Broken Ones) by Jen Wylie Page A

reached
him first, dropping to a knee and bending over him.
    Her ankle burned with pain from the short run as she
dropped to the ground beside Prince, her hands reaching out for him. "What’s
wrong?"
    Kei shook his head, his brows creased with worry.
    Your Elf does not fare well.
    She glared over at Garen. "I know."
    Prince moved beneath her hands, bringing her attention
back to him. He had collapsed onto his stomach and she quickly shifted her
hands under him, either to help him turn over or sit up.
    Tears threatened again when he turned and his arms
came up. With her help, he pulled himself up against her chest, his head falling
weakly against her shoulder.
    "Prince," she whispered, bowing her head
over his and wrapping her arms around him. He felt so light, so thin, like he
had truly started to fade away into nothing. He didn't move within her arms,
his breath came slow and shallow against her neck. She wasn't sure if he had
lost consciousness or not.
    "Prince?" She gently shook him. "Wake
up, you have to wake up." Her hand shaking, she gently brushed hair from
his face. "What should we do?" She looked from Kei to Bo, hoping one
of them knew.
    Bo ran a hand over his face, shaking his head
slightly. "We'll not be moving tonight I think." He glanced over at
Kei. "We should set up camp, maybe start a fire and have some decent food.
Maybe that will help him."
    She nodded and looked over at Garen. "Is a fire
safe here?"
    The wolf cocked his head slightly to one side,
considering. Keep it small. It should be safe. We mustn't stay long however.
Other Were may come to investigate.
    She nodded and relayed the information to the others,
grimacing slightly at the inconvenience caused because they couldn't hear
Garen. Bo took the Were's sudden addition to their family without comment. Kei
must have introduced them while they waited for her and Prince.
    Kei frowned down at Prince, though it was different
than normal. It wasn’t directed at the man, but the situation. "I’ll get
his pack."
    She remembered Prince had been wounded in the
fighting. How badly had he been hurt? Nodding at Kei as he rose, she tried to
see where the injuries were.
    Bo moved to quickly set up a small fire pit near the
pool while Kei took Prince's horse away to tend to it and unload all of their
packs. She remained where she was, holding Prince. She didn't know what else to
do.
    Kei brought the pack of supplies and a skin of water
over and helped her treat and re-bandage the wounds Prince had taken. None
would normally be life threatening, but in his weakened condition, she didn’t
know how serious they would affect him. She held him to her again when they
finished, wishing she knew if he would get better or not.
    Kei watched her silently.
    "Can you help treat Bo? Please," she asked
quietly.
    He squeezed her shoulder as he rose and gathered the
supplies.
    The frustration of it all began to tear her apart.
They had come so far, were so close to his home, surely only a few more weeks
at most, yet she didn't know if he would make it. Tears ran down her cheeks and
she bent her head over him again, gently rocking and mumbling a quiet
children's tune.
    After a while, Garen's voice came tentatively into her
mind. He is very weak...
    She nodded, not looking up, trying to hide the stupid
tears. Do you know how long it would take to get him home?
    To Rivenward?
    What?
    He snorted. Has he told you nothing? That is
the name of the Elven lands.
    He doesn’t talk a lot about his home. How long?
    Riding hard, as the crow flies, maybe five days.
However you are not crows and t he
northern border is warded. There is only one entrance and it is south. With the
fighting going on, I do not think you would make it through. Best would be to
keep moving south along the forest boundary until you reach the wardwall and
then head west. Two weeks perhaps, now that you have the horses.
    I don't think we have enough time.
    No, Garen
agreed. You do not. He is very far gone.
    Squeezing