Queen of Lost Stars (Dragonblade Series/House of St. Hever) by Kathryn Le Veque Read Free Book Online Page A

have the power to save him?”
    Madelayne looked at the man, fury in her eyes. “You cannot put this all on me,” she said. “It is unfair of you to put his life in my hands. I do not want the responsibility!”
    Dolwyd sighed. “Lady, the milk in your breasts was put there by God,” he said. “It was meant to feed your child, who is dead. That milk has the capability of sustaining life. It would be a sin for you to deliberately withhold it from someone who needs it.”
    Her eyebrows furrowed. “Speak not to me of God,” she hissed. “He took my son and my husband on the same day. I am not particularly grateful to God at the moment so it would be wise to keep Him out of this conversation.”
    Dolwyd could see the fire in her eyes that had often frightened Cairn. The man had spoken much about his wife’s iron will, something he was subjected to but something he willingly subjected himself to. It was well known that Cairn was deeply in love with his beautiful wife but it was also quite clear she had never returned those feelings. She had been kind to him, and dutiful, but there had never been a spark in her eyes when it came to Cairn. The man knew it but it didn’t seem to matter; she was his wife and that was all he cared about. And Madelayne had always treated him with polite regard, as an obedient wife would.
    But the lust for him, the passion, had never been there.
    Still, Madelayne respected her husband and she was fond of him in a brotherly sort of way, which made completing her physical wifely duties something of a task and not a desire. Cairn’s lust for his wife had been insatiable and she would never deny him his wants; she simply laid on the bed and spread her legs as any good wife would. Dolwyd knew this because he could hear Cairn bedding his wife nightly. He would grunt and gasp in his fervor but she never uttered a sound. That was what told Dolwyd, and most other inhabitants in the keep, that her passion never matched his.
    A sad but true fact.
    In spite of her lack of passion, she had obeyed him, as her husband, and that was all that truly mattered. A wife was only meant to be obedient even if she never loved him. Even now, Dolwyd knew she would have still obeyed her husband had he been standing next to her. Therefore, he made a calculated move to that regard.
    “What would Cairn tell you to do?” he asked pointedly. “Would he tell you not to give St. Hèver that which would keep him alive?”
    It was like a shot to the heart for Madelayne, whose gaze trailed to St. Hèver once more. Dolwyd could see the defiance drain out of her face, leaving sadness and indecision in its wake. After several long moments, she hesitantly shook her head.
    “He would not be so selfish,” she said. “He considered Kaspian his friend.”
    “Would he tell you to help the man, then?”
    She nodded faintly before averting her gaze, ashamed and embarrassed at what had been asked of her, of what she realized she would have to do.
    “He would,” she said softly.
    Dolwyd didn’t want to give her any more time to think on it. He grasped her arm and pulled her towards the bed. “Then you must help him,” he said. “Get into the bed next to him and offer him your breast, as you would offer it to an infant. The instinct to suckle is a strong one. Do this, Madelayne. Help him.”
    Madelayne didn’t acknowledge that he’d called her by her given name. Dolwyd was usually much more formal but this circumstance didn’t call for formality. It called for action. She was moving stiffly, however, because her legs hurt and everything between her legs hurt even more. It was difficult to walk but she did so, allowing Dolwyd to lead her towards Kaspian as the man lay, wounded, upon the dirty bed linens. When Dolwyd pulled back the coverlet, Madelayne could see the bandage around the lower part of his abdomen. He smelled of urine and infection.
    With great uncertainty, she sat on the bed and Dolwyd helped her lift her legs onto