Free Bound by Blood and Sand by Becky Allen

the Curse in her head seemed to ease the pressure on the rest of her. As Tal guided her to her feet, she felt as if she were a grape left in the sun too long, withered and dry.
    Her legs were unsteady under her, and she had to lean on Tal as they walked. Some of the ache started to ease as she moved, as if she’d simply been in one position too long and her muscles needed to unclench. It also helped her head, since she was doing her best to obey the summons, and that calmed the Curse.
    Lord Elan stood waiting in the garden. The moon was high overhead now, bright silver, and the stars were sprinkled across the sky like sand waiting to be swept away. He stood in front of the fountain, and Jae had to squint to see him at all. It was as if the moon had set the fountain on fire and it was throwing silver flames all over the courtyard. Everything looked strange, unfamiliar, as if she hadn’t spent every day of the last year in this very spot.
    She and Tal both tried to make the bow protocol demanded of them, but it was hard with them tangled together. Evidently Lord Elan didn’t care. He just said “You can go” to Tal.
    Tal hesitated, his grip on Jae’s arm going tight for a moment. He couldn’t argue—couldn’t even speak, since he hadn’t been asked a question—and he couldn’t disobey. He helped Jae get balanced, then brushed her elbow with his hand as he glided out. Jae watched him go, wishing she could keep him with her somehow, hoping he’d stay nearby. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to make it back to the Closest’s quarters by herself, assuming Lord Elan let her go when he was done.
    “Jae,” he said. “Look at this.”
    He pointed down at the fountain’s trough, but when Jae shifted her gaze, the world started to swirl in front of her again. Everything turned sideways; she couldn’t tell which way was up, could barely move her arms to try to catch herself—
    Lord Elan sprang forward and grabbed her as she toppled, pulled her up until he had his arms wrapped firmly around her. She shuddered, wanted to pull away but couldn’t. She didn’t dare, and wouldn’t be able to move even if she did
.
    “Are you all right?” he asked, quietly, concerned. “What happened?”
    The Curse nudged her, and she was too exhausted and achy to even attempt to control her answer. “I’m
not
all right! I had some kind of fit before, and now—now I’m dizzy and exhausted and I don’t want you to touch me!”
    His eyes widened, the whites catching the moonlight, the brown so dark she couldn’t tell iris from pupil. His mouth fell open, and he just gaped at her. She braced herself as best as she could. The Curse required honesty, but she wouldn’t usually have shared that particular bit of truth.
    “You can’t stand on your own,” he finally said, once he got over the shock and regained control of his jaw. “I’ll set you down.”
    He wasn’t as gentle as Tal but managed to maneuver her down onto the ground without dropping her. He left her kneeling, hunched over, her fingers digging into the dirt beneath the pebble path. She concentrated on breathing, on not shaking. He didn’t move any closer, just waited.
    Finally her trembling subsided. She could move again, though she didn’t dare go far. All she did was force herself to relax, to sit back on her legs, kneeling upright instead of hunched over. The garden was still too bright, the fountain still glowing under the moon. Not even just the fountain—
everything
seemed to be cast in an eerie light, as if a silver fire burned inside the cactus and the pathetic bushes. Even Lord Elan glowed, though he looked a little different. That light was dimmer, steady instead of twisting and pulsating like a flame.
    He stepped forward a little and pointed at the base of the fountain again. Not at the trough but at the pebbled ground in front of it, where a single purple flower was growing.
    Jae gasped.
    “That’s what I needed to speak to you about,” he said.