I cursed at his absence, for leaving me alone in the dark and in the bitter cold, because seriously…what kind of horse does that? A stupid horse—that kind. And so, of course, now I had to follow his tracks.
I stood and cursed again, my gloved hands clutching tight to my dagger as I crept from my hiding spot. My boots slipped on the snow a few times, but I crawled out with the help of a few bushes and followed the hoof prints. Stupid, stupid horse.
There was a rustling overhead. I froze, heart pounding as I watched a cloud of snow trickle down from a tree branch and onto the forest floor.
Silence.
I swallowed, my dagger trembling in my hands. So help me, that horse wasn't going to get any more berries ever.
A loud caw sawed through the darkness and I jumped. There was a percussion of wings and a huge black crow whipped over my head, flying so low my hair wisped across my eyes, and then it was gone. I clutched my free hand over my chest, heaving. Okay, so maybe I could see why that guard back there hated crows. I kept walking, and the tracks stopped. Right at the trail. They didn't go back on themselves. They were just…gone.
No matter where I looked, in every direction, the snow lay untouched. It was as if my horse had walked to this point and vanished. I flexed my fingers around the hilt of my dagger, staring at those tracks as if they would suddenly reveal where he'd gone and what had happened to him, but they kept staring back at me as irrefutable evidence. He was gone. That two-faced, berry-munching mammal had left me out here, in the middle of Gaia knew where, alone.
A great gust of wind howled through the trees, barreling from farther down the path, swirling the snow and ripping through the lower branches. The wind subsided, and I saw a shadow right in the middle of the trail, farther down, and it wasn't my horse. Something told me it wasn't human, either.
I reached out with my senses to feel it, but before I'd made it halfway, I immediately jerked them back. I'd never felt anything like it before—such pure, unadulterated…evil. Cold and malevolent and deadly. Even at a distance, it had grabbed hold of me and pulled with inhuman strength, as if it could rip my soul from my body where I stood. My body trembled with a chill that touched my bones, and terror wrapped icy fingers around my heart.
I backed away, shaking, eyes fixed on the shadow while feeling the way behind me with my other hand. I knew I had to get out of here—now. Then something rammed into the back of my head, and my entire world went dark.
20
ALEXANDER
Vera took a turn for the worse. She'd succumbed to another seizure that'd left her skin pale and translucent, and the veins in her temple were an unsettling shade of blue.
"What did you do to her!" Thaddeus yelled at Lif, but Lif only shook his head.
Thaddeus shoved him aside and knelt at the side of her bed, checking her pulse. "I told you your hypnotics are too strong! There's barely a pulse!"
"If I made them any weaker, the pain would kill her." Lif's voice was too calm.
"Your hypnotics are killing her!"
Lif placed a hand on Thaddeus's shoulder. "No, the poison is. And she doesn't seem to be fighting it."
Thaddeus's jaw went slack. "What do you mean, she's not fighting it? You're saying she wants to die?"
Lif pinched his lips together.
"The blazes! V's a fighter. She would never let something stupid like poison take her out."
"Then, perhaps, you should remind her."
Thaddeus's expression set with determination, and he grabbed her hand between both of his and squeezed it.
Lif inclined his head to me and whispered, "I was wrong to send him away before."
"Don't be an idiot, V. Hellfire. Do you hear me?" Thaddeus knelt beside the bed, still holding her hand. "Don't give in. I swear on my pathetic existence that if you wake up I'll never bother you again. Spirits, I'll never talk to you again, if that's what you want…it'll be hard, but I'll do it. Just don't give up, do you hear me? We need you, V."
A tremor moved through her body, but Thaddeus held fast to her hand and placed his other hand gently on her forehead. The tremor subsided and a whimper escaped her lips again as her head lolled to the side.
"I'm not leaving," Thaddeus said to Vera. "Not unless you want me to." Thaddeus's eyes moved to their hands. "All right, I'll stay."
I noticed Vera was holding tight to his hand, and I suddenly felt as if I was intruding on something. Lif and I exchanged a glance, but Thaddeus didn't notice. He was only watching Vera.
"I'll wait outside," I whispered. "Let me know if something changes…?"
Thaddeus nodded, then Lif, Ehren, and I stepped out of the room.
The hours passed slowly, and Thaddeus didn't leave her bedside. On occasion, he'd open the door to peek his head through, asking for more linens or herbs, which Lif had ready, but for the most part the door remained closed. At some point early morning, Vera's fever broke, but the light outside was bright by the time Thaddeus finally emerged from her room, stumbling and bumbling and delirious.
"How is she?" I stood up and wiped my eyes.
"Rude, irritable, and making a lot of death threats." He smiled weakly. "So basically back to normal."
I grinned, overcome with relief. "May I see her?"
"Su—" he yawned with a stretch. "Sure."
I followed him into the room, surprised to see Vera propped up on pillows and awake. The small window beside her bed had been opened and she stared thoughtfully out, but when she heard the door open, she turned to look at me. Her skin was still pale, but no longer translucent, and the spark of life had returned to her eyes. I took a full breath—the first one I'd taken since she'd fallen ill. She was going to be all right.
"Hey." I smiled. "Okay if I come in for a minute?"
She glanced at Thaddeus then back to me. "As long as you promise to take him back out with you." A weak smile followed.
"Oh, come on." Thaddeus said, straddling the chair backwards. "You even admitted I haven't been as irritating as usual."
Her eyes narrowed on Thaddeus. "That's only because I was sleeping most of the time you were here."
Thaddeus snorted.
Yes, she was definitely feeling better. I approached her slowly and took a seat on the end of the bed. "Vera…" I started. "I'm so sorry. About this."
"Why are you sorry?" she asked. "You didn't poison me."
"I know, but it wouldn't have happened if you hadn't come. I should've been better prepared, and maybe—"
"Would you stop with the 'everything's my fault' prattle?" Vera groaned and leaned her head back on her pillow. "No wonder you drove Daria mad. We are all going to die, Alexander. Some day, some way. It'll happen. You can't stop it. I know. Shocking. So get over yourself and let me die if I want to."
I looked at her and burst out laughing. Thaddeus chuckled too, and Vera's mouth cracked a smile, and then I thought maybe—just maybe—we really would be all right.
Vera remained in bed the rest of the day. Her health continued improving, but she was still weak, and Lif insisted she rest. In order to get her to rest, Lif infused every pain tonic with a sleeping draft, much to Thaddeus's irritation. She didn't spend much of the morning awake.
Sometimes Thaddeus tended to her, but it was mostly Lif. Lif and Ehren didn't speak much to one another, but that wasn't to say they didn't get along. Their discourse floated mostly around practical matters, and when it brushed near the edges of opinion, both were quick to retreat. I sensed these necessary evasions disappointed the healer, but he said nothing.
After lunchtime, Thaddeus traded shifts with Lif and joined Ehren and me at the kitchen table for a game of Kings. That's when Laena arrived.
At first I'd thought she'd come early with news from her father, but then she pulled up a chair and sat beside me. Right beside me.
"Ah, playing Kings, I see." She observed the cards we'd laid out and leaned a little closer to me in order to do so. Silky strands of her long hair tickled my forearm, and her perfume overwh
elmed my senses.
"Would you like us to deal you in?" I asked, laying down my wizard.
"Mm, I believe I'll watch, Aegis Del Conte." Glittering swirls of silver and green curled like a masquerade mask around her large purple eyes. Her long lashes blinked, slow and hypnotizing.
I blinked too, severing the effect, and I turned my attention back to the game. Fraelings. I'd have to be careful around her.
I scooped up the cards Thaddeus had laid down on his last turn.
Thaddeus grunted. "Apparently, Del Can. I quit."
I laughed as Ehren gathered up the cards to deal another round.
"I take it Aegis Del Conte is winning…?" Laena asked.
"Destroying is more like it. For five rounds." Thaddeus folded his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes on me. If there was one thing Thaddeus hated, it was losing at games of strategy. "You been sandbagging, Del Can't?"
I smiled innocently at him. He scowled.
"Have you two played this game together often?" Laena asked, looking between us.
"Often enough to know he's been holding out on me all these years." Thaddeus was still glaring at me.
I laughed, pulling the cards off the table Ehren had set down for me. I cleared my throat and gestured to Thaddeus. "I believe the loser goes first…?"
He grumbled as he looked through his cards, but before he made his first move, he glared over them at me one more time.
"May I?" Laena leaned closer to peer at my cards, pressing her breasts against my arm in the process.
I held my cards even closer and leaned a little away from her. Not much, but just enough to let her know I didn't want her seeing my cards, or leaning against me.
Her eyes twitched with something dangerous.
"It's nothing personal," I said. "I like to keep my cards close."
"Close." Thaddeus scoffed. "No, you don't keep them close. You keep them buried so deep not even the worms can find them."
I laughed and was glad to see Laena grin. I seized the opportunity. "My lady, I'm sure Thaddeus would be more than willing to let you see his cards. In fact, I may even suggest he needs you. For luck." I winked at Thaddeus.
Thaddeus picked up a card from the discard pile and chucked it at my head. I dodged and chuckled as it fluttered past.
"Come on over, Princess." He was still scowling at me, though he motioned to the space behind him. "And please feel free to spell my hand while you're at it."
Laena laughed softly and, thankfully, scooted over to Thaddeus. He let her watch his hand as he played, and, by the end of the next few rounds, Laena was practically in his lap. She laughed at all his jokes and pawed over him as if he were a soft kitten. Ehren and I exchanged a glance, but there wasn't much either of us could do. One didn't blatantly refuse the attentions of a fraeling, unless you wanted to reap curses upon your head.
"I think I'm done pretending to lose for the day." Thaddeus leaned back in his chair after the third round, satisfied despite his losses. Laena took the opportunity to slide into his lap. He looked a little surprised, but he didn't push her away.
"You sure?" I asked. "I'll stop pretending to win next round if you want."
He glowered, but that smirk appeared. "No, thanks, tempting as it may be."
"Then since you're done with that nonsense, why don't you come with me to the fountains?" Laena ran her fingers through Thaddeus's hair.
"The fountains?" he asked, eyeing her.
"Yes, they're natural hot springs in the heart of the city, and they look positively magical at sunset," she said.
Ehren got up to put the cards away. He knew his cousin better than anyone, and he was keeping out of this.
"I'm sure it is," Thaddeus grinned at her, "and I appreciate the offer, but I'm needed here."
"Because of the girl?" Laena's tone was velvety as she tickled the back of his neck. "I assure you my uncle can take care of her by himself. There's no need for you to stay locked up here when you are in such an exquisite city. Come, let me show you the fountains. Or maybe if you can't, then perhaps Aegis Del Conte might join me?" Her gaze slid over to me.
"Thank you, but I need to write a few letters before nightfall." Which was partially true. I did need to write a few letters, but they didn't need to be written this second.
Laena looked disappointed, but she didn't push me on the issue.
"On second thought, you're right," Thaddeus said. "And I've always wanted to see the city of Imbdell. Mind if I leave for a bit, Del Can't?"
Without being too obvious, I gave Thaddeus a look that said are you sure you know what you're doing? He returned my warning with a look that said calm down, I got this. I wondered what he had up his sleeve. I shrugged. "Go right ahead."
He winked at me, and he got up from his chair and followed Laena out the Venias' front door. I felt a presence behind me and I glanced over my shoulder to see Vera standing in the doorway to her room. I had no idea how long she'd been standing there, and her presence burned in the room like the desert sun. Her face wasn't pale any more, either. Actually, its color was heightened and she looked as if she might have a slight fever.
"You're awake," I said, standing out of my chair.
Vera's eyes whipped to me so fast and looked so murderous, I froze mid-stand, my hands on the edge of the table. And then she went back into her room and slammed the door shut. The wall sconce rattled in her wake.
"What was that about?" Ehren asked from where he stood beside the bookshelf, now frowning at Vera's door.
"I'm not sure," I said, though I had an idea.
Thaddeus didn't return until dark. The Venias had gone to bed, I'd said a quick good night to a sleeping Vera, and then I rolled out my mat—compliments of Lif—on the floor near the warm hearth. I heard Thaddeus's tread on the walkway outside their front door, and I turned over on my mat just as he opened the door.
He was alone and his hair was dry.
He looked around until he spotted me lying on the mat, and then he closed the door quietly behind him. "Where is everyone?" he whispered.
"They just went to bed," I whispered in reply.
"How is she?" He headed straight for Vera's door.
"Sleeping," I said.
He rolled his eyes with a grunt. "Figures. Hocus Pocus needs to lay off the sleeping drafts. I don't care what he says, but they're too strong."
"What are you doing?" I asked. His hand was on the doorknob, and he was about to turn it. I had the sudden notion that was a very bad idea.
"What's it look like I'm doing?" He looked down at me as if I were an idiot.
"I told you she's sleeping."
"Fine, I'll be quiet."
"Why can't you wait till morning?" I asked, but he'd already opened the door and slipped inside.
I leaned back on the mat and sighed. One…two…three…
There was a loud slam against the door, so hard it rattled on its hinges. I was surprised he'd made it that long. Also, had she thrown the crucible at him?
A bewildered Thaddeus rushed out of the room and shut the door behind him.
"The blazes is wrong with her?" he asked, eyes wild.
I certainly wasn't going to answer that question. "I don't know," I said. "Why don't you go to sleep? Lif left you a mat over there." I pointed to the roll at the foot of the couch.
Thaddeus stood before Vera's door, staring at it as if he wasn't sure what to do.
"Go to bed," I said. "Maybe it's a side effect of those sleeping drafts you keep going on about. Anyway, you can talk to her in the morning."
"Yeah," he murmured. "Okay." He ran a hand through his hair as he walked over to the mat in a stupor, casting furtive glances back at her door before unrolling his mat near me. He set a bundle on the floor beside him.
"What's that?" I asked, noting the material was of Arborennian make.
"Oh, it's for V," he said. "She lost her blades back there by the portal, so I picked up a couple of new ones for her. Thought it might entice her to stop ac
cepting Hocus Pocus's sleeping potions and get out of bed."
A beat. "You got her…knives?"
"Yeah." Thaddeus shrugged as if to say "So?"
"I thought you went to the fountains."
"Don't be daft. You really think I'm stupid enough to go with a fraeling to a hot spring?"
"No, but I also had no idea what you were doing."
He snorted. "I just wanted to see the city…see if I could find new weapons for V and maybe find out a little information for you while I was at it. Of course, I didn't tell Princess Pixie these were for V, which was why I didn't even have to pay for them." He winked at me. "And what better escort than Lord Frosty's daughter? Everyone and their glowing nix wanted to help me. The only hard part was keeping Laena's hands off me, and let me just say that is no easy task for any young woman." He preened as he lay back on his mat.
"And…Laena didn't mind?"
Thaddeus looked at me, his fingers splayed on his chest. "I can't believe you have so little faith in me. Del Can't. I'm hurt. Don't get me wrong, Laena is quite charming—even for a fraeling—but this is me we're talking about. It's like…throwing a daisy at a carnivore. I'm not even remotely interested. Besides, if you really wanna know, I think it's you she's after. Wouldn't stop asking questions about you. Seriously, she asked so many questions it would've given a lesser man a complex. Like…is he really as talented as they say? What does he do in his spare time? How does he like his bread buttered, and should that butter be room temperature or chilled?"
I narrowed my eyes at him and he laughed.
"Well, I may have made up that last bit, but she did seem particularly interested in Rook."
For some reason that made me uncomfortable. "You didn't tell her anything, did you?"
His eyes simmered with irritation. "Do I look like an idiot? …Wait, don’t answer that."
I rolled onto my side, turning my back to him. "Good night, Thaddeus."
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