“But we have one alive,” I said. “That means we can at least find out if this is reversible. Hopefully, in the process, we can figure out how the Devil’s Breath is able to make these younglings loyal to the Queen—a person they’ve never met.”
Ren kicked back in his chair, planting a boot on the table. “The borrachero drug can make humans compliant, but that’s only for a short period of time and when they’re under the influence.”
“Hopefully the specimens Luce took from Benji will tell us if he’s still under the influence.” Fabian crossed his arms. “If not…”
“Then there is no option,” Caden said. “He will have to be given peace.”
His brother nodded.
“He can’t be kept here where there’s a threat of him escaping, causing more harm.” Kalen dropped his hand on the table. “His family will understand that.”
“Will they?” I asked. “Truly?”
Kalen’s gaze met mine. “No one here will ever risk the whole of the Court for just one. Not even for their family.”
That seemed harsh, but I fully understood it.
“Except there is someone here who isn’t just willing to risk the Court,” Caden said, his thumb stilling under his lip. “But who is actively working against the Court.”
“You think whoever that is has something to do with Benji coming home?” Ren asked.
“The youngling didn’t indicate as much, but it would be unlikely that they aren’t connected,” Caden answered.
“So that leaves the question of what the goal of having Benji come back here was,” Ren asked. “To cause mayhem? Remind the Summer Court that even though Aric is dead, the Winter Court is still very much active?”
My stomach dipped a little at the mention of Aric.
“Or Benji was acting as a scout. Or at the very least, a test,” Fabian said, his gaze meeting his brother’s from across the table. “He could’ve been sent here to see what was going on, in the hopes he’d get back out.”
Caden’s jaw tightened.
“Or he was sent as a test against our defense systems.” Kalen nodded slowly. “But that doesn’t seem as likely. Why wouldn’t whoever the Summer fae is that’s working with them be able to give them that information?”
I thought about the Order, how there was a hierarchy involved. There was one here, as well. “Maybe the fae helping the Winter Court isn’t privy to the kind of information that could tell them how weak or strong your defenses are.” Several gazes landed on me. Still unused to speaking up, I found being the center of attention unnerving. “It doesn’t have to be someone any of us know. It could literally be any fae. And to me, it makes more sense that Benji was a test instead of a scout. If the Winter Court truly has no idea how prepared Hotel Good Fae is or not, they can’t be stupid enough to only expect Benji to make it back.”
Ren’s lips pursed as he nodded.
“You have a point.” Respect flashed in Caden’s eyes as he looked at me. “A test does seem more likely.”
“Not that any of this isn’t important,” Ren said, and Caden arched a brow. “But Benji was all hail Queen Morgana, talking like her coming back wasn’t something in the distant future but more like an event not too far from now. Was that crazy talk, the dying battle cry of the Winter Court? Or something we need to be concerned about?”
The door opened then. Tanner returned with Faye. Luce was behind them, carrying the bottles of soda under her arm and a file in her other hand. She saw me and did a double-take.
I slid a little in my seat. Yet another person I needed to talk to STAT.
Tanner told Luce who had the sodas in a low voice. She placed one in front of me, her eyebrow raised. I gave her a sheepish grin.
“The Winter Court is nowhere near uttering their final, dying battle cry. Unfortunately,” Caden said, nodding his thanks to Tanner as he placed a glass of water in front of him, “even without some of the Ancients, they are so very much a threat, but the doorways to the Otherworld are sealed. They cannot be reopened.”
My gaze flicked to Tanner as he sat across from me. The doors could be reopened, but as much as I liked Ren, I would not trust him with that information. I wouldn’t trust any Order member with that.
A shock surged through my system. I wouldn’t trust any Order member? Wasn’t I one? Could I even still be one once married to the freaking King of the Summer fae? Sure, they’d kept Ivy on, and she was a halfling. And Miles was open to things that other sects would’ve been dead set against. But Caden had…well, Caden was different.
Did I even want to be an Order member?
Being part of the Order was ingrained in my blood and bones. What would I be without my duty? Not that there was anything wrong with being a wife and a mother, but I needed more than that.
But the better question was, should I even still be Order when I wouldn’t turn over highly necessary information about how the gates could be opened at any time by Caden?
While I had my little moral crisis, Caden was saying, “Unless she’s somehow tripled in power, which is impossible, there is no way for her to physically open the gate.”
“They can worship her like she’s a god,” Fabian chimed in. “But they cannot free her simply by praying for it to happen. What they would need is impossible.”
Not exactly…
I wasn’t sure if Ren accepted the answer or not, but he quieted as I unscrewed the lid of the bottle. There was no fizz. Was it flat? I sighed, but flat soda was better than none. I took a drink, relieved to feel some carbonation, although it sort of tasted like...like diet? I checked the bottle just to make sure I could read properly. It wasn’t diet. Looking up, I saw Fabian frowning at his opened bottle.
“Luce has some information to share,” Tanner announced, drawing my attention.
Luce nodded. “I was able to do a rapid test thanks to Benji’s affinity for spitting when I went in to see him.”
My lip curled as I took another drink.
“I was also able to get a urine sample,” she said, and Caden’s brows lifted. “You do not want to know how I accomplished that.”
“I was there for it. She is right,” Ren tossed out.
“I’ll take both of your words on that,” Caden said, and I grinned a little.
“This isn’t entirely comprehensive.” She opened the folder. “But from his saliva, I was able to determine that he hadn’t consumed any alcohol in the last two hours, but there were trace amounts in his urine.”
“What does that mean?” Faye asked.
“It means that he drank at some point in the last ninety days, but not recently, and not a lot. If the Devil’s Breath is still being mixed with nightshade and liquor, I don’t believe he’s consumed any of it in the last couple of days.”
Faye started to speak and then stopped to swallow before finding her voice. “But we don’t know how long the Devil’s Breath influences a fae.”
“From what I’ve learned about the borrachero, it’s that it only stays in a human’s system for four hours and then is utterly undetectable in blood tests,” Luce stated carefully.
I recognized that tone. Not the greatest news was coming. I started to drown my sorrow in my soda.
“I can one hundred percent say that it works the same in one of us—that it’s only effective in terms of making one susceptible to persuasion for a short period of time. But there were no traces of scopolamine—the drug most similar here—in his system.” Luce drew in a shallow breath. “I know these results don’t tell us much.”
“But what do you think it does tell us?” Caden asked, sensing there was something she wanted to add.
“This isn’t my specialty,” she started.
“I know. Tell us what you think.”
She nodded curtly as she folded her hands over the file. “I think that Devil’s Breath is only a part of the equation here. We know certain drugs and food and drinks react differently in us. Nightshade for example is poisonous to humans, but it gives us the sam
e effect as some alcoholic beverages do. We also know that scopolamine, in most forms, is absolutely harmless to humans and fae. It’s a common ingredient in motion sickness medication but when it’s chemically processed into what we know as Devil’s Breath, it’s a different story. The fae could obviously be susceptible to it, but I have no reason to believe that it wouldn’t have worn off by now. Very few human drugs have any impact on us.”
Faye shook her head. “What…what does that mean exactly?”
“What I believe that means is there is a missing link. Something we don’t know,” she said. “And I know that’s not exactly helpful, but there has to be something used or done in addition to this drink. Finding out what that is may be the key to stopping this more long-term influence over us.”
“That actually tells us something,” Caden said. “More than we knew.”
“You don’t think he’ll come out of this then, do you?” Faye asked.
“I…I don’t want to say for sure, but…” She pressed her lips together and then exhaled roughly. “But he’s been here long enough for the effects to have worn off, and with nothing showing in his samples, I don’t believe it is something reversible without knowing what the missing link is.”
Faye closed her eyes as my stomach churned sharply with sympathy.
“I’m not saying he has to be…handled immediately. He’s contained,” Luce said. “We could wait.”
Caden looked to Tanner, who gave a quick nod. “We could.”
“No. I mean no offense.” Faye opened her eyes. “I know you’re suggesting that to be kind. Both of you. But there’s no point.”
“We can wait,” Kalen insisted in a low voice.
“I knew the moment I saw him, he was gone,” Faye said. “I knew deep down. There is nothing left of Benji in him. He’s already gone, and there is no reason for us to delay this. Doing so won’t make this easier for anyone.”
A muscle ticked in Caden’s jaw. “I can do it whenever you and your family are ready.”
My stomach twisted again as I thought of Caden having to be the one to do that. It might be his duty, but who would want that kind of responsibility? What had been done to Benji wasn’t his fault. I shifted, uncomfortable.
“I would.” Faye’s voice steadied. “I would ask your permission to allow either me or another member of his family to carry this out. We are all yours, but—”
“But he belongs to you and yours. I understand,” Caden said. “Let me know when you wish to do it. I would like to be there just in case you decide you would prefer that I handle it.”
“Of course. I…I need to speak to his father and check in on his mother,” she said.
“Go,” Caden issued quietly. “I’ll await word.”
Faye slipped quietly from the room, Kalen’s eyes on her as he opened his soda.
“I’m sorry.” Luce sat back, hands falling to her lap. “I wish I had more information. Something better than there being a missing link.”
“Like I said, that is more than we knew before,” Caden told her.
“He’s right,” Ren agreed. I think it was Ren. Or maybe it was Fabian. I wasn’t sure.
I felt…weird.
Like not in a weird headspace, but like I had a few years ago when I’d been out to dinner with my mom. It had been a good night. She’d been herself, and we’d gone to one of her favorite seafood places. The shrimp had gone bad or something. Within an hour of eating, I’d quarantined myself in the bathroom. That was how I felt now.
But I hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast, and I didn’t feel like I needed to use the bathroom. Sweat dotted my forehead.
“Is it just me,” I heard Kalen say, maybe to Fabian, “or does this soda taste weird?”
A sharp cramp sliced through my stomach, forcing me to lean back in my seat. Another knifing pain hit my midsection. It felt like period cramps but on steroids.
“Brighton?” Caden turned to me. “Are you okay?”
“Yep,” I forced out, breathing through the rippling pain. “I just…”
Across from me, Tanner frowned. “You don’t look well, Brighton.”
I didn’t feel well. Mouth strangely dry, I reached for the soda.
Caden started to rise, but it was Kalen who shot to his feet, his bottle in hand. “Don’t touch that!” he yelled. “Don’t take another drink.”
Chapter 14
Startled, I drew my hand back. “W-what?”
“What’s going on?” Caden demanded.
“The soda doesn’t taste right,” Kalen said, placing it on the table. “What does it taste like to you, Brighton?”
Heart jumping, I placed my damp hands against my stomach. There had to be a fist in there, clenching my insides. “I don’t know. I thought it kind of tasted like diet.”
“Like artificial sweetener?” Luce pushed from her seat, her pale eyes wide. “Maybe a little minty?”
“Yeah.” I nodded as Caden knelt beside me. “I mean, I didn’t taste mint, but…” But now that I thought about it, that could’ve been what I was tasting but couldn’t place.
“Shit.” Kalen gasped as Fabian picked up his bottle, sniffing it.
“What the hell is going on?” Ren asked as Luce hurried around the table.
“I second that question,” Caden said. “And I want to know what the fuck is happening.”
Luce slipped into the space between Ren’s and my chairs. “Are you feeling sick?” She placed her hand against my forehead. “Nauseous? Cramps?”
“I…” I found it hard to swallow. “Yes.”
Her features tightened and then smoothed out as she looked over at Caden. “I need you to get her to the infirmary.”
“What…what is happening?” I whispered as Ren rose, giving us space.
Luce didn’t answer. “Let me examine you—”
“I swear,” Caden growled, “If I have to ask one more time what is going on, no one in this room is going to like it.”
“I know you have questions, but right now, what’s important is that we get her to a place where I can monitor her.” Luce straightened, calm and collected as her gaze met mine. When she spoke next, there was a world of meaning in what she didn’t say. “I need to examine you, Brighton. Privately.”
Privately.
I looked at Caden, whose features had become stark. Privately. Understanding surfaced, and my heart kicked into overdrive.
The baby.
Panic sank its icy claws into me. I gripped the arms of the chair, and then it hit me—the strange sensation of wet warmth.
Standing abruptly, I pushed the chair back. Someone was speaking. It was Caden. His hand was on my arm, worry filling his golden eyes.
My stomach seized. There was no other warning. No stopping what came next. All I was able to do was turn away before my upper digestive system revolted. I doubled over, eyes and throat stinging as everything I’d consumed in the last day made a painful reappearance.
Caden was there, his hand on my shoulder. I tried to wave him away, but the clenching motion swept through me once more. I squeezed my eyes shut.
“I’m sorry—” I gagged.
“It’s okay, sunshine.” His voice sounded all wrong—panicked. “Luce.”
I opened my eyes and then tore my gaze away from the vomit. Staring at that wasn’t going to help. But suddenly, I was in Caden’s arms, and I was staring up at the ceiling. There were voices—shouts, and then I heard Caden.
“She’s bleeding,” he said, running his hand down my stomach and then around my back. “I don’t know from where, but she’s bleeding.”
In a daze, I saw it. It was small, just a few smudges of red, right where I’d been sitting. I knew what it was even as my legs and arms seemed to no longer be attached to my body.
Blood.
There was blood on the chair.
How much blood did it take for it to soak through clothing? I knew where that sensation of wet warmth had come from—where the blood had come from.
Another series of cramps seized me, and I twisted in Caden’s arms, gagging. He lifted me off the floor. I must’ve checked out because the next thing I knew, I was being laid down on a thin mattress. Luce was at my side, my arm in her hand as another fae wrapped a blood pressure cuff around my biceps.
Caden’s face was above mine, his hand warm against my cheek as he smoothed the hair back from my face. “It’s okay,” he said. “It’s going to be okay. I promise you. Everything is going to be just fine.”
But it wasn’t.
You didn’t bleed like that when you were pregnant. You didn’t have pain like this. You didn’t vomit like that.
Something was wrong—very wrong as the fae called out numbers that didn’t sound right. There was a pinch in my arm. My head lolled to the side. Luce was inserting a needle. Dark red blood filled a collection tube.
“I need activated charcoal,” Luce called out, rattling off milligrams and then fluids as hands lifted up my shirt. I jerked at the cool touch of ECG leads. There was beeping, and I thought it sounded too fast.
“Has she been poisoned?” Caden demanded, and it felt like the temperature of the room had increased. “Has someone poisoned her?”
“I’m not sure.” Luce hooked up an IV as she looked over her shoulder. “But you should pull all the drinks you got from the cafeteria, Tanner.”
“On it,” came the quick reply from somewhere in the room.
Poisoned? Oh God. Panic overshadowed the deep contractions, giving way to terror as my gaze found Luce’s. There was only one thought occupying my mind as I tried to drag in air, but the corners of my vision darkened. “Is the baby okay?”
Luce momentarily froze as she stared down at me.
“The baby?” Caden’s voice was low, barely above a whisper. “What baby?”
Blinking rapidly, Luce’s chin jerked up, and then her gaze shot back to mine. Her lips moved, but the beeping from the machines was rapid, and then darkness spread out. The room was suddenly shaking, the gurney creaking—
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