Chapter 9
Nueena, Tavien, Leon, and I spent the last few hours in the temporary apothecary. Dinner is spread out before us: vibrant red peppers stuffed with minced meat alongside flaky brown bread with fig jam, various savory pastries, and a delectable white bean soup with thyme and carrots.
Tavien uses his magic to hover a large feather quill and write the instructions for taking the elixir over and over again on one hundred narrow slips of paper.
Most of the citizens of Beggars’ Row are literate—thanks to Cyanna’s lessons for any who wanted to learn—and those who are not can speak to their neighbors.
It’s too great of a risk to have Viella stay to administer it.
The anticipation of the evening leaves my stomach in knots. If this does not work, we will have no hope to save anyone outside Ellova.
We work in comfortable silence. Tavien and Leon, side by side, pour the vibrant blue liquid into crystal vials, handing them off to Nueena and me when they are sealed.
Once the quill has finished, the paper rolls itself and floats to me.
I slip it into a small pouch, adding in a few pieces of jewelry.
A dwindling pile of rings, earrings, and bracelets lies between Nueena and me.
Since I no longer have coins, jewelry will have to be traded to purchase food for the Adreanians.
I pass the small leather bag to Nueena, who tucks in one vial along with the instructions and ties it shut.
I can only hope it will be enough for now.
Although I try to remind myself that we have done all we can, that I’ve spent ten years trying to save those Jedrick forgot, but with this crown that decrees me queen, I’m left with the crushing sensation I have failed.
Viella will be the one to bring new hope now.
With thoughts of Viella comes a memory. “We need to remind Vi to walk across with Onyx instead of ride.” I turn to Leon. “We learned the first time I snuck into Adreania that it can result in passing out and falling off my horse, and she won’t have Nueena to panic like the world is ending.”
“Oh, apologies for my alarm.” Nueena places her hand over her heart in mock offense. “But if you watched me fall headfirst off my horse while in an enemy kingdom, you could not possibly possess the ability to stay calm either.”
“Yes, but there did not need to be quite so much crying,” I tease her.
Nueena flings a warm roll at me from her dinner plate, her fae agility ensuring the flying fare hits its target on my shoulder.
A rough knock cuts through our laughter and Tavien lowers the wards, expecting the mates, but Lillian stands alone in the doorframe.
“Have you seen Viella?” she asks, her voice slightly strained.
Nueena and I glance at each other, Nueena answering her. “No, not since the infirmary this morning.”
“Actually,” I add, “I spoke with her after that to go over her journey for tonight.”
Lillian starts to pace away from the door. “I haven’t seen her in hours, and I can’t find her anywhere. I—”
Another knock and Lillian crosses the room in three large steps to swing the door open.
“Hello, my loves,” Viella greets us. She wears all black with boots laced up in the front to mid-thigh, a dark hood over her head.
Her short blonde hair is gone, and her dark wig is in a braid thrown over her shoulder under a thick hood.
She carries a bundle of blankets tightly to her chest and kicks the door shut behind her.
“Where have you been?” Lillian moves towards her but stops abruptly when a muffled cough echoes around us.
My heart stops.
Leon clears the table we have been working on, shoving everything roughly to one end.
We both know that heartbreaking sound.
“Did you kidnap a mortal?” Nueena gasps. She brushes past a stunned Lillian and flips a corner of the fabric, revealing a small child, round ears peeking out in front of light brown curls. Sweat has her hair sticking to her pale face.
“Of course not. It's called borrowing. I plan on bringing her back,” Viella retorts in a tone that implies she is quite pleased with herself.
Budding joy blooms in my chest. We will be able to test the elixir. The four of us have spent so much time creating the hope the mortals need, but I never could have dreamed I’d witness its life-saving magic myself.
That little trickster.
Viella plotted this. She wasn’t nervous about sneaking into Adreania when I gave her the key to Cyanna’s door. I don’t know if I should be impressed or angry that she didn’t tell anyone she was going to the mortal realm early.
Lillian certainly appears annoyed.
Before she can argue over her mate’s actions, Leon walks over, taking the small child from Viella.
“Where did you find her?” he asks, laying the little girl down on one end of the table and brushing his thumb over her bright red cheek.
She stirs for a moment, her breath labored and rattling, but her eyes stay closed.
He tenderly presses two fingers to her neck. “Her heartbeat is weak.” With the gentleness of a healer, he presses the back of his hand to her forehead. “High fever.”
“I found her near the orphanage, heard crying through a broken window a few houses away. Her whole family is sick, all of them bedridden. The mother looked worse.” Viella turns to me with a sad smile.
“I told her I knew you. Did you know those you gave the gold coins call you the Midnight Altruist?”
The Midnight Altruist.
My heart leaps with amusement. I never had the opportunity to meet those I slipped coins to each full moon. Recognition was never something I sought; I only wished to help those forgotten by their ruler and keep all the mistreated citizens alive the only way I could. “I did not.”
“Her mother said they owe you their lives and let me take her daughter to you. I explained about the elixir, how we had a cure but needed to ensure it worked before we could distribute it. I gave her my word that I would return her, hopefully healed.”
“It was a dangerous risk,” Leon says. He pulls down the little one’s worn collar and I shudder at the violent purple rash around her tiny neck.
Leon lowers the blankets, and we can see the angry rash descending down her emaciated arms. “She doesn’t have much time left.
If the elixir doesn’t work, she will be gone by sunrise. Tavien, can you bring me a vial?”
Tavien quickly returns to Leon’s side, uncorking one of the small elixirs and handing it to him. Leon cradles her head with one hand, tipping it back, her cracked lips opening just enough for him to administer ten drops of vibrant blue mixture.
We all take a collective intake of breath, Nueena and I reaching for each other’s hand at the same time.
At first nothing happens, hopelessness ready to take root.
The small child continues to take strained breaths, coughing through fitful dreams, but then her breathing becomes easier, each inhale deeper and deeper.
The purple skin fades, retreating up her arms and disappearing along with the redness on her feverish face.
Overwhelming gratitude that it worked, truly worked, has me choking on a sob. Once the rash has faded, leaving behind unblemished skin, she slowly blinks awake, staring up at us, confused but not alarmed.
Nueena lets go of me and bends down. “Hello, my name is Nueena.” She looks at Leon. “Can we give her some food?”
The little girl nods rapidly.
“Not too much,” Leon warns. “She’s extremely malnourished and will need to ease into a proper meal. Since the food here is incredibly rich, we will need to add some water to soup to make a broth.”
The elixir worked and we’re actually going to be able to save those dying in Beggars’ Row. All that effort Tavien and Leon did was worth it. Tears stream down my cheeks. Leon accomplished what he set out to do. I could kiss him right now.
“How are you feeling, Mimi?” Leon asks softly.
My heart misses a beat. He knows her. What had Leon told me back in my cottage that first night?
“You are not the only one who spends time trying to help those who call Beggars’ Row home. A few nights a week I provide medical attention there, including those at the orphanage.”
This man, this selfless healer.
I almost blurt out how much I love him here and now.
Mimi looks up at him, eyes full of trust, and whispers, “Better, but Mama is still sick.”
He gives her a bright smile, filled with reassurance. “She is going to be well again, just like you. Does anything else hurt like it did before?”
She sits up on her own and shakes her head.
Lillian brings over a small bowl for her. It's mostly broth but a few pieces of roasted chicken and vegetables float on the top. Mimi spoons it happily and is delighted when Tavien offers her a small piece of sweet roll that she eagerly dips into the soup.
“How old are you?” Tavien asks.
“I’m five. Where am I?”
“Somewhere safe, but we’re going to take you home soon. We just wanted to make sure you feel better,” Tavien assures her.
She nods and returns to her dinner.
Unable to keep myself away from Leon any longer, I wrap my arms around him. “Thank you,” I whisper into his chest, his arms closing around me.
“Beggars’ Row will be healed by dawn tomorrow. You saved their lives once again.” He wipes another tear from my cheek.
“Me?” I ask. “You and Tavien did all the work! Nueena grew the ingredients.”
“Yes, but you brought me here, trusted me when you had no reason to. You could have abandoned me in the forest the night we spent in your cottage, slipped out in the middle of the night,” he says into my hair. “But you kept me close, and I was able to bring back Inara’s diary.”
“Why do they have pointed ears?” Mimi asks Leon, getting our attention, Leon and I breaking apart.
“This is a dream. Try to go back to sleep,” he says kindly. Mimi nods, passing her empty bowl to him and lying back down with a yawn. Leon pulls the blanket over her. “She has older siblings. They were all newly ill last time I saw them. Hopefully they survived.”
What we have done in this room, weeks of effort, hours of preparations, feels more important than ever before. I desperately need that little girl to wake up tomorrow and find her family free of the misery that the crown and Grayden have caused.
To live a long, happy life.
Lillian sits down and pulls Viella into her lap. “Why wouldn’t you tell me you were going into the mortal realm early? Something could have happened to you, and I never would have known.”
“I agree with Lillian,” Nueena says. Her disapproving face could rival her mother’s. “Did you tell anyone you were leaving?”
“Nu, I have endless respect for you, but as Spy Guardian, I do not need to let anyone outside of your mother know my whereabouts.”
“I’m not asking as future Realm Keeper,” she says, her hands going to her hips. “You have my complete trust that you can accomplish whatever dangerous task you stubbornly undertake. I’m asking as your friend. That was reckless.”
Tavien sits on the couch, his pale blue eyes watching Nueena pace around the room.
“Oh.” An embarrassed blush spreads up Viella’s neck.
“I appreciate the concern. I knew if I asked to bring a child here, I would be told it was too risky, so I didn’t let anyone know of my plan.
We needed to test the elixir or there was no point in me taking it all that way only to crush the hopes of the mortals we’d hoped to help.
” Her fingers gently move up and down Lillian’s arms, Lillian’s head leaning against her shoulder.
“How did the orphanage look?” I ask. “And Beggars’ Row? Any sign of Grayden or his men?”
Viella shakes her head. “The orphanage has been abandoned, and the street was quiet. I saw a few guards on patrol, but they were at the far end, and I avoided them.”
Lillian tightens her arms around her mate’s waist at the reminder of the potential danger of the journey. “If I could just accompany you to the Divide, Vi—”
Viella shifts to the side and gazes down at Lillian, whose open expression is pleading. “My love, I will be back before dawn breaks tomorrow.”
Lillian whispers, “I will have been driven mad by then.”
Viella leans down and kisses the tip of her downcast lover’s nose. “You need to trust me to return to you. Always.”
Lillian’s eyes harden but she does not ask again.