Chapter 67 #2
We rode another few hundred paces, and I clung to the bundled woman in my arms as if she were my lifeline. I’d keep her alive through pure determination if I had to.
Antas picked a place to build camp, and we dismounted. Clutching Nayana, I stood around, whispering soothing words into her ear.
Five minutes later, a growl rumbled in my chest, warning my uncle to take back his offer to accommodate Nayana so I could set up our part of the camp. Instead, he sighed and unrolled our bedrolls as well.
Antas had just finished building a small fire, and I remained standing still with Nayana in my arms when the clapping of hooves reached my sensitive ears.
My gaze zeroed in on the one male I’d been waiting for, and as he dismounted, I hurried to him with a few big strides. “Ireas. What’s wrong with her?”
Confusion dominated the young medic’s face as he lingered still as a statue next to his horse, staring at me like a drooling idiot.
“Do your fucking job.”
“Be nice,” my tiny female coughed out, and I scowled at her.
When it came to her, everything and everyone else was unimportant. Lowering us down, I kneeled on the grass and shifted Nayana into a comfortable position.
“Oh my gods, Nayana. What happened?” Ireas crouched next to me and lifted his hand. As soon as his appendage connected with her forehead, a growl broke free from deep within my chest.
Had growling been a conscious choice? Not really, but warning another male off could never hurt. And threatening had helped—the youngling had withdrawn his paw fast enough to appease me at least a little.
“Princeling.”
“He touched you.”
“That’s part of an examination, godsdammit.”
Any other time, I’d marvel at yet another soul I’d tempted into cursing, especially one as pure as Ireas’, but not while anxiety was gnawing at my insides.
Even though I dipped my chin in the tiniest of movements, my chest rumbled again as I monitored the male and his wandering hands with the utmost scrutiny.
When his forehead wrinkled, the unspoken implications hurt more than a kick in the nuts, and an invisible fist closed around my throat. “What, Ireas?”
He had the audacity to ignore me, and I showed him my teeth.
Every single warning sign bounced right off the medic as he asked Nayana a question instead. “Did you eat or drink anything strange recently?”
“I—they gave me something called Laiga.”
My chest vibrated with unbridled anger. Fucking Laiga? Cantarlann administered the most potent drug known to faekind to a human? That substance had killed more than just a few fae.
And how was Ireas keeping his cool at the news?
“Anything else?”
“Oh. Yes. Cantarlann had another drink for me. The liquid was purple, and he mentioned how important draining the entire glass at once was. I barely succeeded because the vile stuff burned and had a gross texture. Like sludge. But he said the fluid wasn’t dangerous. He called the drink Se—Sae—”
“Seadan.”
“Yes. Cantarlann didn’t lie, right?”
Iron bands wrapped around my lungs and squeezed all the air out of the organs. Cold sweat broke out all over my skin, streaking the blood that was still painting me red. If she wasn’t mistaken—no, gods, no.
“They gave you a Seadan?” My eyes burned as hot tears welled up, and my gaze connected with Ireas’ face. “Take it out.” I wasn’t even ashamed of begging.
My medic, the only one of his profession I trusted with her health, stared at his shoes and kept his mouth shut.
“Take it out!” Desperation was a living monster clawing its way through my mind, and I pressed Nayana closer to my chest as if she would disappear if I didn’t hold her tight enough.
“You know that I can’t.”
“Is it that bad? Dion, are you—crying?”
Gritting my teeth as Ireas was still much too interested in the grass, I stayed silent, not able to answer any of her questions. Even as Nayana touched my cheek, I barely felt the sensation. I was numb.
That I’d truly broken down in tears had been centuries ago.
None of the shit I’d experienced since my parents’ deaths had affected my soul, but this, this was what shattered me into a million pieces.
Compared to her suffering and the disastrous news, even facing the apocalypse paled.
How could I explain what they had done to her without frightening her further?
How was I supposed to stay calm when everything inside me cramped together in panic?
“A Seadan is a dangerous parasite nourished by magical power. Although this rare being does not destroy permanent magic, the pest consumes energy faster than a body is able to replenish the missing force. And before you ask. Yes, Nayana, the Seadan you ingested is continuously exhausting your Potential.” Antas had sat down next to us and tried to exude calmness.
“Then—at one point—when this parasite has eaten everything—I’ll die?”
“We’ll get the vermin out. Don’t worry.” My tone didn’t match the optimism of my words in the slightest. Although Seadans were rare, they were still a danger that every young fae was warned about multiple times because of their lethality.
“I’m so tired.”
“Then sleep, my love. I’ll protect you.”
As if she’d waited for my permission, her eyes closed, and within moments, she fell fast asleep. I didn’t even bother wiping away the trails of tears streaming down my cheeks, because despite my declaration, this enemy was one that rendered all the power I harbored useless.