Tobias
It took me a moment to figure out what was different.
A cloudiness had settled in Eva’s eyes, nearly obscuring the golden crown around her pupils.
It had been strange to see her irises swirl with those golden flecks ever since she had become High Queen in an echo of the crown she could now summon at will.
Now, seeing their stillness was far more unsettling.
“Eva,” Bash breathed, every ounce of his concern condensed into those two syllables. He quickly walked back over to her, taking one of her hands in his. “You’re awake.”
“Bash?” Eva’s voice was sleep clogged and raspy, but I could hear the relief in it.
Bash quickly brought a glass of water to her lips, supporting the back of her head. His every muscle was tense as he watched her take a sip, his eyes tracking each swallow.
His voice was hoarse as he asked, “Do you remember what happened?”
Eva blinked, then shook her head.
“You collapsed at dinner,” Bash continued softly. “You had a nosebleed and now a fever, though there’s a chance there’s more to it—”
“Dinner?” Eva’s voice was strained, a hint of panic creeping into her tone. “I don’t understand.”
She let out a gasping sort of breath. Her hand flew to her neck, and I recoiled as she reached for the pale scar that banded around her throat as if expecting something to be there.
Her lower lip trembled as her hand flattened against her skin, rubbing it nervously.
“My magic. There’s something wrong. Why can’t I… ”
“Try to stay calm,” Bash said evenly, though his hand shook as he reached for hers. “We think it has something to do with the virus itself.” He glanced away, and I could hear the words he didn’t say—namely, who was behind it. “We’ll figure this out, hellion. I’m just glad you’re awake—”
Eva gasped again, cutting him off. Her eyes went almost comically wide, though I wasn’t laughing.
Because my sister was staring at me like she had seen a ghost.
“How…how did you escape?”
A cold weight settled in my chest. I opened my mouth, then closed it again.
The room seemed to freeze as Eva glanced between us all, her face paling as she noticed Quinn. “You’re here, in Agadot. I thought you might be…” She swallowed hard, turning back to me. “How did you escape A-Aviel?”
Fuck.
Shadows flared from Bash’s arms, curling around Eva protectively, though my sister’s anima seemed to have turned to stone from how still he was standing.
“You saved me, Eva,” I offered weakly. I looked at Quinn like she might be able to fix this. “And Quinn followed you here.”
Quinn glanced between us, before softly asking, “What’s the last thing you remember?”
If Eva knew I was alive but thought I was still imprisoned, that narrowed it down to a matter of days—a brief window that occurred months ago. Fear wrapped its fingers around my throat. Whatever this was, Silvius was indeed behind this. From the look Quinn gave me, she knew it too.
But it wasn’t fear on her face. No, her features had hardened in steely determination.
Eva winced, rubbing her temples. “I’m not sure. My head…it feels cloudy, like looking through a fog.”
“Our bond feels the same,” Bash added with a shudder. “I can feel you, but it’s tenuous. I thought it was the fever while you were unconscious, but it’s almost like your magic’s being blocked by the band again.”
I couldn’t help my flinch as Eva’s hand slipped back to her neck to reconfirm her freedom. Quinn and Marin exchanged a look, though neither looked surprised.
“It’s not exactly a regular fever, it’s magically induced,” Marin said grimly. “Silvius may have found a way to create a similar blocker through blood magic. And if it affected your memories…” She got to her feet, walking toward Eva. “Let me try something.”
Eva’s eyes widened at Silvius’s name. The worried look she gave Bash seemed to snap him to attention, his thumb rubbing a gentle circle along the top of her hand. At least she still remembered who he was to her.
Marin’s fingertips glowed with the faint green of her healing magic as she pressed them to Eva’s forehead.
“I’m going to try to…clear the fog. I could feel it there earlier, like a strange sort of barrier.
I hoped it might be the magic of the land protecting your mind from the fever.
I should’ve realized sooner that it was something more insidious. ”
My breath caught in my throat as Eva’s eyes squeezed shut, barely breathing as Marin worked. Marin grimaced, a trickle of sweat beading at her brow.
Eva’s eyes flew open.
“Oh,” she breathed, the sound a sigh of relief.
Bash’s chest heaved, as if he had finally allowed himself to breathe when she did. “Eva?”
“Oh,” Eva said again, this time sounding stricken.
The virus had made her lose months. She looked like the world had shifted, blinking again and again as her eyes filled with tears. Bash held her closer, his face deadly with rage.
Marin swayed on her feet. Quinn hurried forward, helping her onto a chair.
“Were you able to get rid of it?”
With a sigh, Marin shook her head. She sagged against her chair looking utterly exhausted. “I pushed it back, for now…but it’s only a temporary solution. A way to treat the symptoms, not a cure.”
Eva’s chest rose, then stilled as she held her breath. I mimicked her breathing almost unconsciously, my counted exhale matching hers as my father’s deep voice echoed in my ears.
“Hey sis,” I said after the next inhale, forcing my voice to remain even. “What’s the last thing you remember now?”
Her voice trembled as she whispered, “I…I think I remember dinner. You and Quinn were dancing.” I couldn’t help my glance at Quinn—keeping my expression carefully blank despite the warmth I could feel on my cheeks.
“And then…nothing.” She drew in a shaky breath.
“Why does it feel like that was a lifetime ago?”
Marin leaned forward. “So, you remember all of us? You remember defeating Aviel and his army at Adronix?”
“Every time I reach for a memory, it feels like I’m fighting for it.” Eva rubbed her temples, looking pained. “Like there’s a barrier between the present and the past that’s getting stronger.”
“Silvius is behind this,” I said quietly. “The research in his lab all but confirmed it.”
Eva shuddered. She closed her eyes, and I watched her chest rise again, holding her breath before she carefully exhaled. “If he wanted to kill me, there are better ways.”
“I-I think his goal is control,” I said, willing my voice to stay steady. Whether or not it scared her, Eva deserved to know all the information. “The research mentioned making the infected malleable. Though I can only guess at his motivations.”
I didn’t have to say the reasons Aviel would have wanted to use this on Eva specifically.
Nor was I the only one who had guessed why Silvius had created this virus in the first place.
The way Bash’s shadows sharpened like they were ready to strike told me we were both thinking it.
If Aviel was alive, forcing Eva to bend to his will would’ve made sense, though the reason why turned my stomach.
But what was Silvius’s goal now beyond revenge?
Eva nodded woodenly. “I wish this was something I could fight with swords and fists. Something tangible, something real.”
“Fighting a disease is a physical and mental battle,” Quinn said gently. “It’s a quiet sort of war, waged in the body and soul. But it’s one we’ll fight together.”
Bash’s voice was firm, certain. “And one we’ll win, hellion.”
My own assurances caught in my throat, trapped behind the hard knot of fear lodged there. Eva squeezed Bash’s hand, looking pale but determined.
Quinn’s nod held a confidence I ached to borrow. She turned to Marin. “If you can push back the fog with magic, do you think we could get rid of it with more help?”
Marin shook her head. “It was like holding back the tide. I may have stemmed the flow, but eventually it’ll break through the dam.”
“Keep that up and I’ll find that cure,” Quinn said, and I found myself relaxing slightly at the sheer determination shining in her eyes as she looked back at my sister. “We have his research and your blood. You’re going to be okay, Eva. We just need time and for you not to lose hope.”
“Here I thought I was due for some time off from nearly dying,” Eva said with a shaky laugh. Bash smiled in response, though it didn’t touch the worry in his eyes. “But…my blood?”
“I took your blood to test it,” Quinn said hesitantly. “I’ll likely need more, too.”
Eva winced but nodded. “Do what you need to do.”
Quinn glanced at the tray beside the notebook that held the full syringes. I had set it down as soon as I could, unable to stomach the sight of them.
How many times did Silvius use those syringes on me?
I crossed my arms, trying not to think about the needle marks that had accumulated on my inner arms during my stay below this castle, though they had long since faded.
Eva closed her eyes, trembling faintly, and I knew the sight of the syringe brought back similar memories.
Barely contained fury darkened Bash’s expression, but he gently took Eva’s hand, his fingers blanching as she squeezed him tight.
Quinn sidestepped in front of the tray, hiding the syringes from view.
“Hopefully more won’t be needed.” She paused, wearing a look I knew all too well—the one that meant the gears in her head were grinding toward something.
“After what Marin did, can you reach the power of the land? Use its healing magic like you did under the mountain?”
I held my breath as I watched Eva’s lips press in a thin line, her eyes fluttering closed in concentration. Her every muscle tensed, the room silent in anticipation.
Finally, Eva blew out a frustrated breath. “I…I don’t think so. My head is still…” Pain flickered across her face, betraying its depth for a split second. “It feels like I can barely think.”
Marin nodded like she had expected it wouldn’t be that easy. “What about your darkness?”
Bash’s shadows flitted from his hands, moving around Eva’s fingers in swirling loops like they were trying to coax her magic out to play.
Eva closed her eyes again. Her hands trembled, her fingers extending until her joints locked. Then her shoulders slumped in defeat. “I’m sorry.”
“From Silvius’s notes, the virus is calibrated using the intended victim’s own blood in order to block their magic,” Marin said apologetically. “I didn’t expect you to be able to, but I wanted to be sure.”
Perhaps this had been Silvius’s plan all along if he still had some of Eva’s blood to use against her.
When he vanished after Aviel’s death, I hadn’t considered what he might have taken with him.
I was only grateful he was gone, though the knowledge he was still out there lingered like a shadow, darkening my thoughts whenever my mind strayed.
“There’s nothing to apologize for,” Bash assured Eva, taking her chin between his thumb and forefinger. “This isn’t your fault.”
“Here I thought you couldn’t feel my emotions easily,” Eva grumbled.
“I happen to spend an inordinate amount of time studying your face, hellion,” Bash said, his mouth quirking in a faint smirk. “Just because I can’t feel it doesn’t mean I haven’t memorized what every purse of those perfect lips means.”
Eva’s eyes softened. “A shame I’m not exactly up to what I’m currently thinking then.”
Bash’s smirk became a full grin. It quickly slipped away as Eva’s expression twisted in pain.
She sucked in a breath through clenched teeth. “My head…”
“You need rest.” Bash gently replaced the damp towel on Eva’s forehead. “Try not to worry, okay? You just focus on feeling better.”
Eva let her eyes fall shut, tilting her head to rest against Bash’s hand. It flattened against her cheek, and she let out a weary sigh.
Her tone was wry as she asked, “Because you’re worrying enough for the both of us?”
“Something like that,” Bash admitted.
Eva sighed. “Well at least that tracks.”
She ran her tongue over her chapped bottom lip. Bash immediately reached for her water glass. She intercepted it before he could lift it to her mouth, taking a large gulp. “What does Silvius’s notebook say?”
“Based on the dates he wrote, this was in the works long before Aviel’s death,” Marin answered.
“It’s meant to target your mind, cutting you off from your memories so you’d be reliant on whomever you were with.
And it went after your magic—or rather, your access to it.
Aviel likely had this made to ensure those opposed him would bend the knee, whether they wanted to or not, though he would’ve needed their blood. ”
Eva grimaced. “So why now?”
“Destabilization, maybe,” Bash said grimly. “Delaying the bonding ceremony to make you look weak, especially given the propaganda Aviel spread during the war about your legitimacy. Or perhaps it’s a form of leverage if Silvius has a cure to barter. After all, he’s been hunted for months now.”
“Or revenge.”
I immediately regretted saying it out loud. Because if Silvius was only out for revenge, then Eva was in far more danger. After all, we only hoped that Silvius had a cure. Eva’s face fell, a flicker of fear flashing in her eyes before she shut them.
Quinn glared at me, her gaze full of reproach.
Eva’s voice wavered as she asked, “So what can I do to help?”
She was putting on a brave face like she always did, but it wasn’t hard to see how scared she was beneath it. I was going to tear Silvius limb from limb.
“The fever…that means your body’s fighting it,” Quinn said softly. “Your job is to keep up your strength. And to trust we’ll find a way to fix it.”
“And keep fighting, hellion,” Bash added hoarsely. “Until we find a cure.”
Eva swallowed hard, then nodded like she was too exhausted to formulate a response. Her skin looked sallow despite the flush to her cheeks, shadows stark beneath her glassy stare. Even her eyes looked terrifyingly lifeless without the flurry of gold flecks swirling around her irises.
For a second, I thought I could see a white fog reflected in her pupils. She blinked, and it was gone.
Bash tucked Eva’s blanket beneath both arms, his shadows smoothing it as he did so. “Do you think you’re up to eating something?”
“Maybe later,” Eva sighed, sinking back into the pillows.
She was far too drained, too quickly. It was more of an effort than usual to keep the fear off my face.
My sister was many things, but weak was never one of them.
Yet the worry in her eyes, the sluggish, careful way she moved…not only was she afraid, but she was also in pain, and failing to hide it. The way Bash tracked her every movement, the tension lining his forehead, told me he felt it too.
“Rest if you can,” Marin said softly. “We’ll be here when you wake up.”
Eva closed her eyes. We would be here, racing against time to save her. The real question was, would she remember us when she opened them?