Quinn
Despite the lack of sleep, I had never felt more awake.
I dressed in a hurry, making sure I strapped my dagger to my waistbelt. In addition to the obvious need for it, there was something grounding about the familiar silver blade on my hip. Whether or not I needed it, today would indeed be a battle—one I was determined to win.
“As soon as the lab opens, we’ll confirm dosing and head back to Morehaven,” I said again, repeating my mental list like doing so would calm my racing heart. “Dolion said he’ll handle the rest of the infected, but I want to administer it to Eva myself.”
Tobias knelt between my thighs, hands sliding down my legs as he fastened my boots.
“Stop that, you’ll distract me.”
“And if that’s my goal?” The look in his eyes was downright devilish, though I could feel his worry twisting across our bond.
If he was trying to distract me from my own anxiety, it was working.
Tobias had put on pants—black, of course—but his shirt still draped open, the undone buttons showing off the stark lines of his abdominals.
It was an effort not to push him down and trace that path with my tongue.
He had already strapped his sword to his back, ready for the return trip.
Tobias must have sensed my desire because his gaze heated.
“Let’s save your sister first,” I chastened, though it was more to admonish myself. “Then you can distract me all night if you want.”
“Just one night?” He smiled, the sight of it leaving me breathless. “I was hoping for forever.”
I couldn’t resist Tobias when he was smiling—a lazy, teasing smile, but a real smile nonetheless. But it faded as he no doubt felt my uneasy mix of dread and anticipation.
“Do you think she’ll be surprised?” I bit my lip. “When Eva wakes up, do you think she’ll pretend she always had an inkling?”
He wrapped his arms around me. “I think she’ll be happy for us. I know I am.”
Tobias’s joy fluttered down our bond, light and airy. Paired with the comforting, all-encompassing feeling of his love, it felt like my heart might burst.
I couldn’t wait to tell my best friend the news.
?
Tobias brought me a plate full of breakfast, though I barely noticed what I was eating as I stared at the door to our suite, willing it to open.
I wanted to send another missive to Pari but didn’t want to risk alerting anyone to her presence.
If she hadn’t answered yet, there must be a reason she couldn’t reply.
Maybe the magic of last night had bled into today, and Silvius was already in custody. Maybe Yael, Rivan, and Pari would return any second with him in chains and a cure in hand. But I couldn’t shake the feeling there was a far more sinister reason for their lack of response.
The lab would open soon. But if our friends were in trouble…
“We should split up,” I said even as I knew what Tobias’s answer would be.
“No,” he snapped, his voice like iron.
My immediate annoyance was mitigated by the way I could feel his terror at the thought.
Not concern, not fear, but a flash of something entirely overwhelming before he tamped it down, like the idea of letting me out of his sight physically hurt him.
A surge of protectiveness took its place, reaching down our bond like it might wrap around me.
“I can get the cure to Eva, especially with Dolion’s help,” I said calmly. “If something happened to our friends then someone needs to go after them. And we can’t trust anyone else. Telling the wrong people might lead to more trouble.”
His shoulders were so tense I could see every muscle of his back as his shirt strained against it. “Leaving you isn’t an option.”
“Neither is abandoning our friends,” I retorted. “Let’s not waste time arguing about it when you know I’m right.”
I lifted my tea, taking a sip as Tobias opened his mouth to argue. The door slammed open.
Rivan rushed in, Pari in his arms. They were covered in blood—too much blood. Pari’s arms hung limply from where Rivan clutched her to his chest. Blood covered the bottom half of her face, even more of it splattered onto Rivan’s neck and chest.
The sound of my mug shattering brought me out of my shock.
“Help her,” Rivan pleaded. He looked more scared than I had ever seen him, his chest heaving with exertion.
My magic flared to life, reaching for the blood and the lifeline of her veins. I didn’t care if Rivan noticed the red tinge of my eyes or knew what it meant. Not when my magic told me that Pari’s heart was still beating, which meant she could still be saved.
“Put her on the bed,” I ordered.
Rivan crossed the room in two long strides, bringing her not to her room, but his.
“Grab a towel and a bowl of water to clean her off,” I ordered Tobias as I hurried passed him. His eyes were wide and scared, but he nodded as I rushed to Pari’s side.
Rivan gently set her on the bed, his careful movements a sharp contrast to the tension vibrating through him. His hand still cradled the back of her head, tangling in her hair, its silver dark and matted with her blood. Only when I reached for Pari did he back up to stand by the head of the bed.
My magic seeped into her body like a fish in a stream, fighting through the current to find the right path. I already knew what I would find—after all, I had spent my every waking moment since Eva’s wedding studying the virus that was attacking her.
Pari’s blood told the same story. The nosebleed dried on her lips, the loss of consciousness…
the fog had already begun to surround her brain.
I could feel it working to block my magic even as I attempted to push it back.
Soon, the virus would replicate until the mist solidified and she was out of my reach.
“How long since she was injected?”
Rivan stared mutely at Pari. His hands shook as he gathered a clump of her silver hair now red with her blood and separated it from the rest. His thumb rubbed against it like he could remove the stain.
“Rivan.”
“An hour ago, if that,” he rasped, not taking his eyes from her. “I healed what I could as I brought her back, but she still hasn’t woken up. The fog was already there.”
My stomach plummeted. “That’s too fast. Eva was injected nearly a half day before her nosebleed. Which means…”
“He’s created a more potent strain,” Tobias said from behind me.
I stared at my anima as he handed Rivan a damp towel and a steaming bowl of water.
“What?” Tobias looked vaguely put out at my surprise. “I pay attention.”
“The cure should still work,” I said as I checked Pari for any additional injuries. A long gash down her arm looked newly knitted back together, along with a few scrapes—no doubt Rivan’s handiwork. “Even if there’s higher transmissibility, it shouldn’t affect its effectiveness.”
Rivan barely seemed to hear me as he wiped the blood from Pari’s face and neck. His hands shook as he reached back for fresh water.
I placed my hand on top of Rivan’s, gently taking the blood-soaked towel from him. “Rivan, what happened?”
His voice trembled as he whispered, “It was meant for me.”
“What was?”
“The syringe.” He let out a low, wounded sound. “She saw the syringe when I didn’t. And she put herself between us, between me and the coward who tried to sneak up to plunge it into my back. She—” His voice cracked. “She’s like this because she saved me.”
“It’s not your fault,” I said adamantly. “And it’s going to be okay. The cure is ready. We just need to get to the lab and…” I froze as I realized the implication of what he said. “Wait, if the vial was meant for you, it shouldn’t have worked on her. Unless…”
Tobias’s eyes met mine, narrowed in understanding. “Unless there’s a new version of the virus that doesn’t need a blood link.” Tobias filled a glass of water from the bedside, passing it to Rivan who downed it in one gulp. “Back up. How did this happen in the first place?”
“Pari convinced her contact to help us gather Silvius’s supporters tonight,” Rivan said, his gaze never leaving her face.
“On the way back, I insisted we visit one of the remaining buildings along the tunnel route. A few of our rangers were there to make sure there isn’t another entry point for Silvius to use.
” His voice was thick with recrimination.
“Instead, we were greeted by a faction of guards. I should’ve realized something was off the second we didn’t see our people.
As soon as we walked inside, they turned on us.
We fled into the next room only to find our own rangers unconscious and covered in blood. ”
I swallowed against my dry mouth. “Were they—”
“Infected,” Rivan confirmed grimly. “Then one of the guards touched the wall behind him and we suddenly couldn’t use our magic.
It was some sort of ward I haven’t seen before, set up in the building itself.
More were waiting on the floor below, blocking the exits.
” He shook his head. “We’re lucky we made it out alive. ”
I handed him a fresh towel. “Is Yael safe?”
“She’s with our rangers, helping bring the wounded back to the Enclave.” He blew out a breath. “I ran ahead.”
Ran. He ran with Pari in his arms for gods knew how long.
“I’ll have to run a few tests, but the cure should still work on her and the others,” I said, mentally crossing my fingers. “She’ll be okay.”
My magic receded. The greenish gray glow of Rivan’s healing magic took its place, its light noticeably dim.
He must have poured his power into her for it to be this weak, especially if he hadn’t been able to access it during the fighting.
“Keep her comfortable until we get back,” I said gently. “We won’t be long.”
Rivan nodded, still focused on wiping the blood from Pari’s hair. I followed Tobias out of the room, taking his hand in the same moment that he reached for mine.
The lab was open by now. Dolion was likely already wondering where we were.
I hesitated when I heard Rivan’s voice. He had knelt beside the bed, silhouetted by the doorframe. A blood-covered towel was clenched in his fist. His forehead pressed to the back of Pari’s limp hand, his long braids shielding his face as he bowed over it.
“I’m sorry,” Rivan said hoarsely. “I’m sorry, okay?
I’m begging you…don’t let the words I said in anger be the last thing you ever hear me say.
” His voice broke. “I don’t want you compliant.
I want you to argue with me every day for the rest of our lives.
I want your passion, I want your fight, I want…
everything with you.” A sob choked from his throat. “Please, Pari…”
His shoulders shook as I turned away, despite it being far too late to give them privacy. I exchanged a look with Tobias, who held the door to the hallway open for me.
Rivan’s whispered plea snuck past it before the door shut behind us.
“…come back to me.”