Chapter 30
Phaedra rushed through the hallway, her stomach churning in a way that seemed to want to fling her off the face of the earth.
The swell of bile rose in her throat, and she knew she would not make it to her room.
Frantic, she pushed open the first door she encountered, and quickly scanned its interior.
A bedroom, with a washstand in one corner.
There was no time, not even for tattered relief, as she dashed for the basin, barely making it before the fog rolling through her head turned into a storm, bending her heaving body over.
She gripped the stand with numbing fingers, the acrid smell invading her nostrils, her body contracting under the heavy onslaught.
There was not much to give, no food in her stomach, and yet she felt the convulsions would never end.
Burning rivulets of tears spilled down her cheeks, and through the choking sobs bursting forth at irregular intervals she could not hear the voice calling her name, nor the steps rushing into the room behind her.
And even as gentle fingers pulled her dampening hair away from her face, then stroked warm circles into the strained muscles of her back, still it did not stop.
She gripped the stand harder, her arms shaking from the effort, her thoughts barely able to string together the words of a prayer for it to finally be over. And then it was and her legs gave way beneath her, and she slipped to the floor, guided by steady hands.
She did not need to look to know it was him. And she couldn’t, even if she wanted to, as searing shame overpowered even her disgust, the burning in her face rivaling the one in her throat.
She felt him step away, and she squeezed her eyes shut, her hands balling into her dress that was suddenly suffocating, the air murky where it met her skin. Then he returned, and she could feel his eyes on her like a brand, and still she could not look at him.
He knelt before her, and she jerked at the tender touch lifting her chin. A cold, damp cloth was gently moved across her face, and then her body was shivering.
It moved through her limbs, through her very bones, not wanting to stop, not even as Nathaniel gathered her against his body, and lifted her into his arms. And as her eyes grew unfocused, the world blurring at the edges of her vision, there was only the firmness of his arms around her, and the wild hammering in his chest.
The last thing she knew before darkness took her was being placed onto a soft surface, her body draped over with something heavy and warm.
And it could have been but the beginning of her feverish dreams, but she could have sworn that she felt soft lips place a lingering kiss on her burning forehead.