Chapter 20
Chapter
Sleep never came for me.. I still felt Aidenar’s hands upon me, his lips, his breath, his touch. Those memories mingled with the image of Cedric lying on the ground and his body trembling with fever.
Mirabel wept through the night. I heard her sobs until they thinned into exhausted silence just before dawn.
When the sun finally rose, pale and cold, I left my chambers and made my way toward the medical wing. I needed to see Cedric.
The palace infirmary was peaceful and quiet.
The air smelled of herbs, boiled linen, and something faintly rotten beneath it all.
In the heart of the halls I met the old medic I had spoken with before.
He stiffened when he saw me, surprise flickering across his lined face before souring into irritation.
“It would be better if you were not here, my Lady,” he said curtly. “The Plague crawls everywhere.”
Helpful as always.
“Is Selene here?” I asked.
“Selene?” He frowned, turning the name over in his thoughts. “Ah. The young one with the doe’s eyes. No. She has left the city for good.”
Shame.
“I wish to know how the man brought in from the ball was feeling.”
The medic studied me with renewed interest.
“Ah yes. Yes.” He nodded too quickly. “The bitten one. He is not well.” He hesitated, fingers worrying the edge of his sleeves. “Would you wish to see him, my Lady?”
“If I may.”
“Of course. He lies in isolation. We do not yet know how contagious he may be. But I suppose the young Lady isn’t in too much danger after all.
We’ve heard already, Lady of Water.” He looked at me with admiration.
“Wonderful, wonderful. That’s exactly what we need.
That’s what we were waiting for.” He started rambling.
I did not indulge his gibberish. I merely followed as he led me deeper into the wing.
Cedric lay in a narrow chamber washed in pale light.
Stained glass windows rose above him, depicting the earth goddess, patron of healers.
The earth Elementars had always been the finest at mending flesh and bones.
He lay upon white sheets, all color drained from his face. Sweat slicked his brow, his body trembling beneath the blankets. But the red foam had ceased to stain his lips.
“Is he better?” I asked quietly.
“More stable,” the medic replied. “But I would not place much hope on it.” He turned away, shifting jars of medicine and bandages as though searching for something.
Dark veins crept beneath Cedric’s arm, extending from under the bandages. They weren’t diminishing.
“Is there a cure?” I asked.
“There is no cure.” His voice hardened. “There is no salvation.”
I caught his reflection in the stained glass.
He stood behind me and his eyes were black. Black like the man’s from my dreams.
I turned just as he lunged.
Steel flashed in his hand. I struck first, driving my foot into his chest and sending him stumbling back. I seized a heavy jug from the bedside table and smashed it against his arm. The knife clattered to the floor.
I reached for the spilled water, instinct sharp and desperate, but he was upon me in a breath. His hands closed around my throat.
I drove my elbow into his face. He did not even flinch.
He slammed me against the wall. Though he was an old man, his grip was unnatural, iron-hard. I clawed at his arms, unable to pry them loose. His sleeves slipped, baring black bracelets at his wrists.
I tried to reach for the water inside to drown him but I couldn’t, as if my power had been completely cut off. I held his hands with all my strength just to barely breathe.
“It is time for you all to rot,” he hissed, venom and devotion mingling in his voice.
I stamped on his foot with all my force and swept his leg. We crashed to the floor together. His grip didn’t loosen. My vision dimmed. My limbs went numb.
“I didn’t even have to search for you, water witch,” he rasped. “You came to me yourself.”
My hands dropped to the ground, I tried to prop myself up with his weight on my back. I felt under my touch the knife that had fallen from him.
I closed my hand on the handle and drove it with all my strength into the body behind my neck. I don’t know what I was aiming for: head, neck, shoulder, anything. But I felt resistance, blood, and warmth on my skin.
That’s what I was looking for.
I felt the grip lighten. Blood sprayed my face and a wet gurgle shuddered against my ear. I shoved his body away and kicked it as far from me as I could. I sat there, gasping, the world was tilting, the knife was sticking from the healer’s neck.
The pool of blood spread across the floor. His eyes stared at nothing.
I slowly came to myself.
What the fuck was that.
I looked at his wrists. Black stones dark as moonless night. I’d never seen anything like it in my life. No one in the Dominium wore such Elementars.
My neck throbbed. I could scarcely move it. Cedric lay unmoving, as though nothing had occurred. I forced myself upright. I needed the guards. I needed to wash the blood from my skin. When I stumbled into the corridor, other medics froze at the sight of me.
I was drenched in blood.
I found the nearest guards and demanded they summon Cassandra. The last person I wished to see, but the one who had to know. I took two steps more before my legs gave way. I slid down the wall, breath shuddering.
Voices swelled around me. Footsteps echoed. Cassandra approached in a flurry of advisors, her face drawn tight with fury and disbelief.
“What has happened here?” she demanded.
I told her everything.
Whether she believed me or not didn’t matter to me. The black bracelets on the medic’s arms were proof enough. This was dark magic.
Her advisors erupted into arguments, voices rising, chaos reigned. I didn’t want to listen to this. I stood up and slowly began dragging my feet to get out of here.
As I walked through the Inner Court, everyone stared at me with terror. This was surely the last thing Cassandra wanted. For the entire palace to hear of healers murdering noble heirs. But perhaps it was time she set herself to work and ceased hiding the Plague from everyone.
When I entered my chambers, Mirabel began to scream, beyond all control. Brenn burst into the room, not knowing what had happened. I calmed them both, but Mirabel could not collect herself. First Cedric, now me covered in blood, it was all too much for her.
Brenn took her away while I prepared myself a bath. I peeled off the bloodstained clothes. Half my hair was matted with dried gore. I sank into the scalding water and heard only the echo of my mother’s words. Maybe she had not been so mad after all.
The next day I woke up in pain, my body protested every movement. My neck was covered in bruises like cruel adornments I couldn’t hide.
Cassandra had called a Gathering at first light. The Inner Court was already seething. Every lord in the palace seemed agitated with anger or fear, their voices carrying through the corridors.
I was on my way when an uproar rose near the main gate.
Voices, shouts, the clash of armor. A delegation. Nobles. Guards forcing back the crowd. And then, familiar colors and emblems.
“Father?” The word tore from me in disbelief.
Victor Veymaris swung down from his horse and, before I could move, folded me into an iron embrace. He smelled of sea, ships and wood; he smelled of home.
“Nerissa,” he said hoarsely and I cried out in pain from his hug.
He drew back at once, his hands gripping my shoulders as his gaze swept over me, sharp and searching.
“You are alive,” he said. “Gods be praised. You are in danger, Nerissa.”
I could only stare at him, my thoughts struggling to keep pace with his words.
His eyes dropped to my neck. The color drained from his face.
“What happened?” he demanded.
I told him everything. The infirmary. The medic. The knife. The black Elementars. He listened without interruption, his jaw tightening, his hands curling into fists at his sides. But our conversation was quickly interrupted.
“Victor Veymaris,” Cassandra said, her voice laced with contempt. “To what do we owe this honor?”
Father didn’t even move.
“Cassandra. I missed you as well. But this is no time for palace games. Time is the one thing we do not have.”
Her gaze found my neck filled with bruises. She met my father’s eyes and color fled her face. The ice queen cracked.
“Call the Small Gathering,” father said, his tone like iron. “And I would see Nicolas before we begin.”
Cassandra inclined her head without a word, which for her was most uncommon, and strode for the palace.
“Father, why are you here?” I asked.
Victor looked at me with care.
“Your mother said they would come for you. She said they are looking for you.” he said holding my face like a child.
“My little girl, I didn’t wish you to hear this.
But there is no road back.” He drew a long breath.
“Let me change after the voyage. We sailed as swiftly as the wind would bear us. You will come with me to the Small Gathering.”