“Jase?”
“Yes, it’s me. You’re going to be all right, but I need your help. Lydia and Nash are dead. But if I hurry, I can still save them with the stardust. Where is it, Kazi? Tell me. Hurry.”
“No, they can’t be dead. They can’t—”
“It will be all right.” His lips met mine, his tongue exploring my mouth, his hand caressing my cheek. “Just tell me, my love, tell me where it is.”
How does Jase know about the dust? How could he—
Maybe she doesn’t know?
She knows. Never trust anything a thief tells you, not even when they’re delirious.
Garvin’s voice.
The cool liquid spread from my lips to my fingertips. The room stopped spinning.
And then I saw the face looming above mine.
It was Montegue.
* * *
The voices were nightmares now. I couldn’t trust any of them. They pounded in my head.
It’s Jase. Lydia and Nash are dead. Tell me where it is.
No one will believe you. You can still save her …
Keep your mouth shut or I will kill her.
Tell me where it is.
Something cold trickled down my throat. The pain receded again, and I saw Montegue standing at the end of my bed. He ordered everyone out of the room.
“It’s only been two days since you were bitten,” he said. “You have days of this agony to go.” He held up the glass I had sipped from. “The healer gave you a painkiller. It will only be an hour or so before it wears off and the pain returns.”
He pulled the chair up to the bed and sat down beside me. He took my hand in his. “The antidote would end your suffering for good. Maybe we can—”
“I will never tell you anything, Montegue.”
“You will. Trust me, you will.”
And so it went every day. Or maybe it was every few hours. I wasn’t sure. I lost track of light coming through the attic window. Blinding light was always behind my eyes until cold numbing liquid was poured down my throat because they wanted to give me another chance. An hour or two of lucidity and questioning followed, and then I was plunged back into my fiery hell.
* * *
More cool liquid.
More questions.
But even my moments of lucidity were growing blurry. Every time they brought me back from the brink, I was weaker. All I wanted to do was sleep, fade away in these brief moments of calm. Dream. Hold on to something good. But even sleep was withheld from me. Sometimes Montegue, Banques, and Zane would sit around the room and talk kingdom business, waiting for the medicine to take effect and for my shaking to stop. It was as if they were keeping a friendly vigil at a deathbed. More chairs were brought in. Sometimes they argued, stealing my peace in these brief pain-free minutes.
They’re grumbling for payment.
They’ll get it.
Taste this.