Luci stilled, careful to take her next breath slowly. She knew this was coming, but it was hard for her to imagine that this was a viable plan. Magic wasn’t real. Yes, she’d experienced a vision in the room of mirrors, but the further it got away from there, the more she wondered how much she imagined. Even if it were real, how could a flower be enough to save her friend? Maybe it was an innate sense of distrust, but she refused to carry hope that magic and fairy tales would save them. Better to put her faith in Noah and hard-earned knowledge.
“All right,” she said.
Silence stretched, and maybe there was something more she should have said, but she couldn’t find whatever it was.
“It’ll take me at least a week, possibly two, depending on conditions,” he said.
The pressure behind her eyes burned and built, forcing a dam to unleash. A sob broke from her, and she threw her hand over her mouth to try to catch it, but it was too late. It was a mournful and broken sound. Brielle didn’t have two weeks or even a week.
“I’m sorry, I promise I’ll go as fast as I can,” he said.
Her chest was cracked open, and everything she ever was lay spilling out over the bed and floor. Suddenly, the rest of her life opened before him, and it was a desolate landscape devoid of joy because if Brielle left her there, there would be none left.
“He loves her,” Brielle murmured.
“Hush,” Luci whispered, wiping at her tears. “It’ll be alright.”
“I’ll find Noah.” Prince Ira said.
Luci glanced up at him, finding all the color drained from his face. She could only imagine what he saw when he looked at her and Brielle. Was that pity in the softness around his eyes, or was it mourning what could have been?
“Please,” Luci whispered.
Please find Noah. Please hurry. Please find an impossible cure. Please save her.
He nodded and bowed his head.
At least Luci could be certain he understood.
At least there was that.
Noah came just a little while later, though there were dark circles under his eyes and his hair stretched this way and that. She was grateful he was sacrificing sleep for Brielle, but the rate he was going was unsustainable. Together, they forced Brielle to take his newest attempt, careful to make sure she didn’t cough it up.
When they were sure it was not going to come back up, Luci sat with her back up against the bedframe and ran her head over her eyes, trying to rub the burning from them.
“You should sleep,” Noah said.
She bit out a laugh. “You should sleep.”
A long patient sigh was his answer, and Luci instantly regretted snapping at him. It was a deep ache in her bones that threatened to disintegrate her.
Noah sighed, nodding his head slowly.
“We both should.” He cleared his throat and pocketed his hands. “Luci, I feel I need to be honest with you.”
“Don’t-” she pleaded, lower lip quivering.
He held her gaze for just a moment before fixing it on the floor before him. That was the moment that Luci knew her world was ending. It wasn’t just on fire anymore; it was ash.
“We’ve tried everything. All that’s left to do is hope for a miracle,” he said.
Luci clasped Brielle’s hand in hers, ignoring the burning of her skin because it only added to the authenticity of the damning words.
“You know there are no such things as miracles. If you can touch it, smell it, see it– that’s real. The rest are just stories,” she said.
He couldn’t even look at her. She wanted to scream at him that he was a coward for giving up. There were a thousand combinations they hadn’t tried. There was more left to do than just put all their hopes in a mythical flower.
She knew it was wrong. There was a reason just Prince Ira was going. Secrets made failure less sensational news. If people thought there was a chance magic could be returned, they would demand success. Secrets were safe. Safe wouldn’t keep Brielle breathing.