She smiles again, then lays her head on my shoulder. “I understand. Where will I go this time? Back home?”
I bite my lip. “You should really stay in the city in case the king asks after you. Which, he might if Mrath takes any more time to arrive.”
She leaves my side and then begins to hurriedly pour and package her entire apothecary. As she moves, I bite my lip, wondering if my idea is still a good one.
“Do you remember the Enduar priestess who stayed with us a while when you were younger?” I say.
She looks at me over her shoulder. “Liana? Of course.”
“She is also in the city and has been working with Mrath as well. I’m going to have you stay with her for a few days.”
Vesilane grins. “That sounds wonderful.”
The corner of my mouth quirks up.
I hope Liana will agree.
Chapter 34
ARLET
Fever burns my body. Every breath scrapes raw across my lips, and the movement scorches my ribs, and the stone beneath me is so cold it feels like another kind of fire.
Voices assault my ears, cutting through the stuffy sensation and stabbing at my aching head.
“Tell me how she is doing. I can’t fucking see anything from here.” Vann’s voice is hoarse.
“She’s resting,” Thorne responds.
“She had a fever when I touched her last. You’re supposed to be helping me keep her alive, but now I realize I’ve yet again trusted a traitor with the wit of a drunken ogre’s left ball.”
Thorne makes a clicking noise. “I’ll have them come and take him back to your original cell, then.”
“Thorne—I—forgive me.” The desperation in his voice makes my throat contract, and I focus on keeping my breathing even. “She sounds different. Is she awake?”
For some reason, knowing he senses that change makes me blink my eyes open. Thorne is leaning against one of the walls, arms crossed and a frown etched deeply into the folds around his mouth. My cell looks the same—bare stone, an iron-barred door, the faint flicker of torchlight in the corridor.
He raises an eyebrow. A question. Do I want Vann to know I’m here and ready to talk? I shake my head.
“She’s still fast asleep. Maybe your ears got damaged in the fight?”
Vann practically growls, and something wakes up inside of me. I feel like shit, and there is an intrinsic comfort to this man. Despite how I wish there wasn’t.
I gingerly and quietly drag myself toward the sound of his voice. My palms scrape raw against the rough stone. I press my face near the hole until the chill seeps into my skin. I can see only the faintest glint of movement on the other side—his shape blurred by shadow.
“What’s that?” Vann demands, shifting his position.
“I am tending to her,” Thorne responds, pushing off the wall and kneeling next to me. It’s then that I notice the small pack of things open on the ground. There’s a bandage wrapped around my wound, I realize as he pours something into a silver spoon.
He brings it to my mouth, and I swallow the bitterness. More of his herbal concoctions.
“Tell me again why you decided to help us?” Vann asks.
I’m grateful he’s asking, because in truth, I don’t know. It was easier to understand why he helped me with my fertility—and then he had mentioned something about me bearing a half-human heir, but now I will never bear Arion’s child.
It’s my turn to raise my eyebrow.
Thorne hesitates, still watching me. “We might be heard.”