Water soaked my hair, plastered it against my shoulders. My fingers were still curled as though gripping fabric that was no longer there.
My stomach rolled without warning. A violent wave of nausea climbed my throat, forcing me to scramble forward. I barely made it over the edge of the tub before my body emptied itself into the water below, the force of it leaving my muscles trembling and weak.
When it passed, I sagged against the porcelain, my throat raw, my skin clammy despite the lingering warmth of the bath. Another heave threatened, but I swallowed it down with effort, pressing the back of my hand to my mouth as I forced my breathing to steady.
I dragged myself fully from the bath, water streaming down my legs and pooling at my feet. The chill in the air struck immediately, raising gooseflesh along my arms.
My body felt heavier than it should have.
I grabbed a towel with shaking hands, wiping myself down before wrapping it tight around my shivering frame.
Step by step, I made my way to the vanity, gripping the edge of the marble basin as a wave of dizziness swept through me. I lifted my head slowly.
The reflection that met me did not look rested.
My skin was drained of color, my lips pale against the flush high on my cheeks. Damp curls clung to my temples, and my eyes looked too bright, too wide.
I looked sick. And I felt it too.
My chest was no longer in agonizing pain, but a persistent, dull ache remained.
It felt like something inside of me was gone.
19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Ishould not have come here. Every instinct screamed at me to retreat to the safety of my own bed, but the fever burning in my blood and the hollow ache in my chest left me no choice. It was much too late to seek the ward Healers without raising an alarm.
I needed to know what had happened. I knew I could not fully trust Keeper Sora, but if there was one person in this realm who could translate the events of tonight, it was her.
My bare feet whispered across the cold floor, my damp hair clinging to my spine. The towel at my shoulders did little to warm the chill that had settled deep within my bones.
Keeper Sora’s private chamber stood at the far end of the eastern wing, its door slightly ajar.
She was awake.
She was always awake.
I pushed the door open without ceremony.
“Keeper.”
She sat behind her vast oak desk, half-encircled by towers of parchment and leather-bound tomes, the lamplight gilding the silver threaded through her dark hair.
She did not startle at my entrance.
Her gaze lifted slowly from the scroll before her, sharp and assessing in a single sweep that took in my soaked curls and the towel covering my bare body.
“Kaelia,” she said, her tone even. “It is well past the hour for wandering. What has driven you from your bed in such a state?”
I stepped forward, the room tilting faintly. I lowered myself into the stool opposite her desk, bracing against collapse.
“Something happened,” I said, pressing my palm to the center of my chest where the ache lay coiled.
I was skeptical of how much to share. I could not tell her about the garden or the way Talon’s mouth had felt on mine. I only needed her to identify the source of the pain without admitting to the heresy that caused it.
Sora studied me for a long heartbeat, her eyes narrowing. “Something has happened, indeed. You have severed your bond with Hera.”