Page 100 of Null & Void

Medium-rare venison, mashed potato, a salad of celery, and a tart red pepper gravy swimming with tiny mushrooms I don’t recognize—all piping hot and delicious, as always.

When Tovi puts on her cloak, she curses, pulling a small package out of her pocket. “I was supposed to give this to you last night, but I was so angry, and then we got interrupted. And then I forgot. It’s no excuse, though. I’m sorry. I should have given it to you right away.”

It’s small and wrapped in a square of beautiful fabric, dyed to look like frasteria tree blooms. I look up at Tovi, questioning.

“Eryn gave it to me to give to you. It’s from Riley. Eryn didn’t know what it was, but he said Riley told him to tell you he wasn’t sorry. I don’t know if the message has gotten slightly skewed.” She shrugs, knocking on the door for the guards to escort her to Eryn’s rooms, leaving me entirely alone with a package from Riley.

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

My fingertips are tingling, and my lips are a little numb. I meander to the bedroom, expecting my rage to make its presence known. Why has he given me a gift? The numbness and tingling are spreading. There is no clawing, not even a flutter in my chest. Walking to the bedroom, my legs are full of lead and jelly.

I sit down on the bed, when the doors to our chambers swing open. I thrust the package under my pillow and stand too quickly, catching my head in my hands as everything spins. I’m still holding my head as I enter the sitting room, a chill creeping into my bones.

“Mika. Are you feeling alright?” the king’s smooth voice questions me.

I try to curtsy but stumble as the tingling in my feet and numbness spreads through my mid-section.

“Oh, please sit. You look most unwell, dear.” King Stol gestures to the sofa as he takes a seat opposite me.

I collapse onto the sofa as the world tilts and sways. The king only watches me, not at all concerned by my behavior. He reminds me of a snake, ready to strike. Slippery. Poised. Full of fangs and danger.

Snake is a funny word.

Ssssssnay-kuh.

I giggle and then frown. Why am I giggling? Stol’s face has a vicious, wide smile, and his violet eyes are watching me with delight.

“Have you ever experienced pain, Mika? Real pain. The type of pain you think you may never recover from?”

“What kind of question is that?” I slur. My throat is numb. Everything is either numb or tingly now. I try to stand, but my body won’t obey.

“Did you know, that often, Gifts are only trapped? Needing some motivation to manifest. I have found pain to be a great motivator.” Stol’s words sound warped as his grin widens and takes over every corner of the room. Violet eyes swim above me. A laugh echoes through my brain, sounding both like my own and also the king’s. Then I can hear nothing at all.

King Stol’s smile swallows me whole.

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

Dripping. The innocuous sound echoes in my brain before I slip back into unconsciousness.

My mouth is very dry, and I’m nauseous. I try to move, but the bindings on my wrists prevent me from lifting them higher than by my side. I’m lying down. It’s dark and I’m struggling to open my eyes. They’re gritty and sticky.

Someone comes to lift my head gently, pushing a cup to my mouth. Water. I drink greedily. The person takes away the cup before I’ve had my fill.

“Sorry, not too much, or you might hurl. Those mushrooms wreak havoc on your system for quite a while, unfortunately,” says a woman’s voice. Soft and kind.

Mushrooms. The gravy. The asshole drugged us. The first rule I teach children is to never eat anything that they don’t recognize, especially mushrooms.

Is Tovi here, too?

I try to open my eyes through the sand and molasses that must have replaced my eyeballs. My skin is crawling, like millions of tiny spiders are dancing across it. My joints ache, and I groan as I open my eyes a slit. I can see nothing but darkness.

The bed I am lying in clunks and shudders a few times before I move to sitting, the contents of my stomach sloshing around and threatening to come up. I close my eyes again, not that they had far to close. But squeezing them shut helps the intense nausea.

I concentrate on my other senses. It smells damp, and I can still hear the dripping. Hushed voices sound far away, slightly echoed. Within the dampness, there is the smell of rotten eggs and mold. My consciousness is slipping in and out again. Sometimes, I hear the flutter of wings, or is that inside my chest? Footsteps, only one set, mill about.

The next time I wake, I’m less disorientated. Opening my eyes, blinking away the stickiness, I confirm I’m back in a fucking cave. This one is cold and damp, not like the one with Arpi. Not even the thought of him manages to rouse my rage from wherever it slumbers.

I attempt to look around, but all I see is utter darkness or sloped walls. Directly to my right is a low ceiling above gently moving water. Stalactites drip periodically.

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