Page 97 of Merciless Prince
He nodded grimly and rubbed his jaw. “I’m not sure what causes it, but I think you should get checked out. You were in that snow for a while.”
I let out another cough. “Is there a doctor here?” I asked, even though I already knew from Derrick that the castle had an on-site clinic for any tourists or staff members who became sick or suffered injuries.
“Yes.” Killian rose to his feet. “I’ll go and speak to him.”
“Okay.” I faked another yawn and closed my eyes. “Tell Cori I’ll be late for class.”
I was trying to trigger an idea in Killian’s head—that he could lie to the doctor and nurses at the clinic about who I was and tell them that I was completely delirious from the sickness. That way he’d feel safe leaving me under their care for a few hours, because he’d know they wouldn’t believe me if I said I was a prisoner here at the castle. They’d think it was just another part of my delirium.
Killian patted my arm. “Yeah. I’ll tell her,” he muttered.
As soon as he left the room, I raced back into the bathroom with the damp towel. I needed to reheat it to keep up my fake fever temperature.
Killian returned with the doctor ten minutes later. When I heard the door opening, I peeled the hot compress off my forehead, dumped it back under the bed, and affected the same exhausted, sickly expression from earlier.
“She’s one of the new actresses we hired for the medieval show in the east courtyard,” Killian was saying as he stepped in with the doctor. “She went skiing on the weekend and got into an accident. Fell face-first into the ground. I’m worried she got sick from all the snow she swallowed. That’s possible, right?”
I suppressed a smile. Killian had done exactly what I hoped he would—he’d lied about who I was and why I was here so the doctor wouldn’t question anything. It seemed counterintuitive to ensure that he wouldn’t ask questions, but it was actually exactly what I needed to happen right now.
“Hm. It’s possible, but unlikely,” the doctor replied. “She’s probably just got a virus. There’s some nasty ones going around right now. But we’ll check her out, of course.” He stepped over to my bedside. “Hello, Shay. Killian tells me you aren’t feeling well.”
I muttered something incomprehensible, eyelids fluttering as if I were desperately trying to stay awake.
The doctor felt my forehead and nodded at Killian. “She definitely feels feverish,” he said. “Like I said, I doubt it’s pneumonia, but I’ll listen to her chest just in case. Shay, is that all right with you?”
I nodded weakly. He pulled out a stethoscope from a black medical bag and placed the flat circular end on my chest, moving it around slowly as his brows furrowed with concentration.
When he was finished, he stood up straight and looked at Killian. “Her chest sounds fine, so that’s a good sign that it isn’t pneumonia. But I’d say she’s definitely caught some sort of virus, based on the fever.”
“So what should I do? Bring her soup and flu meds?”
The doctor shook his head. “I’d like to move her down to the clinic so we can monitor her, just in case. I also need to run some tests and send them off so we can definitively rule out the worst-case scenarios.”
Killian scratched his jaw and shifted his weight. “I think she’ll be safer right here in her room.”
“Why?”
“Because she’s totally delirious. If she’s in the clinic, she could wake up in the middle of the night and get even more confused, because she’s never seen it before. Then she could wander outside and get even sicker.”
The doctor smiled. “Don’t worry. We’ll give her a sedative after the tests to make her comfortable. She’ll sleep the whole night away like a baby. The night nurse will be there to keep an eye on her, too.”
“Hm.” Killian’s lips flattened as he considered it. Then he finally nodded. “Okay, you can take her down there.”
The doctor patted him on the back. “You’re a good friend to be so concerned, but don’t worry. We’ll take care of her.”
Killian helped me down to the clinic, which was on the first floor in the north wing of the castle. It was a cozy place with a small waiting area, an examination room, and four beds separated by blue curtains.
The doctor took a small blood sample from me and asked a series of questions about my medical history. Afterwards, a friendly-faced nurse guided me over to one of the beds. The whole time, I acted as if I were about to pass out from exhaustion at any second.
When I was safely tucked under the blankets, the nurse handed me a small plastic cup of water and a large white tablet. “This will help with your pain,” she said with a gentle smile. “It’ll help you sleep too. Hopefully you’ll feel better in the morning.”
“Thank you,” I mumbled.
“Can I stay with her?” Killian asked, watching as I slipped the capsule into my mouth.
“If you want. But I have to warn you, those chairs aren’t too comfortable,” the nurse said with a light laugh.
“That’s fine.” Killian sank into the chair on the other side of the small space, keeping his eyes trained on me.
