Page 99 of The Sorrow of Shadows

“I’ve already tried, my Gift has no effect onwhatever this is.”

“Okay, so then we get her to a healer. How quickly is it spreading?”

I bite my tongue because I can’t bring myself to voice my doubts. The truth is that if my Hemonia Gift won’t remove the poison, I doubt the healers will have the ability to help. The few healers we have come to me when they encounter a poison they can’t treat. “We have a day, maybe two by my estimate.”

“Well, fuck.”

We’d spent all day and most of the night riding at top speed in hopes of reaching Ciyoria in time to save Nameah. After our attackers had disappeared, we were able to touch Julian without being burned. In order to transport his body home, Nameah had ridden with me so her horse could carry him. Had it been just Breyla and I, we probably could have ridden faster, but this was our only option.

Still, we made decent time and reached my parents in the middle of the night, leaving us just a day’s ride away from the capital. Our horses needed to rest and refuel, if only for a few hours before we pushed them to make it the rest of the way home. My parents were startled to see us pounding on their door in the middle of the night, but ushered us inside without question once they saw Nameah's state.

She had spiked a fever sometime around dusk, and I’d been monitoring her decline closely. Sweat drenched her forehead as she lay quietly resting in the parlor. Breyla, being the stubborn female she is, refused to rest, opting only to eat as she kept watch over herlittle mouse.The tiny female had endeared herself to the General in the short time we’d been with her.

I’m startled out of my thoughts by Breyla’s soft question. “How is she, Aurelius?”

“She’s fighting it. I can feel her body giving its all. But the poison is spreading. It’s keeping the wound from healing, so thank the gods that cut wasn’t deep.”

“Let us pray that’s enough,” she sighs.

“Little demon,” I start, trying to find the words to convey the reality of the situation to her.

“Don’t,” she commands. “I can’t bear the thought of bringing two bodies home, Aurelius. My heart can’t handle it.”

I say nothing. I fight the urge to tell her that she has the strongest heart of anyone I know; that it will bear it because it must. That her heart is one of my favorite things about her, and that it breaks my own to know how much pain it has already endured. As much as she’s already been hurt, she could be bitter and calloused, close her heart off. Yet, she still made room for one more. With Breyla, there always seemed to be room for more.

The soft thud, followed by the clamor of steel hitting stone, caught my attention as I turned the corner. I had come down to the training rooms to work out the tension in my shoulders. Gen and Raynor were helping me train with my Anima Gift, preparing me for a role in politics, but I was exhausted. The energy it took to hone this skill was far greater than anything it took to wield my Hemonia Gift. I had gained access to the ability to bend and control blood when I was very young and had spent years practicing. When this new Gift had manifested it had taken all of us by surprise. All of us being me, Gen, and Raynor. There were others with similar Anima Gifts at court, but none that I trusted. Raynor possessed one very rare Anima Gift, and he was helping me to learn mine.

I had not expected to find Breyla down here. More surprisingly, I hadn’t expected to find her looking so distraught. She hadn’t noticed my presence; something very unusual for her. Thesound had come from her knees hitting the ground and her sword dropping. A breeze rolled in from the open door in front of us as she knelt there, just staring out into the distance.

“Princess,” I started, carefull so as to not startle her. I had never seen her in a state like this, so I wasn’t sure how she would respond.

She said nothing. “Princess, is something wrong?” I tried again, a little louder this time.

“He’s gone,” she whispered solemnly. Who is she referring to?

“Who’s gone?” I asked, kneeling beside her. Her eyes were red and her hair disheveled. She’s not crying now, but she might have been earlier. I had never witnessed Breyla cry over anything. During a challenge I had once sliced her hand so deep a healer had to be summoned, yet she hadn’t shed a tear. She was livid and promised to return the favor. But she hadn’t cried or whimpered in pain.

This side of Breyla was truly unsettling. She had sharp edges and even sharper words. Vulnerable and broken wasn’t a look I had ever seen on her. I hated it. More than that, I hated that I cared at all.

“It doesn’t matter. He wasn’t who I thought he was,” she mumbled.

It obviously mattered, but I was afraid to push her in this state. “Then he wasn’t worth your time,” I said anyway. Then it occurred to me that perhaps I didn’t think any males were worth her time. That I didn’t want any others to be worth her time. And that thought terrified me.

Nameah groans and blinks open her eyes. She sits up slowly, her movements sluggish. Her skin has taken on a gray hue, and her eyes are bloodshot. The symptoms suggest the poison is progressing faster; we don’t have much time left.

“Time to go,” I announce, knowing we’ve stayed longer than we should have.

I give Nameah my arm to help pull her to her feet, and we exit my family’s estate right as the sun is rising.

Beautiful shades of pink and orange paint the sky in an ethereal morning glow. Nameah stares at it as I hoist her into the saddle and take my place behind her. I wrap a steadying arm around her, holding her gently to my chest. The rising sunlight catches the tears pooling in her sapphire blue eyes, making them shine.

“You know, I never was a morning person. I regret that now. I never realized this is what I was missing. It’s breathtaking.” Her voice is reverent and regretful all at once.

“Hold tight, little warrior,” is all I can say as I kick Crea into a fierce pace, hoping and praying this isn’t the last sunrise she’ll see.

By the time we reach the castle gates, the sun is setting and Nameah is barely conscious. We halt only as long as it takes for Breyla to immediately yell at Samson to fetch Lady Ophelia. As we pull into the stables, I dismount Crea and pull Nameah with me, cradling her limp body in my arms.

I’m not even sure if she’s conscious, but she’s shivering, a fever ravaging her body. Ophelia appears in the stable as I lay Nameah on a fresh pile of hay.

---