Page 208 of Heat of the Everflame

“Thank the Blessed Kindred,” Alixe said.

“Thank Diem and Sorae,” Taran muttered.

The others had taken turns catching what little sleep they could, though I’d declined. I sensed Sorae’s exhaustion and knew she needed the help of my wind, and with the Umbros Queen’s fate unknown and Luther’s feverish body burning hot at my back, there was no hope of me getting any rest.

“We’re home,” I murmured against his temple, where his head lay asleep on my shoulder. He didn’t move, so I squeezed his hand, which had fallen limp on my thigh. “Luther, look—I can see the palace.”

Still, he did not stir.

“Luther?” I said again, louder.

He didn’t answer. Taran and I shared an anxious look.

Taran gripped him by the shoulders and pulled him upright. Luther’s head lolled forward, chin to his chest, unmoving.

Taran gave him a hard jerk. “Cousin, wake up.”

“What’s wrong?” Alixe asked, her voice strained. “Is... is he...?”

I spun around and cupped his jaw. I heaved out a relieved breath at the feel of his pulse beneath my hand, but it was too slow, too weak.

“He’s unconscious.” My eyes darted around his face, taking in his grey pallor and the pale color of his lips. I looked down to see a steady flow of red streaming along his leg. “He’s bleeding too heavily. He needs fresh gauze and medicine and...”

A miracle.

He needed a miracle.

I turned forward, pressing a hand to Sorae’s neck. “I know you’re tired girl, but—”

She trilled her agreement before I could finish and furiously beat her wings to push us forward. Breath after shuddering breath, I fought to slow my panicked heart to match her cadence.

As we passed over Mortal City, people scurried outside to marvel at the return of their missing Queen. And they weren’t alone—soldiers in Emarion Army uniforms dotted the main streets, and a barricade ten heads deep blocked the road to Lumnos City. Even in the back alleys of Paradise Row, I spied glimpses of their ominous presence.

I looked back at Alixe. “Were there this many soldiers when you left?”

She shook her head, her expression as flinty as mine.

Near the palace, an unbroken ring of them circled the royal grounds, and large groups were stacked at each palace entrance. Every last one turned to watch as we approached.

Finally,finally, Sorae glided to a halt on her perch outside my suite. I pushed off her side and slammed to the ground. “Get Luther to my bed and get his clothing off. Alixe, come with me.”

Inside, my desk was still cluttered with the baubles and cosmetics Eleanor had set out the morning of my Coronation. I shoved them haphazardly to the floor and grabbed some ink and paper.

My hands trembled as I tried to scribble a list of medicines, but all that arose were illegible words, half-formed thoughts, and impossible-to-fulfill requests. What should have been second nature felt like dreaming in a foreign language.

I swore and folded it up, then shoved it into Alixe’s hands. “Go into Mortal City and find Maura. Tell her what happened, and tell her to bring what’s on this list. No, wait—tell her to bringeverything. My mother’s notes, too. And—”

She nodded sharply. “I understand.”

We ran back to Sorae. I closed my eyes and pressed my forehead to her muzzle, sending her my orders—and a plea to do it all as quickly as her worn-out wings could bear.

“She knows where to go,” I shouted at Alixe. “If the soldiers try to stop you—” Our eyes locked. “—do whatever you have to do.”

She thumped a fist to her chest in salute. A moment later, they were gone.

I shot back into the room and peered over Taran’s shoulder as he sliced the clothes from Luther’s body. The web of veins had grown thicker and darker, now stretching to his feet and past the bend of his jaw. The skin around his wound looked as if it were coated in tar.

Only the space over his heart remained untouched. I clung to the foolish hope that that meant something,anything, that might spare him from what now seemed inescapable.

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