Page 214 of Heat of the Everflame

“I’ll be happy to put on another one any time he wants.”

He huffed a laugh, then looked down. “I’ll go to Ignios and get more water from that spring, if you think it will help. You should stay here. He’ll want to see you if—” He paused, clearing his throat. “—when he wakes up.”

I leaned my head against Taran’s shoulder. “Let me think about it,” I murmured. Risking my life for a wild guess was one thing; risking Taran’s was another. “Maybe there’s a better way.”

Burns still coated his arms from our battle over the sea. I placed a palm against his skin and let my magic soak into him. He shivered as the welts flattened, then faded, then disappeared, taking with them the last hint of his godstone wounds from Arboros, as well. We exchanged a silent, loaded look, but said nothing more of it, and after a long moment, his head arched over to rest against mine.

Zalaric came to stand at his other side and subtly hooked a finger around Taran’s, and Eleanor and Alixe gathered close to Teller. The six of us stood in wordless vigil, each of us lost in our own murky shades of grief and fear and the unknown.

“I never told him I love him,” I whispered. “What if I never get the chance?”

“He knows,” Taran said firmly.

Alixe and Eleanor nodded, and Teller’s hand tightened on my shoulder.

Much time passed as Maura slipped countless mixtures into Luther’s mouth and onto his wound. She sat at his side and joined our watch, waiting to see if any of them might have an effect.

Eventually, she began repacking her bags and giving me furtive glances that said we needed to talk. Bile rose in my throat at what that conversation would bring.

I extricated myself from my friends and walked with her out to the balcony. Sorae was flopped on her side, resting but not sleeping, her golden gaze flitting between her Queen and her Prince.

Maura turned to me and took both my hands in hers. “I’ve done all I can, my dear. I’ve used all my strongest remedies. His body simply isn’t responding.” Her eyes began to water. “If there was anything I could do, anything at all, you know I would do it for you. You’ve already lost too much.”

I blinked at her, feeling suddenly numb.

She placed a hand on my cheek. “I’m so sorry, Diem. It’s time to say your goodbyes.”

I blinked again. “Did you bring my mother’s notes?”

“I did. I left them on the table by the bed. I’ve already been through them, though. There’s nothing—”

“Thank you.” I stared at her blankly. “What do I owe you for the visit?”

She gave me an anguished look. “Nothing, dear.”

I didn’t have the energy to argue. I made a mental note to send a pouch of gold later and shot a silent request to Sorae, who dragged herself tiredly to her feet.

“Are you alright returning by gryvern?” I looked out over the balcony. “I could arrange a horse, but with all the soldiers on the streets...”

“Gryvern is fine,” she rushed out, though she jumped as Sorae shook out her matted fur.

I helped her load onto Sorae’s back and murmured a request in my gryvern’s ear to fly gently. As I stepped back, Maura reached forward and grabbed my wrist. She slipped something cold and glassy in my palm, then curled my fingers around it and patted the back of my hand.

“If his condition declines,” was all she said.

I backed away as Sorae took flight and the two of them shrank on the horizon. The sun hung low in the sky, but there was no sign of the usual jewel tones of sunset. Only an infinite expanse of dreary grey.

I walked to the edge of the balcony and unfurled my palm on the stone balustrade. Inside was a small jar with a blue-green liquid I recognized. A sleeping draught—our most powerful one. It would cut through pain, no matter how excruciating, and offer the patient blissful relief from their misery.

It would also slow their heart and lungs. Only a little, if given no more than a drop. But if given more, it was a painless way to ease a terminal patient into the release of death.

A final mercy for a soul already lost.

Chapter

Forty-Three

Late afternoon gloomed into evening, and evening sulked into night.

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