Page 82 of Heart of the Deep

“We need to get to the infirmary,” Aymee said, raising her son’s eyelid and feeling his forehead. “Now.Everyone.”

Larkin stood, heart racing, when a sudden cramp twisted her belly. She gasped and pressed a hand to it.

“What is happening?” Rhea asked, helping her daughter rise. She watched with wide eyes, skin turning yellow, as Melaina bent over and vomited onto the blanket.

Cold sweat beaded on Larkin’s skin; Aymee’s skin glistened, too, and she’d taken on a sickly pallor.

“Aymee, what’s going on?” Macy asked, scooping Sarina up off the floor and cradling her in her arms.

“Need to move,” Aymee grated.

The trip to the infirmary was frantic. Macy, Arkon, and Jax led the way, followed by Rhea, who carried her daughter. Larkin had her arm around Aymee, bearing most of the woman’s weight as they ran through the hallway.

Within the infirmary, the children were placed upon beds, all looking limp and lifeless. Fear closed its icy claws around Larkin’s heart. Kraken or not, these were innocent children, suffering and afraid, motionless save for when their bodies doubled over in pain.

Larkin’s legs were unsteady as she assisted Aymee to Jace’s bed. Every few steps sent a fresh wave of agony through her abdomen. She staggered forward, and a strong arm took hold of hers and kept her from falling. She wasn’t sure who had helped, but offered them a muttered thanks.

Macy stood next to Sarina, holding the girl’s face in her hands. Tears streamed down her cheeks. “Sarina, keep your eyes open, sweetheart. Please. Oh God, Jax…”

Jax stared at Sarina with helplessness gleaming in his eyes. He held one of her hands, and it looked so tiny against his. Both he and Rhea had turned a pale gray, their tentacles moving restlessly beneath them, and their bodies shook with occasional shudders.

His muscles tensed, and his nostrils flared with quick, heavy breaths for several seconds.

Were they sick, too?

“Arkon, get the blood analyzer.” Aymee’s hair hung in her face, and her body trembled. Larkin guessed the woman was only on her feet because she was leaning most of her weight on the bed.

Arkon, who looked shaken but otherwise unaffected, crossed the room and opened a wide drawer. He looked from side to side twice before finally pulling out a small device and hurrying back to Aymee. Before he reached her, she bent to the side, clutching the bed rail with one hand, and vomited.

“Aymee,” Arkon breathed.

“Jace,” she said between retches. “Use it on Jace.”

Arkon leaned over the bed, back turned to Larkin. She couldn’t see him use the analyzer, but it didn’t matter; she forced all her attention, all her willpower, toward withstanding the pain of the next cramp, clutching her stomach.

“Aymee, what is going on? What’s happening?” Macy asked desperately.

“A toxin,” Arkon replied. “The scanner is reading a toxin in Jace’s bloodstream, matching the venom of theblue needler.”

“Poison?”

Cold fear filled Larkin.

“We do not hunt blue needler,” Jax said, eyes shifting between the occupied beds. “All kraken are taught it is poisonous when we are younglings.”

“Does it list an antidote? Or antivenom, antitoxin, anything like that?” Aymee’s voice was ragged. She sagged against the bed.

Tense silence reigned, save for the thunder of Larkin’s too-fast heartbeat.

“Yes, it does,” Arkon said.

“You and Macy, go to the cabinet and—” Aymee groaned, the sound drawing out until it ended in a quivering whimper.

Arkon dropped the device onto the bed and sank down, wrapping an arm around Aymee’s waist to support her. His skin had gone yellow again. “Aymee?” He brushed her hair back from her face.

“Go find it,” she replied weakly.

He clenched his jaw and scooped her into his arms, laying her gently on the bed beside their son.

---