Page 40 of Scales and Seduction

“Gideon,” she rasps faintly as her hand searches around for my body.

“I’m here.” I grip her hand tightly in mine, just to let her feel I’m here. I won’t leave her. “I’m right here.”

Suddenly, the sound of the front door slamming open vibrates the cottage, making everything shake and shift againstthe wall. I can hear their footsteps as the door slams shut, and they rush down the hallway.

Loran’s usually composed demeanor cracks the moment he reaches the bedroom door. “Fucking hell,” he mumbles, striding over to Ruby’s other side. “What happened?”

“An arrow,” I grind out in desperation, feeling emotions well up in my eyes. “It’s poisoned.” I have to glance away from my friend so he can’t see how wretched I look. I’ve never loved someone as much as this; even with Atticus missing, I rarely cried, and if I did it was in the solitude of my own room.

Loran leans over Ruby, his eyes assessing her with intensity as his fingers trail down the black tendrils growing along her back. Silas remains in the doorway, his usual sly smirk replaced only with a thin grim line on his lips. “Gid…”

I silence him with my hand, begging him not to look at me with that face. It’s hard enough to keep it together as it is, but if he treats me with pity, I might lose it.

“I’ve seen this before…” Loran says finally as he dips his finger into her blood, bringing it to his nose. The moment he inhales, his nose wrinkles in disgust. His back straightens, and the way his green eyes look into mine with concern only causes my anger to well inside me.

“Then fix it!” I snap, rising to my full height. The surge of helplessness roiling in my guts boils over. “Whatever it takes, just do it.”

Loran meets my gaze, and a shadow of anxiety washes over his face as it pales. “You won’t like the answer.” His voice remains steady, but I can see the hesitation there, and the softness in his tone worries me.

“Try me,” I snarl, moving closer to him, half-tempted to jerk him from his collar to his feet.

“The poison comes from a mushroom exclusively found in the Underdark,” he says, carefully choosing his words, thoughhe knows the implication. He’s suggesting Avalon or her family caused this.

Loran’s eyes return to Ruby’s back as the inky webs of poison continue to grow.

My breathing catches. “The Underdark?” The pieces of the puzzle snap together in a way I don’t want to believe could be true. “Are you saying…”

“I suspect Avalon, or at the very least, one of her party,” Loran bluntly says, cutting me off. “Her Night Weavers are here protecting her. This kind of poison isn’t just rare; it’s controlled, and if anyone in this area has access to it, then it would be one of them.”

The room violently tilts, and I sway on my feet. No, Avalon would never harm anyone in this way. I refuse to believe that. “Use your magic to find out who did this,” I demand as fury threatens to swallow me whole.

“I can’t right now. I’ve been fighting all night; my mana is depleted, Gideon,” Loran says. “There’s an antidote. An herb called adamantheas. I assume Avalon would carry it on her, just in case, due to her position. If she’s not involved and feeling charitable as your ex-fiancée, then she’s the only hope we have.”

The only hope? No, he can’t mean that.

Ruby suddenly lets out an anguished cry, her body arching off the bed as the poison continues to take hold of her. The sound snaps something in me, something that craves violence. My beast is unsettled. It wants to kill and destroy anything and everything, all for her. I have to make Avalon give me the herbnow.

“Keep her alive,” I order firmly, letting Ruby’s hand fall away from my grasp.

Loran’s brows furrow, and he shakes his head. “Gideon…don’t..”

“I said keep her alive!” I repeat, raw with desperation. I press a trembling kiss to the top of Ruby’s head as my lips linger against the small bit of warmth left on her skin. “I’ll fix this,” I whisper to her, my voice breaking through the weight of my fear. “I’ll fix everything. Just hold on for me please. I can’t lose you.”

Straightening, I turn to Silas, who’s still silently blocking the exit. His face is entirely solemn, and I swear I see glittering tears forming in his eyes. “Gideon, call my mother.” He inhales a giant, shivering breath. “If anyone on the council will back you, it’s her.”

Without another word, I stride out of the bedroom, my mind fixed on what needs to be done. First, I’ll call Silas’s mother, Calista, and then I will confront Avalon. If they think they can play with Ruby’s life, all to keep me as a pawn in their political marriage, they’re going to learn just how wrong they are.

I will burn the entire world to keep her safe.

The arrow in my back radiates molten fire through my veins. My body feels like lead, and every breath is a huge effort to take. I can faintly hear voices, though they’re muffled and distant, almost like I’m underwater.

“She’s burning up.” Loran’s voice is sharp with worry, but he’s also inside a fishbowl, so there’s this subtleblubbehind each word.

“Gideon needs to hurry, or we’ll lose her.” Silas’s voice is further away, but I can feel his hooves against the floor shaking the bed I’m on with each nervous step.

“He will; he loves her.”

I want to correct them that Gideon doesn’t love me. We hardly know one another. Plus, I’m fine, at least I want to be. As I try to say the words, my voice crackles and gurgles, but no words escape. The words they say after that fade as the poison tightens its grip. Darkness swirls at the edges of my vision, and I feel my body tugged into the darkness.

---