Page 98 of Kingdoms of Night

The wolves cocked their heads.

“No one is singing.” She crouched beside him and took his pulse again. Even threadier. Boll weevils.

His eyelids fluttered as he tried to lift his head. “If I die, get Annette out. Promise me.”

No, she wasn’t about to let him give up. Not even a little.

“You aren’t going to die. Really, you’re lucky I spent as much time as I have working with poisons and venoms. It’s the fastest way to learn how to soothe and counter them, because you have to do it so much. You’re going to be just fine, Feron. That I do promise you.”

The wolves came to stand in front of her. Obviously they wanted to help.

“So you can really understand me?”

Buttercup bobbed her head up and down while Hawthorn barked. Their ears pricked forward. These were smart wolves.

“All right.” She placed her hand on the ground and summoned peppermint. This time the energy twinged in her palm and wrist, warning her she would soon need to replenish herself. Sleep. Soon she’d need sleep and food herself. Thankfully these herbs and plants weren’t hard to summon.

Still, Feron was in for a rough night.

She glanced up at the orange sky. The sun had already slid from sight. They probably only had a couple hours before it disappeared entirely.

Feron shuddered, his teeth chattering.

Time to see just how clever these wolves were.

“So you can understand me. I just can’t hear what you say. That’ll make this a little tougher. But could you two go and gather wood? We’re going to need heat if he’s going to make it through the night.” Assuming there weren’t further calamities in store for them.

An assumption she probably shouldn’t trust, though she desperately hoped it was true.

The wolves bounded away, soon disappearing into the forest. She coaxed up the plants she needed and used a few of the cuttings she’d taken earlier. Tea wouldn’t fix all of this, but it was the easiest way to administer something that would counteract the tea and wyrm combination while boosting his healing and bringing down the fever.

He rolled onto his back and hiccupped, then groaned. His arm dropped over his face. Red blotches marred his cheeks and forehead.

That fever was raging.

Soon he’d start chilling—

As if he had heard her, he started shaking even more violently. Sweat formed on his brow and rolled down his neck and chest.

Buttercup and Hawthorn returned with several branches in tow. They dropped them beside her and ran back into the forest. Already the long shadows stretched out toward them, warning of the nearness of night.

She picked up the branches and arranged them in a loose formation that allowed plenty of room for airflow. As she did, she ran over his symptoms and the possible solutions. Fever worsened dehydration. That and chilling would be the biggest risks, aside from him hurting himself—

He started to roll back onto his feet. Claws pierced through out of his fingertips. His teeth lengthened, sharp, pointed.

“No! You’re resting.”

He bared his teeth in her general direction but didn’t seem to see her. “Have to protect.”

She shook her head as he swiped at the air. What was he seeing? “You did. Everything’s fine. We’re safe thanks to you. Now sleep.”

She could give him something to help him sleep, but that was too risky. Especially right now. He’d fall asleep soon.

The wolves returned with more wood, dropped it, and ran back. Probably a few more trips before there would be enough to actually light the fire. And then—

Focus.She set the large bag in front of herself. It was both well made and waterproof, meaning the contents would be dry, excepting magical interference or her own carelessness.

It unfastened easily, and—yes, thank goodness—dry. Something was going in their favor.

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