Page 67 of Her Shadow so Dark and Lovely
“Lorel—”
She catches me as I tip backwards and my body jerks to a stop before it can hit the ground. The flow of light from the open door behind us is blocked.
“Librarian Sila?” Lune says with alarm. “Oh thank the King, you have her.”
Everything seems a little fuzzy, a little faint. I’m glad Lune is here. I can’t remember why, though.
“Cupbearer, her nose is bleeding,” Sila says quickly. “And she has a fever.”
There are footsteps and then there is the faint, familiar tingle of Lune’s magic at my temples. I try to blink the dark spots from my eyes, to tell them I’m fine. It’s enough to make one laugh because Dawn King strike me, I am not fine at all.
“Cupbearer,” Sila growls.
“Hold her still, please,” snaps Lune. “Ah, there it—fuck—” Lune cuts off with a range of colourful expletives. “Why couldn’t I see this before?”
“She was cursed,” Sila says. “It was not visible.”
“But you saw it, didn’t you?”
“Of course, but I am a curse too, am I not?” Sila replies.
“Sure as hell seems like it,” mutters Lune. “For what it’s worth, I blame you.”
Sila sighs in response.
“And the curse is broken?” Lune asks through clenched teeth.
“Yes, and she can speak again.”
“Good, maybe she can explain herself, then,” says Lune.
I don’t quite know what Lune is doing, or what she is seeing, but I suppose if there has been something feeding off me— off any residue of magic or life— that it might cause some damage. Somewhere. I can hardly bring myself to care. All I want to do is sleep.
“Not yet, little mouse,” Sila says. “We are not safe yet.”
I can feel Lune’s magic inside my chest, and the chilled way it settles into my skull, under the skin. It feels as if parts of me are being pulled back together and patched up.
I groan. All my limbs are so heavy. It hurts. Everything hurts.
“Don’t fight me, Lorel, please,” Lune says through gritted teeth.
My breath comes quickly through my nose as my body’s instincts to push her out kick in. Pain sears up from my chest through to my nose. I gasp. I hold my breath, trying with everything I have not to fight her. A cry bursts from my lips and Sila’s fingers dig into the soft skin of my arms.
There is a tickle in the back of my nose. Lune breaks her connection to me with a shout and I sneeze without warning. Sila holds me up while I cough up a thick, dark liquid.
“There,” Lune says, triumphant. Her hand rubs my back. “I think I’ve got it. Whatever it was. I can’t do much about the fever, though. I’ve tried to ease it.”
Sila’s fingers comb through my hair, firm and grounding. “Thank you, Cupbearer,” she says.
“Of course. She’s my friend, too,” says Lune. “I’m hardly going to let her die on me if I can help it. What happened?”
“The Dawn King,” says Sila darkly. “He let us go, but I do not know how long his mercy will hold.”
“Fuck,” Lune says. There is a hand combing through my hair. Lune’s, soft. “We need to get her out of here.”
“Sila.” My voice is hoarse as I try to lift my head. It’s clearing. It doesn’t feel quite so heavy. Sila pulls me to her and I melt against her. Perhaps I can just stay here forever.
“Have you had word from your contact?” Sila asks Lune.
