Page 101 of A Baron of Bonds
I opened the door, peering in at my Overseer and friend. His room was simply furnished, though as colorful as its occupant always displayed himself to be. A red and gold woven rug lay under a modest sized bed of opulently carved wood with spindles on each corner. A dark purple chair sat next to the fire and a small wooden table with a single wooden seat sat nearby, a white vase of yellow daffodils casting a cheery mood throughout the room.
I neared his bed, my brows furrowing at how frail he looked there in a silky woven robe of copper trimmings. Kohl no longer swiped along his eyes as it had been every day I’d known him.
His hair was pulled back messily, another detail he’d always kept pristine, and I frowned further seeing his usual olive skin wan, his cheeks sunken.
I reached for his hand to feel his pulse, pressing two of my fingers into his veins just as I’d seen Clairannia do to her own patients. She’d taught me a thing or two from her apprenticeship after passing the trials and joining other medicus conduits in the Spire.
I was feeling for a steady, strong pulse and was met with a racing, erratic one. I placed the back of my hand on his forehead, searching for signs of a fever.
“How long have you been like this, Pompeii?” I questioned, nodding toward his neck, my hands hovering at each side. “May I?” I asked next, and he nodded weakly.
He cleared his throat and rasped, “Just a day, Baron.”
I used my fingers to feel my way around the sides of his neck, something Clairannia had also taught me, looking for swelling or a gasp of pain, finding neither.
“Karus?” he whispered. “Is Karus well?”
Leaving Talon and Ilyenna in the doorway, she moved to sit on the other side of his bed and took his hand in hers. “Yes, Pompeii. I am here and well.” She looked to me with the same worry I knew my own face reflected. “Can you do anything to help him?”
I nodded, brushing his forehead once more as a dazed look crossed his face. He was warm, but not feverish, though I could tell his mind was clouded. “Pompeii,” I murmured, leaning in close to catch his gaze, “I’m going to use an enhancement spell to help you sleep. Then, I’ll be bringing you something to eat. You need rest and food to give you strength.”
He nodded slightly, his eyes already drifting.
“Talon and Ilyenna will continue to check in on you, but so will I.”
I looked back to Karus and saw her magic pooling around her hands, clutching one of his.
“Soporen,” I spoke softly, helping him slip into a place of rest.
Before his eyes shut completely, he mumbled something I could not quite catch, but Karus instantly straightened, cocking her head at me.
“What did he mean?” she asked, squinting at his chest, pulling back part of his robe.
“I couldn’t make out what he said.” I pulled at the other side, seeing dark, swollen skin over his chest like a deep purple bruise.
She leaned closer, in confusion, lightly touching his skin with her magic, and mumbling, “I think he said something like ‘laboratorium’?”
My eyes shot to her, wide in revelation. “Fuck.”
Chapter 46
Karus
We raced down the corridor,leaving a bemused Talon and Ilyenna in the doorway. Revich pulled me through the foyer and down the hall that would eventually, after many turns, lead to the doors of Viridis. But we stopped short at a door halfway there, both of us out of breath, myself confused with a creeping sense of dread.
I bent forward, hands on my knees, looking up at him as he braced his palms on the black door. “What is this place?” I asked, heaving and pulling my hair back from my face. “What haven’t you told me?”
“I was going to show you,” he puffed, “the day you left Felgren. I was going to show you that night.”
I glanced at the door, swallowing. “Show me what?”
He placed a hand on the latch, but paused. “Karus, I don’t now what we’ll find in here, but if it’s what I suspect, I need you ready.Simulair Solum. Can you start it for me?”
My jaw dropped. “TheBlightis in there?”
He nodded. “Parts of it. This is my laboratorium. I’ve been studying the Blight here for years, bringing different specimens together to record reactions. I’m no agricola conduit, but I knew I needed to do something in the time your memories were gone.”
“And you just kept this from me?” I scolded.
