Page 125 of The Forsaken Heir
The Frozen Death Bastein had injected into me wasfinallydissipating, and the agony faded enough that I could actually try to concentrate on the interaction between mother and son.
“The fae control most of the magic in the world. We have a few small wellsprings in our possession, but the fae watch over most. We all know how symbiotic their relationship with the wellsprings is. Could weforcethem to help us? Of course, but there is a chance the magic within the wellsprings could weaken or—God forbid—turn against us. Especially with the Hikshil tribe. Weneedthe other magical races to believe Aurelius Decimus attacked us and killed our men in an unwarrantedattack. We’ve laid that groundwork with the death of the fae seer at the ceremony, but wehaveto follow through. Having this man die alone in a cell will not have the same gravitas as a public execution. Your father and I will not allow you to play with your toy only to ruin our chances of full control.”
The muscles in Bastien’s jaw rippled as he ground his teeth together. He then jammed his thumb into his own chest.
“Am I or am Inotthe leader of this house? Father stepped down and bestowed the rights upon me. True?”
Gabrielle inclined her head. “You areofficiallythe head of our house, but your father and I are still advisors. We musttemperthe heat of youth. Basically, we have to save you from yourself until you are experienced enough to handle these things on your own. There is nothing legally binding you to following our assistance, but I wouldhighlyrecommend you do.”
Bastien glanced from his mother to me, and let out a low wolfish growl. In the next instant, he threw the blade at me. The metal pinwheeled and whizzed past my ear before the curved tip buried itself in the drywall a few feet behind me. Despite myself, a trembling sigh escaped my lips.
“Your lucky day, lizard boy,” Bastien said.
A moment later, an overwhelming pressure suddenly built within my veins, surging up from all across my body in a torturous white-hot blast. I felt like I was going to explode into a cloud of white-hot steam. I tried to scream, but only a strangled moan escaped me.
“Shit,” Bastien said. “It’s the potion. Sometimes it kills the subject when it has run its course. I was going to call in a healer when I was done, but then you showed up. I forgot.”
“You seem to forget a lot, son of mine,” Gabrielle said. She put her head out the door. “Healers! Now!”
I opened my mouth, desperate to scream or cry out, but the pain was worse than anything before. Nothing had ever been so awful. It only took a few seconds for me to begin wishing for death.
The healers rushed in with syringes and vials of magical remedies, scurrying around me like ants on a freshly dead corpse.
“Make sure he lives,” Gabrielle said. “If he dies, you will all be held responsible.”
Gray fuzz crowded the periphery of my vision, tunneling until all I could make out were Bastien and Gabrielle’s shoes. A moment before I passed out from the pain, I had one fleeting hope. That this might earn me a small reprieve. A little time to recover my strength and wits before they executed me. I wanted to meet my end with my head held high, not as some feeble thing they had to drag out.
“Come on. Take a drink,” Elle said.
Eyes fluttering open, I found her kneeling above me. All the aches and pains in my body had vanished. Rather than hanging from the ceiling, I now lay on a soft, warm bed. She held a cup of water toward me. I sat up and drank greedily.
“Bro, you had us scared,” Rasp said from my right where he was bandaging a wound on my arm.
To my right, he was winding a gauze around some kind of wound on my arm.
“How did I get here? Where…”
“You’re at the castle,” Vince said and handed Rasp a roll of medical tape. “You’re safe now.”
I glanced around. “I am?”
“You are, boy,” Dad said. “You put a hell of a scare into us.”
Elle gave me another drink and ran her fingers through my hair. “It’s gonna be fine.”
My shoulders relaxed at her touch, and relief flooded through me.
“God damn he’s heavy,” Rasp said, still wrapping my arm.
“What?” I glanced at him.
“You need to be careful,” Vince said. “The healing isn’t done yet. Don’t hit his head.”
“The hell are you all talking about?”
Confusion made me dizzy. They were all acting strange.
“Tie the bag,” Dad said. “Make it look like it’s nothing but garbage.”
