Page 65 of A Fate of Blood and Magic
Although he walked in the other direction, Alastor’s loud laughter reached me.
In one ofour spare bedrooms, I rested my palm over Kieren’s fevered forehead, and when his next shiver made him tremble harder, I tucked the blanket closer to him.
“I’m sorry they summoned you to get me,”Kieren said with his eyes closed.“I told them not to. I shouldn’t have told Mistress Barrera I knew you, but you were the only one I thought might get me. I forgot you were pregnant. I’m so sorry.”
I ran a hand through his sweaty hair, wishing the water I heated in the kitchen would boil quicker so I could prepare the tea the headmistress had given me.
“I’m glad they called me,”I told him.
On his side, he pressed a hand to his stomach. When he inched forward, I put the deep basin beneath his chin in time to catch his vomit. I rubbed small circles across his back as he vomited more, and I wasn’t surprised when the retching stopped and he started dry heaving. Already, he’d spilled his stomach more than I’d ever seen anyone vomit.
When he crawled away from the basin and settled his head back on the pillow, I set the basin carefully on the floor before I turned to a bowl filled with cool water. After picking up a small rag from the bowl and squeezing most of the water out of it, I put it across his forehead. He squeezed the rag harder, making water dribble across his face.
He was slow to open his eyes, and when I noticed the pain that lingered, I stood to turn off the lights in the room.
“Is that better?”I asked.
“Yes, thank you.”
He closed his eyes, clutching a hand to his stomach. I took the rag to dip it into the water. After wringing it out, I placed it on his forehead again.
“You’re pregnant,”he reminded me.“You shouldn’t be in here taking care of me. What if you get sick?”
When I removed the rag, I noted how quickly it’d warmed. I didn’t like how high his fever was. Although Mistress Barrera had given me herbs for his fever and nausea, they hadn’t given him any at the orphanage. Instead, he’d suffered through hours without relief or anyone to help him.
“If I get sick, I get sick,”I said.“The boys and I will be fine. In my realm, pregnant women get sick all the time, and nothing happens to them or the babies.”I wasn’t exactly sure how true that was, but I’d seen enough pregnant women back in Colina with colds that I felt certain we’d be fine.“I’m going to check on your tea.”
I quickly changed out the rag so he’d have something cool on his forehead. I remembered Javier saying his mom had once told him to put a rag on Jasmine’s forehead when she’d been sick. Her underarms too, but with the way Kieren shivered, I was worried about doing so. He seemed to find a little relief with the coolness on his forehead, though.
Before I went to the kitchen, I dumped the basin contents in the toilet and flushed. I rinsed it out a few times, each time flushing it down the toilet before returning the empty basin to the floor by Kieren’s bed.
In the kitchen, the small pot of water I left on the burner finally boiled. I poured the boiling water into the mug, having already mashed one of the herbs into it. A fresh, earthy smell wafted from the mug, and I quickly stirred the contents with a spoon before I headed back to the room.
I’d only been gone a few minutes, but with the way he breathed deeply, I knew he’d fallen asleep. I hated waking him and probably wouldn’t have if his cheeks weren’t red from his fever. Another shiver racked his body, and I sighed, sitting beside him to gently shake his shoulder.
“Kieren,” I said with another light shake.
He blinked once before he dozed off again.
“Hey.” I gave him another light shake. “Kieren.”
This time, he roused, his eyes bloodshot and a little disoriented.
“I’m sorry,”I said gently into his mind.“I need you to drink the tea. Then you can go back to sleep.”
As he lifted himself on his elbows, I shifted the pillow under his head as well as the two beside him so he could prop himself on them. He scooted back so that his back and head rested on the pillows. He took the offered mug, and with his eyes closed, he started to drink. He pushed his head back and took another sip every few seconds.
We sat there for a while, and to my relief, his shivering eventually eased. He rested his empty mug on his lap, and his shoulders lifted in a silent sigh.
“Thank you,”he said.
“Did that help?”
“A little. Thank you,”he repeated.
When I grabbed his mug, he laid back down, and I held the back of my hand on his forehead, happy to feel his skin cool.
“Get some sleep,”I whispered as he closed his eyes.“Let me know if you need anything.”
