Whoa.
I hadn’t had that much to drink, had I?
The spinning increased, and it took everything I had to stay on my feet.
Shit.
I wasn’t drunk.
I’d been poisoned.
7
Sia
* * *
My heart raced as I searched for help. My movements were sticky slow, and it felt like I could barely move my head as I looked for members of my court.
The only people I saw were unfamiliar. Meria and Eve had disappeared into the crowd. I thought Lore might still be at his table, but it was all the way on the other side of the room. I wouldn’t make it that far. Not if I had to weave my way through the packed crowd. And I didn’t want people seeing that I was inebriated. It was a sign of weakness I didn’t want to show.
Merebeth, the healer.
She was probably still reading in the sitting room in our private car. I was closest to the exit that led to our quarters. All I had to do was get through the empty dining car.
I could do it.
I drew in a shuddery breath, stumbling toward the door. I was pretty sure I looked normal, even though it felt like a slow, rumbling earthquake was going off inside me.
I breathed slowly, making my way through the doors and into the dining car. It was quiet inside, the air still. I was halfway through the car when I realized it was empty.
Shouldn’t there at least be a staff member or something?
Shit. Maybe I shouldn’t have chosen this route.
Nerves tugged at me. I might have misjudged this.
I sucked in a deep breath, hoping the oxygen would help keep me conscious as I staggered toward the end of the dining car. Our private car was through the other door. Almost there.
When the figure appeared to my right, I was almost unsurprised.
I turned, readying myself to attack.
The man wore a cloak that concealed his face. He gripped my biceps with a strong arm and yanked me forward.
“Hey!” I lashed out, trying to slap him as I drew my sword from the ether.
The blade never appeared in my hand. I tried again, but the poison screwed up my coordination.
He dragged me toward a door at the side of the car, yanking me out onto a tiny smoking patio. The wind whipped by, cold and harsh. I sucked in a breath. It cleared my head enough that I could think a little straighter.
I screamed as loud as I could, the shriek harsh in my throat.
Come on! Someone, hear me.
He wrestled me toward the railing. I tugged, trying to break free, but the poison weakened me. When he slammed me against the railing, I gasped. It took everything I had to slam my knee up between his legs, but he barely flinched.
He gripped my upper arms and pushed me out over the railing. The cold metal pressed into my lower back as my feet left the ground.
Shit.
He was going to throw me overboard. Panicked, I thrashed. Overhead, the stars gleamed brightly. I looked up at them, feeling their power flow through me.
It was the only way.
Even with the poison in my system, I could still feel the magic. I drew on their light, letting it fill me with strength. As it did, I felt the strangest pull coming from him. It made my stomach turn. It was almost as if he were drawing on my magic. Was that even possible?
I didn’t want to find out. If I could hit him with enough of it, I could get him off me. So I let the starlight fill me up. When I felt like an overflowing cup, I let it blast toward him.
He tumbled backward, releasing me. The lack of contact sent me backwards.
No.
I was already too far over the railing.
Gravity pulled me over the side. I scrambled for a handhold. Everything happened too slow and fast, all at once. The world was a blur, the poison dimming my vision.
But one thing was clear.
I wasn’t going to make it.
The wooden railing slipped out of my weak grasp.
I was a dead woman.
Then a strong hand gripped my wrist and pulled me back up onto the train. I was too blinded to see who it was, but the scent made it clear. Winter forest.
Lore.
“Stay here.” He tucked me into the corner of the outdoor patio.
I pressed my back to the wall, sucking in air as I tried to get my senses back online.
Through the haze of my vision, I saw him fighting the man who’d tried to kill me. It looked like Lore was trying to take him alive—probably to question him. Otherwise, he’d have already won the fight.
The man was skilled, though. He stayed just out of Lore’s reach, taking punches but avoiding being captured. When Lore managed to grab his neck with an ungloved hand, the man shrieked from the pain of Lore’s cursed touch. He jerked away, moving so quickly that he tumbled over the railing and disappeared.