She just needs to rest.
It’s a mantra playing in my head.
She used too much power. It drained her, almost to the point of death. Yet what concerns me even more is that she used an entirely different facet of her power that she’s never even tapped into before. Who knows what kind of toll that took on her?
“Here.”
I look to my right as Ryatt walks up, holding out a steaming mug. Taking it, I peer inside to find some watery broth with a few bits of onion and celery roots tossed in. “It’s all I could scrounge up this quickly,” he says with a shrug. “We’ll need to go to the Cellar tomorrow.”
I toss the drink back, not tasting it save for the heat that burns my tongue and swims into my hollow stomach.
Ryatt drinks his own much slower, and I can feel his dark green eyes watching me. “What?” I ask.
“This hasn’t ever happened before.”
I look down at Auren’s face. “No. It hasn’t.”
“Not to sound like a jackass, since I’m sure you’ve already done this, but you can’t just…get the rest of the rot out of her?”
“Unfortunately, you do sound like a jackass, because I fucking tried.”
“What’s different?”
Setting the empty cup on the wooden mantel, I brace a hand against the dark wood, head hanging as I look at the flames. “I don’t know. Maybe I was too forceful when I used my power on her in the first place. Or maybe I left it too long inside of her.”
“Is it…I mean, have you ever left rot inside someone before?”
I shoot him a look. “Obviously I have. When I wanted to kill them.”
He waves me off. “I mean someone you weren’t trying to kill?”
“No,” I spit out, grip squeezing the mantel hard enough to make the wood creak in protest. “My rot follows my direction. It’s never fucking done this.”
I don’t understand it. Even now, I can sense that it’s there, but I can’t grip it. I can’t call it back to me. It’s not answering to me.
“Will she wake up?”
Rage has me spinning with a snarl on my face. “Of course she’s going to wake up!” I shout, the skin along my arms bulging, spikes threatening to break out. “Fuck you for even asking that.”
“Well, fuck you too. It’s a valid question.”
My hand curls and I’m about ready to slam a fist into his face when Lu comes back in. “Already not playing nice, boys?” She’s changed out of her wet clothes and is wearing massive fur slippers bigger than bear paws. They’re her favorite fucking thing whenever she’s here, even though they look ridiculous on her. Digby is nowhere in sight.
“He’s resting. He tries to pretend otherwise, but he’s in pretty bad shape. Gave him Osrik’s bed,” she says without me having to ask. She comes to stand next to us with her hands on her hips. “So? What’s the problem?”
“I’m just trying to have a fucking conversation,” Ryatt grumbles.
“About Gildy?” Lu guesses, then snorts and strides over to Auren. “How about you don’t poke the rotten beast?”
My brother rolls his eyes.
“What are you doing?” I ask when she strips off Auren’s blankets.
She shows me a bundle of clothes in her hand. “Is it safe to touch her?”
I hesitate. “I’m not sure. It’s technically daylight, so her gold-touch shouldn’t be dormant anymore, but…” My words trail off.
“But she just snapped like a rabid animal and turned the castle into a giant mouth of gold that swallowed everything up during the night even when she shouldn’t be able to?” Lu quips.
“She didn’t gild any of the blankets or the sofa.”
“Too bad. I hate that green color,” she says, gaze drawing over the cushions before she passes over a pair of thick fur-lined leggings and socks. “These are for her.”
“Thanks.”
She turns to Ryatt and slaps him on the arm. “Come on, let’s go make ourselves useful by lighting the fires in the bedrooms and getting more wood. I don’t think this storm is going to break for a while.”
The two of them disappear down the hall, voices muffled. Slipping on my gloves again just in case, I carefully pick up Auren’s feet one at a time, feeding the soft leggings onto her legs. I move her gently, especially when I need to maneuver her to pull them the rest of the way up. When I’m done, I carefully prop her up on her side again so that all her weight isn’t resting on her back.