The queen continued her stroll, and I got back to work, my mind whirring.
“Prisca,” a voice hissed.
I jolted. Tibris was standing in the closest room, the door cracked open. I gaped at him.
“How—”
“Servants’ hall. Did you see Asinia?”
“Yes. She’s sick. Burning up with fever.”
He lowered his brows. “I need to heal her.”
I nodded. I’d planned to make the same suggestion. My brother could at least buy us time. “Tonight. There’s something else. I need you to get a message to Vicer.”
Voices reached us, and Tibris closed the door. I lowered my head once more, sweeping my mop over the stone. Eventually, the voices quieted, and Tibris cracked the door open again.
“What are you thinking, Pris?”
I handed him the note I’d written earlier. His eyes widened as he read it. He’d been using our code for much longer than me, and he instantly understood what I was asking for.
He lifted his head, eyes incredulous. “It will never work.”
I felt my chin jut out—my usual reaction to being told I couldn’t do something by my brother. But this time, I knew it could work. “Let’s wait for Vicer’s reply.”
Dear L,
Our mutual friend should be allowed his freedom for now. Let us keep a close eye on him so we can see who he is talking to. Congratulations on securing the invite to the castle. The temptation to let an arrow pierce Sabium’s heart must have been…great.
While I cannot begin to understand how difficult it will be to interact with those loathsome creatures, I beg you to leash your temper.
One day, we will have our revenge. We will watch Sabium’s head roll free and know he has paid for everything he has done to our family.
That time is not now. As much as both of us would wish it otherwise.
Your appreciative brother,
C
“Shh,” Tibris soothed Asinia that night. The devastation had been clear on his face when I’d opened her cell door. Now, he was crouching next to her, attempting to heal the worst of her sickness, while I handed some of the smuggled food through the cell bars to Demos.
His mouth had fallen open when he’d seen me again. Obviously, he hadn’t truly believed I would return. Now, he was shoving bread and cheese into his mouth.
“Don’t eat too much,” Tibris warned. “Or it’ll come straight back up.
Demos nodded, taking smaller bites. My chest clenched.
“I’ll try to bring some meat tomorrow,” I told him.
I turned to Tibris. His expression was grim. I’d told him about the iron, and he was studying the slice along Asinia’s shoulder.
“We need to get this out. I can’t heal her with the fae iron in her body.”
Slipping into the cell, I knelt next to Asinia. She’d gotten worse overnight, and now she was so pale, it seemed as if she was moments from death. A chill slid over me. We couldn’t have gotten here just in time to watch Asinia die. We had to be able to save her.
“What do you need me to do?”
“Hold her down and keep her from alerting every guard in the castle.”
Asinia was completely unresponsive. Was she dying? Had she already slipped into an unconsciousness from which she could never be woken? The backs of my eyes burned as I waited for Tibris to ready himself, and when he nodded, I placed one hand over her mouth, leaning on her other arm to keep her still.
“Go.”
The wound had healed enough that Tibris had to open it once more. Asinia remained unconscious for that. But when it came time to dig out the iron, she screamed against my hand, bucking weakly as we held her down.
Her screams, the sight of her writhing… Tears dripped down my cheeks. But she was alive. Alive and awake.
Her eyes met mine, clear for the first time.
I leaned down. “We’re saving you. I’m sorry, but it has to be done.”
She nodded, but whatever Tibris was doing made her let out another weak scream. At Tibris’s order, I poured water over the wound, flushing out the tiny iron pieces he hadn’t been able to remove.
It went on for what seemed like forever. By the time Asinia’s eyes rolled back in her head, I was covered in sweat. Tibris met my eyes and gave me a nod. He’d brought a tiny healer’s kit with him into the castle, and as soon as he’d cleaned the wound enough, he’d sewn it shut once more.
“If they examine her, they’ll know someone was in here,” Tibris said.
Hopelessness squeezed my lungs tight. After what we’d just had to do to Asinia, the thought of someone doing it to her again…