Aziel
"Make this quick," I snap. "If Inara has to wake up alone because you two can't spit it out, then this conversation isn't worth my time."
Ravior shifts on his feet, his face becoming impossibly pale as he says, "We found the prince."
Shock zips through me like a flash of lightning, but I show no outward reaction as I look to Levi.
He nods, but his face doesn't hold the triumphant look that usually accompanies his successes. He looks..... shaken.
When Thomas, my advisor, came to my room reporting that Levi and Ravior were waiting in my office, I could barely conceal my enthusiasm as I quietly left Inara to her rest. Looking at them now, though, I can see that something is very, very, wrong.
"If you found him," I start, so low that it almost sounds deadly. "Then why the hell isn't he standing in this room with you."
Ravior lowers his head, sensing the danger in my voice, but Levi only stares, unflinching, at my face.
"We have suspicions," he says slowly, almost hesitantly. "That the prince is working with the Sun kingdom to plan something that is beyond our knowledge at this point."
Ice floods my veins, so cold it feels like even my heart freezes for a second.
"And what causes do you have to make such bold accusations," I all but snarl.
Pointing fingers at royalty is a risk that could get those fingers chopped off. Levi knows this, which is why I know his suspicions lead to a bomb I'm not sure I want to unpin.
Levi clears his throat and crosses his arms, something he does only when he's nervous.
"We followed tracks all the way along Blue River until they just vanished. There was nothing after that, like they had simply disappeared." Levi takes deep breath, and it sounds like it trembles slightly. "I wish that were the case, because all of a sudden we were surrounded by soldiers that had bright yellow sun pins plastered to their chests." He swallows hard. "And your brother was in the middle of them. He wasn't wearing a pin, and his clothes still represented his kingdom, but it looked like he was leading them."
A fuzzy noise fills my head, like cotton rubbing together. The air suddenly feels too light, and my body too heavy.
I always knew my brother was troubled, but to lead a Sun army?
We don't know for sure that that's what he was doing, my wolf says calmly.
What else would he be doing in the middle a Sun army? I snap.
My patience is so thin that I'm surprised it hasn't snapped.
"How are you here?" I ask, my voice bordering on lethal. "If you were surrounded, then how are you standing here?"
"The prince let us go." Ravior speaks this time, his voice questioning, like even he can't believe his words. "He looked at Levi like he recognized him, and then he took our weapons and shoved us in the other direction, never speaking a single word."
That doesn't sound like my brother. He was often the one who caused trouble when life dulled on the edges. He would cause unnecessary riots in the soldiers barracks and stir up trouble in the maids quarters. He was chaos walking, until he wasn't anything at all.
"How close to my kingdom was this interaction?" I ask, becoming the king who isn't personally involved.
This isn't my brother, it's just a man causing trouble on my borders. A threat that needs to be addressed.
Both men shift uncomfortably, sharing a look that speaks more volume than words ever could.
"About half a days walk away from the South entrance, your majesty," Ravior says gravely.
"Half a day?" I ask incredulously. "On foot? Our enemies lie a breath away, and you didn't think to start with that?"
Since when is your brother considered an enemy? My wolf asks coolly.
Since he decided to lead them.
I run both hands through my hair, exhaustion tugging at me from all angles. The last 24 hours have been a rollercoaster of too many events, and my mate is asleep in my room, drugged up on something that nobody can figure out. I'm so worn out that my face is probably leeching in its colour.
"I want patrols doubled at every entrance," I command, calling on the king they need in this moment. "The gates are not to be opened for anything unless I personally oversee the reason for it. Night shifts need to be tripled in men. Understood?"
Ravior, being captain of most of my troups, nods, bowing low before rushing to complete my demands.
"Tell Thomas I want a meeting with the Sun king," I say to Levi. "I'm willing to meet as soon as possible, and I would prefer it if the conversation happened in his kingdom."
Levi nods. "Consider it done."
A knock on my office door sounds the minute after Levi exits. Loud and insistent.
I open it to find Penny standing there, her cheeks flushed and breathing laboured.
"Your majesty, please excuse my interruption," she says breathlessly. "The drug that Inara was given is very strange, so I worked almost all night researching and testing, and the results are not good."
She pauses to catch her breath, and I can't help the impatience that burns inside me.
"What is it, Penny?" I ask.
"I'm so sorry, your majesty! I really thought it would wear off on its own, but then I started digging and I-"
"Penny!" I interrupt, grabbing her out of her thoughts. "What is it?"
"It's a Sun poison, and by the results I procured, it doesn't look like a very harmless one."
Icy fear fills my head, shooting down my spine and all but paralyzing me.
"What do you mean?" I ask, panic practically dripping from my voice.
"I mean that this poison is a burning drug. It basically lights someone on fire from the inside out."
No, my wolf says in horror.
I shake my head, confusion warring with fear. "But Inara never said she was hurting. And she threw most of it up."
Penny squeezes her eyes shut before opening them again and starting to pace, her hands wringing in front of her.
"That's how it starts," she says, her words rushed. "A loopy and unnatural mind is first, and then nausea and stomach compulsions, and then the drug works deeper, latching onto organs and muscles, bones and tissues. Anything it can reach, and then it starts to feed."
Dread floods my body like a tidal wave, and I don't think about anything except getting to Inara until my hand is brushing across my door. It swings open, and I rush to my bed, finding Inara exactly where I left her.
She isn't in a peaceful slumber like how I left her, though. She's curled in on herself, groaning softly as she grips her middle.
I rush to her side, brushing my fingers across her forehead and immediately snatching my hand back. She's scorching hot.
"What do I do?" I ask Penny, my voice so panicked that I almost don't recognize it. "How do I make it stop?"
Her eyes are wide and scared, and I know before she answers that this situation is not something a little solution can fix. I declared war when I took Inara from the Sun kingdom, and they are showing me exactly what it means to raise arms with them.
"I'm so sorry," Penny whispers helplessly. "I didn't- I wish I could've- maybe I can-"
"Stop," I command. "Don't do that to yourself. This isn't your fault. For now do you know of any pain medication we could give her? Anything that could ease the pain even slightly?"
She looks thoughtful for a moment before nodding with brighter eyes and rushing from the room.
I try to touch Inara's shoulder and instantly pull it back with a wince. So it's not just a fever. Her whole body is sizzling from the heat that's consuming her insides.
"Inara," I murmur, taking the heavy quilt from her body. "Love, can you hear me?"
She whimpers quietly, and I curse under my breath. This might just kill me as well. I can't stand the sight of her like this. It's ripping me apart. I can't even touch her.
I will rip that sun bastard limb from limb for doing this to her, my wolf snarls. I'm going to enjoy watching him suffer for causing our mate such pain.
We can't kill him, I say begrudgingly. We would only cause more war and riot.
Well, we can certainly make sure his punishment is a painful one.
I go into the bathroom before rinsing a washcloth with water so cold my hand goes numb under the stream, and then I bring it out to Inara.
I swear I hear it sizzle as it connects with her forehead, and I barely contain my grimace.
She turns her head into the cloth, seeking the relief it offers, and I lightly run my fingers down her rosy cheek before pulling it back in frustration at the fact that I can't even touch her right now. She's in pain, and I can't hold her.
My gaze is drawn down as her eyes open blearily, blue orbs looking at me through a heat glazed stupor.
"It's really hot in here," she says quietly, furrowing her brows.
My heart just about tears in half at the pain I hear in her voice. I want to wrap her in my arms and never let go. To hold her until-
An idea hits my head like a brick, and I all but leap from the bed in my haste.
I turn the faucet on the bathtub to freezing before plugging it and waiting until it's full to shut it off.
I rush back into the room and pick her up, careful to keep my hands on her clothes. The heat penetrates the cloth almost immediately, but I push through until the bathtub is front of me and I set her in, clothes and all.
The water gives off a violent hiss of steam before settling. Inara's shoulders lose their tension, and instantly I can feel my heart relax slightly.
"Better?" I ask, smiling when she sinks further down into the tub.
She nods sleepily, but then her eyes turn sad. "You weren't there when I woke up."
You are the worst mate to ever live, my wolf snips.
As if I wasn't feeling like shit already.
"I'm so sorry," I say, brushing a few wet strands of hair out of her face. "I had some things to take care of. I thought I would be back before you even thought about waking up, but then this happened."
She shifts uncomfortably, and I dip my fingers in the water to find it hot.
"All my stars," I whisper in frustration.
I wish I could find something to help her, but it looks like the only solution is an audience with the Sun king. I'm about to waltz into that palace unannounced if none of these ideas work.
I pull the plug and turn on the cold water at the same time, letting the stream run over Inara as the boiling water goes down the drain.
"What's wrong with me?" She asks, head leaning to rest against the tiles at her side.
Anger sizzles under my skin, almost as hot as hers as I think about what that mutt did.
"It's the drug," I start. "Penny thought the effects would wear off within a night or so, but it's much more complicated than that."
"Burning Daisy," she whimpers.
Surprise strikes me. "What?"
"It's a poison the Sun king invented to get his subjects to be more obedient," she explains. "He didn't have to use it often, but the threat of it was enough. He kept the antidote locked up and secret where only he could find it. They were to show their allegiance to him and get the antidote," she swallows hard. "or die trying.
Urgency fills me, and I grip her hand, holding it under the stream of water so I can keep holding it.
"You aren't going to die, Inara," I promise. "There are a lot of things I can accept in this world, but your death isn't one of them. I am going to get that antidote, and you going to live. Remember Kiana? That favour you asked can't be completed unless you stay here to see it through." A spark enters her eyes at the mention of her friend, and I smile before pressing a single kiss to her forehead and standing. "Penny is going to look after you while I'm gone. I won't be gone long if everything goes well."
"Be careful," she whispers.
"I will be," I promise, and then I walk away, leaving a piece of my heart behind, but I know I'll come home and it'll go right back in place. It has to.