“I did,” I respond, temporarily abandoning my concern for the injury in favor of what looks like a tattoo spiderwebbing its way across his upper back. But it’s what those dark lines do thatmakes my mouth dry and my pulse race. Theywrithe, moving slowly between layers of skin like ink come to life. “When was the last time you saw your back?”
“It’s not something I’m looking at frequently, Bahira.” But his eyebrows furrow as he shakes his head. “I’ve been in pain since the moment I woke up from the Middle.”
I trace the black lines with my eyes, their jagged shape reminding me of lightning arcing across the sky. As I study them, I notice that the closer they get to his left shoulder, the thicker they are. But as they move away, stretching towards his right side, they grow thinner.
The commotion of voices reminds me we aren’t alone, so I tug Nox’s tunic back down and force his arm across my shoulder before directing Dilan to his other side. Arin fights against the guards’ hold on him, gnashing his teeth like a rabid dog, while Haylee stands with a hand covering her mouth, the traitor having the audacity to look mortified. I give them both one last glare, one that I hope denotes the promise of vengeance.
Turning back around, I lead us off the training grounds. “Let’s get you to Galen.”
Despite how much pain he must be in, Nox’s steps are steady. Though when we finally reach the healers’ wing in the palace and I order Dilan to fetch Galen, he all but collapses on the edge of the bed.
“Take your tunic off,” I command, ignoring his mumble of protest as I move around the room, searching for some fresh gauze and antiseptic soap to begin cleaning out the wound while we wait for the healer. Setting the gathered supplies down, Nox leans his elbows on his knees, his head hanging between his shoulders as I get to work cleaning him up. “You’d think they’d rush a little more consideringHis Majestyis the fucking patient.” Nox’s back tenses as he hisses a breath out through clenched teeth. “Sorry,” I mumble, gently wiping away the soapfrom the edges of his cut. “The bleeding is already slowing down.”
“That’s good.”
I lay fresh gauze over the deepest parts of the cut, pressing down on them firmly as my eyes travel back up Nox’s back and to the webbing of black lines there. “You truly haven’t seen your back?”
“No. Why, what’s there?”
“It’s hard to describe.” With one hand, I trace one of the lines from the middle of back to his left shoulder, my brow furrowing as the linereactsto my touch. Nox’s grip on the edge of the bed tightens, his knuckles growing white. “Does this hurt?”
“Extremely. But every part of me does now.”
My heart drops at the agony in his voice, but I force my emotions back down and try my best to describe to him what I see. “It looks like someone has filled your veins with black ink, just below the surface of your skin. It starts here,” I pause to press the tip of my finger to the back of his right shoulder. “This line starts here and stretches all the way across your back to the other side.” My finger drags to the other side, stopping where the line is thickest. Then I start over with a new line that zigzags its way from his lower back up to that same point, again growing thicker as it nears his shoulder. “It seems to be originating here.” I press down at the center spot, the skin more pallid than the rest of him now that I’m looking more closely, and instead of feeling the push back of muscle and tissue, the tip of my finger presses against somethinghard.
“Fuck!” Nox yells, jerking away from me. Sweat beads at his temples, his chest rising and falling quickly as we look at each other. “Gods above, that fuckingburns.”
The door to the room opens, and Galen finally walks in, his steps shuffling as he enters. “I’m so sorry about the delay!” hesays, shutting the door and rounding the bed to the side I’m on. “What has happened here?”
“What is this?” I ask him.
“I’d say it looks like a pretty decent cut from a very sharp blade.”
“I mean this,” I point out, my tone exasperated becauseobviouslyI mean the very out of place black markings on his skin.
“Oh, those are just a side effect from the tinctures,” he says, his gaze down as he moves towards a cabinet along the wall. “In fact, it has been a few days since you’ve had a dose, hasn’t it, Your Majesty?”
“It has. They seem to be losing their potency. Not lasting for as long.”
“To be expected. Sometimes finding the right dose takes time.” But Galen has been treating Nox for months, and he hasn’t yet improved. If anything, he’s gettingworse. “Here you are, Your Majesty. This will ease your pain, and then I can begin healing your laceration.” He gives the vial of pink liquid to Nox.
I wrap my hand around Nox’s arm and gently squeeze before he brings the vial to his mouth. “Those are from the medicines?” I ask, drawing Galen’s eyes towards me.
He takes his time answering as he rounds the table to Nox’s back. “It is. Sometimes the ingredients can have unintended reactions.”
A line forms between my brows as I give Nox another squeeze of his arm before letting go. “But there is somethinginsideof him, and this spot—” I go to touch where the lines seem to originate from when Galen snaps his hand out.
“Don’t touch it!” he barks, startling both Nox and I as I jerk my wrist out of his grasp.
My eyes lock on the side of the healer’s face, a muscle throbbing to the quick beat of his heart. “Galen? What’s wrong.”
“Nothing. It’s nothing.” He waves me off, beginning to heal the cut on Nox’s back. But his reaction gives me pause, and as I look back at those disturbing lines, unease simmering in my gut.
“How long have those been there?”.
“A few weeks.”
“Why haven’t you said anything? To Nox? To our parents?”
