“No.”
“Eating alright?”
“Yes.”
“And this is constant?”
“It comes and goes.”
“When has it been at its worst?”
Niel squinted at the stone wall.
“Last night, at supper. My thoughts were racing; I felt feverish, like I'd chugged dragonroot tonic. At the morning meal today I felt a, a tightness in my chest—”
“Tightness? Any pain?” Larkin said, squinting at Niel.
“No, not pain, just thisache,” Niel told him. He gritted his teeth a moment, not wanting to admit he’d yelled at the lady, and forced himself to continue. “And then this afternoon, I had—words, with Lady Blackfell, and I thought I was going to be sick or that my heart would burst. That’s not normal.”
Larkin stared at him a long moment, the healer’s lips pressed tight.
“You had dinner last night with her,” he finally observed. “And you broke fast together?” Niel nodded.
Was she slipping it in his food, and taking an antidote later, out of his sight? Why hadn't he considered antidotes? He should have kept her tied to him day and night, not just demanded her presence at meals.
But Larkin’s lips quivered. “And these feelings—they’ve been worse around her? A racing heart, a stomach that feels full of moths…”
“Yes, that’s it exactly,” Niel said, straightening. “Moths. What's the antidote? What did she slip me?”
Larkin snorted, then laughed so hard he nearly fell off the bed.
“Larkin,” Niel snapped.
“I am sorry, my lord,” the healer’s laugh turned into a cough. He coughed again, hard, and cleared his throat, eyes watering. He held up a hand to Niel, rose to take a sip from a mug on his work table, and patted a hand to his chest. For a moment it was silent and still in the room. Then Larkin burst out laughing again.
“For Mercy’s sake,” Niel snapped. “What’s so funny?”
“Have you ever been besotted?” Larkin cackled. Niel’s face reddened.
“Besotted,” he repeated scornfully. “I do notgetbesotted.”
“Tell that to your racing heart and the moths in your gut.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Is it? She’s a true beauty.”
“So what?” Niel muttered. “She must have done something to cause this. Beauty is not enough for love.”
“No,” Larkin agreed, sobering. “But it can often be the start of it.”
Admittedly, she had come closer to successfully killing him than anyone else who’d tried, which was a little impressive, but—no.
“I need an antidote,” Niel ground out. “I will not go on like this.”
“Ah, my lord,” Larkin said, with a smile and a sigh. “If I could trick the workings of the heart, I’d be a rich man, not a soldier-healer. What you’re feeling is perfectly natural.”
“And you’resurethat’s all…” Niel flushed.
