“No,” I repeated. It was the only word I could conjure.
If Ginger really was dead… and these folk thought I had something to do with it… dread pooled in my stomach.
“I’ll use force if I have to,” he warned.
A strange sorrow pinched his expression. He wasn’t happy about this situation, either.
For the briefest of moments, I thought about springing to my feet and ripping his head off.
But Ginger would be upset with me if I killed her beloved friends.
If she was still alive.
My mate. She never even got the chance to love me back.
The fight drained out of me.
Without another word, I held my arms out in front of me and allowed the mayor to take me away.
CHAPTER 28
Ginger
My eyes were dry, scratchy like the sandpaper in Redd’s woodworking shop, and they refused to open.
My throat was even drier.
I tried to swallow but the task was impossible—made more difficult by the stickiness in my mouth.
My limbs were clumsy and leaden. Useless. And my head throbbed ferociously.
I felt like death.Worsethan death.
“Water?” I croaked, hoping Brambleby would somehow be able to help me.
“Ginger? Honey?” a sweet voice asked. “Can you hear me?”
“Water?” I repeated. The word was gooey in my mouth.
I finally managed to open my eyes a crack. Velline hovered above me, lantern light creating a beautiful halo around her silhouette.
Her hair was frizzy and dark circles marred the skin below her eyes. Her eyebrows were pinched in a frown. Iwanted to reach up and pat her cheek, comfort her from whatever was bothering her, but my arm remained limp at my side.
She lifted a jar of water into view, a straw sticking out. “I have some water,” she said quietly. “Don’t try to move. I’ll bring the straw to you. Think you can drink out of it that way?”
I nodded, just barely. The movement sent spots dancing in my vision.
It took some maneuvering, but after a coughing fit and a few breaks to close my eyes and take steadying breaths, I managed to suck down half a glass of water. I had never tasted anything so magnificent in my life.
I felt incrementally better.
I took a second to gather my whereabouts. I was clearly not home with Bram—I was in Velline’s clinic, Moonvale Medical. And, if my deteriorated body was any proof, something awful had happened to me.
Was I dying? I felt like I was dying.
“What happened, Ginny?” Velline asked, settling her hip onto the cot beside me. She smelled sharp, like disinfectant and magic. It was strangely comforting. “If you need to rest, we can talk later.”
I lifted my hand to wave it dismissively at her, but it fell back to the cot with a thump. “I’m fine,” I said lamely. “I can talk.”
