Penny cleared his throat. “I’m, um… tired and a bit weak. Can’t catch my breath.”
“When did this start?” Nora asked.
Penny’s eyes flicked over to me as he tugged his shirt back on. It sounded like a question when he said, “About two weeks ago?”
Nora hummed and nodded as she checked his pulse again. “Did anything else happen two weeks ago?”
If I hadn’t already been on the floor, I may have ended up there as realization dawned.I’dcaused this. I hadn’t made the connection sooner because I never had respiratory side effects, but it was the logical conclusion.
“I started giving him hemlock,” I admitted softly.
Both of them turned to face me, and I focused on Nora so I didn’t have to see Penny’s expression. I hadn’t told him what the poison was because I knew it would worry him. As someone who raised livestock, he would be well aware of the danger ingesting hemlock posed for both of us.
“Were youtryingto kill the boy?” Nora snapped, making me flinch.
“Trying to keep him alive.”
She scoffed. “Strange way of doing it.”
I sighed and rubbed my hands on my thighs. “The third Oath requires drinking hemlock tea. My father built my tolerance to it over several years to increase my odds of survival. I was trying to do the same for Penny.”
Nora stepped over to me and, much like she had with Penny, grabbed my chin and tilted my head toward the light of the lantern. Her lips pursed. “You’re taking it too.”
I nodded.
“Then you’re completing your Oaths.”
“Yes.”
Her brows dropped low over her eyes, and she tightened her grip on my jaw until it was almost painful. “You were out. You had a good life. I was sorry to hear about Delmer’s passing and that you had to leave town after, but you found a place to settle. They didn’t know where to find you.” She sighed and shook her head. “Why this? Why now?”
“I swore when I left that I would find a way to take them down, and instead, I hid. But I’m done hiding now,” I said. “It’s been thirteen years, and even though the militia killed my father, they’ve done nothing to cripple the Bone Men. It can’t be done from the outside, so I’ll find a way to do it from the inside.”
She cupped my face in both hands. “That isn’t your responsibility, boy.”
My smile felt tired and worn, but it was the best I could manage. “Someone has to do it, and I won’t wait until they destroy more lives. I couldn’t live with myself if I did.”
“What about him?” Nora nodded toward Penny, who clung to the edge of the bed, looking dazed.
I chuckled and shrugged. “He’s like a weed. I try to pull him up, but he keeps coming back. Couldn’t convince him to stay home and let me do this on my own.”
She shook her head again, then turned to Penny. “How recently did you take a dose?”
“Last night at supper,” he replied.
“Then it’s too late to give you anything to offset it. What you need is rest and fluids.” She pointed at me. “Same for you.”
“I’m fine. Just a little nauseous.”
She scowled. “At the very least, heshould stay here overnight. I’ll send one of the nurses in with something for you both to wash up.” She rested her hand on Penny’s right shoulder. “And I’ll have them administer some fluids. It will help flush the poison from your system, but you’ll still feel wretched for a few days. And no more hemlock. You seem to be more sensitive to it than Kit is.”
“That might not be an option,” I said. “We don’t have long before the third Oath for him to build a tolerance to it.”
“If you keep giving it to him,” an edge of irritation crept into Nora’s voice, “all you’ll do is make him less likely to survive a larger dose.”
Penny turned wide eyes on me.
Nora spoke before I could. “I’ll see about getting you both something to help keep that from happening. Until then, absolutely no more hemlock.” She looked at me. “Kit, may I speak with you outside?”
