She drifted for hours or days or weeks. Beni’s and Brayden’s voices pulled her to the surface.
Her brother’s voice grew louder in her dream. “Scarlett.” More insistent.“Scarlett.”A hand gripped her shoulder, shaking her lightly.
No one had ever shaken her in a dream.
Her eyes flew open. “Beni.” Her lips were dry, and her voice was croaky with disuse. She glanced at the window as she cleared her throat. It was pitch-black outside.
Beni leaned over her. “Thank the Goddess.” His green eyes were full of concern. “Hang on. I’ll be right back.” He ran to her closet and stuck his head in. “It worked—she’s up.”
She was more awake than she’d been since…
She tried to recall what had happened, but all she could remember was going to the courts and walking with Manon. Nothing to explain her current state. She had the haziest memory of being surprised and a sickly-sweet smell.
Beni returned to her bedside. “I’m going to take the tubes out of your nose.”
He slid the oxygen tubes out gently and threw them to the floor.
Scarlett rubbed her nose, relieved to be breathing freely. “What happened to me?”
“You disappeared. Mum said you were in the hospital, but she wouldn’t tell me where, and none of the press knew about it—it wasn’t in any of the papers.” As he spoke, he unplugged a machine and slipped a heart-rate monitor off her finger. “After a couple of days, an ambulance brought you home and put you here, with all these tubes in you.”
Scarlett’s lip trembled. “Wh-where’s Manon?”
“She’s been asleep too. She’s in her room. Hopefully, she’s waking up now.”
She closed her eyes and said a quick prayer of thanks for her grandmother’s life. “How long have I been in bed?”
Beni set down the cords he was holding and looked at her. “It’s been a month since Dad died,” he said, his voice thick.
A month asleep.
An entire month.
Scarlett blinked away her tears and mustered her rage. Anger was better—it helped her wake up.
“Mum told me you’ve both got sleeping sickness like your mum had, because you’re so sad, but we think she’s been lying about all of it,” said Beni.
“Why do you think she’s lying? And what do you mean, ‘we’?”
He raised his eyebrows. “I met Brayden and Lachlan. They helped me figure out how to”—he gestured to the medical apparatus next to her bed—“get you to wake up.”
Scarlett’s mouth fell open as she looked down at her arm. Medical tape was in disarray, and there was bruising where her IV had been. “You pulled an IV out of my arm?” Her twelve-year-old brother. Why hadn’t anyone else been here to help him?
“And a feeding tube out of your throat. Can you sit up and drink this?” He pulled out an energy drink, cracked it open, and then dumped a small sachet of white powder into it. “I’m adding extra caffeine,” he said in response to her questioning stare.
Scarlett pushed herself up to sit. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Brayden.”
He shook his head. “Don’t be silly. I understand why you kept it a secret.” Beni spoke fast as she took long gulps of the sugary drink, quickly downing it. “I was walking through your closet to check on Manon, and Brayden was all, ‘Beni, don’t be scared—I’m friends with your sister.’ He scared thepissout of me, but they knew my name, and they knew you, so I talked to them, even though that mirror is clearly illegal and they could have been evil. I justknewthey weren’t, because they were worried about both of you. I told them I’d overheard Mum talking to your doctor. He wanted more money for keeping you and Manon asleep, and she agreed to pay him what he wanted.”
She tugged Beni into her chest and hugged him tightly before pulling back to look at him. “Thank you, Beni. I’m pretty sure you saved me. Thank the Goddess you’re so brave.”
His eyebrows pinched together, and the shadows under his eyes deepened as he stared down at the floor. “She hasn’t seemed sad at all that you’ve been in bed for weeks. My mum is…”
She grabbed his hand and squeezed it. “She must have given everything good in her to you.” Scarlett’s stomach clenched and her pulse raced as the full impact of his words hit her. Laylani had tried to kill her. “Where is your mum?”
“I checked on her before I came up here, and she was asleep, but we need to leave before she wakes up.”
“Yes, we need to get out of here.” Scarlett pulled the bedsheets off her body and tried to move her legs. She needed to get herself, Beni, and Manon somewhere safe. She needed to fix her body and figure out what was going on.
