“Actually,” I said, pushing the tray away, my stomach twisting. “I don’t think I’ll have tea tonight.”
Nelly glanced up at the tray, then at me. Something cold filtered over in her eyes for the briefest moment before she sighed and gave me a tight smile.
“His Grace won’t be pleased if you don’t. You know the doctor said it is important for you to stay hydrated.”
“You may tell His Grace,” I said coolly, “that I am perfectly capable of knowing my own body and I am not thirsty.”
Her smile faltered as she let the dress fall back to the chair unceremoniously. Gathering the tray, she crossed the room to the door
“At least drink some water,” she called as she left, her voice firm as it faded into the hall.
I turned my gaze to the water pitcher across the room, then to Poe, perched solemnly on the bedpost, watching me with uncanny patience.
“Drink some water,” I mocked, soft and sing-song, before whispering, “Tell me, Poe… am I mad?”
The bird tilted his head, feathers puffing. “Long intervals of horrible sanity,” he crooned in his familiar rasp.
I laughed, a small, fractured sound. “Good point.”
Still smiling faintly, I stood and crossed the room, pouring a small glass of water before drinking it down completely and returning to bed.
Poe glided down from his perch, landing gently on my bedside table.
“Once upon a midnight dreary,” I murmured, smiling at Poe, his black eyes glinting. “While I pondered weak and weary, over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore—while I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping…”
Tap. Tap. Tap.
I froze.
The next sound was sharper. Louder.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Not the door.
Somewhere within the room.
Poe shifted, his wings half-spreading. “’Tis some visitor,” he breathed, voice eerie and soft, “tapping at my chamber door.”
My throat tightened. My pulse quickened as I looked around the room.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
“It’s just the wind,” I breathed. “Only the wind.”
Tap. Tap. Tap.
I jumped out of bed, my feet hitting the cold floor too quickly, as the sound grew closer. Poe shrieked, the sudden swish of his wings sending mynerves into panic.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The sound came again, closer now. Low and Hollow. Dread crept through me like ice water down my spine.
Creeeeeak.
The sound slithered through the silence.
My legs struck the table as I stumbled back, searching for space that wasn’t there. The sharp edge caught my thigh, pain flashing white through the fog in my mind.
