“Daisy!What happened?”
I try to explain, and my voice chokes. “I think she was bitten by something…a spider, or some kind of snake.”
“Here, lay her down.”
“Get her some water—”
“Lyria.”
The sound of my name cuts straight through the chaos. I spin, and when I see Cygnus approaching, my stomach plummets through my shoes.
I haven’t seen him since I healed him, and this is about the worst possible reunion I could imagine.
He’s going to kill me.That’s my first thought.
The second:No, he’s going to fire me.
He does neither.
“I have the antivenom in my office,” Cygnus murmurs when he reaches us, lifting Daisy’s swollen hand. “It’s a narrow blue bottle labeledskakabri.You’ll find it in the left cabinet, at eye level.”
“Is it a snake bite?”
“Please do as I say. Time is not our friend.”
I hurry and retrieve it. When I return, I find the nurses gone and Cygnus carefully making an incision. Dante has hopped onto the bed and curled up by her ankles like he’s keeping vigil.
“Can you put her to sleep?”
“What?” I’m too disheveled to process Cygnus’s question.
He takes the antivenom and loads a syringe. “Give her something to make her sleep, please.”
“Yes…yes, of course.” I pull the nocturn from my belt.
He injects the antivenom while I administer the nocturn. “She was stung by something called a skakabri,” he explains calmly. “The Daskish call them ghost scorpions, since they burrow in desert caves. They can grow to be ten or fifteen feet long. Fortunately for Daisy, she was probably stung by a newborn. Otherwise, the venom would work much faster.”
I let out a long exhale. “I can’t believe I’ve never even heard of them.”
“You won’t find them in Verdinae often. The skakabri are full-blooded daemons straight from the Demeridian. Creatures that adapted to survive in the underworld instead. They have magic flowing through them.”
I understand, then, why my Talent couldn’t properly perceive the venom in Daisy’s wound. Unlike the Moragorion, skakabri didn’t originate in this world. I ponder this while Cygnus stands. “The antivenom works quickly, but it will take time for the swelling to subside, and it’s going to hurt like hell in the meantime. We should keep her sedated.”
I nod numbly.
Cygnus pauses. “It’s not your fault, Lyria.”
I look at him in surprise—reallylook at him. I haven’t encountered him since the incident. His features are as hard and unreadable as usual, except for the faint violet bruises around his eyes.
My throat tightens, and I struggle for a response. I almost can’t believe he’s not screaming at me.
Cygnus opens his mouth, and I think he might say something else. But he shuts it again quickly. “I’ve got other patients. Keep an eye on her. But you did fine.”
I stay at Daisy’s side all night and most of the next day.
The swelling gradually reduces, just as Cygnus promised, and when she finally rouses, Daisy reports cheerfully that she can hardly feel the pain anymore. I’m beyond relieved.
“Respectfully, you look like shit,” she observes, swinging her legs off the side of the bed and then standing. Daisy pauses and sniffs. “You sort of smell like it, too.”
