“—would kill him.” Kanti purses her mouth. “It would overstimulate his organs. Probably even make his heart burst. Great Mahananda, did Priya teach you nothing about blood magic?”
Before my mate can detonate into smoke, I step in front of him and take his cheeks between my palms.Shh. Don’t let her get to you.
A wet gurgle erupts from behind me. I twist around to find Antoni arching and coughing. And then his eyes are opening.
“Kanti, you managed to heal him,” Fallon murmurs.
My cousin shakes her head. “I’ve just resorbed some of his internal bleeding. In other words, I’ve prolonged his life. Only Meriam or Daya can truly heal him. Or I suppose one of Daya’s shifters. Want to give your tongue a whirl, Agrippina?”
My Serpent grimaces, but then she glances my way.
“No,” I say out loud. “If anyone heals the injured, it’ll be me.”
Do you think the corpses were poisoned?she asks me.
I don’t know, but I also don’t care for you to find out.
“We could carry Antoni out to the ocean,” Fallon suggests, her voice shaking with emotion.
“He won’t survive being moved. Hold on, abi.” Kanti strokes Antoni’s lips, then his cheeks, adding more blood to his sticky-red jaw, which makes his eyes pitch wide. “We’re going to fix you.” Is it Kanti’s crazy stare that’s frightening him or the lethal depth of his injuries?
When pink foam glides out of the corners of the governor’s mouth, Lazarus murmurs, “That’s not a good sign.”
Fallon balls her fist and bites down on her knuckles to stifle a sob. “Mádhi, please do something.”
“No.” It’s Cathal who answers for me.
Fallon looks up at her father with so many tears in her eyes that they shine violet. I presume she’s adopted the hue to keep the Shabbins in the dark about the Crows’ new edge. “He’s not a bad man, Dádhi.”
“He could be a fucking saint and I still wouldn’t let your mother get close to him. I’m sorry, ínon.”
Fallon whimpers.
I hate seeing my daughter this distraught. “Should I save the governor, Mahananda?”
Silence.
“Please, Mahananda. I implore you. Guide me.”
But the Mahananda does not offer me guidance.
When I realize I haven’t heard from Enzo in a while, I call out to him. Is he still on the boat? I walk over to the cliff’s lip and squint down at the galleon, sighing with relief when I spot a head full of green curls.
Again, I call to him through the bond. When he doesn’t look up, I yell his name out loud.
He finally cranks his head back. “Yes, my queen?”
I gasp and teeter, clutching my throat in utter horror.
Chapter 66
Zendaya
The boat creaks as it rotates.
“Whose blood is on your face, Enzo?” My tremulous query widens his nightmarish grin.
“I revived some of the dead. We can bring back corpses, Daya!” He gestures to the woman with the anchor tattoo.
