Bring the ring. Come alone.
A chaotic storm of emotions thundered inside my chest.
“Sarkany has my father,” I whispered in shock, showing the note to Lovena, who shared it with the twins. “This is Rothwild’s castle? Barlog? Is this the secret entrance you were telling me about?”
“It sounds like it, my child,” Petar said, reading the note.
I looked up the two of them. “Why is Sarkany in Rothwild’s castle?”
“Perhaps they aren’t rivals, after all,” Lovena said, checking Huck’s pulse. “We need to rouse him. The toxic plant in his system is similar to deadly nightshade. Very dangerous and unpredictable.”
“Oh God!” I said. “Can you do something?”
She frowned at him as if he were an arithmetic problem to be solved. “Yes,” she said, nodding. “I think so. I will try.”
Mihai glanced down the dark lane. “We need to get him hidden inside the shop before someone from the order comes. Come, ladies. Let us help.”
We hoisted Huck’s limp body, and the brothers dragged him out of the street, shouldering his weight between them as they guided him inside. They laid him on the floor and locked the door, peering out the window warily.
“We are safe now,” Petar assured me. “The wards hold. They can’t see us.”
“But what if they saw us walk in here? If they were hiding somewhere and watching from afar?”
The twins looked at me, brows furrowed. They didn’t answer.
Lovena disappeared into the back of the shop. When she returned, she carried a small, handled case.
Kneeling by Huck, Lovena opened the case to reveal dozens of small bottles and vials. “I can brew something to counter the poison.”
“Is this plant the same thing that was used on Jean-Bernard?” I asked.
“Same that was used on my sister, so it’s likely. Is the Frenchman still alive?”
“I don’t know,” I said, miserable.
She held up a firm hand. “One thing at a time. I will care for the boy. Trust me, yes?”
I did, but that didn’t stop my hands from trembling. He looked so weak and frail. I took a handkerchief from my coat pocket and wiped the blood off his forehead. Those bastards. Did the goons do this, or was it Sarkany himself?
“He has my father,” I murmured. “What if he’s done something like this to him? I have to go find him.”
“If this man is working with Rothwild, then you may face two capable magicians, and that is not to mention their acolytes,” Lovena said.
“It could be a trap,” Petar agreed.
Mihai said, “We are certain Rothwild is in town. We do not know this Sarkany that you speak of, but perhaps he is part of the dragon order. Very dangerous.”
“You cannot go there alone,” Lovena said. “Let me help Huck, and we can talk about what to do next.”
“How long will it take?”
She shook her head. “Minutes. Hours. If I cannot rouse him fully, we’ll need to take him to the hospital.”
While my father was being held prisoner by the Order of the Dragon? “I can’t wait that long. My father could be dead.”
“They will not kill him until he is useless,” Mihai said. “You have a bargaining chip; they have a bargaining chip. They will keep him alive until they have what they want.”
“The castle is a dangerous place for a young girl, even one with old blood,” Petar added, giving me a sympathetic look.
