“Oh,” Silvia says, blandly. “And how long have you been a part of my army?”
I freeze, uncertain how to respond. The truth—that I now lead a different army entirely—feels like a dangerous thing to tell her. My mouth goes dry as I weigh my options, then settle on the safest answer I can manage. “Decades.”
“I see,” she says, smiling. “How incredible that you were able to find each other. I didn’t know that shifters formed soul-bonds.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Aurelia stiffen. Anger prickles at the back of my mind.
That single statement proves Silvia’s guilt. She knows the shifters are bound to her, and she doesn’t care. My jaw clenches as I struggle to keep my expression neutral. I reach for my wine and take a sip to cover my dark expression.
“That was something I was hoping to discuss actually—” Aurelia begins, but doesn’t continue.
I frown at her, and find her scowling back. She tries again to speak, but her words come out slurred. She presses a hand to her head.
I jump up, lurching toward her, but then the room tilts beneath me.
My head spins and I catch myself on the edge of the table, my knuckles turning white against the polished wood. My stomach heaves as the walls begin to swim, and bile rises in my throat.
“Oh Gods,” Silvia says shrilly, jumping up. “Guards!”
Through blurry eyes I see Silvia rush around the side of the table toward Aurelia’s chair, her mouth opening in what looks like a scream for help. The servants rush forward, their faces melting together.
“Poison. Need my bag. Need…”
I hear the thought, disembodied, as my mind swims and my limbs turn to stone.
I try to reach for Aurelia one last time, my fingers clawing across the tablecloth, even as I feel myself fall.
Ihit the dining room floor with a thud that reverberates through my skull. The ceiling swims overhead, and my heartbeat pounds in my temples, making the chandeliers above pulse with sickening light.
My stomach roils with nausea, and my chest is tight. I can’t breathe. My consciousness ebbs and flows, darkness creeping in, but never quite pulling me under. I blink rapidly, my eyes watering, as I try to force them to stay open.
Something moves on the edge of my darkening vision, and I struggle to focus on it—to focus on anything but the pounding in my head and my churning stomach. My eyes adjust, and finally I can make out Aurelia slumped forward in her chair at the table.
A fresh wave of panic hits me, and it’s a shock to my system. My brain finally catches up, and I remember where I am.
I try to sit up, to reach for Aurelia, but I can’t. My body is too heavy, and I still can’t breathe. I grapple for the front of my jacket and tear it open with shaking fingers. The seams split, and I pant out a series of ragged breaths.
I try to sit up again, but it’s too late. Someone—a servant, maybe—is lifting Aurelia’s limp body out of her chair and carrying her away. Blue silk drags across the floor beside me as Silvia chases after them.
No, wait! Anger surges through me, mixing with something like fear. They can’t take her away from me.
For the third time, I try to sit up. This time, I manage to pull myself upright, but the movement is too much. My stomach heaves, acid burns up my throat, and I double over, vomiting a deluge of bitter wine across the white marble floor. I wipe my mouth with the back of my trembling hand, then double over again, vomiting up the rest until there’s nothing left in my stomach but bile. That’s better.
With my head still pounding, I stagger to my feet, catching myself on the edge of the dining table.
The only clear thought in my head is Aurelia. Where the fuck are they taking her? I have to find her.
My knees buckling twice before they hold and I lurch forward, then sideways, my shoulder slamming into the wall as I stumble out of the dining room.
I find myself in a bright white hallway, but Aurelia is gone. I stagger down the corridor, swaying back and forth, without any sense of where I’m going. The gilded sconces that line the walls dance wildly as I pass, sending shadows spinning across the white stone. The light burns my eyes and sends another wave of nausea crashing over me.
I need to find Aurelia.
I can’t see clearly, but I can hear everything. It’s as if the volume of the world has increased, becoming too loud and too clear all at once.
Voices drift down the corridor from somewhere up ahead. I don’t recognize any of them, but I follow the sound anyway, my palm sliding along the cool stone wall to keep me upright.
I need to find Aurelia.
