He was right. She was freezing.
Kane didn’t wait. He climbed in beside her, wrapping her in his arms, and pulled her into his lap. She tensed at first, fighting the impulse to resist, but the warmth was all too welcome. He wrapped her in a tight embrace, and she slumped into him,burrowing as close as she could. The cold slowly started to creep away.
“You killed him,” she whispered.
Kane tensed. “I did what needed to be done. To protect the ship and to protect you.”
The nausea was more than Erinna could bear; it coiled sickeningly in her stomach and threatened to come up. The heat of illness flushed her skin as someone knocked on the door.
Inez slipped into the room with Serg just behind. Erinna would have been embarrassed to be seen in such an intimate embrace with Kane, if she wasn’t too busy trying to keep the contents of her stomach down.
Somehow Kane knew. “Bucket,” he barked.
Serg was quick on the draw. When the pail was placed in her lap, Erinna knew she’d lost the battle.
She retched black ichor, something from the other place that had come back with her.
Inez held out a cup of warm water when her convulsions stopped. “This should help you settle.”
Erinna wiped the corner of her mouth, black stained her hand, and the sight made her want to throw up even more. What in all the hells was happening to her?
Kane gently disentangled himself once it seemed her body was soothed enough and no longer shivering. Serg dragged over a chair to settle himself by the bed, his medicine bag already open.
“May I?” He gestured to her hand.
Erinna would feel embarrassed if she weren’t battling with everything else: pain, guilt, fear, and fury.
Serg wiped the substance with a white cloth and offered Erinna another to dab at her mouth. She peered at Kane from beneath her lashes. He hovered over the doctor, eyes wide andlips set in a thin line. Kane was practically breathing down Serg’s neck, as if he could do anything other than warm things for her.
Serg seemed completely unfazed by his captain. “Are you comfortable telling me what happened?” he asked, pressing two fingers to both wrists before moving to the pulse in her neck. His calm was a welcome reprieve from the lurking Kane and pacing Inez.
“I was drowning.” Erinna hoped that was enough. Maybe she should tell him everything. He was a doctor after all, but some habits were hard to break.
“Did something drag you under?”
Erinna’s breath hitched, and she took a sip of warm water in response. That was all the answer Serg needed. “Mmhhhmm,” the doctor mumbled and started to dig in his medicine bag.
“What is it?” asked Kane, eyes darting from Serg to Erinna.
“I think you already know, Captain.”
Erinna could see Kane’s jaw clench. Obviously, that was not the answer he wanted to hear, but now it was Erinna’s turn to worry.
“What is it? What do you mean he knows?”
Serg didn’t answer; instead, he moved to the desk and pulled a small mortar and pestle from his pouch, along with leaves and a cup. “Water, please, Inez,” he said, voice low as he drifted in thought, grinding leaves into stone for some sort of paste.
Erinna wanted to stop him and demand answers, but she was beyond exhausted. Perhaps Inez was right when she told Erinna that she didn’t think these were dreams. It certainly didn’t feel like she slept.
When Serg was finished, she had a mug of vaguely familiar tea in her hand. The doctor settled back into his seat, and Erinna took a sip of the concoction. It was similar to the tea she used for sleep, but more bitter to the taste.
“Arm, please.”
She held out the arm closest to him.
“The other.”
Erinna furrowed her brow and raised her other arm. Her sleeve drifted up, and her stomach sank. The mark. He wanted to see the mark.
