‘What areyoudoing here?’ she countered, avoiding his gaze.
‘Someone saw a light and came to inform me.’ He furrowed his brows. ‘Now answer the question, Bisma. What are you doing here?’
Hearing her name on his lips made her shiver and she forced herself to take another step back. ‘Nothing,’ she snapped, trying to brush past him. As she stepped away from him, he reached out and caught her wrist, pulling her back.
‘What’s wrong?’ he asked, velvet voice low with worry. ‘You can tell me.’
‘Nothing,’ she said. But her voice was lacking its usual bite.
He still held onto her, his slender fingers soft yet firm around her forearm. That was when he noticed the bottle in her hand.
‘Something’s wrong, what is it?’ She did not reply, and he stepped closer, his tone gentle as though she was a wild animal that might scare easily. ‘Bis, let me help.’
She would not be in his debt; she would not let him hold power over her—not any more than he already had, which was dangerous enough.
‘Please,’ she said, hating how her voice trembled. ‘Just let me go.’
With a sigh, he stepped back.
Not looking at him, she ran.
She didn’t stop running until she returned to the Enchanted Forest, until she returned home.
Mei was sound asleep in her bed, and Bisma set a pillow on the floor beside her, lying down. She reached up and took one of Mei’s hands; it was still cold, but not colder than before. Bisma would try the Apothecary cure-all in the morning. Maybe rest would do Mei good.
She would be fine, Bisma reassured herself.Perfectly fine.
The next morning, mercifully, Mei’s condition was the same. The girls were relieved to find their sister stable, even if her skin had an unnatural blue tint to it.
‘Come, let’s have a picnic in the main room,’ Bisma suggested, helping Mei to the sofa there.
‘I got the blanket!’ Nori called, bringing over the yellow picnic blanket. Azalea helped her set it up, while Luna and Bisma retrieved the breakfast items from the kitchen.
They brought all the goods to the floor in front of Mei so they could eat breakfast together. Mei stayed bundled in blankets, holding Deeba in her lap as Deeba talked in broken sentences of gibberish.
After Mei had some breakfast, Bisma fed her the potion from the Apothecary and was relieved to see that throughout the day Mei’s condition seemed to be getting better. By the afternoon, Mei had enough energy to get up on her own, and the blue tinge from her skin was almost entirely gone.
They were nearly in the clear. Soon, Bisma would investigate what had happened, but until then, she focused on the girls, on things going back to normal.
The tension of the night before left their home entirely. By evening, even Bisma was feeling relieved, the sight of Mei’s darkened veins already morphing from reality to memory.
Outside, it began to drizzle, then pour, and they all gathered round the windows, looking out to watch the rain soak the earth, dribbling down the leaves of the trees.
They ate together at the table, a hot basil tomato soup with gooey grilled-cheese sandwiches, their fingers shining from the butter, and everything was alright.
Until it wasn’t.
An hour after dinner, as they were all busy with their own things, Mei stood from the sofa and promptly collapsed. The blankets fell from her body, revealing dark blue veins across her arms and legs.
‘Baji!’ Nori shrieked.
‘Mei!’ Luna cried.
They all rushed to her side. Dread curdled through Bisma. She touched a hand to Mei’s skin; it was freezing and tinged a deeper blue than last night.
The cure-all must have faded.
‘I thought she was better!’ Azalea cried, her voice accusatory as her brown eyes flicked to Bisma.
