I try to say something, anything, but when I open my mouth, more blood gushes out. I’m choking on it, drowning in my own blood, and the panic makes everything worse.
Cas grabs my arm, still clutching the razor blade in his other hand.
“Come on,” he says, hauling me to my feet. “We’re getting you to Evander. Now.”
Blood drips steadily as he pulls me toward the medical room. Each step sends fresh waves of agony through my mouth, my tongue swelling, the cuts deep and ragged.
Cas doesn’t knock on Evander’s door. He bursts through, dragging me behind him.
Evander turns from his desk, eyebrows raised in annoyance.
“I wasn’t aware we had an appointment, Caspian.”
Cas thrusts me forward, and I look at Evander helplessly, blood streaming down my chin.
“Help him!” Cas says, real fear punctuating his voice. “Please!”
Evander’s expression shifts instantly. “What happened?”
“Someone put a razor blade in his food!”
He holds it up, and shock rips across Evander’s face. “Tell the guards I said to fetch Marco back,” he says to Cas, voice sharp with urgency.
Cas nods without question, handing the blade over before disappearing through the door.
I try to speak, but my tongue won’t cooperate. It fills my mouth like something foreign, pressing against my teeth, the roof of my mouth. Every breath has to squeeze past it.
“Do you think there’s a chance you swallowed another one?” Evander asks.
I shake my head frantically.
“Thank the heavens for that. Sit on the bed.”
He shoves a metal bowl under my chin. “Try not to swallow the blood.”
Too late.I’ve already swallowed a fuck ton of it, and my stomach churns with nausea.
My vision blurs. Cold sweat breaks out across my forehead as my whole body begins to shake. The shock hits me all at once—someone tried to kill me. Someone in that dining hall wanted me dead, and they nearly succeeded.
Evander drops to his knees in front of me. His chest rises slowly, deliberately. He holds my gaze, breathes in through his nose. Then out through his mouth, measured and long.
He does it again. In. Out. His hand comes up, palm facing me, and he lifts it as he inhales, lowers it as he exhales.
“Copy me,” he says firmly. “In. Out.”
I try to follow his lead, begging my racing heart to calm down.
The door slams open. Cas storms back in, face flushed and furious.
“Out!” Evander snaps. “I don’t need you in here.”
“Fuck that!” Cas shouts. “You’ll have to get the guards if you want me out of here.”
I try to tell Cas to calm down, but all that comes out is a soft moan.
Evander ignores Cas and moves quickly, pressing gauze pads against the worst of the bleeding.
He hands me chips of ice. “Let them melt on your tongue.”
