He trailed off and closed his eyes, and a strange unease began to slither through mygut.
“Wouldn’t be what,Kael?”
“You were wounded pretty badly, Norah,” he said in a tight voice. “She got her venom inside of you. A lot of it. I’ve never seen anyone survive an attack that severe, and I’ve certainly never seen anyone come out on the other side and notbecome…”
Again, he trailed off, like he couldn’t bear to speak the words aloud. Dread pooled in my gut as I stared at him. The venom. The claws. The survival. All the blood drained from my face as I weighed his words in mymind.
No.It couldn’t be. He had to bewrong.
But there was no escapingit.
“Redcaps spread their disease with their fangs and their claws,” I whispered, the horror of the realization sweeping over me. Tears filling my eyes, I twisted my hands around the bed sheets. “Are you saying I’m…I’m one of them now? Are you saying I’ve turned into abeast?”
I certainly didn’tfeellike anything of the sort, not that I had any idea what it felt like to have a monstrous creature brewing inside of me. My hands were still very much hands. I didn’t crave flesh or blood. I still felt a lot of pain from my wound, yes, but I felt like me. The same Norah I’d alwaysbeen.
Kael finally met my gaze then, and his eyes flicked across my face as if he were searching for something in my expression. “No, I don’t see it in you just yet. The venom hasn’t claimed you. You would know if ithad.”
Relief whooshed through me, but it was onlymomentary.
“That said, it soon will,” he added, through there was a spark of hope in his eyes that hadn’t been there moments before. “We need to find you some Winter Starlight. If it hasn’t taken ahold of your soul yet, then we still havetime.”
Suddenly, he was on his feet, and he was halfway to the door in less than amoment.
“Kael,” I called out, pushing up onto my elbows. He glanced over his shoulder with a fierce determination in his eyes that took my breath away. “When will you leave to go findit?”
“At first light,” he said. “I’m not waiting any longer thanthat.”
“Then, I want to come withyou.”
A pause. “Norah, you haven’t fully recovered. Your wound has mostly healed, but you need torest.”
“I will rest. Tonight,” I said in a firm voice. “I want to go with you,Kael.”
“No.” He shook his head. “You’ll stay here and rest while I go and fetch the Starlight. I’m not letting you ride all over Otherworld until you’re fullyhealed.”
And with that, he wasgone.
* * *
The next morning,I was waiting for Kael in the stables when my four instructors rushed in for their horses. They all stopped short and stared when they found me on my old familiar friend, the horse I’d secretly named Biscuit after saving her from lightning that day in the Summerlands.
I’d snuck out of the infirmary just before dawn so that I could beat them here. I knew they wouldn’t stop by my room before leaving, not after my conversation with Kael. They knew I’d try to talk them into letting me go, and they wouldn’t give me the chance to make mycase.
But I wasn’t asking. I was going, whether they liked it ornot.
Kael’s face paled. “Norah, I thought I told you last night that you’re to stay here andrest.”
“You did.” I shot him a brilliant smile. “I listened to your advice and thought about what you said. And then I decided to comeanyway.”
Liam let out a low chuckle, but Kael shot him a sharp look. “Don’t encourageher.”
“Kael.” I strode toward him and took his hands in mine. He softened, despite himself. “I know you’re just trying to keep me safe, and I doubt I’ll ever be able to express how much that means to me. But this is my journey. The Redcap girl attacked me because of me, because of what was done to her in order to keep me safe. Regardless of the fact I didn’t choose this, it’s still my responsibility. I’m going withyou.”
But it was even more than that for me. This was my chance to right a whole lot of wrongs. There were others out there, suffering just like Shai and her friends. Some were too far gone to cure, but there would be others out there that I could help. And the only way I could do that was to find them the WinterStarlight.
I needed to go not just for myself but also for them. Somewhere in those Winter lands, I would find enough of the cure, bring it back, and then help as many of the infected as Icould.
Rourke must have seen the determination in my eyes because he gave me a nod instead of arguing. I knew he wanted to keep me safe just as much as Kael did, but we’d been through hell and back together. Rourke knew my strength. He’d seen first hand that I could handle myself. And he’s also seen first hand that I was determined to doso.
