“Maybe dosing you with Alexei’s venom was punishment enough?”
“Maybe,” she trailed off. “But not likely. And what if they punishyoufor my failure?”
He shrugged. Big, tough male with a foolish lack of concern about his own well-being.
“We need to be careful. I have an idea about the healing suppressant.” She leaned forward, motioning for him to come closer, then whispered her plan in his ear.
Being this close, she could tell they’d let him bathe. He smelled like untamed lands after a thunderstorm, all wind-swept plains and rain-dampened rocks.
“We’ll try it when they bring your next dose,” she said. He nodded in agreement.
“I almost forgot,” he said, unzipping his jacket and handing her a square of folded black fabric. “They let me bathe, so I washed and dried these for you. Figured you’d probably need them more than I do, in case they make you wear a dress again.”
She unfolded the offering and laughed so hard tears rolled down her cheeks. Once she’d composed herself, she looked up into Cael’s amused face. “Thanks, pterodactyl.”
Then her face heated.
“But how did you know I needed underwear?”
The door to the dungeon creaked open and clacking footsteps echoed down the hall before Alexei appeared in front of the cell, two trays of food balanced in his pale hands.
“We see you are finally awake, little mouse. Do not think Maksym is ignoring that stunt you pulled in Meridon. He is busy thinking up creative ways to punish you.” Alexei darted his vivid yellow eyes towards Cael, flicking his forked tongue along his scar.
The Deathstalker passed the trays to Cael, then motioned to the vial filled with shiny, eggplant-purple liquid. “Drink it.”
Cael plucked up the vial, avoiding Xenia’s gaze. Popping off the cork, Cael brought the vial to his lips and tipped his head back, making his throat pulse as if he were swallowing. Once he’d emptied the vial, Cael tossed it through the bars into Alexei’s awaiting palm. “Satisfied?” Cael bit out, his tongue awkwardly stiff. Xenia hoped Alexei didn’t notice.
“Very.” Alexei’s pupils dilated and his citrine eyes glittered with unspoken threats before he addressed Xenia. “Eat up, little mouse. Maksym would like a word after he’s done entertaining his dinner guest. We’ll be back to fetch you soon so you can clean yourself up.”
Xenia stayed perfectly still as Alexei left the dungeon. She counted slowly to ten before scurrying over to Cael.
“Did it work? Were you able to keep it under your tongue?”
He nodded carefully, trying not to jostle the liquid.
“Good,” she said.
Cael’s brows furrowed. “Will it hurt you?” His words were rounded and muffled, his tongue held firmly in place to keep the suppressant from leaking out.
“No, I don’t think so. As a Sister, I only have that small bit of magic, which is fading anyway. Besides, the princess in my books did this when her lover was poisoned and it worked out fine for them. Though she was immune to the poison.” Cael’s brows narrowed further. She dismissed his unease with a wave of her hand. “I’ll be fine. We need you to get your power back. What other choice do we have?”
“Why can’t I just spit it out?”
She rolled her eyes. “Where are you going to spit it? We need the canteen for water. And you can’t spit it on the floor or onto our clothes—they’ll see it. This is the best way to hide the evidence.” She searched his gray eyes, touched by the concern she found. Concern not for himself, she knew, but for her.
He nodded before rising onto his knees and angling his torso so his face was directly above hers. He gripped her chin in his cool, roughly callused hand, and Xenia’s heart rate spiked. He misinterpreted her reaction, assumed she was scared.
Which she was.
But not for the reasons he thought.
He tilted his head back, careful to not spill the liquid down his throat. “We don’t have to do this, Zee. I’ll just swallow it and we’ll find another way to get out of here.”
She grabbed his wrist. “I’m fine. Just do it. And hurry, before they come back to get me.”
He stared down at her, his eyes darting back and forth between hers, soaking in her determination.
He gripped her chin tighter. “Open your mouth.”
