Chapter 24

Kerrick had lousy timing. And what exactly had he meant by being upset? Upset as in, too bad I’ve lost another soldier for our side? Or upset as in, I’ve lost someone I care for?

“Avry,” Tohon called, louder this time and more annoyed.

I turned to Kerrick to ask him, but he had disappeared. Typical. “Keep out of Tohon’s sight,” I said to the bushes, then hurried to the path. Maybe it was better I didn’t know what he’d meant. I couldn’t allow myself to fall in love with him or with anyone else since I had no future if I healed Ryne. A little voice in the back of my mind said, Too late. I squashed it.

When I reached the path, I tripped over the edge on purpose. Hitting the stones hard with my hands and knees, I grunted as the sharp edges cut into skin.

“Over here,” I yelled to Tohon. I sat on the ground and yanked off my left shoe, breaking the heel.

When Tohon strode into view, his scowled transformed into concern. “My dear, what happened?” He crouched down.

“I caught my heel. I think I twisted my ankle.”

He helped me to stand. I wobbled.

Tohon cupped my elbow to support me. “Can you walk?”

“Yes.” I limped beside him.

“I’ll call for the carriage.”

“You don’t have to leave for me. I’ll be better in a couple hours.”

“Nonsense.”

Within fifteen minutes the horses and carriage pulled up to the entrance. Tohon helped me up the steps, but before I entered, I glanced back at the garden. Was Kerrick still there?

“Something wrong?” Tohon asked.

Yes. Damn Kerrick. “Just a twinge.” I sucked in a breath and settled into the seat.

Once again he wrapped a blanket around me. “Looks like you’ll have to postpone your shopping trip a few days.”

“My ankle will be healed by morning.”

“But I’m going to need Cellina. Unless you’d rather take the bodyguards?”

“No. I’ll wait.” I sagged back against the cushion. Exhaustion settled over me like a heavy gown, sapping my strength.

Kerrick had given me no sign he cared for me before. Unless I missed it. Or was in denial. No. I’d heard it from Tohon, and he was either a master manipulator or a sociopath—probably both. Tonight was a perfect example. He’d thrown a fit over the dress, then acted like a gentleman the rest of the evening.

It would be best to concentrate on freeing, healing and delivering Ryne to Kerrick. And not dwell on an impossibility.

In the days following the party, Tohon spent all his time in meetings with his generals and Cellina. Taking advantage of his distraction, I continued my early-morning snooping to collect as much information about Tohon as possible. With a lit lantern in hand, I headed for his lab. The stolen key worked.

I entered and relocked the door behind me. Tohon’s ledger remained on the counter. Flipping through the pages, I read his notes on the Death Lilys’ harvest schedule, but nothing indicated what he did with all those sacks of toxin. I rummaged through the drawers and cabinets. They were filled with lab supplies, syringes and clippings from plants. I couldn’t find any other books or notes.

Taking a last look around, I noticed a door behind the chair Tohon had strapped me into. Guess I had been too focused on the syringe full of toxin to see it before. I unlocked it and pushed it open.

The lantern light illuminated two rows of beds, one on each side of a long room. As I walked down the aisle, my stomach churned with nausea. Ten- to twelve-year-old children occupied the beds. Most were unconscious, but a few tossed and turned, caught by fever dreams. One girl moaned in pain. Another had curled into a ball and rocked on her bed.

Although my heart swelled with the desire to heal them, my magic didn’t stir. Which confirmed my fear that Tohon had been injecting Death Lily toxin into these children in the hopes of creating more healers. Horror rose like bile in my throat.

I checked on each child, working my way down one side. At least they were being cared for. Glasses of water sat on tables next to each bed. The room smelled clean. No bed sores marked their skin, and the unconscious patients wore diapers. Tohon must care more for them than his soldiers.

When I reached the end of the left side, I paused to gather my strength. Three of them would soon die. Rage burned. How could Tohon do this to children! Where were the people who cared for these kids? The thought Probably killed by the plague doused a little of my fury, but not the part directed at Tohon.

Resuming my inspection, I examined the children on the right side. The second-to-last patient stirred at my touch. He woke, squinting in the lantern light.

“Are you a new nurse?” he asked.

Mindful that this boy could tell Tohon or his nurse about my visit, I chose my words with care. “No, I’m just stopping in to check on everyone. How do you feel?”

“Much better now.” He sat up in bed. His black hair stuck straight up on one side. He glanced around the room with a sad resignation. “I’d thought I was going to die, too.”

Hope touched my heart. Maybe he’d survived the toxin. “How long have you been here?”

He shrugged. “Don’t know. Awhile. Why?”

“Just curious. So you were very sick?”

He nodded. “Everyone here is very sick. This is the dying room.”

I stared at him for a moment. It was all I could do as waves of dismay swept through me.

He stared right back. Suspicion lurked in his golden-brown eyes. “Shouldn’t you know all this?”