Page 99 of City of Snakes
“It’s Sybilla.”
My stomach dropped.
El continued, “She is burning up. I woke to her whimpering—I already called a healer; she is on her way up.”
“Sybilla’s alone?”
“No—I found Ryn first. He is with her now. But hurry.” She pushed me down the dark hallway. The distance to El’s quarters felt miles long, even though it was only a few yards away.
Elsedora rambled. “I shouldn’t have told her about Emmerick, about the deathmark. I found it on his sword’s pommel. What if the stress was her undoing?”
“El,” I grated out. I didn’t have time to react to the confirmation of Mattock being an envoy. “Mortals get sick. She will be alright.” Despite my justification, my heart raced.
By the time we got to the door, Ryn was speaking with the healer. “What is that for?” he asked, gesturing to a vial.
“This will help bring down her fever,” the healer answered.
“Why does she have a fever?” I growled out as I entered the room.
Elsedora couldn’t help but prod me with, “What happened to‘mortals get sick—she will be alright’?”
Sybilla lay asleep—if whatever her restless, trembling and labored breath state could be considered sleep. Dark circles had formed under her eyes, and her hair was slicked back with sweat at the temples. Just by looking at her, it was easy to see she was far fromalright.
“Why is she so sick?” I demanded.
The healer, a shorter woman with thick blonde hair and brown eyes, grimaced at my words.
I needed to work on my tact.
“There are many reasons a mortal can fall ill. Most of her symptoms are completely normal of a common fever. Did Queen Wymark arrive with any records of health? Was she taking any remedies or tonics?” she asked.
It wasn’t something we’d ever thought about or considered.The vials.Remembering the green liquid spilled across the floor when she’d been attacked caused me to curse.
“We don’t have any records.” The fact I’d missed something so obvious made me want to throw something. “She’d been taking something. It was a green liquid. She didn’t mention what.”
The healer nodded. “Right now, she needs rest, fluids and tonics to control her fever. Do you have a way of tracking down what she was regularly taking? It could have been helping her ward off illness if she’s prone to spells like this. She could recover more quickly if she started taking it again.”
Elsedora added, “When she was awake, she said she hurt and needed Emmerick. It was mostly incoherent, but I caught that much.”
Shaken, I clenched my fists and said, “I’ll be back.”
“Krait, where are you going? Please don’t say Helos.”
I hummed a response and stormed out of the room.
The sight of the sweat on Sybilla’s brow, the paleness of her cheeks aside from the rash across her face, and her miserable expression pulled me apart.
But I wasn’t the comfort she wanted, and if she’d asked for Emmerick, it meant he would know how to help her.
I only hoped that enough of him remained to see reason and that he’d tell me what she needed.
I didn’t want to risk draining my energy by Shadowing the full way to Helos, not with the risk of Caym controlling Mattock. When the Egress dropped me into Helos Castle, guards flocked the hall, but I traveled through the Shadows too quickly for them to get a look at me. Lynx snarled and tried to leap at me, but I skirted them too.
Despite it being before dusk, I found the North King at his desk, writing a letter. Even though I was already in his room, I knocked on the door behind me to announce myself.
Mattock’s head snapped up; his gaze hardened, but there was a gold ring in his irises. A good sign. He abruptly got to his feet.
“Entering my Corridor uninvited is an act of war, Darvanda” he barked. “I have already told your officer that.”
