Page 57 of When Eden Falls

Yuska stared at her.

“You don’t know, do you?” Zamya retorted.

“No, but I do know that whoever has been in close contact with Cora over the past couple of days, who hasn’t already had the illness, will be infected and contagious themselves. There will be no symptoms for a couple of days.”

I closed my eyes in horror. Cora had seen Oz yesterday. He was still recovering from his wounds. We’d all seen Rooke, and Rooke had seen Kobe. It was inevitable we’d all contracted it. “How ill will we get?”

“It’s a mild illness for a child. It can be extremely unpleasant for an adult.”

Zamya held her head. “Unpleasant! Be more specific, Yuska! Are we going to die?!”

“I doubt it. But,” she sucked in a breath, “there have been cases with lingering effects.”

“Such as?”

“Chronic fatigue, headaches…blindness.”

It was me who swore this time. “We need to get word to Rooke.”

“He’s going to be overjoyed,” Zamya groaned. Nux, he already had enough to worry about, what with Troy’s disappearance.

Dybgo’s voice rumbled from the corner of the room. “I’ll get word to him.”

I’d forgotten he was there. I stood up and looked over to him, my eyes full of gratitude. “If you could, please. Thank you for everything.” He bowed his head and left the apartment.

Zamya appeared next to me. “This is going to be a tough few days.”

Zamya and I spent that night trying to keep Cora’s raging fever down. She was uncomfortable and delirious. Occasionally she ventured out of bed and wandered about the room searching or calling for people she’d left on Allura. She was clearly hallucinating, sometimes shouting and screaming. By morning I was exhausted.

That’s when the illness took Zamya.

Thankfully Yuska and Bibska appeared and helped me with the patients. I felt Yuska’s gaze on me, constantly observing—waiting.

It was late afternoon when the nausea and dizziness started. The skin on my face and the back of my hands tightened and started to itch. Then the swelling began and a throb in my head intensified.

The fever crept in rapidly, and I could no longer distinguish between what was reality and what was a dream. My vision became blurred and fuzzy. Faces distorted and words were noncoherent. I felt as though I was drowning in waves of water yet gasping with thirst at the same time. Images of Yuska, Zamya, and Rooke faded in and out. My mum made an appearance several times, pleading with me to leave the fortress and return home. I found myself running after her, but the door was always blocked or too heavy to open. In a frantic attempt to escape, I ran onto a veranda. The waves were crashing far below. The temptation to jump and swim was overwhelming. I needed to get away from this place, my mum was insisting. But the attempt was quickly shut down by a pair of strong hands and Dybgo’s assessing eyes.

“You saved me.”

A fresh breeze sizzled against my skin, cooling my senses, and visions of horses began to dominate my dreams. I’d been riding one through a dark, dense forest for days, searching the night sky for a sign, any sign of the way home. Paranoia had started seeping into every bone in my body. I wasn’t alone. Something or someone was stalking my every move. Watching. Waiting.

Desperate for a drink of water, I dismounted my horse and made my way down the forest verge to a beautiful green lake. Its tempting waters shimmered in the twinkling moonlight, coercing me closer.

Thirsty, I was so thirsty.

Beyond delirious for that drink of water, I let my guard down and an Igknamai pounced, snapping its jaws at my legs, my feet. I tried to scamper away, but it sank its fangs deep into my calves, ripping at my flesh. My body thrashed violently with the pain. I tried to scream, tried to call for help…

Dark green eyes met mine, soothing me, sending me back into the void of oblivion where more confusing images and sensations battled against my subconscious.

Water.All I craved was water. It was everywhere, but I couldn’t reach it.

Water.

A harsh brightness tried to penetrate my eyelids making my body squirm. After several torturous moments, I realised I was blinking, attempting to open my dry, sore eyes.

A soft groan escaped my lips, and I noted a figure move above me. A dark shadow.Another dream, it must be another dream.

“Hey you. Are you finally awake?” I knew that voice. The low grumble. The sensual purr he always used when he was consoling me.