“We will save you,” I muttered. A tear dripped onto her face and I wiped it away with my thumb.
Iaso returned with supplies and I sat in the chair by Ara’s side. She connected a tubular plant to the end of a needle, repeating the same process on the other side. Grabbing my arm, she set my wrist on the table and hesitated with the needle at the crease of my elbow.
“I can’t promise this will work.”
“It has to.”
It has to.
My eyes stayed on Ara while Iaso pushed the needle into my arm.
It has to.
Iaso grabbed the other needle and inserted it into Ara’s arm. Her golden eyes lit the room as she silently commanded it to pull the blood from me and into Ara. The tube slowly stained red as the blood moved through and I released a shaky breath, lifting my eyes back to Ara.
“You’ll have to stay like this for a while,” she said. “Until her color comes back at least.”
“As long as it takes.”
Chapter Twenty Two
Rogue
Just as the rays of sunrise illuminated the surgery, I jerked awake, frantically searching Ara’s face for any development, good or bad. But there was none. She was still unconscious.
I carefully pulled her shirt back, cringing as it stuck to her skin with crusted blood. The wound hadn’t closed and my stomach twisted at the sight. My hand shook as I slowly pulled her shirt back down, covering her. With one final look at her face, I rose to my feet, leaving her side in search of Iaso. I found her strolling through the greenhouse, bending over to check her rosebuds.
“She’s stable for now, and the antidote will be ready by the end of the day,” she said as she stood, dusting her hands on her apron. “For now, take your shoes off and join me, child.”
Sighing, I tugged the boots off and joined her as we strolled down the aisle, the soil warm and soft beneath my bare feet.
“She’s going to be alright. I can feel it,” she said, looping her elbow through mine. The morning sun beamed on the glass roof, warming the room, and steam rose from the damp ground.
“I hope so,” I whispered.More than hoped. Needed.
But even her reassurance did nothing to settle the nauseating worry—nothing would until Ara opened her eyes—so we walked in silence, wading through her sea of plants.
Leaving Ara with Iaso, I left in search of the guards who had been ordered to search Ara’s chambers. What they had to say, however, shocked me. They had found the assassin waiting in Ara’s chambers, crumpled on the floor with the bloody knife and a shattered teacup. I almost didn’t believe it to be true, but they claimed she admitted it herself, surrendering to the guards without a fight.
The second the words left their mouths, I turned on my heel and stormed to the dungeon, my fire thrashing within the confines of my skin. Throwing open the steel doors to the dungeon, they slammed against the walls on either side. The guards at the stand jumped, snapping to attention.
“Where is she?” My words were clipped, harsh.
“Last cell on the left, sire.”
I stalked to the cell and looked through the bars. My lip pulled up in disgust as I stared at the downcast face of Thana. She was chained by the wrists standing, slumped at the shoulders. While she’d only been in here for a night, she was already disheveled and dirty, a bruise forming on her swollen cheek. I unlocked the door, the click echoing through the room, and it groaned as it slid open.
She woke confused and her eyes darted to me, gasping, as I crossed the small cell.
“Explain,” I demanded. Thana was the only lady’s maid that had remained with my family. She was the maid to my mother and I had trusted her, which is why I assigned her to Ara in the first place. The betrayal was like a knife to the gut, wrenching an anger deep within me. At her. At myself.
Once again, Ara was hurt because of me and my decisions.
Guilt burrowed deep in my chest, fueling the rage.
I gripped her throat when she didn’t respond, images of an unconscious Ara flashing through my mind.
“Explain, or I will start ripping one organ out at a time until you are nothing but a bloody heap on the floor,” I threatened. She shook in fear, cringing away from my face. I tightened my grip before releasing her and she coughed, regaining her breath.