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“Like at the bottom of the cup?”
“No, like the liquid itself.” I traced the edge of the metal brim with my index finger and met her bewildered gaze. “Can you guys help me carry the rest of these over to him?” I gathered all three of my chalices into my arms and set them on the ground next to Kelvin. “One of these must be the antidote. It must be,” I continued, grabbing the stem of the first chalice.
His breaths were coming in haphazard intervals as his lips turned an unnatural tint of blue.
“I’m going to need you to drink, okay?” I gripped his chin and pulled his jaw open, pouring a small amount of liquid into his mouth.
Kelvin’s eyes rolled into the back of his head, and I reached for another cup.
And another.
And another.
Nothing was happening, though I wasn’t sure what to be looking for either. My brows pulled together as I continued to the next cup. And the next.
“Nothing’s happening, Elowyn,” Calandra stated. “Maybe there’s some?—”
“No, this is going to work.” I picked up a fifth chalice, repeating the process, knowing every second was valuable.Truth was, I didn’t know if it was going to work. I could only pray I wasn’t poisoning him more and more with each drop of liquid I forced him to take.
But the fae loved to play games. It’d only make sense that one thing that could save us would have the ability to kill us. I just hoped I wasn’t making it worse.
“Five minutes left,” Aeron’s grating voice sang from the other side of the arena. He leaned back on his hands, kicking his feet back and forth off the table.
“Screw you,” I snarled.
“Looks like you’ll have blood on your hands after all. What a pity.”
“Until you’re man enough to drink one of these cups, nothing you say is relevant?—”
Kelvin choked and twitched as a gurgle sounded deep inside his chest, and he went limp.
“No, no, no!” I panicked, reaching for the sixth chalice.
The seventh.
Eighth.
Ninth.
Two minutes and six cups remained. I was quickly losing hope.
Aeron chuckled from behind me. Breana chewed on her nails beside me. Everything was too much. The lights too bright, my clothes too tight. Panic festered under my skin as I poured more liquid into his mouth. Nothing.
I kneeled next to him, holding my head in my hands, and forced back tears. Not here. Not in front of the entire fae court.
Don’t show any uncertainty. Keep your chin up.
We were at the minute mark, and the odds didn’t appear to be on Kelvin’s side. When, suddenly, he jolted upright, startling me as he gasped for air.
A cold wave of relief settled into my bones, and I sank into myself. “Drink all of it,” I urged, handing him the last chalice I’d given him. “Just to be safe.”
Kelvin chugged until there wasn’t a drop left, and the color returned to his face.
I dropped my head back with a laugh, grateful my idea worked, and thanked every star in the sky—even Lady Luck herself.
Breana tossed her arms around me, pulling me into a hug. “You’re a flipping genius,” she squealed. “I was worried for a minute there. Pretty sure I stopped breathing at one point.”
“Yeah, you and me both.” My gaze shifted between the timer and Aeron.
