He was beside me in a heartbeat. Fingers wrapped around her wrist, expression hard as stone while he counted her pulse.
I set the cup aside and leaned back to give him room. He frowned and shook his head, then pulled her upright despite her weak protest. She shoved at him, batting his hand away, but he ignored her and pressed his fingers beneath her jaw, testing the glands there.
Another violent cough bent her forward. Her palm struck her chest.
Greaves tipped her chin back and forced her mouth open with his thumbs.
She bit down.
He grunted and tried to pull free. She held on, coughing around his hand.
“Stubborn woman,” he hissed. He pushed his fingers in further to pry open her jaw.
“He’s checking for poison.” I gripped her knee.
The attack had come so suddenly, without warning.
Her nails dug into his bare forearm, crescent marks rising on his skin, but she endured the search, letting him inspect her tongue and throat for residue or foam. At last he withdrew, studying the imprint of her teeth on his hand.
“Not poison.”
“I could have—” A brutal cough tore through her again. Something gray struck the carpet. “—told you that.”
She bent forward, wheezing. Tears streamed down her cheeks from the force of it.
My gaze dropped to the ashen clump on the floor. “Send for a healer.”
“Only the medics remain in the city.”
“Then fetch one.” The edge of my command cut deeper than intended.
Greaves stiffened, grabbed a dagger from the bedside table, and left without pausing to dress.
“It’s the smoke,” she rasped. Her pulse beat fast beneath the skin of her throat.
I lifted the cup once more. This time she drank, water spilling down her chin as she swallowed in heavy gulps.
Smoke seeped through the tower’s cracks, tainting the air with the bitter scent of char. Night cloaked the sky beyond the windows. The beasts had gone quiet, yet the city still burned. Thick plumes rose high enough to swallow the stars.
Nienna would be fine. She was raised among dragons. Smoke had been her companion since childhood. She likely inhaled more than I ever would. Even so, worry gnawed at me. She carried my heir. Would soot settle in her lungs and harm the babe?
She set the cup down and wiped her mouth. “I don’t need a healer.”
“You are the queen. When you wake choking in the night, a healer attends you.” I bristled, then rose to my feet.
“Kallias.” Her voice scraped raw. She stood and took my hand, guiding it to the gentle swell of her belly. Warmth pressed against my palm. “We are fine.”
My jaw tightened, knowing she was right. Still, I shouldn’t have allowed her to ride into that siege. Could she? Yes. Should she have? No.
Love was messy, unraveled logic. It was easier when I had one goal in mind—to secure Radaan’s future. Now I lay awake over a cough. It was absurd. Greaves would say I had softened, and he had every right to insinuate as much. As queen she could’ve remained in Reem, ruling in my stead. Instead, she chose fire and bloodshed. She wanted to be here—and I wanted her at my side.
I was selfish, just as Bac had accused. Yet I couldn’t bring myself to order her away. Not that she would actually go. Tsunami would probably swallow me whole if I tried.
My fingers pressed against her stomach while her breath rasped in the quiet room. I forced my shoulders to ease and let out a sigh. “Blow your nose. Clear as much from your lungs as you can.”
A faint smirk curved her mouth. “You behave as if I have never stood near dragonfire.”
“I’ve never been dragged from sleep by someone hacking up a lung.” I followed her into the bathing chamber.
