"Something was in the cloak," she said, more to herself than to him.Her thoughts were moving like they were being dredged through water."Contact through the skin, slower than wine… Clever."
"The cloak?What wine?"
"They tried two methods today."She found, distantly, that she was impressed."The first didn't reach me.The second I didn't account for.I was sloppy."
"You were drugged?"
"Mildly."She attempted to lift her head.The world rocked."Nothing that will kill me.I don’t think I'll die, but I might end up being killed regardless."Her throat felt painfully parched."I just need a moment."
He was quiet for a while."You saved my life last night."
She nodded.
He went quiet again.She could hear him breathing, and beneath that, very faintly, the sound of her snake moving somewhere across the room, disturbed by the unfamiliar presence.
"You should have rested," he said finally.
She laughed at the absurdity of his words."How can I rest?I am someone with no backing in this place; if they called me to come and sing, to dance, to prance around like a dog, what choice do I have but to go?There was only so much I could guard myself against; I am only one mortal."
Azul noted something too close to pity in his gaze and opted to drop the topic."Help me to the bed.I’ll check your wounds to make sure they're alright."
"The stitches are fine."
"You're in pain.I should at least give you some analgesia, if I can."
His eyes flashed with something dark.
Then, without further argument, he lifted her and deposited her onto the edge of the bed.
She sat there for a moment, head bowed, breathing.
"Lie down," he instructed.
"I need to—"
"Lie down."
She looked up at him.He was standing over her with the blade still in his hand, which she supposed said something about the kind of man he was—couldn't quite bring himself to put the weapon away even now.
"You're going to fall over," she told him.
"So are you."
Fair enough.
She lay back.The ceiling swayed, then steadied.
He didn't move away immediately.She could feel him standing at the edge of the bed; she wanted to tell him to sit down before he fell down, but her mouth didn't cooperate.
The heat was getting worse.
She'd thought it was the day, the sun on the dock, the hour of standing.But the cloak was off her now and the shrine was cool and still the heat climbed, spreading from her shoulders down through her body.Her thoughts kept slipping.She would reach for one and find it had moved.
Sloppy,she thought again.She should have accounted for contact delivery.The Ugoeze was not a woman who relied on a single method.She clearly had a backup plan, and she had fallen for her trap.If the Third Wife hadn't warned her, it would've been worse.At that thought, something strange flickered in Azul's eyes.Yes,if I hadn't been warned, I would've suspected you, wouldn't I?
"What did they give you?"His words were welcomed, for her mind struggled to focus on anything else.
"I don't know.Something through the skin.The cloak was warm; it kept the blood moving.Made it work faster."She exhaled."I should have considered it."
