Page 192 of Tale of the Heart Queen

“Oh, I bet some are. That’s the point. To taunt us.”

“What if I try it?” I suggest. “I can’t die.”

“But you could get very sick. You were severely injured yesterday.”

As if in a reminder, the wounds in my stomach pull with a twinge.

“But what’s a little vomit?” I ask, only half joking.

“Lor, no,” Nadir says. “You’ll only weaken yourself further.”

“But we need to eat something.”

“I’m not letting you make yourself sick for me.”

“I’m doing it for me,” I say. That’s not strictly true, but he can’t really argue with that.

“Lor—” Well, he can try.

I pop the berry into my mouth before he can stop me. It bursts on my tongue, and I moan at the fresh, sweet, and slightly sour taste. The juice drips down my throat and I feel like I’ve been reborn.

“See?” I say. “Perfectly fi—”

Bile climbs up my throat and I bend in half, clutching my middle as I expel a stream of vomit. My stomach cramps and I drop to my knees before its entire contents find their way to the forest floor. Nadir crouches next to me, holding back my hair as I continue to retch.

When I think I’m done, I sob out a laugh.

“What is funny right now?” he asks.

“Remember when you held my hair back in The Aurora?” I ask, thinking of the night I got so drunk, I passed out on his bathroom floor.

“Of course I remember,” he says fondly. “It felt like the first time you ever really needed me.”

I look up at his serious expression. “I did need you.”

“I needed you too. You have no idea how much.” He tugs away a piece of hair pasted to my cheek.

“You told me I smelled.”

He laughs. “You did a little, but I didn’t mind.”

I wipe my chin with the back of my trembling hand, tears forming in my eyes. He sweeps one away with the tip of his thumb, the corner of his mouth curling up softly. “I remember everything, Lor.”

“Thank you for not saying I told you so,” I answer. “About the berries.”

Nadir wraps an arm around my neck and draws me in close, pressing his lips to my temple.

“Thank you for trying, Lightning Bug.”

“You aren’t going to tell me I’m an idiot?” I grumble as he helps me stand. I sway on my feet, lightheaded. That was so stupid. Now I’ve coughed up the little sustenance I had in my stomach.

“I’d never tell you that,” he says with a wink. “I love your . . . impulsiveness.”

I laugh in spite of myself.

“But how about no more experiments with the weird berries and mushrooms?”

I look mournfully around us—everything looks so bright and luscious, and surely something here is edible? But Nadir is right, and Herric has done this on purpose.