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CHAPTER 28
My head pounded and every muscle in my body felt like it weighed a thousand pounds.
What happened?
My eyes refused to open, so I strained my ears to listen to my surroundings. Countless voices surrounded me, as well as footsteps walking back and forth against what sounded like tile. White lights shined against my eyelids. As I finally began to open my eyes, I had to squint from the brightness.
Gasps sounded from each side of me.
“I think she’s waking up!” someone said.
Another chimed in, “Someone, go get the High Healer immediately!”
A hand touched my shoulder. “Rhia, can you hear us?”
I blinked slowly, taking in my surroundings. My throat was so dry it felt like I swallowed a cotton ball as I pulled my tongue from the roof of my mouth. I lay in a twin-sized bed with plain white sheets pulled up to my shoulders. Two curtains were pulled closed on either side of me, blocking my vision from being able to see beyond them. I turned my head to the nightstand beside me and found a glass sitting by a bouquet of flowers and a little wooden carving of a dagger.
I tried to reach for the glass. “I got you, Rhia, let me,” said a voice that brought the glass to my lips, pouring the water in my mouth and easing the rough pain that was in my throat. I let out a sigh of relief and noticed that it was Mendex who held the glass for me.
“Thank you, Mendex,” I said, my voice raspy.
I tried to not to panic as the realization that I was in the infirmary set in.
Amica sat on the other side of my bed, her wild curls pulled back. She wore standard healer scrubs, which were all black, except for a little golden crest below her left collarbone. We almost never wore those, except for professional occasions or if the infirmary was extra full, like from the plague that struck four years ago. We were in our scrubs for two weeks straight, healing our people from the plague. I was filled with anxiety over the situation. Why was she wearing her scrubs? Did another plague hit Veladis?
“Amica, what happened?” I asked.
She leaned on the bed, grabbing my hand. “What do you remember?”
I racked my brain for anything I could remember but my mind was utterly blank. It’s a scary and frustrating feeling to not remember, having your own mind betray you.
“Amica, I—I don’t remember anything.”
She stroked her hand in comfort over mine. “It’s okay, no need to be frightened. Your memory will come back in due time, but in the meantime, I’ll be right here to help you, okay?”
My anxiety eased slightly at the calming reassurance from my friend, and I nodded, laying my head back on the pillow in exhaustion.
Amica brought her hand to my forehead, pressing healing magic into me. Memories swirled in my head from the night of the masquerade, and I tried piecing all of the visions together.
I sighed, trying to make sure the memories of the masquerade didn’t overwhelm me. “Thank you, Amica. It’s coming back to me now.”
She brought her hand back and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear.
Mendex sat down on the opposite side of the bed. “Can you tell us what you remember? Where did you go? We tried looking for you, until we found you already in the infirmary.”
I explained to them how Bennett and I left the masquerade shortly after we were dancing to visit the astronomy tower. I purposely left out some specific details with Bennett that I could inform Amica on later—details I didn’t really need Mendex hearing. I told them how I started feeling weak and dizzy in the tower, and how I stupidly thought it was just the alcohol until I began to lose control over my body.
I closed my eyes as the pain of the betrayal still stung. “I was poisoned.”
Mendex nodded. “That is what the healers assumed with your condition. It was a strong poison, too.” He looked over to Amica in reassurance. “We didn’t know if you were going to make it.”
I relived my memories of the horror of not being in control of my body, not being able to fight back, of almost. . .dying. My throat burned as tears tried to make their way to my eyes. I looked up toward the ceiling, forcing them back.
“Bennett poisoned me,” I said flatly, showing no emotion at all, refusing to let them believe I cared.
“What?!” Amica yelled, pure shock coating her features. “That can’t be! Are you sure?”
I pursed my lips, nodding slowly. “He was the one who gave me the drink that was laced with poison. I feel like such an idiot for trusting him with that drink. It was my own fault, really.”
