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“You are coughing up blood,” I started to speak when Cari did not respond. “You are shaking. But you can see, right?”
Cari’s shoulders dropped. She knew I was on to her.
“No,” she said. “I can’t see.”
Casja gave me a questioning look.
“How is that possible?” I asked Cari. “Since when?”
“Since Qam,” Cari replied. “I lost my sight the night they took Marlian away.”
“What?” Casja asked. “Why?”
I took in a deep breath. This was why I had trouble trusting Cari. And now, I was proven right.
“Because she is poisoned, too,” I said. “Lord Petret said Lugh learned this trick from his new accomplices.”
“The queen?” Casja asked.
I nodded. “She did it to Cari when she was her captor. She gave her the poison to keep her in line. And Cari has been keeping it a secret from us.”
“I told Jasmine,” Cari said. “She knew.”
The thought of Jasmine lying on her bed, eyes closed but eyelids fluttering with fear each time she had one of her nightmares overwhelmed me. I tried to push it away so that I could focus on Cari.
“But you didn’t tell us,” I replied. “You didn’t think it would be important? Especially now that we are in danger...”
“But Lord Tynan said coughing up blood was a later symptom,” Casja said. “She would have lost her sight before that.”
“She did,” I said, walking so that I could face Cari even though I knew she could not see me. “What I wonder is how she managed to trick us for so long?”
Cari met my gaze dead on. She did not seem to be lacking the ability to see at all.
“I use your eyes,” she said.
“What?” Casja asked.
“I use your minds to see through your eyes,” Cari said. “I don’t interfere with where you choose to look, but I am inside one of your minds at all times. That’s how I was able to see where I was going.”
“Why didn’t you tell us about the prisoners being poisoned?” I asked. “Was that because you wanted to keep your poisoning a secret?”
“No,” Cari replied quickly. “I thought you would back out from entering the prison if you knew. I saw no way to solve the poison issue. And I thought...”
“You thought if we could get you inside the prison,” I finished her sentence. “You might be able to find the antidote for yourself.”
Cari nodded.
“It has been weeks since you had the antidote,” I said. “That means you’ll die if you don’t get another dose soon.”
She nodded again.
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Casja asked, her voice filled with pity.
“Because she is only in this for herself,” I said. “That’s why she came along. She doesn’t care about the prisoners. She only wanted to get the antidote.”
Cari made a fist as if she was about to strike me. But she did not get up as she spoke.
“That’s not true,” Cari said. “I didn’t know about the prison when I offered to join you. I...”
