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Eris’s jaw dropped, the knot in this throat bobbed as he swallowed. “How did you know…?”
A hint of worry pricked at the back of her mind. How long did she have left until King Oberon woke up? How long until the guards barged in here and tried to take her away?
“You won’t lock me anywhere ever again, Eris,” she said instead, shaking her head as she retreated into the room. “I’ll stay right here, besides Arkimedes, as I’m meant to. Any fae who is loyal to me may enter and help us until Arkimedes recovers.”
“And that’s not me?” he asked, frowning. “I swore to our king that I would protect you from any danger, no matter what.”
“And yet the castle doesn’t allow you in.” She pointed at the door and turned around, walking away without another look back.
Nava lay down next to Arkimedes. She draped a leg over his body and her arms around his torso. Her magic wove around them with a gentle buzz as it worked to heal him.
It was their second day since returning to the castle. The few fae who had come in to help had just left. They had brought them food and potions. Most were maids, and there had been one nurse as well, who had seemed thrilled to meet her.
Nava didn’t know how long she lay there with her eyes closed while thinking of nothing except healing his wounds. She couldn’t sense the poison in Arkimedes today, and his skin was already looking less sickly than before.
She tightened her grasp on his naked shoulder and felt his breathing stutter where it washed over her forehead.
When she raised her head, his long lashes were rippling with faint movements. “Are you awake?”
Arkimedes’s eyes cracked open, revealing his bright green irises. “Are we in my chambers?” he asked, his voice like gravel.
Her heart beat so fast she felt light-headed. “Yes, we’ve been here for a few days.” A sudden thickness clogged her throat, and she swallowed deeply, trying to stop herself from crying. “How are you feeling?”
“Like a beast ran me down,” he said gruffly, rubbing his face before attempting to sit up.
Nava pushed him down with one hand. “Don’t you dare try to get up. We are in enemy territory, and I need you to be well so we can handle whatever the king throws our way.”
Arkimedes lifted a brow. “What happened?”
And she told him everything. From him passing out by the docks to her being locked inside the green room and then escaping with the help of the castle.
He shifted about as she spoke, clearly uncomfortable with his wings scrunched underneath his body. But he also attempted to stay still, staring at the ceiling unblinkingly while he digested all the information. “I got the potion on me…”
“Yes. How are you feeling?”
“Strangely good,” he said, “So, Eris said my father was indisposed, and then the castle told you he was asleep? Has Eris attempted to come back here?”
“Not since last time.”
“How long have I been out?” he asked. “And have you heard about Devon?”
She shook her head, worrying her bottom lip with her teeth. “You’ve been out for a couple of days. I have no idea how Devon is doing or where he is.”
“Fuck. I need to get out of here and figure out what’s happening with him—and with my father.” Arkimedes sat up, his face twisting with pain.
Nava opened her mouth to demand that he lie back down but shut it when he shot her a warning look. “Before he locked me away, Eris told me that the kingdom’s allegiance has been shifting to you—and to me—because your father’s health is worsening. He said that’s why they kidnapped you on the island. I guess that’s why the castle helped me break your father’s spell as well. I’ve been feeling like I’ve been going mad, because surely a castle can’t speak, right?”
“Neither can bees, and yet they speak to you.” Arkimedes reached for her hand and squeezed it tightly. “Like I said before, we have magical ties to this place.”
True. She knew this, even if a part of her still struggled to accept it. The notion just felt so strange.
“I—I’ve been feeling the shift,” he admitted, ruffling his hair with one hand like he usually did when he was nervous. “It’s been building slowly. I sense things happening in the kingdom I didn’t before. Like the city telling me the Crows were going to attack and that they were watching us. Or when I somehow knew my father and the guards were coming to aid us.”
Just as she was about to answer, gooseflesh erupted all over her skin. A warning.
Arkimedes sat up straight, staring at the door. “Someone’s coming.”
If he felt it too, it couldn’t be the bees warning her. It had to be the castle.
