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“Is she okay?”
“She’s fine. Everything is okay,” he said, leaving them all there wondering what was going on as we went inside.
Luisca felt my head, as if to assure herself I was still alive.
“She’ll be okay,” Kaden said.
“Use my bedroom to change her. Tiber is upstairs in yours.” She led the way and then laid out clothes for us to change into. “Do you need help?” she asked, looking at me.
“I’m fine,” I said, voice weak, which was probably why she looked at Kaden.
“I’ve got her,” he said, nodding in her direction as she left.
He began stripping me out of my clothes, and as a testament to how weak I was, I stood there and let him. He dried me off and re-dressed me, pulling a thick wool sweater over my head.
He carried me back out into the living room, settling me at the chair by the fire and checking my pulse.
“It’s getting better,” he said.
Tiber walked downstairs, a bag in his hands. “The cookies were laced. I can smell the diaxa in them.” He dropped the bag on the table, staring at it. “I’d love to know who dared walk in my home and do this. Not many people know how to make diaxa.”
“Could it be one of the elders?” Luisca asked.
“Not Farrow,” I said. “He doesn’t always like me, but he didn’t do it.”
“I’d have to agree with that,” Kaden said. “We need to go look for tracks around the area, see if there’s any kind of trail that might give a clue as to who came in.”
There was a knock at the door. Luisca looked outside. “It’s Farrow.”
“Let him in,” Kaden said.
Farrow walked in by himself. Kaden, Tiber, and Luisca immediately closed ranks around me.
“Are you going to go searching for the culprit? We can’t afford to lose her before the battle, and the trail is growing cold,” Farrow said, as if annoyed they hadn’t started already.
Kaden looked at me, frozen.
Luisca stepped forward. “I can stay with her. I’m not sure if you noticed, but I’m becoming quite the fighter. I’ll watch her while you handle this. You don’t need to worry.”
He nodded, and he and Tiber took off with Farrow.
“I’ll make us some tea.” She patted me on the shoulder, as if she had to keep confirming I was alive. “Don’t worry, I’ll try it first,” she said, smiling.
I couldn’t help but laugh at her bad joke.
She went into the kitchen, and Marina’s small head popped around the corner, like she’d been lying in wait for the coast to be clear.
She crept over to the fireplace, taking the seat across from me.
“They tried to kill you?” she asked, looking older than her years.
There was no point in lying to the kid. She’d seen it all go down.
“Yes. They didn’t do a very good job of it.”
She kept stealing glances my way, as if she were afraid to say too much. She went to a basket in the corner and pulled out some yarn and what looked like the beginning of a blanket. She started working the needles like a pro.
“That’s very pretty. Is it for you?”
