House of Shadows (Royal Houses 2)

Fordham crossed his arms. “I’m taking her to Helly.”

“You can’t!” Clover said. “She just escaped.”

Dozan put a hand on Clover’s shoulder. “I agree with Fordham.”

Fordham blinked. “You do?”

“If we do nothing, she dies. I can’t live in that world.” Dozan stepped back. “Take her. Do whatever you can.”

Fordham nodded, an understanding passing between them in that second.

“I can’t carry us both through the shadows at that distance,” he said. Clearly, that fact grated at him. “I’ll have to call Netta.”

“Well then, I’m coming with you,” Clover said.

Fordham didn’t object. He picked Kerrigan up in his arms and strode toward the door. Dozan followed behind them, his eyes never leaving Kerrigan. Clover had doubted his affection toward her friend for a long time. She’d wondered what exactly his game was. Had cajoled them both to just have at it again to try to get over this insufferable sexual tension. But that look in Dozan’s eye wasn’t like anything she’d seen from him before. Under all of his bravado, he actually cared about Kerrigan.

They both did.

People still milled around the outside of the Wastes when Netta flew in. Gasps echoed all around them as the crowd made a dash to escape her landing zone. Fordham didn’t break stride. He nodded at Netta and used his shadows to move Kerrigan onto the dragon’s back.

“Are you coming or not?” Fordham asked.

Clover looked up at the imposing beast with a speck of fear. She’d seen dragons all of her life, but it was different than getting on one. She had to douse that dread for Kerrigan.

While Fordham arranged Kerrigan on Netta, Clover figured out how to make the climb and then settled herself behind Fordham. Without a word of warning, Netta pushed off of the ground and into the air.

Clover screamed as her stomach fell to her toes and then back up. “Holy gods!”

She couldn’t believe her eyes at how small everything looked. It was both exhilarating and terrifying all at the same time. And over too soon.

Netta landed in an aerie empty of dragons. She wondered where everyone was. Fordham once again used his shadows to drop to the ground and marched forward without looking back.

Clover slid down the dragon’s side and patted her. “Thank you.”

Of course. I look forward to seeing you again under better circumstances.

Clover eeped at the voice pressing into her mind. She had known dragons did that, but whoa!

She rushed after Fordham. She was tall, but she had to jog to keep up with his long strides. Kerrigan lay unconscious in his grip. Her eyes were closed, but Clover could see her eyes moving under the lids, as if she were seeing something none of the rest of them could see.

They wound ever lower through the mountain. Clover knew the path to Helly’s apartments. She had been there before and ran ahead to knock.

There was no answer. Then after another insistent knock, Helly opened the door. Her face was pale, and her normal pristine appearance had faltered. Her hair was loose to her shoulders. There were bags under her red-rimmed eyes.

“Clover?” she asked. “What are you doing here?”

“It’s Kerrigan.”

Helly straightened her shoulders. “What about her? Have you seen her?”

Fordham stepped forward. “Can you help her?”

Helly’s eyes rounded. The wreck she’d been a moment ago vanished. “Bring her inside.” She let Fordham and Clover pass. “What happened?”

“She had another one of her blackouts. We had a healer nearby, but he didn’t know how to stabilize magic sickness. He said that you were capable of that.”

“Yes,” Helly said, asking no other questions. “Put her on the couch. Clover, fill a basin with water. Fordham, I want you to hold her down.”

“Hold her down?” he asked.

“Don’t ask questions. Just do it,” she snapped.

And no one asked any more questions. Not for the two hours that Helly worked on Kerrigan and tried to get her to stabilize. Not when she took magic from herself and fed it into her body. Not when she asked for Fordham’s magic as well. Clover had nothing to offer in that regard, but she ran every errand Helly commanded.

Finally, she stepped back. “That’s all I can do.”

Fordham released Kerrigan, who had finally stilled. Even her eyes had ceased moving.

“Is it enough?” he asked.

Clover’s nerves were raw at the question. There could only be one answer. Kerrigan had to survive. She had to.

“Only time will tell. We’re going to need to keep feeding her magic every hour, on the hour. I have a few honeycombs that should help.”

Clover’s eyes widened. “Honeycombs?”

“The legal kind,” she assured Clover. “They hold my own magic. I keep a stash for when I need to perform particularly difficult healings. I’ll use them now to keep her stable.”

“How long can she stay like this?” Fordham asked.

Helly shook her head. “I’ve never treated magic sickness in someone this young. I’ve never seen it in someone this young. It could be hours or days.”