Page 53 of Fae Mates

“Probably,” I replied, my heart aching for the prince. This wasn’t like me at all. Whenever Elijah visited for sex, he would leave soon afterward. I had never felt so intense back then, but then I don’t think we had ever connected at anything but the most superficial level. “Did you check on Flora?”

“They let her go as soon as they realized she was of no use to them. I followed her back to the remedial building, and she’s fine.”

My lungs let out a long, relieved breath. “Good.”

McVittie jumped down from the bed and walked to the top of the stairs. “Are you coming down?”

I pushed myself out of bed and reached for the bedside table, where I found a nightshirt made of dandelion fluff. “How’s Pokeweed?”

“Still solid, if that’s what you’re asking.”

The reminder of his fate caused my knees to weaken, and I held onto the wall for support. It wasn’t right that Pokeweed would be born cursed, live a cursed life, and die cursed. Hadn’t the poor guy suffered enough?

I glanced down at McVittie, who had also suffered a similar fate, and my heart ached.

As we descended the spiral staircase, I shouldered on the nightshirt and told McVittie what I had learned from Flora and Mr. Whittaker about life-water and the possibility that it might cure Pokeweed.

The cat clacked his jaws. “If I was a member of Queen Maeve’s court and I suspected someone had poisoned me with nightsbane, I’d drink a cup of life water each day.”

“But what if it has side effects?” I asked.

“Like what?” replied the cat.

“I don’t know… The outsiders are always talking about their medicines giving them headaches and constipation. Maybe the life-water does the same.”

McVittie snorted. “That doesn’t sound as bad as dying a painful death.”

“But what if that water can cure Pokeweed?” I asked.

The cat paused on the stairs and glanced at me over his shoulder. “What if it wakes him up, and he suffers an agonizing death?”

I bit down on my lip. Was it selfish for me to risk Pokeweed’s life with a cure that might hurt him? But if I let him slip away painlessly, then I’d have helped whoever wanted him dead.

Emotion thickened my throat, and I swallowed hard. Pokeweed had become one of my dearest friends, and after losing Sicily and Helen, I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to such a kind and gentle soul. Even if I had Prince August as a mate, my life wouldn’t be the same without Pokeweed.

We reached the level where I’d left my friend. McVittie hopped off the stairs, bounded across the room, and jumped on his bed. I followed after him, clutching my arms around my middle.

Pokeweed lay unmoving on a white bed of apple blossoms. A sheet covered his lower half, and his chest was bare and still obscured by a covering of thick fur. There was no movement behind his eyelids, so I couldn’t even tell if he was dreaming or completely comatose.

McVittie sniffed Pokeweed’s ear. “What’s this, then?”

A knot formed in my gut. “Has something changed?”

“He’s not sleeping as deeply as before.” The cat turned around and fixed me with accusing eyes. “This is your doing, you know.”

His words hit like a punch to the gut. McVittie would never have been able to abduct Prince August without my help, and I hadn’t thought ahead at what might happen when he didn’t turn up for breakfast. But I hadn’t been responsible for the nightsbane. That had been the work of a powerful enemy who had been waiting for his moment to strike.

I stepped back, my hand on my aching heart. “My fault?”

“Your heat,” said McVittie.

“What about it?”

“A female cat in heat will howl at the top of her voice, calling all the tomcats in the area to mate. Poor Pokeweed probably sensed your equivalent of yowling, and he’s battling through the poison to reach you.”

“I didn’t… yowl.”

McVittie tilted his little black head to the side. “Are you sure about that? The Duke of Medietas seemed pretty desperate to make your acquaintance.”