novelraw Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Two
Gregor shifted away from the hot brick pressing into his stomach.
“Just keep still a moment longer, my lord, I’m almost finished,” Arri muttered.
He lifted heavy eyelids to see Nadia’s sister bent over him, her hand pressed into his stomach. “Why do I feel as though I just spent the last evening in Druj’s grasp?”
“Because that particular god nearly made off with your soul, my lord. It’s lucky, you are, that Lareina saw your need and sent me here.” She lowered her voice to mutter. “Now if she could have only seen Nadia’s need,” she said and pulled her hand away from his stomach. The uncomfortable heat dissipated.
A plump woman bustled over with a steaming cup and slipped a hand behind his head, then held the cup to his lips. “Drink, m’lord, it will help you regain your strength faster.”
“Who’re you and what is that foul smelling brew?”
The woman smiled down at him, her green eyes twinkling despite the tired smudges under them. “My name is Geeta, m’lord. I’m Nadia’s cousin and a healer. Please drink.”
Gregor choked down the drink, convinced Geeta’s kindly facade was a cover for an evil witch intent on killing him with this vile poison. However, as soon as the brew hit his stomach, his fuzzy thoughts cleared. Geeta pulled the cup away and patted his shoulder.
“Thank you, Geeta. I feel much better,” Gregor admitted. He focused on Arri. “Nadia’s need?”
Arriana gave him a strained smile. “It says much about your feelings that you ignored all but the part about Nadia’s latest folly.”
“Oh, I’ll ask for an explanation for it all, rest assured, but for now, why don’t you tell me what Lady Trouble has got up to while I’ve been indisposed.”
“More than indisposed, m’lord. It took everything I had to stop that poison and remove it completely from your body. Especially with Nadia pacing and muttering behind me the whole time.”
Gregor’s heart warmed. “She was worried about me?”
“You two have got to be the two most blind, stubborn, dunderheaded coconuts I’ve ever met,” Arriana said, rolling her eyes. “Of course she did. She kept on about finding a way to cross over into Mondami to hunt down a sorceress if you died. Something about having you brought back to life so she could kill you herself for putting her through this kind of stress.”
Gregor’s focus sharpened at the mention of the world of magic and the specific abilities of one of the A’mi. Could a sorceress really bring the dead back to life? And what of Nadia? Would she have really been able to cross over and find one? His concern for Nadia, dampened for a fleeting moment by his obsession with the A’mi, surged to the forefront of his thoughts. His gaze darted around the chamber.
“Yet she isn’t here, is she?” Gregor sighed, sure he’d fallen for the single most frustrating woman in all of Saimond.
Geeta spoke up from beside Arriana. “They were scheduled to go last night, but she refused to leave your side until she was sure you would live.”
He ignored the surge of hope and focused on what the older woman hadn’t said. “Go where? And she hasn’t returned?”
“They went out to put the plan to distract Prime Guild from Prince Reis in motion. A simple plan, she assured me. Nothing would go wrong, she promised.” Arri scowled. “Bah, I should’ve known better. It isn’t clear why Pell was able to jump free of the cart and she wasn’t before it overturned. I’ve given him a piece of my mind already.”
Gregor held up his hand, his aching head unable to keep up with her rambling. “Are you saying that Prime Guild, that Roland, has your sister?”
Arriana nodded. “Pell said the man driving the wagon was driving too fast and hit a pothole, overturning the wagon, throwing him and Nadia. When he came to, Roland’s people were arriving. He hid among the brush at the side of the road and watched them right the wagon and reload the crates and barrels. Roland himself unmasked Nadia and rode away with her.”
Gregor jerked up and swung his legs over the side of the bed, pausing to let the room quit spinning. “I have to go get her.”
Arriana and Geeta both pressed his shoulders back to the bed.
“You’ve just been at death’s door, my lord. And while I agree that something needs to be done sooner rather than later, you’ll do no one any good if you fall flat on your face,” Geeta said, patting his shoulder.
Gregor pushed her away. “I’m fine. It was only a scratch, and whatever you gave me to combat the poison has worked.” He pushed to his feet and took a deep breath to calm his roiling stomach. “How long has he had her?”
Arri slipped an arm around his back to help him balance. “All day, since first light. It’s nearly last meal now.”
Gregor cursed under his breath and jerked from Arriana’s supporting hold. “I need to go to the palace and gather my men. I won’t let her spend even one night in that monster’s possession.”
“There’s no doubt you’re meant to be her heartbonded, my lord. You’re more than a match for my sister in stubbornness.” Arriana shared a wry smile with Geeta.
Gregor whipped his head around at the mention of the heartbonded, then had to close his eyes against the dizziness which threatened to topple him.
“Once I have your sister back safe, you and I have much to discuss. You know more about the A’mi than any Sa’i I’ve ever met.” He paused, considering whether to confide further in this woman he hardly knew. Acting on instinct, he continued. “Collecting knowledge about the A’mi is a hobby of mine. I would like to add what you know to my collection.”
Arriana’s brows lifted high on her forehead. “Sometimes the information we seek ends up being more than we bargained for.” The tiny healer’s gaze pinned him. “I’m not sure you’re ready to hear what I have to say.”
“Perhaps,” he said, giving her a hard look. “But I still want to know all the same.”
Geeta pulled clothes from the wardrobe and laid them on the bed. “Jon and Gordon found out which hole they’ve put her in and are even now putting together a plan to get her out.”
“Take me to them,” Gregor said.