Page 33 of Madness of Her Mages

AURORA TELEPORTED USinto Drae’s bedchamber in the span of a heartbeat. After Nikkos snuck down to the cellar to retrieve the herbals we needed, plus a few other essentials, he made me an herbal brew that had my gut roiling within minutes. Elements, I’d never been so sick and miserable in all my life. Nikkos held my hair back while I hunched over a pot and heaved. I vomited up everything I’d eaten for supper and breakfast, plus probably meals from the days before. I heaved water until it ran clear. At the risk of sounding dramatic, it felt as if I’d expelled a few organs, too. Yet, I couldn’t seem to cough up that damned stone.

Thank the elements, the girls had quickly gone to sleep in Drae’s bed. I didn’t want them to see me like this, and I didn’t have the strength to argue with them about our sleeping arrangements. They had to sleep near us. I wouldn’t be able to rest with them too far away. Not that I would get any rest while heaving my guts.

Lying on the floor of the sitting room adjoining Drae’s bedchamber would be the closest thing I’d get to sleep. At least the plush carpet was cozier than the tent back at camp. The room was slightly chilled, though. Drae refused to light a fire in the hearth and risk being discovered. He didn’t want anyone knowing we were here, just in case Malvolia had left spies behind. I didn’t need a fire, though, when I had Nikkos’s warm arms and wings wrapped around me.

I looked up at Nikkos, who offered me a tender smile. Then I turned toward Blaze and Drae who were playing cards by candlelight at the low table by the sofa. “You guys can’t go two nights without sleep.”

Drae arched a brow as he slapped a card on the table. “Neither can you.”

“I don’t have to fly all day tomorrow,” I reminded him. His wings had to be sore from all that flying.

“No,” he answered, laughter ringing in his words, “you just have to make sure you don’t fall off a devil horse.”

“Can you at least take turns sleeping?” I begged. “Please.”

Drae threw down his cards and dragged a hand down his face. He had lines framing his eyes that I hadn’t remembered seeing before. “Blaze,” he said to his brother, “you sleep first. You’ve probably used the most energy today.”

“Both of you sleep,” Nikkos said while tightening his hold around my shoulders. “I’ll stay up with Shiri.”

Drae stifled a yawn, his wings drooping behind him. “You sure?”

“Yeah,” Nikkos said, “I got more sleep than either of you last night.”

Drae heaved a sigh, slouching against the table. “We didn’t sleep at all last night.”

That was partially my fault, though I wasn’t sorry. Not one bit.

“Go,” Nikkos said, the strength of his words warming my bones.

Drae and Blaze shared a look before stumbling to their feet.

“Wake me in a few hours,” Drae said to Nikkos. “You need to sleep, too.”

Nikkos tensed, his chest pressing against my back as hard as concrete. “I will.”

I had a feeling Nikkos would let his brothers sleep through the night. Drae and Blaze dragged their feet toward the bedroom. I watched through the open doors as they fell on top of the bed like birds with clipped wings. The girls sighed but didn’t wake when my mates’ wings fell across their legs.

After a few moments, Drae let out a loud snore and Blaze moaned in his sleep.

I looked over my shoulder at Nikkos, mindful that my breath was rancid. “Guess there’s no sleeping for me until I get rid of this stone,” I finally said as I faced forward again.

He gently rubbed my shoulders. “You can take naps in between vomiting.”

I looked around the room. “Where?”

“Right here.” His wings draped over me like two blankets.

I relaxed against his chest with a sigh. “There’s no place I’d rather be than in your arms.”

“Good,” he said, kissing the back of my head, “because there’s no one I’d rather be holding.”

But then the nausea hit me without warning. I flung myself from his embrace, clutching the porcelain pot like a lifeline, andheaved, though only bile came out. Elements, it was going to be a long night.

I WOKE UP TO THE SOUNDof Nikkos snoring in my ear. My eyes fluttered open, and I scowled down at the pot between my legs. Thank the elements one of my mates had emptied it. Nikkos leaned against the sofa, a big pillow cushioning his back. His arms and wings were wrapped around me, and a few of his feathers had fallen into the pot. Yeah, good thing it was empty.

I sucked in a breath when I felt the hollow void all the way to the marrow of my bones. No buzzing magic in my blood. The potion hadn’t worked. All that vomiting for nothing. Now what?

Blaze and Drae packed their bags while mumbling softly to each other.

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