Page 56 of The Twisted Throne

Put her asleep andkeepher asleep, no matter what went on around her. Everyone she cared about could be put to sword by assassins, and there would be nothing Ahnna could do to help them. “No! I don’t need it. I’m fine.”

“Your Highness, you are emotional,” the doctor said. “Allow more stalwart minds to aid you through this trial.”

“Go fuck yourself!” Ahnna screamed at him.

The doctor scowled. “I do not know how things are done in Ithicana, but in Harendell—”

James plucked the vial from the doctor’s hand. “Please wait outside.”

“I’m fine,” she said as the doctor slammed the door behind him. “I don’t need it. I’ll calm down.”

Yet she could hear the roar of her pulse, her heart racing as though she’d spent hours running up and down flights of stairs carrying a heavy load.

Bronwyn caught hold of her wrist, fingers pressing tight. “It’s got her. We don’t have much time.”

“Ahnna, listen to me,” James said. “I’ve seen men die from wraithroot. Strong men, their hearts tearing themselves apart in their chests because they refused to stand down.”

“I’m stronger.” The words came out between gasped breaths, her chest spasming. “I’m fine. Don’t drug me.”

Jor coughed, then said, “We’re going to have to pin her. Force it down her throat.”

“No!” Her shoulders hit the window, though she didn’t remember getting off the bed. “Please don’t. Please.” Her face was wet, the pain in her chest incredible. “I just need a minute to breathe.”

“Ahnna, you’re acting a fool!” Jor shouted. “Take the bloody tonic!”

“Ahnna, please,” Taryn sobbed. “I can’t lose you!”

“Ahnna, you’ve got minutes to live if we don’t do this,” Bronwyn pleaded. “It will be okay!”

“I can’t.” Her eyes skipped among the three, their faces started to blur. “I can’t risk it.”

James shoved the vial into Taryn’s hands, then took a step toward Ahnna. “Why can’t you? What do you think will happen?”

“I don’t know.” Her knees were shaking, the roar deafening. “I need to be alert.”

His head tilted, brow furrowing. “No one here will hurt you. I swear it.”

“You don’t…understand.” Her chest was in agony. “I need to…keep watch. Need to…protect…them.”

Her legs buckled, and James lunged, catching her. His fingers tangled in her hair, holding her head upright. Amber eyes burned into hers as he said, “I’ll stay. I’ll keep guard.”

Her eyes burned, tears leaking down her cheeks.

“I promise, Ahnna,” he said. “I will be your eyes until you wake. Please trust me to do this.”

He was practically a stranger. An outsider. No part of her should trust him, but Ahnna whispered, “I trust you…”

The tonic Taryn pressed to her lips was sickly sweet, making her choke as she swallowed and then burning as it raced down her throat. Her body was in agony, her heart starting to skip, but then the world split into two. Then three.

She slumped, falling against James’s chest, his arms around her as everything darkened. The last thing she heard was his voice as he whispered, “I’ll keep watch for you.”

A bead of sweat trickleddown his face as James leaned against the cold glass, his own heart racing at a wicked speed. Ahnna was slumped against his chest, deadweight in his arms, but her chest still rose and fell.

Bronwyn had her by the wrist, eyes distant as she monitored Ahnna’s pulse, then she gave a slight nod. “Her heart is slowing.” Shaking her head, she added, “Such a simple cure.”

“And yet I’ve seen wraithroot claim countless lives,” he muttered. “Men who refuse to step away from a fight, then die for their bravery.” He looked past Bronwyn to the Ithicanians. “What happened to her? Why is she so afraid to let down her guard?”

“War happened,” Jor answered, his eyes shadowed with darkness and illness. “Ahnna led Ithicana through the nastiest war I’ve witnessed in my life, and she holds the weight of all that happened during her rule on her shoulders. You couldn’t begin to comprehend what she endured.”

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