Page 78 of Tell No Tales
"I thought you said you couldn't help," Yvette frowned at him.
"I'm stating facts. I didn't offer to help. That's your job."
She snorted. "He's right. We can take you to Aquarion or Glamiere, away from the empire, if you let me help you."
Trin pushed herself up to sit against the wall. "Ow. It hurts."
"It's using your stomach acid against you. If it eats through the lining, it will pour out into your body, and you'll die of acid poisoning. Do you really want that?"
Trin shook her head. "It was the only way out."
"Now you have other options," Vadim said.
Trin looked up at him. Her eyes widened as she recognized his white hair and his black coat. "I've seen you before. You were with the emperor. You're no pirate."
"I was." He nodded. "I am. We're here to rescue Emperor Hugo and take him to Aquarion to rally our allies against General Coryn."
Trin frowned. "She was here with you, too. You were the head of the guards! I don't trust you."
"It's all right." Yvette kept hold of Trin's hand, even when she tried to pull away. "He's with me, and I'm a pirate. I'm a healer, and you know how the general feels about us."
Trin nodded.
"I can heal your stomach and take away the acid before it does more damage. Would you let me save you?"
Trin studied Vadim again. "Is he going to take me back?"
"Back?" he asked. "Where?"
"The palace."
"The stables," Vadim guessed. There had been a tall, thin young person working there the last time he and Coryn had gone riding together. He hadn't recognized her because she'd been dressed differently, and her hair had been shorter than it was now, shaggy around her ears. "Hannah could cut your hair for you," he said. "Not too short, just enough to give it more shape."
"Her hair?" Yvette asked. "She's dying and you want to talk about her hair?"
"Ow." Trin groaned, as if to accentuate the dire situation.
"Yes, her fucking hair," Vadim said. "And dresses. There's a trunk of fancy dresses onStarlight Specter. Olivia was saving them for you and Nola, but some will fit Trin." Already, he wanted to protect Trin from everything horrible in the world, though she still had a difficult decision to make.
Trin stared up at him in disbelief. "You're serious? You're not trying to trick me into going to Stony Eel Island?"
"No," Yvette promised. "We want to get you out of here."
Vadim wanted to agree, but his balance held him in check. "If you wait too long, you'll decide for us," he said. Once the acid ate through the stomach lining, death would be instantaneous. The acid would seep into Trin's lungs and blood, destroying everything it touched.
"I didn't want to live like this," Trin said, "but now I don't want to die. Please help me!"
"Thank the gods," Yvette muttered under her breath. She kept hold of Trin's hand and placed her other hand over Trin's stomach, where the acid had almost eaten through.
"I'll find something for you to eat," Vadim said, leaving her to her work. They would both need to eat to restore their strength after Yvette finished healing her.
Vadim collided with Klaus in the dim hallway. He hadn't been paying attention to where he was going.
"The boys are at the door," Klaus said. "We should meet them and get them upstairs before anyone sees them."
Vadim hoped they had enough food for eight in their provisions. Klaus stopped abruptly at the top of the final flight of stairs. Vadim grabbed him around the waist to steady them both as a mundane servant walked past the staircase. The smell of cooking meat wafted up to them.
"Fuck," Vadim whispered. "Mundanes."
