Page 69 of Skullduggery
‘We’re all here for you, Daisy,’ Hugo said quietly. ‘Whatever you need and however you feel.’
There was definitely no trace of a calm centre inside me now. I clutched the sheet to my chest and scooted against the elaborate mahogany headboard, wide-eyed and nervous. As soon as Hugo and the brownies left the room, I gulped down my single pill of spider’s silk. When it hit my system, my heart rate increased and my ears started to ring. I had to stay absolutely still until the wave of light-headedness and nausea passed.
Despite those symptoms, the kernel of hope deep inside me was growing by the second. If I made it out of this mess alive – and I could deal with the risk posed by Athair – I could work on myself. I was worth recovery.
When Lady Rose came in, she looked even more nervous than I felt, though that didn’t make me feel any better. Unlike Hugo, she’d cleaned herself up and found a fresh set of clothes.With a scrubbed face, she appeared younger than before. I knew that legally she was an adult, but she still looked so very young. I was struggling to deal with the situation, and she was at least ten years my junior, so I couldn’t imagine how she was coping.
I reminded myself that I still didn’t know the full story and vowed to be patient with her; she deserved that much, at least.
Lady Rose sat down on the chair that Hugo had vacated. ‘How are you feeling?’ she asked.
‘I’m pretty good. Surprisingly so.’ I tried to grin. ‘I guess I just needed a long nap.’
She didn’t smile. ‘You deserved it after all you did. When I saw how you fought Baltar, I knew I could trust you – I knew you were who you said you were. The way you went up against that fiend…’ Her voice trailed off and she shook her head. ‘It was impressive.’
‘You’re the one who took him out at the end, Lady Rose.’
She grimaced. ‘Don’t call me that.’
I blinked. ‘What would you like to be called?’
She stared down at her hands. ‘Maybe just Rose,’ she said in a small voice. ‘For now.’
I nodded slowly. ‘Okay.’
She didn’t look up but started twisting her fingers over and over again; she had something important to say and I would give her all the time she needed to say it. Seconds ticked by. Eventually she sighed. ‘I know you’re worried about the blood-magic business. But I’m not a fiend.’
Not yet, I thought.
‘I’m not close to becoming a fiend either.’ She shuddered. ‘I’d kill myself before I let that happen.’
I tried to keep my voice soft. ‘You must know how dangerous blood magic is, though.’
‘Yeah. But nothing else has worked against Athair. Myelvish magic is strong and I know I’m powerful, but nothing I threw at him affected him – until I tried blood magic.’
‘Blood magic won’t beat him, Rose. It will only destroy you.’
Her cheeks flushed; she clearly knew that already. I could empathise because I knew that my spider’s silk addiction would destroy me – it was already destroying me. Even now, lying in bed with my wild magic finally under control, my pulse remained erratic and I knew my hands would shake if I raised them. I had still swallowed that pill, though. I still wanted to swallow more.
‘I will try and stop using it. If I don’t meet any more fiends it’ll be easy,’ she said with a faint smile of self-mockery.
‘How did you get involved with Athair in the first place?’ I asked.
‘I met him at a party. For a long time I didn’t know he was a fiend because he looked so normal. He was charming and sweet and?—’
Her eyes filled with tears. ‘I felt myself falling for him. It didn’t occur to me he was only using me. With hindsight, it’s easy to see that he knew I could be manipulated. I don’t have any close family left. My mum and dad both died a couple of years ago. My great-aunt tries to keep in touch, but she’s often busy with her own life. And it’s the same with my friends – they’re preoccupied with their own concerns.’ She sighed and rubbed her eyes. ‘I was easy pickings for someone like Athair.’
‘I’m so sorry, Rose,’ I whispered.
‘It’s not your fault.’ She sniffed. Then she looked up, gave me a direct stare and changed the subject. ‘Hugo told me you were adopted.’
‘Uh, yeah.’
‘What are they like? Your adoptive parents, I mean. Are they nice?’
My face softened. ‘They’re amazing. They’ve always beenamazing. They’re human, so they don’t have any magic and they don’t understand a lot of what’s inside me, but they’ve always supported me. They’ve always loved me. I’m very lucky to have them.’
‘It sounds like you had a happy childhood with them.’
