Blood for her Crown

Chapter Eight

Jamie

They had to stay at Aderah's house for the night, it seemed, for the wound on Grace's leg hadn't been properly closed, and it seemed it had gotten infected. Aderah took care of that, too, but when she was done it had already gotten dark and a storm had come up. That gave them some time to figure out what the black blood meant, but neither of them could come up with a proper explanation.

Ciden had gone outside for a while to clear his head, despite the storm.

Grace had fallen asleep again.

She had not cared much about the change of her blood, which was odd, and made Jamie wonder if she was keeping something from him. But on the other hand, he couldn't think of a reason for her to hide something from him. He basically knew everything about her.

He didn't know how long he had sat there, staring at Grace. Apparently, too long.

"You won't figure out what's wrong with her by staring holes into her head."

"I can try."

Aderah sat down beside him and handed him a plate with bread. "You have to eat. The storm won't last long, and I guess you want to continue your way as soon as possible."

He didn't look at her but took the plate. "Will she be okay? I wouldn't know how to help her if the poison showed more effects."

"I wish I could tell you, but I'm not so sure myself. Her body reacted differently to Nightshade than others'. She's a Keni. It could be because of her powers."

The memory of his brother came back. He had been a Keni, too, but it hadn't helped him. Neither did the color of his blood change.

"Maybe."

He began to eat. The bread was sweet, tasting almost like a pastry. Aderah just kept sitting there next to him, keeping him silent company.

After some time, she broke the silence. "Did you know someone who's been poisoned with Nightshade?"

Jamie was a bit overwhelmed by this question, for he didn't know if he should tell her about his brother. But it wasn't like they would see each other ever again, and he felt like he had to talk to someone about it, so he decided to tell her. "Blue Dawn. It was my little brother. He was ten. I couldn't save him."

She looked at him sympathetically. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

He slowly shook his head. "It's alright. That was eight years ago."

"At least you could help her." Aderah pointed her head at Grace. "I don't know what happened to her blood, but whatever it is, I don't think it will kill her."

He could only hope so.

"I wouldn't know what I would do without her," he said quietly.

"Are you two together?" Her sympathetic look had given way to a curious one.

He laughed a little. "No. She's my best friend, my family. I just can't lose someone else."

A shadow settled across her face, and she quickly looked away from him.

He just noticed now that the whole time they'd been there, no one else had come home. The streets were empty, everyone else had returned to their home.