A Court of Innocents

16: Rendezvous

I charged through the halls of the manor, ignoring Tamlin hot on my heels.

"I'm not letting you do this, Yara!"

"It's a good thing I have free will, then!" I spat back, only stopping when I came to the library doors. Lucien was in there. I could smell him from out here, could hear his calm heartbeat. It shot through the roof as I barged through the doors. He'd been sitting in an armchair with a book in his lap beside the unlit hearth, but he shot to his feet upon hearing my entrance, his hand instinctively reaching for the dagger at his belt, and only relaxed when he saw it was just me. But his expression tensed again when he noted the looks on mine and Tamlin's face.

"I need you to Winnow me to the Night Court," I told my cousin. "Now."

"What's happened?" Lucien asked.

"You're not taking her anywhere," Tamlin growled behind me. "That's an order."

I spun to face him, only to find less than a foot of distance between us. I scowled up at him anyways. "He's not your emissary, so he doesn't take orders from you.

It was a point he couldn't argue with. And yet he tried anyway.

Tamlin's gaze shot to my cousin. "As long as you are a guest in my house, in my court, you will obey my rules."

"What the hell is going on?" Lucien demanded.

I turned to face him again. "We have a cure for the plague—"

His eyes widened.

"—and I need to get to Cassian right now."

Lucien opened his mouth, then paused. He looked between Tamlin and me again, reading between the lines. His tone was weary as he asked, "What, exactly, is the cure?"

"It doesn't matter," I said at the same time Tamlin confessed, "It's her blood."

Lucien blinked, processing this.

I scowled at Tamlin over my shoulder.

"How much of your blood is needed to cure someone of the sickness?" Lucien asked me, but Tamlin was the one to answer.

"A few drops." He sounded reluctant to admit the only silver lining in the whole situation.

Relief flushed over Lucien's face. "Oh. Well that's no so—"

"Do you really think," Tamlin began, stepping around me and striding towards him, "that your cousin—your kind, protective, self-sacrificing cousin—is going to stop at just healing your friend? She will drain every ounce of blood in her body to save as many as she can. She'll kill herself to save the world, and even then, it won't be enough to save everyone who's already been infected."

Lucien was silent, and I knew that meant he agreed with Tamlin. Bastard.

My cousin looked over at me, a question in his eyes.

I stared at the floor, not wanting him to see the answer I couldn't hide. Tamlin was right, but if they knew what I intended, they'd never let me start. But I had to help—and I had to start with Cassian.

My cousin sighed. "Yara—"

"No." I shook my head, already feeling defeated. "You can't make this choice for me, Luc. I need to do this. I need to help these people. Millions are dying—but I can stop it! I can help them. Let me help them."

He was silent.

"Please," I added, my voice breaking.

"You're the reason I'm alive today. You fought against Hybern, and I'm sure you saved countless lives in those battles. You've saved enough lives already, Yara. I can't let you... You don't get to die over this."