Beauty In Her Madness (Winterland Tale #3) - Stacey Marie Brown Page 0,93

“Fight it, Dinah. The poison is seeping deeper into your bloodstream. I won’t lose you again.” Blaze’s tone twisted with worry. “We’re almost there.”

“Jingle, Jangle, go get Quin. Have her meet me at my hut. Go. Now,” he bellowed. “Dor, PB, head back to the fortress. Set up a trap. We need to capture it. Mother is going to be so mad if anything happens.”

More voices and noises were bounced around, but my consciousness barely skimmed the surface. I had no understanding of time or space, my brain wandering off like an unleashed dog. The rocking, along with his deep breaths as he carried me, lulled me into sleep.

Years. Seconds. Minutes. I had no idea how much time had passed, but my lids fluttered when I heard a girly voice.

“Wahine,” a girl’s surfer tone chirped. “You need to drink this.”

My lashes fluttered, seeing Quin hovering over me, a glass tipping at my lips. She stood on a stool, bringing her adorable cartoony face, wide eyes, and yellow beak level with my face. A red flower was pinned close to her ear, and she wore a coconut bra, her grass skirt swishing.

Any other time I’d have thought I was hallucinating, seeing a talking penguin in a hula outfit nursing me back to health. But this was Winterland.

“It will ease the pain and counter the poison from the nettles.” It took a few beats for my brain to compute her words. Her fin lifted my head, tilting the liquid into my mouth, the sweet taste pouring down my throat. “While I changed you out of your wet clothes, a lot of the nettles fell out on their own, but we need to work the poison out of your system.” She drizzled more over my tongue.

I felt warm. Relaxed. My senses intensified.

Laying on a king-size bed, I faced straight out onto a picture-perfect beach scene. The morning sun sparkled on the blue water as it crashed softly on the sand, palm trees framing the large doorway. The air was thick and warm, but similar to the snow side, the temperature was comfortable.

I took in the room. Made from warm-colored tiki wood, the ceiling pitched up high. A kitchen and dining and living spaces were on one side, a bathroom and what appeared to be a walk-in closet on the other. A palm tree decorated in holiday ornaments sat in the corner. It was beautiful, the perfect dream hut you’d imagine spending a honeymoon in.

“Dinah?” Blaze’s face popped around Quin, relief and fear tangled in his expression. “Oh, thank Claus.” He exhaled, moving in close, his hand cupping my face. I blinked up at him, my lids feeling heavy, but my mind reeled with everything. “I thought I lost you for a moment.”

“Fruusst?” I slurred, my tongue not working. “Me… mmmyy fauullt...”

“Shhh.” He leaned close to me, his nose gliding up the side of my face, whispering in my ear. “Save your strength. You are safe now. He will never hurt you again.”

But he didn’t hurt me. I was the one who had hurt him. Whatever I did turned him into a monster. It was all my doing. I tried to speak again, but my energy waned. My head waggled in frustration, making me feel agitated.

“Just heal, Dinah.” His lips brushed my cheek. “I will be here.”

I tried to fight it, but my mind shut down, gliding back into nothing.

The next time I woke, voices flickered at my consciousness, my lids cracking open, only taking in hazy figures near the door.

“I told you I’d take care of it.” Blaze’s familiar voice drifted to my ear.

“If anything happens to him…” a woman replied, her voice low.

“I know. I know. Nothing can happen to your precious boy.” Bitterness and hurt dripped from Blaze’s words.

“Stop whining,” the woman scoffed at the derision. “Ugh, you are so much like your father…even look like him too.”

Blaze’s shoulders jerked back.

“How did this even happen?” she continued.

I heard Blaze sigh. “I don’t know. There is still a week before Christmas. It shouldn’t have happened yet.”

“Yet it did. And it’s merely going to get worse.” the woman snapped, her voice low, but filled with irritation. “Especially given the fact you haven’t done anything about it yet.”

“What do you want me to do, Mother?” Blaze folded his arms. “I can’t force it.”

Mother. A spark of a memory tried to brush through the murk in my head, but it couldn’t land. I knew I had met their mother, but I could never recall her.