mall through an underground tunnel. I like to come here to think sometimes.”
“It’s beautiful,” I said.
“What you need,” Trevor said gruffly, “is sleep and bed rest. Whatever crazy idea you have brewing, it can wait.” I wanted to argue, but his eyes were full of fire and I was too weak to yell at him right now.
I nodded, letting him think he’d won, then leaned back against the mat.
“Bring me some books and coffee and I’ll stay here for a week,” I smiled.
Trevor grinned, his smile breaking the tension that had formed into hard lines on his face.
“That we can do. Though I may have to trade a vial of elixir for a pot of coffee.”
“Worth it,” I said.
He left with Marcus, leaving Jazmine and I alone.
“Where’s Camina?” I asked.
“Sleeping in again,” she said. “I thought she was getting better. But this morning she’s sick. Tremors, vomiting, fever. I don’t know what happened.”
I did. After my attack, the guards had probably doubled, which meant no late night blood feasts for Camina.
“She’s detoxing,” I said.
“From what?”
“I should have told you earlier,” I frowned. “I wasn’t the first to visit Penelope. Camina has been stealing blood at night.”
“What, why?”
“For the elixir,” I said.
Her eyes widened, with dawning comprehension and then disgust.
“It’s not her fault,” I said. “Surely you’ve felt it. The elixir, we’ve had so much. It’s difficult to stop.”
Jazmine crossed her arms. “Yeah, for a few days I lived off sex and chocolate until the itching went away.”
“Maybe not everyone can get those luxuries as easily as you can win them from a poker game,” I said. “She needs our help. You have to watch her, help her. Promise.”
“Of course,” she said.
Trevor came back a few minutes later with a thermos full of coffee and a stack of novels.
“I had to ask around and borrow books. Lots of people were willing to donate.”
I reached for the thermos and sipped the steaming liquid. It was dark and bitter, but so much better than the root based stuff we’d been drinking.
“It was almost worth getting attacked for this pampering,” I said.
Trevor’s gaze hardened.
“Don’t say that,” he glowered.
“Relax macho,” Jazmine squeezed his arm. “She’s kidding.”
Trevor had somewhere he was supposed to be, so Jazmine kept me company for awhile, but then she excused herself as well.
“I’ll be back for dinner, with soup and food.”
“Maybe I should just go back?”
“Take a day at least, or the boys will be upset. You know how they enjoy taking care of the weaker sex,” she smirked.
“Right,” I said. “Well I guess if it makes them feel useful.”
“This place is between the buildings, hard to find from the outside, and the glass is reinforced. You’ll be safe here. Oh and here,” she said, handing me a sachet of herbs. “Beatrice made this for you. Smells like thyme and nettle. She said it would be invigorating.”
I placed the poultice near my pillow, enjoying the fresh, spicy scent. In the end, I allowed myself to be coddled for a day, watching a family of six-legged, albino squirrels chase each other up and down a tree outside the window. I tried to read, but couldn’t focus.
I felt like a fool, getting so close to Penelope. I knew she hadn’t meant to hurt me, she just couldn’t control her blood thirst. And Camina was almost as bad. I felt like I was seeing the emotional core behind the king’s noble system. The elixir given during the renewal ceremonies was about more than just healing or survival. The thirst opened up a need for us; we felt incomplete without it. Citizens needed their weekly fix, just as elite needed to feed to survive. Left to our own devices, we’d rip each other apart, looking for something to fill the longing in our hearts.
Could we ever trust an elite?
My thoughts turned to Damien, and the look he’d given me when he’d seen me at the wedding. What would have been our special day, the start of our lives together. Did he think I’d planted the bomb? That I was trying to kill him?
I snuck out of my bedrest at night, when the light was too dark to do anything but lay awake and be miserable. I wasn’t doing anybody any good by just waiting around, and I hated the idea of the others making plans without me. Plus, I really needed a shower. My hair and neck were still caked with blood, and even though there was a hose and a cold water sink nearby,