My eyes didn’t cooperate fast enough, and I opened my shields, knowing the glow from my eyes would give me away but wanting to see more than I wanted caution.
“Peace, dog,” Dugan said from the doorway to my bedroom.
I lowered my dagger. “What are you doing here? And maybe a better question, how did you get here?” I glanced at my dresser, where the small globe attached to the wards sat. It glowed a cheery green, meaning all was well and no one uninvited had tried to pass the wards. Caleb is going to have to recalibrate those. Last I’d seen of Dugan had been on the hill hours ago. Surely he hadn’t been hanging around this whole time?
“That’s not important. I nee—” he started, but I cut him off.
“Yeah, it kind of is.” I’d thought the castle was pretty secure.
“I—”
A knock came from the door on the other side of my sitting room, followed by a soft, “Alex? Everything okay?”
Falin. Apparently it was middle-of-the-night party time in my room.
“Come on in,” I yelled.
The door opened and Falin walked in wearing only a pair of gray sleep pants, which almost distracted me from the fact that his gun was in his hands.
“What set off PC?” he asked, his eyes scanning the sitting room as he stalked through it. He reached the bedroom doorway, and the gun twitched, but he didn’t actually aim it at Dugan. “How did you get here?”
“Exactly what I just asked,” I said, as I knelt to scoop up PC. He was still growling at Dugan. He really didn’t like the Shadow Prince. As I considered my dog to have excellent taste, I noted that fact against Dugan.
“We do not have time for this. Alexis, I need your help.”
My first instinct was to tell him to contact me during normal business hours, but Dugan sounded frantic. He hadn’t sounded desperate when he’d shown up in my office because his friend was presumed dead. Nor when we discovered our best lead had been murdered after the revelry, but now there was panic in his voice.
“We can negotiate whatever payment you wish, but we must hurry,” he said, stepping closer to me. He looked like he was going to grasp my elbows, but PC was still growling in my arms.
I glanced to Falin. He studied the Shadow Prince with narrowed eyes.
“Go where? To do what?” I asked.
“The shadow court,” Dugan said. He turned and stalked from me to my dresser. He glanced at the items arranged on the top, though I didn’t think he actually saw them. The movement was what was important, like pacing could somehow work out his thoughts and words. Considering the sharp twitches of his hands and the heavy steps of his feet, I didn’t think it was alleviating his agitated nervousness. He turned back to me. “The king is ill.”
Now I was even more confused. “I’m not a healer.”
“He has basmoarte.”
I frowned, no less confused.
“Do you know how he contracted it?” Falin asked.
Dugan shook his head. “Serri said he was fine when they went to bed. She woke in the middle of the night and found him . . . like he is. The fouled magic is covering most of him already, and he is unconscious. He doesn’t have much time.”
I didn’t know what to say. Basmoarte was a death sentence; we all knew it. “I’m sorry” would have been the human response, but none of us were human.
“What is it you want from me?” I finally asked, uncertain where this was going.
“You’re the only person I’ve ever heard of who has reversed the spread of basmoarte.”
“Only temporarily.” I held up my hand. The fouled magic hadn’t spread much further while I slept, but the entirety of my hand was covered in deep purple lines under the ever-present illusory blood.
Dugan stalked up to me again. “Even a temporary reversal would bring him back from the brink of death.”
“Alex, no,” Falin said, taking up a position beside me. “You would have to come in contact with the Shadow King’s magic to remove the infection. You were able to remove your own without further injuring yourself, but basmoarte is spread through infected magic. You could do an unknown amount of damage to yourself and your own basmoarte would spread that much faster.”
“I’m aware of the tremendous risk I am asking you to take.” Dugan took a deep breath. Then he bowed. “I am willing to take the debt. Please, use the magic you used on yourself