"Oh, for God’s sake," she said crossly, "it’s not going to poison you. Just drink."
I did. The potion was thick and somewhat bitter, but I got it down and did actually start feeling better almost immediately. "How did you know I was here, let alone that I needed help?"
She raised an eyebrow. "How do you think?" She nodded toward Azriel, who remained near the gates, his arms crossed and his expression retaining its usual neutrality. But I still sensed the tension in him—though, to be honest, I’d never actually seen him look truly relaxed. Maybe tension was part of his makeup, or what made him such a good Mijai. Or maybe it was simply the end result of being forced to remain near me. Ilianna added, "He might not be able to enter the ritual grounds, but he sure as hell can yell."
Azriel? Yell? He vary rarely raised his voice, so it was hard to imagine him actually yelling. Besides, surely I would have heard it. He wasn’t standing that far away. I handed her back the thermos. "How’s Tao?"
She grimaced. "No better, no worse. The holy water and his own healing capabilities have fixed most of the burns, but I’m worried about what might be happening on the inside."
"We can’t do anything about that."
She met my gaze. "We can’t. But maybe the Brindle can."
I frowned and irritably brushed at the sweaty strands of hair that fell over my eyes. "The Brindle isn’t a healing center. What could they do that you can’t?"
"The Brindle is the home of all witch knowledge," she said grimly. "And some of the most powerful witches alive today are there. I don’t know how to heal Tao, Risa, but they just might."
Her expression was determined, but deep in the recesses of her green eyes fear lurked.
"At what cost to you?" I asked softly.
"I don’t know, and I don’t care. I can’t leave Tao like this. He saved my life, Risa. I can’t not do the same for him."
"I know, but—"
She placed a finger against my lips. Her skin was even colder than mine. "I know the risks. I can guess what they will demand. But even if I’m wrong, even if they demand something more of me, it’s a price I’m willing to pay to make Tao well again."
I gently caught her fingers in mine. "He may never be well again. We both need to face that."