a morgue, and she didn’t seem to care.
“Fine. The elemental you helped, the one you thought offered to attack Midnight, has chosen to start a little higher on the chain of command than the slave traders or the trainers,” Rikai answered. “The Shantel elemental isn’t going after vampires. She’s going after Leona.”
“I don’t understand.”
Rikai laughed, but the sharp, barking sound barely seemed to indicate amusement. “You probably don’t want to understand, little witch. Because if I understand right, you caused this.” She made a sweeping gesture encompassing all the chaos around them. “You’ll live through it, as long as you stay out of the way. The Shantel elemental has marked you, and her power will protect you. But when elementals war, civilizations burn.”
I didn’t want this, Jay thought desperately as Rikai turned on her heel and headed toward the door. Please. I didn’t want any of this.
CHAPTER 19
A WAILING BABY. People coughing. Red blood left behind on a white handkerchief.
I will get us out of here. I swear to you, I will get us out of here.
You’re dead, Daryl. You can’t help me now.
Brina woke with a violent shudder, hoping to discover that the entire previous day had been nothing but a surreal nightmare.
No such blessing.
She opened her eyes to find herself back in her tiny, sterile room. The smell of antiseptic stung her nose, and the lingering drugs had left her mouth dry and her head foggy. Wisps of dreams and memories kept seeping into the waking world, confusing her further.
Angelica, please don’t cry.
Brina couldn’t get the memory of that baby’s wail out of her head. At the end, of course, it hadn’t been a wail but rather a wheeze, as little Angelica’s skin had darkened and—
No! Don’t think of that.
Brina stared at the door, summoning the courage to stand and try to open it. She didn’t want to know if it was locked and guarded.
Let the birds sing, dilly, dilly, and the lambs play.
They put chains on the doors. Painted red. Guards outside.
We shall be safe, dilly, dilly, out of harm’s way.
She was going mad.
Last time, Daryl had saved them. He had told her that he’d bribed the guards to leave their posts, but Brina suspected he had killed them. She hadn’t ever asked him, and certainly hadn’t blamed him. It was the only way they could have gotten out as anything other than corpses. The plague had already taken Mother, Father, the maid, and finally little baby Angelica, who had died in Brina’s arms. Daryl had done what he’d needed to do. He always had.
Brina stood and started toward the door, stumbling when her head spun from the abrupt movement. She touched the cold doorknob, twisted it, and yanked so hard that she nearly fell when it opened. She hadn’t expected it to.
Once it had, she wasn’t sure what to do. People were shouting, coughing, and crying all around her.
She took a step forward and spied a familiar figure down the hall, but stopped when she realized he had tears on his pale face. Her witch. What was his name?
He turned and saw her. Relief and shock battled on his face as he hurried to her side, reaching out to her. She dove into his arms, remembering how comforting they had been last time he had held her. This time, though, his breath was fast and his heart was pounding.
“B-Brina,” he breathed. “I’m sorry. I never meant to have you wake up alone, but I didn’t ever imagine this.…” He trailed off, and then said, “You shouldn’t be exposed to this.”
“Exposed?” Brina echoed, aware that her voice was shrill as she lifted her head.
Jay touched her face, lifting her chin so she was looking directly at him. “You’re hungry,” he said. “I’ll get you something to eat, and then we’ll figure out what—”
“Don’t talk to me like I’m a child!” Brina shouted, loud enough that she startled even herself as she shoved against his chest. He was as bad as Kaleo. “I am not an infant. I want to know what is going on here, and why, and I want to know what you did to me, and I want to know when you’re going to put things back the way they were.”
There. She put her hands on her hips and stared down at him. A true lady knew how to look down at anyone, even a man a foot taller.
He stared at her with no little surprise. She prepared herself for him to try to dismiss