pulled a pink dress over my head. It was chiffon and had a black satin bow at the waist. So not my style. At least it was from this century. It took both Faith and Nana to squeeze my toes into the heels they’d picked for me. I was certain I’d add a broken leg to all my other injuries as we went down to the dining hall.
“Good evening,” Veronique said, passing us on her way out the door.
“Good evening,” Nana returned.
I swayed and Veronique grabbed my arm, helping Nana to steady me. Something musky tickled my nose. I coughed.
“Thanks,” I said around a hiccup and yanked my arm from her.
“My pleasure.” Veronique smiled and walked off.
I turned my head toward Nana. “Did you feel that?”
“Feel what, dear?”
“A wet, misty, stinky thing.”
“No. Now pull yourself together. Everyone’s watching.” She smiled to the tables as we passed.
Food did help take the edge off the elixir, but it also brought back the pain. Auntie Mae’s chattering scraped against my eardrums, annoying me more than usual. The massive headache didn’t help. I made my excuses to the table and headed back to my room.
The corridors seemed tighter at night with the shadows draping them. Tiny winged creatures circled me, and I slapped at them. One hovered in front of me, her body thin and green like a praying mantis and a scowl on her beautiful face. She shook her head and waggled her finger at me, then flew off, the others chasing her.
Great. Now I’m seeing things. Nana should sell this stuff. Wait. “Maybe she does.” My voice sounded slurred.
I stopped in the middle of the corridor, my head reeling and stomach nauseous. There was no way one extra shot of elixir would make me this tipsy. I’d snuck an extra shot before and never got this woozy. Really, I should be worried, but I couldn’t focus enough to care. I squinted as I tried to see my way down to the end of the hall.
As I fell backwards, a pair of arms caught me and eased me to the floor. A spindly woman in her thirties with choppy red hair, pointy ears, and slanted gray eyes stared down at me.
“Are you real?”
“Yes,” she said. “Are you hurt?”
“I don’t think so,” I said. “Who are you?”
“Sinead. I’m fey.”
“Okay, are you Sinead or Fay?”
“No. My name is Sinead. I’m from the fey nation.” She pulled me up by my arms. “Come on, help me out. We’ve got to get you to your feet.”
Once upright, I checked out her back. “You don’t have wings.”
“I’m one of the Silent People. We don’t have wings. Can you walk?”
“My legs feel like Twizzlers.”
She wrapped my arm around her shoulders, held my waist, and led me down the hall.
“We’ve got to get to your room. You’ll be safe there.”
With each step, I willed my legs to move, and before long, Sinead was knocking on the door to our suite.
Faith jerked the door open. “What’s happened to you?” She looked from me to Sinead. “Who are you?”
“She helped me,” I said. “Move and let us in, already.”
“You’re drunk. How many shots did you have? You’re going to be in big trouble when Nana sees you.”
“Zip it, Faith. The world is spinning.”
Sinead dragged me to the bed and dropped me onto the pillows. “I think she was drugged,” she said.
Nana burst through the door. “Young lady, you should be ashamed—” She stopped when she spotted Sinead. “What’s going on here?”
“I’m Carrig’s wife, Sinead.” She collapsed beside me on the bed.
I rose to my elbows. “You’re whose wife?”
“I’ve been trying to get into Asile ever since—” Her eyes teared. “I was with him when we went to exchange Gia and Deidre. I waited outside your house while he went in with Deidre to get the shield charm. After she came out, I took her to Gia’s apartment, and Carrig waited with you.”
Nana shut the door. “He did mention someone was waiting for Deidre. You were her escort?” Nana’s eyes widened when she realized my condition. “What have you done to my granddaughter?”
“Nothing,” Sinead said. “Someone else did something.”
“Move over and let me take a look at her.” Nana leaned over, grabbed my chin, and twisted my head side to side. “Your irises are slanted. Have you seen anything unusual?”
“Yes,” I said before letting out a yawn.
“Delusion potion,” Nana said and went into her room. The sounds of rustling bags, clanking bottles, and running water came from the bathroom. She returned with a