Chapter 101: I've Fallen For Her

Liam's POV

The physician was waiting for an answer, his eyes searching mine.

I exhaled.

"Her eyes," I said. "When she convulsed. They were glowing silver, not a reflection, something from inside and then she spoke in a language I've never heard." I paused. "And then it stopped and she went still."

The physician was quiet for a moment. Then he turned to his bag and produced a scroll, old, the kind that had been handled many times and showed it, the edges worn soft. He unrolled it carefully on the edge of the bed.

"My Alpha," he said, "what you've described goes beyond anything I can treat."

I looked at him.

"This–" he gestured at Kiara "–is not a physical illness. The symptoms point toward it, but the mechanism is something else entirely. Something that lives in the space between body and–" he chose his word carefully "–spirit. Soul. Whatever word you prefer." He met my eyes. "I cannot help her. Not with anything in my bag."

"Then find something that isn't in your bag," I said. The anger was coming up, steady and rising. "You are the palace physician. A great one at that. You don't get to stand in front of me and tell me there is nothing–"

"There is nothing I can do," he said again. "But there is something that can be done. Someone who could help her." He paused. "You need the witches."

I pulled my hand from Kiara's and stood.

"No. I will never consult them for any reason."

"My Alpha, you need to–"

"Witches are liars and manipulators. Every single one of them. Whatever they offer comes with a price that costs more than the thing they fix and they know it before they open their mouths." I moved away from the bed. "Find another way."

"Unfortunately, my Alpha, there is no other way."

"Then look harder–"

"My Alpha." His voice was still quiet. "She is getting colder. Every hour she lies there she gets further from wherever she needs to come back from. I have done everything within my power tonight and none of it has moved her even slightly." He looked at Kiara. Then back at me. "The witches are her only chance. That is not my opinion. That is what the record says." He held up the scroll. "It has happened before. Not often, but enough that someone thought to write it down."

I stood with my back to the bed and my jaw locked and said nothing.

Behind me, I could hear her breathing. Shallow. Too slow. The sound of someone not quite present.

I turned around.

She was still. Her lips were slightly parted and every few seconds her eyes moved beneath the lids– twitching, the rapid flutter of someone trapped inside something they couldn't find the way out of. Her hand on the sheet had curled slightly, like she was trying to grip something that wasn't there.

I leaned forward and pressed my mouth to her forehead.

"Come back," I said quietly. "Kiara. Whatever you're in, come back. Please."

She didn't respond.

Her skin was colder than before. I could feel it against my lips.

I stayed there for a moment, my forehead against hers, and felt something move through my chest that I didn't immediately have a name for. It was not the controlled concern of an Alpha for someone under his protection.

My heart hurt. My soul ached. The thought of her not waking up created a specific, physical pain in a place I hadn't known could hurt that way.

I straightened.

"I don't believe I'm about to do what I detest most," I said. "Tell me about the witches."

He unrolled the scroll further. "The last remaining coven is documented here. Three of them. They don't come easily and they don't come cheaply, but they do still answer when the request comes from royalty." He ran his finger along a line of text. "I can find them. I know the route."

"They consider themselves royalty," I said flatly.

"They would say so, yes."

I almost laughed. "Hypocrites with power. Wonderful."

"My Alpha." His voice carried a careful weight. "I would strongly advise receiving them with courtesy when they arrive. The witches are not bound by the same conventions as your court. If they feel disrespected–”

"I'm the Alpha," I said. "I will get what I need."

"You are the Alpha," he agreed. "And they are witches. They are not orthodox in any sense you would recognize and they will not be moved by rank alone." He looked at me steadily. "I am telling you this because I want this to work."

I looked at Kiara.

I thought about what it would cost to ask witches for a favor. The way things always worked with them, nothing free, nothing simple.

‘If this is what it takes to bring Kiara back, then I will.’

"Handle it," I said. "Find them. Bring them here."

He bowed, gathered his scroll and left without another word.

The room went very quiet.

I sat back down beside her and took her hand. I turned it over in both of mine and rubbed it slowly, trying to bring warmth back into it the way you try something you know probably isn't working but cannot stop doing.

"I don't know what's happening to you," I said quietly. "I wish you'd wake up and tell me. You'd probably have a theory already." I looked at her face. "You always have a theory."

I held her hand and thought about the last several weeks. How she had arrived like something the universe had decided to insert into my life without asking whether I wanted the disruption. How she argued with me without flinching. How she had walked into Harlan's house alone and come out with fourteen years of answers. How she had sung quietly in a dark carriage until I fell asleep without realizing I was falling.

How she had looked at me across a dinner table like I was someone worth looking at.

I had fallen in love with her.

I leaned close and pressed my lips to hers.

"Come back," I said against her mouth. "I have things to tell you."

I stayed there for one more moment.

Then I stood, crossed to the wall and rang the bell.

Mrs. Fernworth and Samuel came in within the minute, their faces carrying the careful energy of people who had been waiting just outside a door and knew it.

"Keep her warm," I said. "Both of you, rotating shifts. I don't want her alone and I don't want her cold. Not for a moment." I looked at Samuel. "And tell no one. Not who came tonight, not what the physician said, not any of it."

"Yes, my Alpha."

I looked at Kiara one final time.

Then I walked out.