50. Kristina

50

KRISTINA

I opened my eyes. Blinding light seared into them and I screwed them closed again. When I moved my head, it set off a stabbing pain that jolted right down my spine and hurt all the way to my toes.

But I didn’t care. The pain meant I could feel again, could move again. I was alive.

Dr. Glavnic filled my vision. “Your Majesty!” He said it as one long sigh of relief.

I tried to sit up and at first he winced and tried to coax me back down, but I kept struggling and he sighed again, put his hands under my shoulders and helped me up. “You’ve been unconscious for almost seven hours,” he told me. “You were poisoned. Mr. Buchanan only just got you here in time.”

I looked around. We were the only two people in the room. “Where is he?”

Dr. Glavnic looked at his shoes.

My stomach lurched. “ What?”

“The poison was in your bathwater,” he said. “Mr. Buchanan got soaked with it, carrying you here.”

“He carried me all the way here?!”

“He’s bigger than you and was in contact with it for less time, but the increased exertion meant it hit his organs more quickly and…”—he pressed his lips together—”we’d already used the antidote on you, Your Majesty. We sent for more straight away, but—”

“You should have split it between us! How is he?”

“He hasn’t regained consciousness.”

“ Where is he?!”

“Next door.” His eyes bugged out as I tried to scramble off the gurney. “Wait!” he said. I ignored him. “Your Majesty, your body’s been through a huge trauma—” My legs were like jello but I gritted my teeth and stumbled on, clinging to the bed for support. The doctor cursed, put his arm through mine and helped me along. Together, we made it through the door, along the hallway and—

I drew in my breath. Garrett lay on a bed, his muscled form filling it completely, his feet almost dangling off the end. Monitors beeped in time to a slow, sickly pulse.

I grabbed onto the end of his bed. Someone was slowly crushing my heart with freezing fingers. This big, honest, good man, one step from death because he’d met me. And I couldn’t even show how I felt about him because Dr. Glavnic was right there, watching me.

“Could I have a glass of water, please?” I asked, fighting to keep my voice level.

“Of course, Your Majesty.” He paused and I could feel his eyes on the two of us. “It may take me a moment to find a glass.”

He knows. I wondered how many other people did. I nodded gratefully and he withdrew.

I staggered around the bed to Garrett’s chest and threw my arms around him. I began to cry, tears dripping onto his cheeks. “Wake up,” I whispered. “Wake up please because I need you here with me. I can’t do this on my own, Garrett.”

I buried my head in the crook of his neck and sobbed my heart out, clinging to him. And then a big hand patted my back. I lifted up, not daring to believe it. But he had his eyes half open. I gave a groan of relief and pulled him close. We stayed like that for a long time. I thought I heard Doctor Glavnic come in behind me... and then quietly leave again.

Garrett slowly sat up, wincing with pain, just as I had. Then he started to swing himself out of bed. “Wait!” I yelped. “You’re not meant to be—You got it worse than me, you shouldn’t be on your feet!”

“No choice,” he muttered. “Got to get to the evidence before someone gets rid of it.”

He leaned on me and I leaned on him and, together, we managed to stumble to the elevator and then climbed the stairs of the tower. There were soldiers standing guard in the hallways, now, and they gawped at us as we passed in our medical gowns, but we ignored them. In my bathroom, the bottle of bath oil was still on the side of the bathtub and Garrett reached for it.

“Careful! Don’t get any on your hands!”

He nodded gratefully, looked around, and then used a plastic shower cap to pick up the bottle. He turned it over a few times before showing me a pinprick hole in the neck. “Someone injected the poison into the bottle, so they could leave it still sealed. ”

My legs weakened and I had to slump against the wall. Someone had crept into my bathroom and done this.

My last safe place was gone. There was a traitor inside the palace.