25. It Burns

When the coming sunrise lightens the cabin portholes just enough the magelights are no longer necessary, I decide it's finally time to get up. I've been awake for hours, waiting for dawn.

Worry gnaws at me. Lukas has coughed on and off all night. Despite his protests that he's not coming down with the illness, I'm not so sure. I don't know what I'll do if the concoction didn't work.

Lukas stirs when I pull on my boots. "Did you sleep?"

"A little." I turn around to look at him. "You?"

"Same." He stretches, scooting to the side of the built-in bed and sitting beside me. "Are you going to check on Gregory?"

I nod, crossing the room to run a comb through my unruly hair. Lukas watches me in the reflection, making the moment feel intimate.

"What?" I lower the comb and begin braiding my hair so it's not in my face.

"I like your hair down."

"It's wild."

"I like it wild."

I smile as I tame the unruly tresses. "You'll have to love it in a braid."

He rises, coming up behind me and looping his arms around my shoulders. "I like it this way, too."

More than anything, I want to stay all day in this cabin, hiding from the rest of the crew and our responsibilities.

I close my eyes, leaning into him. "The idea of going back into the cavern system to look for the journal is almost too horrible to contemplate."

Lukas makes a soft noise, one I can't decipher.

Looking at him in the mirror, I ask, "What is it?"

"I didn't tell you?" He brushes his hand down my finished braid. "I think the dragons have the treasure."

"What?"

"I suspected the mole trolls were dropping the coins, remember? But then I realized we've found them everywhere the dragons have been."

"You think the coins are clinging to them like our clothing did?"

He nods. "It must have something to do with their magic."

I turn around. "How did they get the treasure?"

"I don't know."

"Do you think they have the journal?"

"I hope so."

"Lukas…if they have it…"

A weary grin flashes across his face. "We can go home."

I step into him, holding him tightly. "I hope you're right. Desperately."

He rests his head against mine. "I hope I'm right, too. We'll leave for their island after you check on Gregory."

I give myself just a few minutes. Then I nod and step back, drawing in a bolstering breath. "Let's see how he's doing."

The ship is still quiet this time of morning. Lukas and I walk to Gregory's cabin in silence. I know he can sense my nerves—there's no hiding them from him right now.

Just as we reach the mage's door, Jorgin steps out. He looks exhausted.

"How is he?" Lukas asks, his tone relieved, like he already believes we'll receive good news.

"He slept after taking Miss Eldemyer's concoction," the young man says. "He just woke up and asked me to fetch him some tea. He doesn't seem to be coughing as much."

I exhale slowly when I hear he made it through the night, cautiously optimistic now. "And the marks on his skin?"

"I didn't notice. It's still dim in there."

"We'll check on him," Lukas says. "You go ahead to the galley."

Lukas knocks on the door when Jorgin leaves and then slips inside. I wait in the hall to give them a moment. A few seconds later, Lukas returns, gesturing for me to enter.

Gregory sits up in the bed, looking far better than he did last we saw him.

"How are you feeling?" I walk to his side.

"Better, I think." His voice is still scratchy, but a little color has returned to his face. "I actually slept a bit last night."

"That must be a good sign. Do you mind if I look at your neck?"

When he nods, I summon a bright magelight to see better. Relief makes me a little lightheaded. "The bruises are gone."

Last to arrive and first to leave, the disappearance of the dark patches is the first step toward recovery.

The concoction worked.

"I'm on the mend?" he asks.

"You appear to be." A smile flickers over my face. "I'm so glad."

"Thank you, Soleil."

I nod, feeling like I'm going to cry. Willing the emotion back, I rise. "I need to check on Wilder and Nico. I believe it's safe to give them the concoction now."

Lukas nudges the mage's shoulder, grinning. "Thank you for letting us test it on you."

Gregory chuckles and then coughs a little, but it's not the ragged sound from earlier this morning. "Jorgin says you found Davyn without any trouble?"

"Not too much."

Looking solemn, Gregory asks, "Are you headed back into the cavern today?"

Lukas fills him in on his theory, growing animated when he talks about sailing the Serpent to the other side of the archipelago. I think we're all ready for a change of scenery.

Gregory lies back on his pillows. "No more caverns?"

"Certainly not for you," Lukas says. "Who knew the dirt would try to kill you?"

Gregory wrinkles his nose. "I knew I didn't like caves."

We laugh and then leave him to rest, passing Jorgin on his way back from the galley.

"His body is still weak, overtaxed by the illness and the magic he expelled," I tell the young man. "He needs to stay in bed for at least two more days."

"I'll keep an eye on him," Jorgin swears.

"Good luck." Lukas chuckles as he continues down the hall. "Once he's feeling better, it's going to be difficult to keep him in there."

We stop at my cabin to fetch the remaining concoction and then go to the galley, asking for tea to be sent to the bunkroom, where both Wilder and Nico are staying.

I'll let them know you're coming," Lukas says, leaving me with Bryan and the cook.

I look around the kitchen as they prepare the tea, marveling that anything can be accomplished in such a small space.

A few minutes later, the tea is ready, and I prepare the medicine, just as I did for Gregory. Bryan watches, his eyes going wide when the glowing concoction merges with the tea. "I wonder if it glows in your belly?"

The cook, whose name I've never caught, rolls his eyes. "No one would ever know, would you?"

"Maybe you'd glow from the inside out. You probably wouldn't notice unless the room was pitch black. What do you think, Miss Eldemyer? Is it possible?"

Lukas returns before I can come up with an answer for that. "They're ready for you, Soleil."

"I'll carry it," Bryan leaps forward to take the tea tray. "Just lead the way."

We follow Lukas to the bunkroom. Patches, Dax, Jack, and Shawn are with their ill companions, apparently trusting me when I said there was no reason to quarantine the men.

Nico's in bed, his naturally warm complexion looking ashen. He's flung his arm over his eyes to block the light, making me think he has a headache. The others are up and dressed, even Wilder, who looks awful. Dark under-eye circles mar his handsome face, and he's as pale as a wraith. The dark smudges extend up his neck, making it look like someone tried to strangle him.

"You look like walking death," I say to the mercenary. "Why aren't you in bed?"

He jerks his head toward the tea. "Is that your concoction?"

"It is." I jerk my head toward Bryan, who sets the tray on the small table near the door. "He'd like to know if your belly glows after you take it, so be sure to give us a report."

Wilder snorts and then coughs, the sound of it racking his body. When he's finished, he stumbles toward one of the bunks. "I'm going to sit down for a minute."

"Try a few days," I chastise, bringing the first cup to Nico. "How's your head?"

"I feel like the mole trolls are beating their pikes on it," Nico groans.

"That's a common side effect of Miner's Rot," I say. "Take this first, and then at dinner, if you're still miserable, I can give you something for it. I don't want to mix the concoctions."

He nods, sitting up and lowering his arm. He frowns at the tea. "It's glowing."

"It is."

"And you want me to drink it?"

"I'm not going to dump it over your head."

"She's feisty this morning," Wilder says.

"My mother has always warned Davyn and me to never drink anything that glows," Lukas says casually. "But I think I'd make an exception as long as Soleil is the creator."

I laugh under my breath, remembering the incident. One of Sebastian"s favorite stories is Lucia accidentally getting herself drugged at an underground masquerade in Teirn.

"If it was going to kill Gregory, I'm confident it would have done it by now." I offer Nico the cup, silently raising my eyebrows as if to tell him not to be a child. "And he's already improving. The markings are gone, and his cough isn't as ragged."

Nico nods, taking the cup. He studies it for a few more seconds and then drinks the tea in several small sips, coughing. "It burns."

"That's the ember carianthan." I pause a moment. "And the alcohol."

He nods and then lies back on his pillow, pulling his arm over his eyes again. "I'm going back to sleep."

Next, I pass Wilder his cup. The mercenary gives the liquid a cursory glance and then tips it back, finishing it in one go. He clears his throat, raising his brows…and that's that.

"Remind me to never get in a drinking match with you," Lukas jokes.

"How long before they're cured?" Patches asks me.

"A couple days, maybe less, depending on how their bodies take to the medicine. I imagine they'll recover before Gregory." I head to the door, looking back at the big and burly mercenary. "See that they stay in bed for the day—tomorrow, too, if they're still feeling under the weather."

Wilder groans out a laugh. "You didn't have to make Patches my nanny."

"I'll keep track of them, Miss Soleil," Patches swears.

Before Lukas and I leave, I turn back to the group. "The rest of you were in the mine as well. Be sure to let me know if you feel like you're coming down with something. The faster we catch it, the quicker you'll recover."

"We will, certainly," Jack says. "Thank you."

Carrying the tea tray, I step out the door Lukas holds for me and into the hall, the weight on my shoulders feeling lighter.

"What am I sensing?" Lukas asks when it's just the two of us.

"I'm eager to visit the dragons and see if they have the journal."

"As am I. Let's go wake Davyn and get moving."

"Not yet." Shifting the tray to my hip, I offer him the last cup of prepared tea, which he must not have noticed. "Your turn."

"But I'm not sick."

"So you claim, but I'm not taking any chances."

He takes the cup, frowning at the glowing tea. "What if I were to tell you I think I'm allergic to the mole trolls?"

"I'd tell you to drink it anyway."

A cough sneaks up on him, making him turn away. When he recovers, he clears his throat. "Maybe I should take it?"

"You should."

Like Wilder, he tips his head back and drinks the concoction all at once. And then he coughs again, his face turning red this time. "How did Wilder do that?"

I laugh, taking the empty cup from him. "I have no idea, but I suspect he'd drink even Patches under the table."