CHAPTER 27

She was not gettingbetter. It had been two days since he found her ill and hallucinating from the fever. He had given her the antiviral and had tried to keep the fever controlled to prevent further hallucinations. She was conscious and lucid, but very weak. The fever had not relented despite the regular application of antipyretics, and he suspected the medication was the only thing preventing the fever from skyrocketing to hallucinatory levels. Or worse, brain damage levels.

Now their medical supplies were running low, and he was running out of options. The medical kit contained the essentials for surviving most diseases and treating wounds that were available in their time. But it couldn’t possibly cure every disease known to humankind. It seemed whatever infection she had caught; it was a stubborn one. And she didn’t have the necessary defenses against it. If she did not improve soon, he was fully prepared to abort the mission and depart sooner than expected.

He went to the bedside and placed a hand on her fevered forehead.

“Kalli, are you awake?”

Her eyes opened halfway and focused on him. “Hmm.”

“How do you feel?”

“Headache, body aches. Tired.”

“Any better than yesterday?”

“You asked me that already. Don’t know.” She closed her eyes again.

“I was thinking we may need to end the mission sooner than we anticipated if you don’t start improving soon.”

“But we already agreed with Olivia that we were departing next Sunday.” She didn’t even open her eyes this time. Her voice was a little thread.

“Your health is more important than the agreements we might have made. If there are no improvements by tomorrow, I’m taking you back to our time. With or without her.”

“Can’t do that, Dariux. We promised.”

“Funny that you now insist on taking her with us when, before, it was you who wanted to leave her here.”

“Didn’t want to leave her, just wanted to give her the choice. Besides, there’s no need to be hasty. My life is not in danger. I just need a little time to recover.”

He wished he could be sure about that. But he recalled too well reading about the Spanish Flu and how lethal it was. They were years before that happened, but could she have something similar? At least she wasn’t showing signs of respiratory distress, and nobody else in the hotel was seriously ill. He had interrogated the maids, and they reported that most guests were in good health.

He, himself, had not contracted the disease, despite being in close contact with her. Of course, he had boosted himself with a dose of antiviral. The other guests would have no defenses against the infection. He hoped she was an isolated case. And more importantly, that she would recover soon. It was unsettling seeing his energetic little sprite brought so low, her spark so dimmed.

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. That must be the food he had ordered. He answered the door and took the tray from the server’s hands. No one was allowed to enter the room because he feared the disease would spread.

Returning to the bedside with the tray, he placed it on the small table he had set up by the bed.

“Kalli, the food is here. I ordered some beef broth with vegetables.”

“Not hungry.”

“Nevertheless, you need to eat. Let me help you sit up.”

He put a hand under her shoulders to help her sit up and stacked pillows behind her. She didn’t complain, but simply lay there, limp and despondent.

“Here.” He placed the tray with the bowl of broth on her lap. Seeing that she made no effort to grab the spoon, or even open her eyes, he dipped the spoon in the broth and brought it to her lips. “Open.”

She opened her eyes and then her mouth a little more reluctantly. He dumped the contents of the spoon in her mouth.

“I can eat by myself,” she informed him, a spark of annoyance coloring her tone. It was the most welcome retort. Let her snap at him, as long as she wasn’t so listless.

“Then eat. Everything. Or I will force feed you myself,” he warned her, and he was completely serious. He was determined to keep her fed and hydrated. Her body needed all the help it could get to fight the infection.

He sat by the small table and dug into his own food, lamb in mint sauce and potatoes. Delicious, although the worry he felt tainted his enjoyment of the meal.

What would happen when they ran out of supplies? Would her condition worsen to the point where it would be impossible to move her to a place from which they could depart? Before the mission, they had charted several points around the city that were safe for their time travel, meaning the risk of accidentally dragging someone was minimal. But if Kalli became too weakened by the disease, she might not even be able to make it to one of those. Let alone to the ducal estate.

He observed her through lowered lashes. She had dropped the spoon and was once again lying listless against the pillows. Her eyes closed and her breathing shallow. He was not one to scare easily. His methodical mind meant he approached every challenge with equanimity. But he didn’t like the chances this time.

Damn it, he had to do something. He stood up and went to the medical kit. He knew the contents by heart, but still hoped to find some overlooked medication or instruction he could use to treat her. Sitting and waiting were not his strong suits.

Working systematically, he started taking out and analyzing each item in the kit. He already knew he had one more dose of the antiviral. And the antipyretics shots had already run out. But there were over a hundred different medications and devices here. Maybe he had overlooked something that could help.

Halfway through his search, he had already identified two medications that might help, when his blood ran cold at the sight of the next pills he held in his hands. His heart pounding, he checked the inventory, verified the name, use, and amounts. There was no mistake. Dread settled in his chest like a cold, wet blanket. His gaze snapped to Kalli, still unresponsive on the bed.

Good God. Was it possible? Why would she do that? How could she have kept this from him?