“I MEANT IT about force-feeding you.”
Cas didn’t have the energy to roll over and face Galo. He pulled his knees closer to his chest and sank deeper into his mattress. His bad shoulder was stiff from days in bed, and he winced as he shifted.
The room had been dark, but light filled the space as Galo lit the lantern. Cas squinted in the sudden brightness.
Footsteps sounded against the wooden floor, and Galo was in front of him suddenly. His anger melted into concern. He pressed the backs of his fingers to Cas’s forehead.
“You’re burning up,” Galo said.
“I’m cold.”
Galo disappeared from the room. He returned a few moments later with two women in tow. Cas squinted up at them. Violet and Daniela.
“Is Jovita back yet?” Cas mumbled. His head was full of cotton. “What happened?”
“She’s back; the soldiers are not. She only went to the border.” Galo pushed Cas’s shoulder, making him roll over on his back. He placed a cool rag on Cas’s forehead.
Daniela unbuttoned his shirt, and he frowned down at her hands. “I’m going to rub some medicine on you, Your Majesty. It should make you feel better.”
“Is anyone else sick?” Galo asked.
Daniela shook her head as she slathered a cool ointment on Cas’s chest. “Not that I’ve heard.”
Galo looked from Cas to the half-eaten breakfast tray next to the bed.
“I ate some,” Cas murmured. “Are you happy now?”
Galo didn’t respond as he strode over to the tray. “Who makes his meals?”
“Blanca,” Violet said. “The chef.”
“Go get her for me.”
Violet ran out of the room and came back only moments later. Blanca was with her. Both of them looked worried.
Blanca rushed over to his dinner tray and Galo followed her. They began whispering.
“I didn’t prepare that soup,” Blanca said, her voice rising a little.
“The soup is the best part,” Cas said, his eyes fluttering shut. He wondered who prepared the soup. Maybe they should take over in the kitchen.
“Who takes the tray to him?” Galo’s voice was tight.
“There’s a soldier. He shows up to the kitchen at every mealtime. George.”
“Mateo!” Galo yelled. His boots pounded against the wood. He said something Cas couldn’t hear.
“Have you had that soup often, Your Majesty?” Violet asked.
“A few times recently,” he mumbled.
A flurry of movement happened around him, and he hoped they were all leaving. He needed some sleep.
“Cas!” Galo’s voice startled him from his sleep. He was on the floor. When had he moved onto the floor?
“Open his mouth,” someone said.
He was propped up against someone, and fingers roughly opened his mouth. Violet stuck something down his throat and he gagged, trying to push away from her.
“Stay still.” It was Galo behind him, keeping both of Cas’s arms at his side.
He obeyed, simply because he was too weak to fight. He blinked a few times, trying to focus on the room around him. They were putting a tube down his throat.
Strange. He didn’t want a tube down his throat.
His stomach lurched suddenly. He thrashed against Galo as the contents of his stomach exited through the tube. The guard held him steady like it was nothing. Where had his strength gone?
The tube disappeared after several long moments. He swallowed. His throat burned.
“Drink,” Violet said, tilting his chin up. Cool water hit his lips. He winced as it went down.
Several pairs of hands lifted him off the floor and deposited him on the bed.
“Find out what that soldier gave Cas and then toss him out of the fortress,” Galo said fiercely. “Let the Ruined and the warriors have him.”
“It’s doubtful he acted alone,” Violet said quietly. “He may have had orders …”
“From Jovita,” Galo finished. “I don’t care. Toss him out. Tell Mateo to get horses and a wagon ready. We’re getting him out of here.”
There was a flurry of movement around Cas, and he curled up on the bed and let his head sink into the pillow.
Then, suddenly, he was out of his room. How did he get out of his room?
He jerked his head up, surprised to find that he was on his feet. Sort of. Arms on either side of him were holding him up.
“What are you doing?” he mumbled. Someone shushed him.
He squinted at the figure next to him, the one who had a tight arm around his waist. Galo. He swung his head to his other side. Mateo. Violet was in front of them, peering around the corner.
“Go,” she whispered.
The guards nudged him forward, and he attempted to walk. It didn’t work.
They were at the stairs, the fortress quiet and deserted around them. Odd. He wondered where everyone had gone.
Galo and Mateo pulled him down the stairs. Daniela waited at the bottom, holding a door open for them.
“All clear,” she whispered. She squeezed Cas’s arm as he passed.
They were in the kitchen, then outside. It was night. Wind whipped across his face, and he looked down at his clothes. Someone had put him in a thick guard’s jacket. That was thoughtful.
“Where are the horses, Mateo?” Galo asked.
“Straight ahead. We’re almost there.”
“Hey!” The yell made Galo and Mateo both tense. Footsteps ran toward them.
Violet had a sword. Cas hadn’t noticed it, but it was in her hand, and she lunged at a man in a guard uniform. Mateo disappeared from Cas’s side and Galo gripped him tighter.
Violet’s sword nicked the man’s arm and he staggered backward. Mateo punched him across the jaw.
Mateo darted back to Cas’s side. “Hurry.”
They began running, Cas’s feet dragging on the ground. He wanted to run, but he was too weak. He was barely able to stay upright.
What happened to him?
Memories of soup and a tube being shoved down his throat flooded his thoughts. Had someone poisoned him?
They stopped suddenly, and Galo and Mateo heaved him into a wagon. He knew this wagon. He didn’t like this wagon.
“It’s all right.” Violet had him under the arms, pulling him farther in. Mateo and Galo had disappeared.
In the distance, he heard yelling. He squinted, but the back of the wagon was closed. They lurched forward suddenly.
“Here.” Violet put something soft under his head. “Don’t worry, you’re going to be fine.”
His eyelids drooped against his will. “Did Jovita poison me?” he mumbled.
“We think so. We think she ordered a guard to do it.”
She hated him that much? They were the only family either of them had left, and she despised him enough to murder him?
“You’ll be safe now,” Violet said, brushing his hair back. “I promise.”
That was not a promise she could keep, but his eyes fluttered shut and he drifted off anyway.