Hands were stained with purple juice, too, and if we brushed our hair back or wiped sweat from our faces, well, those were getting covered as well. It made me wonder what would remove berry juice stains from skin. It was supposed to be off-day, but the fall crop on the Southern Continent wasn't waiting. We had to get these picked before the rainy season began on Kifirin's Southern Hemisphere. Roff explained that the conditions were right and oxberries were so hardy that they would yield twice in most years this far south. Therefore, we were picking as quickly as we could.
Just before sunset, we picked the last of the berries. I straightened up and stretched my back, listening to it pop. We were all exhausted and I was thankful Roff had a crew at the winery that would take care of things in his absence. Oxberry wine had become a big hit with the tourists and gamblers and we could sell a bottle for quite a bit, since it was an exclusive item.
"Ready to go home?" I glanced at Roff. If I looked like he did, we might scare people. We needed to head straight for the bath in my suite and not come out until we were scrubbed clean. Actually, the scrubbing might wait a while—I was so tired that a soak in the tub sounded good. I'd get to the scrubbing when I got a bit of energy back. Roff offered me a weary smile and nodded when I made the suggestion.
"Come on, then. Let's go." We folded home; I landed us into the kitchens for a quick glass of water before Roff and I took the back way toward my suite. We'd almost reached it, slipping into the main hallway to arrive at the double doors leading into the family wing when someone spoke. I didn't know the woman, but I recognized what she held in her hand.
"Gabron left it at the pleasure house two days ago," she held it out to me. The woman seemed nervous, but I was exhausted and attributed it to her being afraid to approach the Queen. If my skin itched, I was too tired to separate that from the scratches and scrapes I'd gotten while picking berries. And she was humanoid—the scent told me that.
"I'll take it," I said, moving forward and holding out my hand. This meant one thing—Gabron had removed everything he was wearing, including his ring. I wasn't sure how I felt about that. Truly, I just wanted to lie in a hot tub of water with Roff until we recharged a little.
I was almost in front of her and prepared to accept the ring, as weary, filthy and covered in dust and berry juice as I was, when two things happened. Roff realized before I did what the woman intended and he leapt in front of me, which meant the sharp stake went through his chest instead of mine.
I'm not sure what she expected to happen after she's done her misdeed, but she was thrown against the opposite wall so hard and fast I think I heard her skull crack. I was weeping and shouting mentally and vocally for help in the next second—Roff was dying in my arms.
"Don't leave me, Roff," I begged, but his eyes were already glazing over. Griffin appeared and knelt in the floor beside me.
"I have him in stasis, baby," he said as light formed around his fingers. Blood stopped pouring from the wound as Griffin placed his hands against Roff's chest. Many people appeared after that. The one who knelt beside Roff's body and did the only thing left for us to do was Flavio. He opened his wrist with a claw and held it over Roff's mouth.
"Drink, honey," I wept. Flavio repeated my words—he was commanding Roff to drink. Roff was swallowing blood while Griffin timed it. Four of the longest minutes of my life ticked by. Roff's breath and heart stopped the moment Griffin called time. Flavio pulled his wrist away.
"Please don't let him die." I sobbed. I'd forgotten the bitch that had done this to my Roff. Griffin reached in, then, and removed the crudely fashioned stake from Roff's chest. It left a gaping hole in Roff's body. If the turn was successful, the wound would heal. If not, it wouldn't matter anyway.
"Lissa, sweetheart, we've done what we can for him—we have to wait, now." Flavio lifted Roff and carried him into my bedroom.
"Is this the one who stabbed Roff?" Tony, Drake and Drew were standing over the woman.
I rose stiffly from the floor and turned to the three who'd shown up. "Yes. Is she dead?"
"She's still breathing, but I think her skull is fractured and her neck may be broken," Drew knelt beside her to check.
"What's this?" Gabron walked up. "What have you done to Shala?" he demanded. It was all I could do not to slam him into a wall, too.
"She had your ring," I wiped tears away. I looked awful, covered in dust and berry juice, but right then I didn't care. "She was holding the ring out to me, saying you'd left it behind earlier. When I went to take it, she tried to stab me with a stake. Roff stepped in front of me and she hit him instead. I'm sorry if I damaged your f**king employee when I threw her against the wall."
"Where is Roff?" Gabron's gaze now focused on me.
"Flavio is attempting the turn. If he doesn't live, well." I didn't finish my sentence. Karzac appeared and Merrill's son Jeff and Selkirk Grey were right behind him. They moved Gabron and me aside so they could examine Shala.
"Patch her up," I jerked my head in Shala's direction. "I want her nice and whole when we put her on trial."
* * *
"His body isn't deteriorating; that's a good sign." Merrill, Wlodek and Flavio were all watching with me through the night. Merrill said the first two nights were critical and if the turning wasn't going to take, we'd probably know in that amount of time. I was numb. Giff had been weeping uncontrollably. Grant was helping the comesula babysitters deal with Toff. Toff screamed for his father and there wasn't anything we could do for him. Karzac had to put Giff under eventually and the baby finally went to sleep. Gabron had melted from the palace like snow on a warm, spring day.
Garde had come and he, Drake and Drew cleaned me up and dressed me in pajamas; I was still crying off and on the whole time. Jeff and Selkirk had gotten Roff cleaned up but his face was so pale and still, he looked dead to me. That frightened me more than I can say and I felt as if someone had kicked me in the stomach. Reemagar and Connegar came in three hours before dawn and took me to Reemagar's suite. The bed was huge, they put me between them and I was out like a light the moment Connegar placed fingers against my forehead.
* * *
"Do not fear, I will keep watch." Jeral nodded to Griffin and the others. Jeral had done so many turns in his long life. Wlodek, Merrill and the others all needed sleep; they'd been up all night. The Larentii had come and taken Lissa away, forcing her to sleep. It would kill her if Roff died.