Grounding the Storm ✓

Chapter 28

Throughout the night, my shivers continue to plague me. I can hardly move and when it's time to use the bathing room, Renit has to carry me there and stand outside the door in case I fall off the toilet. With all the irritation simmering off of him like steam, I've tried to walk there myself but have found putting one foot in front of the other to be too difficult.

I don't get a moment to forget anything is happening to my body until I finally drift off to sleep with Renit tucked against my back, his arm draped around my waist and a hand pressing against my stomach. I don't dream and I don't wake, which is a sign my body is transitioning from one terrible symptom to the next. The next time my eyes open, I'm laying in a puddle of my own sweat and my throat is as dry as a desert.

The night sky is a dull shade of blue as the morning hours take hold and raise the sun into the sky, covering the stone buildings in the capital with a blanket of warmth. Beyond the gates and into the quiet streets, few find their way to stores and restaurants while others, many who don't have to work long hours to live in such a luxurious place, are still sleeping soundly.

Citizens rich enough are the ones living in the capital. With such close proximity to the castle, the cost of living is outrageous in such a large city. But that doesn't mean there isn't enough room for the citizens unable to afford those luxuries. On the other side of the city, stretching as far as the eye can see and far enough away I can't notice the dull, cracked state of the buildings, are the slums. The brothels, the fighting pits, the taverns, and the many other mysterious places no one wants to enter at the wrong time of night.

I've heard of those slums and the cruel people slithering about. There are too many of them for the capital to keep watch so the only time the people in the slums are dealt with is if they do something wrong. Or for random hangings when those dirty, near rats don't cooperate with the laws the king set in place.

"Renit," I groan. He stirs behind me, shifting in the puddle of sweat. I lift myself onto an elbow.

He sniffs once, opens his eyes, and groans at the sight. Hair sticks to my forehead and to the back of my neck and I can only imagine how crappy I look from his view. If the prince saw anything in me before, that's definitely gone now.

I want so desperately to peel off the layers of my clothes and the blankets and sit in the cold air but Renit is moving before I can do anything. He shuffles to the bathing room, rubbing at his tired eyes, and disappears. The faucet squeaks a second later and water fills the tub. With every breath I take, the heat of that air presses against my cracked lips and chin.

There is no moisture left in my lips or in my throat and the only thing left on me is wet—my clothes, soaked with sweat and my hands—clammy. With the chills from hours ago, my muscles were already aching. Now, it's even worse. My body no longer stiffens like an icicle; I've altered into a raging inferno refusing to cool down.

At least now I can walk. I peel off my socks and move towards the windows, relishing in the cold wooden floorboards seeping into the bottom of my toes. Renit appears just as I open one of the windows and sit on the ledge, my back to the cold morning air. The familiar sound of morning waft into the room. Birds and the whispers of servants moving about.

Somewhere in the capital, carriage wheels clop over the stone streets and a horse shakes out their mane. I love those sounds, the distant thrall of the world beyond. I wonder if I'll ever see those streets or if I'll remain stuck here for the rest of my life with a fever and chills.

The cold air soothes the sweat on the back of my neck and I close my eyes for a moment to relish in the freedom. Then, as usual, Renit is there to ruin it. "Come sit in the bath," he orders.