Moon Cursed (Book 2 in The Star and Her Moon Series)

Unwilling

MERIBELLA

Consciousness waited for Meribella. Hushed voices invaded her safe space. Different scents prickled in her nose. Someone held her hand. All of it was designed to lure her out of the darkness, but she clung to the shadows in her mind, refusing to wake up.

How had she been so foolish? Valencia had warned her of Nerida's true nature, and still she went with the woman, unwilling to judge her off the words of others. It was the same reasoning she'd used when Mac sent her after Raff, and she'd been right to follow her instincts then. This time, she was paying the price.

There was a fire in her blood. Burning bright then dwindling to embers. The surges made her ill. She knew its source was a poison. During a brief moment of lucidity, she'd watched as someone pricked her skin with a needle, delivering a gray, viscous liquid into her veins. Within moments, every cell was ablaze, and she screamed until her throat grew raw and copper coated her tongue.

But that had been days ago. She'd made no noise since. The will to fight was gone. All that was left was a vague sense of want. A want for the wrong person. And she was so very afraid if she opened her eyes, she would come into the world as a stranger. She would forget him.

Meribella.

She thrashed her head to the side. The voices in her head were almost worse than the ones outside. Sometimes it was female. Sometimes, it belonged to Raff. All of them urging for her to hold on, but she was so tired now.

Meribella, please.

So, it was Raff today. He broke through more often than the others, and his voice was stronger than it had been the first time she'd heard it. No trace of pain was left- not the physical kind, at least. But she'd noticed a new note of agony in his words as the days passed. The longer she refused to answer, the more tortured he sounded.

"Why isn't she waking up? You said she'd come to after a week. It's been nearly two."

Another voice she recognized, but he was was an outside voice. Caspian had been by her side for days. What part he played in his mother's crime, Meribella wasn't certain.

"Her reaction to the infusions wasn't what we expected."

"You keep saying that, but you haven't explained what that means."

An exasperated sigh echoed around the room. "The toxin you release is supposed to act like a stimulant-"

"I'm well aware how it works," Caspian growled. "Not to mention it was working just fine when I was administering it the natural way. Through pheromones and touch."

"We think that's part of the problem, actually."

"What do you mean?"

"You were putting her through repeated exposure, and something in her system was building up a resistance to it. Like an allergy."

"What?"

"We think she would've started exhibiting signs of allergic reactions to it. Giving it to her directly like that. Undiluted. We almost killed her."

Caspian roared. It was loud enough Meribella couldn't stop the flinch that spread across her body, and she prayed they didn't notice. Her prayers went unanswered.

"Did you see that? She reacted to my voice."

Cold hands moved across her neck and face. They moved away, and then, there was a snap beneath her nose. The sharp odor of ammonia overwhelmed her and forced her eyes open.

"Meribella?"

Caspian leaned over her. His blond hair obscured his eyes, but she could see the concern etched in the tight line of his jaw. He ran a finger along her face, causing a tingle to erupt below her skin, and in her gut, a new fire burned.