The Annex

Chapter 10

My heart pounded as I made my way to the infirmary. My mind was racing as I entered the palace. The walls felt as if they were closing in around me. My palm rasped against the stone walls as I tried to stabilize myself. My feet faltered and I fell back against the wall, trying to control the irregular breaths seizing my chest. I didn't even understand why I was so full of fear. I guess that I had hoped that whoever had been behind this wasn't as capable as the Commander. How was I or anyone else supposed to stand up to undoubtedly the most formidable force in the kingdom.

The stem of my immediate fear was illuminated. At the banquet, amongst mingling with nobles, someone had mentioned how close Isla and the Commander were. I was faced with the reality that I had no one to trust. Gallo had been selected by Isla as well. The ease at which he could control me terrified me. And there was the fact that he wanted me dead as well. I swallowed my fears as best as I could.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Exhale.

I tilted my head back against the wall as I returned my heart rate to normal. I collected my composure once more and stalked toward my room. I threw open the door and closed it tightly behind me, startling Torr in the process.

"Sorry, Torr. Kind of freaking out right now," I murmured softly to him as I pulled my weapons drawer open. Inside, I pulled out a thigh strap and sheathed a dagger in it before strapping it to my leg. I then went around the room, making sure my hidden weapons were still in place. I had to ensure that I would be prepared. I had no idea how I was supposed to prepare for surviving the Commander. But I wasn't going down without a fight. I retrieved my necklace from the top of my wardrobe. With daily training, I had found it a nuisance to wear. The thud against my chest or the occasional thorn to my collarbone had discouraged me from donning it on the regular. Now, more than ever, I wanted it on me at all times. Once I had settled everything, I sucked in a deep breath before walking down the hallway in the direction of the infirmary.

"I'm here to see Marcus," I said to one of the healers who led me to Marcus' cot.

"We're working on determining the poison and an antidote. For now, we are just trying to handle the blood loss and keep him stable," I chewed my lip as I took in the healer's words. "Gallo is the resident expert on poisons and no one can find him. So far we have given him charcoal to try to purge the poison." How convenient. Could it be that Gallo and Isla were working with the Commander as well?

"Is there anything you can tell me about his symptoms, so I can help with trying to find out what poison was used."

"He's been fading in and out of consciousness, lots of confusion and he's losing sensitivity in his extremities. His pupils are dilated as well." As soon as she had finished speaking, my footfalls were already covering the distance to the entrance. Upon throwing open the door, I came face to face with Atlas Moreau.

"Atlas Moreau." His presence had startled me.

"Cara Vos." He shot me a grin. "I heard there was an accident at the training grounds, I wondered if it was you. I know you train with the soldiers. I'm glad you're in the clear."

"I'm in a hurry. Thank you for the concern." I pushed past Atlas and rushed to the library.

"Hey, wait," Atlas caught up with me, his strides surpassing mine. "How can I help?" I stopped and gazed into his eyes, searching for sarcasm.

"You really want to help?"

"Yes. I'd like to think we could be friends. And friends help each other out," his blue eyes bore into mine.

"Marcus was shot with an arrow," I left out the part where the arrow was intended for me. "He's fading in and out of consciousness and has been losing sense of feeling in his fingers. His pupils are also dilated. I'm going to the library to search for poisons and how to cure them."

"Alright, let's go." He set a brisk pace as we found ourselves in the library. As he thumbed through an index he waved over to the left. "Poisonous plants should be in the garden section which is shelves two through six!" I located shelf two and began scanning.

"I don't think it's here. This is mostly relating to roses."

"I don't think it's here either," Atlas peered over from shelf six. "I've got basic gardening skills over here." We made our way inwards between our two shelves.

"Here," I called out as I found an entire row of books dedicated to plant based poisons. "Let's hope we'll find something." I pulled a thick stack of books off the shelf and handed them to Atlas who accepted them and set them on the ground next to him. "I think that's all of them."

"I'll take these, you take those," he denoted two different piles. I grabbed the top book and began to thumb through the pages. Looking for symptoms that stood out to me.

-

After an hour, I had scanned through a few books but found that many of the authors liked to discuss poisons from faraway lands that didn't seem to pertain. For a brief instant, Atlas and I had considered oleander. I had read about seizures and losing consciousness. But there was no loss of sensation. I was losing hope and getting increasingly frustrated.

"Cara, I think I know what it is," Atlas piped up just as I was giving up. "Nightshade. It explains the limb paralysis and the dilated pupils."

"What does it say about antidotes?"

"It says calabar beans in small enough amounts can reverse its effects."

"I'll go tell the healer," Without another word, I shot out of the library. "Its nightshade, we need calabar beans." I panted, out of breath from my sprint.

"Are you certain," the healers glanced at each other. "We risk poisoning him further if you're wrong."

"We're sure," Atlas appeared behind me. I was extremely grateful. His reply shouldered the burden of an error. He turned to me and gave me a gentle smile. "Go on, we don't have time to lose." The healer nodded as he turned to one of his colleagues. They shared a brief conversation on retrieving calabar beans from the market. I looked toward Atlas.

"Thank you. You didn't have to help but it means a lot to me that you did."

"You're welcome. Have I finally found myself in your good favor," his lips turned upward in a playful smirk. I rolled my eyes.

"Yes."

"I've got to get back to training, I'll see you at the Candidates' dinner two days from now." I nodded as he left me with a resting Marcus.