Page 144 of The Incendiary

“Sixteen hours?” My brain felt like sludge, too. I was at least thirty seconds behind in this conversation.

“Yes,” Mina answered warily. “The last time I saw anyone sleep that long was Marin a few months into her pregnancy.”

“No,” Mavic disagreed. “I slept longer after this past solstice celebration, remember? I’ve never had so much to drink in my life, but it was worth it.”

“Oh, yes,” Mina muttered. “One of your finest moments.”

I tried to recall the last few days. The overnight mission with Eli. Leaping off a moving horse while catching Finch. Before that, sucking snake venom out of Eli’s arm while healing him. Elias killing Finch after I used Effusia’s power to dull his pain.

“What’s wrong?” Mina worried.

“I… must have caught something.” I forced the tense lines of my face to smooth. “I’m fine.”

Shera had been nearly dead when I healed her after the snake attack on the way to the Barracks. But that had been a much bigger snake, likely with more potent venom. Only then, I hadn’t ingested it. Despite my efforts, I must have swallowed a little. I couldn’t think of another explanation for feeling so weak and ill. But why had it taken so long to hit me? I thought I’d recovered the morning after healing Eli. Only to pass out for another sixteen hours?

I rubbed my eyes. “Has the commander stopped by?”

“No,” answered Mina. “Were you expecting him?”

I was hit with unexpected disappointment. “No. I was just wondering.”

I didn’t want to see him, nor did I want him to see me like this. A part of me just hoped that he might have cared enough to check in.

“A group of men came back last night,” Mavic informed me. “They’re all celebrating.”

I yawned. “Celebrating what?”

“We haven’t exactly heard,” he answered. “Training was cancelled this morning. We’ve stayed here, taking care of you, but they’ve been quite exuberant out there.”

“Big word, Mav.” Mina patted her brother on the knee.

“Thank you.”

I ate and sat awake with them for a while. After an hour or so, the overwhelming urge to sleep waned, but when night came, I still felt weak and feverish. I resigned myself to the showers after midnight, hoping that hot water might give me some reprieve.

I basked in sweet relief beneath the streams hammering against my skin. I tried to let the heat soothe my muscles, but there was still that pain in my chest it couldn’t reach, even as I rubbed my hand over my sternum in gentle circles.

The sound of heavy footsteps echoing off the high ceilings had me pause halfway through washing my hair. It was an odd hour for someone else to be in the showers. In the weeks I’d been here, no one else had come here at this time of night.

I spun toward the shower stall door, too fast for my dizzy, feverish state, and gripped the wall to stay upright as shadows loomed beneath the door. When I reached for my towel, a hand darted over the door and snatched it away.

I sucked in a sharp breath and reached for my power, but all I felt was a faint trickle. Was this a product of being ill, or had the snake venom I’d swallowed, combined with healing Eli, ripped my power away?

“This stall is taken,” I called shakily, focusing on the soles of my feet against the stone floor of the shower to keep steady.

The creak of the stall door echoed ominously off the walls of the hall, revealing the leering faces of four men: Micah and Hendrix Sharpe, Otis Stoll, and Alec Gerard.

“Hello, Fera.” Alec’s lip curled into a taunting sneer. “Mind if we join you?”

Please let this be a nightmare.

I looked for anything to cover myself with, having only my arm over my breasts and my palm between my legs.

Wake up, wake up, wake up.

“Why?” I croaked out.

“We’re celebrating tonight.”