Chapter21: Enemies on All Sides

Maerilee I don’t ask questions. I don’t stop to think or even take a breath. The moment Permiton’s words leave his mouth, I throw on a robe, my heart hammering in my chest, and run. The corridors blur around me as I race through the palace, my bare feet slapping against the cold stone floor. There’s no time to waste. Something’s wrong. Something’s terribly wrong. When I reach my mother’s chambers, my pulse spikes. The door is ajar, a cold draft slipping through the crack as if beckoning me inside. I push it open, my breath catching in my throat at the sight before me. She lies in her bed, deathly pale, her chest rising and falling with shallow, labored breaths. Her once radiant skin is ashen, and her eyes are closed as if she’s already begun slipping away. I barely recognize her. She looks so fragile, so unlike the powerful woman I know so well. I rush to her side, but her eyes are already closed, her body so still I fear I’m too late. “No,” I scream, shaking her gently. “No, no, no, y