  &quot;Aerys? Aerys, it s time to get up,&quot; Juniper s voice echoes from somewhere far away. I groan and pull the covers over my head. For once in my life, I am cold in my bed despite all of the overstuffed covers and fluffy blankets on top of me. My head is pounding. &quot;Aerys.... Wait. You never sleep in. I never have to wake you up. Something must be wrong with you. Let me feel your forehead, dear.&quot; She wrestles the covers off of my head and lays a cold hand on my forehead. I hiss and retreat into my blanket cave. Every muscle aches. I think I ll not move that quickly again.
  &quot;Goodness, Aerys, you re burning up!&quot; Juniper declares. &quot;I ll go tell Their Excellencies that you are indisposed and will not be following your usual schedule today. Do you feel like eating anything?&quot;
  &quot;No,&quot; I groan.
  &quot;Of course. Well, I ll send Malina in to keep y

  THUMP!
  I groan and open my eyes a smidgen to see who is so uncouth as to disturb me. A weak throbbing just behind my forehead begins, all that remains of the throbbing and dizziness that occupied my most recent waking hours. I feel worlds better, but that does not placate my irritation at being awakened before I was ready.
  &quot;Who s there?&quot; I demand grumpily, searching my darkened bedchamber with bleary eyes for the culprit.
  &quot;Ah, Aerys, you re awake,&quot; Malina s cheerful voice greets me, seemingly without care for my less than amiable state of mind. &quot;I was hoping to speak with you before the day began. How are you feeling?&quot;
  &quot;Better than the last time I was awake. What time is it?&quot;
  &quot;Just before dawn. You ve been asleep since before suppertime yesterday. And you re lucky Zinaida summoned Dmitri for supper and kept him away afterwards, bec

  &quot;Dmitri?&quot; I call softly as I reach the top of my ladder to the roof. The weather is unseasonably cool and a light, drizzly rain descends from the clouded night sky. I pull my shawl tighter around my shoulders and shiver. Maybe he won t be up here tonight. But he has to be. I need to talk with him. I need to show him this letter from Kyla. I ll go into his suite if I have to.
  Wherever he might be at the moment, my fiancé is not on the roof at this time. That s all right. I can wait, in spite of the weather. Maybe by the time I go back inside, I will be grateful for Juniper s July fireplace-lighting habit.
  At least this way I have time to process what I overheard while I was meandering towards my suite after supper. I had decided to explore some of the secret passageways I hadn t gotten to yet, which I thought was a safe decision because Wesley and Zinaida ate supper far mo

&quot;Aerys? Aerys, it s time to get up,&quot; Juniper s voice echoes from somewhere far away. I groan and pull the covers over my head. For once in my life, I am cold in my bed despite all of the overstuffed covers and fluffy blankets on top of me. My head is pounding. &quot;Aerys.... Wait. You never sleep in. I never have to wake you up. Something must be wrong with you. Let me feel your forehead, dear.&quot; She wrestles the covers off of my head and lays a cold hand on my forehead. I hiss and retreat into my blanket cave. Every muscle aches. I think I ll not move that quickly again.
  &quot;Goodness, Aerys, you re burning up!&quot; Juniper declares. &quot;I ll go tell Their Excellencies that you are indisposed and will not be following your usual schedule today. Do you feel like eating anything?&quot;
  &quot;No,&quot; I groan.
  &quot;Of course. Well, I ll send Malina in to keep you company and take care of you, and we ll see if Their Excellencies let Dmitri come in here to see

Chapter 49 Sickness