~
EVERYTHING about the room was white, from the gentle glow emanating from the crystal walls to the linen on the bed.
Amber knelt beside her son's unconscious form, her head bowed as if in supplication. She finally looked up. "Should we give him another spoonful? Where's the bottle?"
Ella came over to stand beside her friend. "No. I know it's been a week, but give him time. The counteragent needs to bind to the poison so that it can be expelled with his bodily wastes."
"How can you be sure?"
"Please, Amber. I know it's hard, but trust me."
Amber leaned forward to stroke Tomas's cheek. "Please, come back to me."
Sensing movement behind her, Ella turned.
Miro stood by the door in a long robe of green silk, the fabric woven with protective runes. An incredibly high collar framed his head, stiff and striking. With his sharp features, dark hair, and the scar that ran from under his eye to his jaw line, he looked imposing and intimidating, regal and commanding, all at the same time.
A bell began to peal. Knowing Miro should now be exiting the palace, Ella still said nothing.
The burn marks on the child's legs had healed. The poison was another matter.
"Anything?" Miro said. "Scratch it, we tried so hard!"
"Shh," Ella hushed. "We still don't know anything. Be patient. Layla said he's been rebuilding his strength since we gave him the counteragent."
"Why won't he wake up?"
Amber continued to stroke her son's skin, pulling the hair back from his forehead. "He looks so still."
Miro came over to stand behind his wife, resting his hands on her shoulders.
Ella thought about everything that had happened to her brother and her childhood friend. They'd finally had the wedding they had always wanted, and it had ended in disaster. They'd travelled halfway across the world to find the cure their son needed, and it had displayed no apparent effect.
Ella blinked, and felt a tear roll down her cheek. She wanted nothing more than for Miro and Amber to be happy. Why did they have to endure such pain?
She thought about the alchemist's dying words. He'd spoken those words to Amber and Miro, asking them to pass them on. What had he meant exactly?
"Tell them everything is toxic, and small amounts of things considered poisonous can do good, while large amounts of safe substances can kill."
Whatever he had meant, he considered it important enough to say those words with his last breath.
Ella knew she had made the counteragent properly. Was Tomas too far gone to recover? Only time would tell.
She looked at Miro's face. He seemed unaware that outside the palace they were waiting for him. Every High Lord had travelled incredible distances to be here, and Alturans had travelled far and wide to be present to welcome their new ruler. Yet Miro's concern was for Amber, and the son that wasn't his by blood, but would always be his in every other way.
An eyelid fluttered, but Ella swiftly crushed the hope that began to swell in her breast, unwilling to face the disappointment that would follow. Then the other eyelid moved.
Miro knelt until he was beside Amber. He took the child's hand in his.
Amber looked at Miro and there were tears streaming down her face. Miro put his arm around her, and Ella saw his eyes were reddened also. Ella sniffed and wiped at her own eye.
The face that had until now been so calm, so serene, began to twitch. "He squeezed my hand," Miro whispered. "He squeezed my hand!"
Tomas opened his eyes.
"Mama?" the child said. He licked his lips. "What's happening?"
"I'm here, Tomas," Amber sobbed. "I'm here."
"Why are you crying?"
"I'm crying because I'm happy."
Ella squeezed Amber's shoulder. Deciding it was time to leave them alone, she exited the room without a word, her own sense of relief and joy overpowering.
She walked through the softly lit chambers of the Crystal Palace, finally reaching the open doors to the main entrance. Ella could see them all waiting, the lords of Altura dressed in their finery and hovering around the steps, waiting for her brother.
She descended the steps as the distant bell pealed. A man in an elegant maroon doublet tugged on her sleeve, leaning forward. "Your brother," the lord whispered. "Where is he?"
Ella whispered in the lord's ear, watching the expression on the man's face shift from concern to elation.
She smiled as the lord turned to address the people around him, raising his voice. "Ladies and gentlemen, I have wonderful news. The High Lord's son has recovered."
His words were greeted with a cheer and suddenly the tension in the lords' bodies left, and they were grinning and passing the news. It travelled through to the guests who stood by the river and a second shout of approval came from the river. From the riverbank the news travelled to the Alturans who crowded the streets and bridges.