~13~

I held Jose in my arms as Zargis commanded the others to leave. She was pale, breathing ragged and shallow, eyes dilated. This couldn't just be from seeing Switch, couldn't just be from having a knife held to her throat. There had to be another reason!

"Kesar, I only brought her here because it was her wish. However I believe she needs medical attention."

I nod. "Did you catch him?" I ask as we make our way to the infirmary.

"Yes. Cam should be locking him up as we speak."

"Thelia?"

"Safe. She saved Jose by distracting him while Cam got close behind and knocked him out."

I nod, the only thing I could do.

We entered the infirmary and Verah scrambled to check Jose's vitals, then hooked her up to oxygen. "What's wrong with her?"

"Poison," she said wearily. "The potion Switch injected did help, but if her heart sped up or adrenaline pumped just fast enough, she would start to slowly die."

"Antidote?" I ask desperately.

She hesitates. "It's dangerous, fatal even."

"What is it?" Zargis demands.

"Blood of a dragon."

"How is that dangerous?"

"There's either fire or ice in all dragons!" Verah gasps. "It could kill her if she doesn't accept the substance."

I growl.

Laying her down, I step away and let one tear slip down my face. The only time I have ever cried. "She'll accept the blood of its mine. No one else."

"Are you sure?" Zargis asks, caution laces every syllable.

"Do it!"

The next twenty minutes were spent letting Verah take my blood and forcing it down Jose's throat. She gagged and spluttered, but as soon as I whispered in her ear that it was me, she calmed, took the blood.

Verah sighed. "You'll have to stay close, Kesar. She's going to need you close until the burn ebbs."

"How long does it last?"

"It could last minutes. It could last days. It depends on how much poison it's curing."

"How long afterwards?"

"If she pulls through and survives the burning, she would sleep for a few days then wake up with some pain, but healed."

Zargis cursed multiple times throughout Verah's description. I agreed. Jose had a long trial ahead of her.

The screaming started a half hour later. Then came the thrashing and the fighting. And when fighting didn't work, she began to claw at herself, as if she could dig the burning sensation out. It hurt to watch. It hurt that she didn't hear me. It hurt to hear my name being desperately called out over and over again. Soon, I was in tears, begging for it to be over.

Three hours in, Jose didn't relent. Her screams became raspy and dry. I had multiple bruises from her fists and feet. But I didn't care.

She would settle down for a few minutes, then start screaming again. It was like the blood worked it's way through her body and found patches of the poison, which explained why she had gaps of silence.

By the fourth hour, she was crying tears of blood.

By the fifth hour, her blood was coming out of her mouth. I thought she was dying. I believed I was losing her. Verah said otherwise, that this was normal, but I was terrified.

I was dozing off, head on the bed with my hand clasped in Jose's, a longer period of peace, when Nallu gently shook me awake.

"Get up there, Kesar. Sleep. The burning is done. She sleeps now."

"Is she going to okay?"

"It's hard to say," she whispered.

My throat closed up.

I got up on the bed with Jose, not caring of the blood on the sheets, and cradled her in my arms. "You're safe!" I cry. "Come back! Jose, please come back!"