A Taste of Poison: A Snow White Retelling (Entangled with Fae) by Tessonja Odette

Author:Tessonja Odette [Odette, Tessonja]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Crystal Moon Press
Published: 2022-08-09T16:00:00+00:00

22

ASTRID

I wake covered in a cold sweat, my body racked with tremors. It takes me several moments to figure out where I am. This isn’t my bedroom at Department Sloth, nor is it the room I shared with the Huntsman at Lust. Thoughts of Torben clear my head slightly.

That’s right. I’m at Davenport Manor. In his room. His bed.

I barely recall having fallen asleep, only that I was overcome with a massive wave of fatigue just before nightfall. I knew where the sudden exhaustion had come from; I was suffering from lack of Crimson Malus. Even before then, I was keenly aware that I’d need to come up with a way to replace my tincture—and fast. I’d planned on slipping out of the manor when Torben was preoccupied so I could search for the fae fruit. But by the time Torben finished seeking out fresh sheets for the bed and handing me a meager meal of provisions he’d brought with us from the hotel, I was hardly able to move. All I could do was climb into bed and close my eyes.

Now that I’m awake, I regret having given in to slumber before I could locate Crimson Malus. I regret that my tincture was shattered. I regret—

A wave of memory washes over me. Of my vial crashing to the ground. Of the sorrow I felt afterward as I was forced to feel the pain of my father’s death all over again. Of my anger at hearing Marybeth’s confession. I feel those same emotions roaring through me now. Grief, rage, pain, hatred. I squeeze my eyes shut and turn on my side, burying my face in the musty pillow as if that will extinguish the unwanted feelings. All it manages to do is send my stomach roiling.

I bite my lip and wait for the nausea to pass. When it does, I’m left coated in even more sweat than before, soaking the sheets beneath me. I whimper at the discomfort.

A gentle weight lands on my shoulder. I pry my eyes open to see little Natalie climbing on me. My heart softens, as do the sharpest edges of my pain. I reach a trembling hand to pet her and feel a slight glow of relief burning through my swarm of emotions.

That’s all I need. Just a little relief so I can do what I need to do.

Biting my lip against a pulsing ache shattering my skull, I lift Natalie from my shoulder and push myself up to sitting. Even that small motion makes my bones feel weighted with iron, but I make myself rise to my feet next. I rub my arms against the chill, but I’m not sure if it’s the air that’s cold or something inside me. In contrast, every inch of my skin is hot with fever.

My stomach churns again as I slowly shuffle toward the window. I glance out at the night sky, the landscape bathed in shadows and moonlight. Somewhere out there must be a Crimson Malus tree. There must be.

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