Lisette scooted to the edge of the bed, wrapping her arms around her midsection, and taking small breaths to control the pain. The sun had passed its high point and now angled its beams into her chambers in the castle. She pushed the covers from her body and swiped at the perspiration around her temples.
As she struggled to rise, Pinar held her arms gently, pushing her back toward her pillows.
“Lizzie, I know how upset you are.” Her friend and fellow pirate sister hovered in front of Lisette while she attempted to restrain her. “Rocco and the guards are on the trail. They will stop the thief.”
“I shall not stay here while my baby has been taken from me,” Lisette growled, allowing Pinar to reposition her in the bedcovers. “You say Ruhee is missing? I cannot believe she would do such a thing. Why?”
Captain Begum Derya strode into the room. “Because her love for Rocco has taken a dark turn. I am sorry. I knew he captivated her, but after her disastrous attempt to woo him, I thought she would nurse her wounded heart and find healing.”
Lisette shook her head. “I don’t blame you. I, too, believed all was well and forgiven.”
Pinar adjusted Lisette’s bedcoverings, looking out at the balcony, and squinting into the afternoon sun. “It grows late.”
“Yes,” Begum said. “Pinar, you should go to the kitchen and bring Lisette sustenance.”
“I cannot eat—” Lisette frowned.
“The sooner you heal, the sooner you can help Rocco chase after the kidnapper. And without food, you will heal more slowly.” Begum gestured to Pinar, who nodded and left. “Oleta is on her way with her bag of herbs.”
“I wish Lamya was here,” Lisette said. “She’d know what to do. She might even heal me faster.”
“Yes, it would be good to have the guidance of an Ancient One.”
Lisette looked at Begum. “If Ruhee wanted to kill her, we’d already know. But just taking her…what would she want with our baby?”
“To make you suffer. Knowing your child is dead allows you to grieve. Wondering where she might be, whether she is safe, does not allow you to rend your gown and mourn.” Begum walked to the foot of the bed and turned toward the arches to the balcony. “The ache in your heart does not heal.”
“Begum…” Lisette reached into the drawer and withdrew a small book. “Since we are alone, I have a question. This is my mother’s journal.”
The captain of the Dişi Aslan turned toward her. Her green eyes were usually stern and commanding, but today they revealed someone Lisette had never seen. Someone softer, more uncertain.
The chamber door opened and a small, wiry woman with a full head of furious curls strode inside. “You called for me?”
“Oleta!” Lisette set the book down on the table. “I need your help. I must regain my strength to join in the search for Alara.”
Oleta went to her bedside. “I’ll do everything in my power, but you know I am not a god, yes?”
“Do as much as you can,” Begum said. “Lizzie, we will speak again. Alara’s return is most important at the moment.”
Lisette watched the captain leave and slipped her mother’s journal back into the drawer for another time. She looked down to see Oleta lifting her gown to look at her injuries. Oleta pressed around her stomach—Lisette squirmed and hissed a few times when she pushed too hard.
“My apologies,” Oleta said.
When she ran her fingers across Lisette’s ankh-shaped scar, she frowned. Lisette pulled away.
“Sorry, but it burns like fire when you touch it,” Lisette told her.
Oleta stood and helped Lisette rearrange her gown. Lisette noticed her grim expression.
“You can help me, yes?” she asked.
“I have herbs to help with most everything,” Oleta said.
“Most?”
Oleta sighed. “I am worried about Ruhee’s use of the ankh. Do you remember anything about it?”
“I was in much pain and bleeding from a tear in my womb—I had been stabbed on Isla del Lagarto. Ruhee pressed the ankh on my stomach…” Lisette winced at the memory. “It felt like I was being branded, and she was chanting in a language I didn’t understand.”
“She stopped your bleeding, no doubt, and for that I am grateful. And the ankh is a symbol for eternal life, which should be a blessing. Still, I have an ill feeling about it—when I touched the scar, I saw a darkness I cannot explain.” Oleta took Lisette’s hand. “But I will do what I can to help. I require one more ingredient—I shall return quickly.”
She hurried out the door, and Lisette was left alone with a head full of thoughts, none of them good.
