Fatefall - 20

Chapter 20 - Poppy 

Dusan’s presence in my home caused a fair amount of dissent among my friends. Some of them wanted to kill him while we still could---to try and find a way to end the Fates so we’d have a tried-and-true method for murder. The others thought we should use him as ransom and capture his siblings. Zara and I decided the best course of action would be the unexpected: to make Dusan our friend. 

Poppy knew in her heart that she should’ve stayed to comfort her teammates upon returning from the Elimination. 

But she couldn’t handle Jett’s pale face or Adrian’s empty eyes.

Her cowardice had consumed her and she’d run as fast as her legs could carry her. The rhythmic pounding of her strides kept her mind centered. Her muscles burned and her lungs breathed, but that was okay because she didn’t really feel like breathing. 

During the Elimination, Poppy’s Grace had followed the heartbeats of the failed competitors. She’d felt the fear as though it was her own, had tasted their helplessness, and she wondered if maybe a small part of her had died when the heart of one of the competitors had failed. His death weighed on her conscience even though she knew she couldn’t have prevented it.

She pushed the thought to the back of her mind and focused on running. She wove laps around the city, visiting the docks and the Midnight Palace---briefly considering a quick trek through the woods that bordered the west half of Xegalla. But as night descended like a curtain falling on a stage, she returned to the apartment. Well, not quite. 

Poppy still wasn’t sure if she could handle company at this point, though she wasn’t sure if anyone was even in the apartment to begin with. Nakoa had run off to visit her “friend” and Poppy had spotted Jett and Sage on a walk not that long ago. Likely, only Adrian remained but he was asleep and from Poppy’s experience, unconscious people didn’t make good conversationalists. 

She opted to scale the walls of the apartment and perch on the roof instead. Admittedly, the wind chilled her bones and she regretted not wearing a heavier jacket. Still, the discomfort was worth it. 

Poppy liked being up high. There were no rules in the sky, no laws to bind her wings and send her crashing to the ground. Back in Aecheral, she had challenged her sisters and the other village kids to long games of hide-and-seek. For the longest time, she’d been the undefeated champion due to her reckless hiding places. The roof of the apothecary. The top of the bell tower. Once she’d even hidden in the well and she’d been forced to climb her way out when the bucket couldn’t support her weight. 

Heights didn’t scare her, not like losing her Grace did. 

In the sky, she had control. Her balance determined whether she stayed put or fell and she could hone her skills to ensure the former. But with her Grace? Losing it to Hunter’s ring had terrified her more than she cared to admit. She had no power when it came to recovering her Grace, and she didn’t like that it forced her to rely on people like Adrian. 

Movement caught her attention. Speak of the devil.

He may have been wearing a hood and burying himself in the shadows of the street, but he couldn’t mask the princely swagger of his walk. 

Adrian was supposed to be asleep, she remembered. The sleeping draught he’d taken was supposed to last for at least eight hours, and yet here he was, sneaking away, definitely awake. So where could he be running off too?

Poppy leapt from her perch, telling herself it was only curiosity that had her following him. She was becoming quite a convincing liar. 

Adrian was many things, but sneaky was not one of them. He tried too hard to be forgettable, which actually made him more noticeable. Poppy had no trouble trailing him through the streets. The real challenge was determining his destination. At first she thought he might return to the castle for the night, but he wasn’t heading in that direction. 

They rounded another corner and Adrian stopped abruptly. Poppy nearly ran into him and it took her a moment to realize he’d walked them into a dead end.

“I now see why you were so easy to catch and arrest,” he remarked, turning to face her with arms crossed. Poppy couldn’t tell if he was scowling or if it was just the scar on the corner of his lip that gave him the appearance of a frown. Probably a mix of both. 

“Maybe I wanted you to know that I was following you,” Poppy said, mimicking his stance. “Besides, you’re not exactly a sly fox yourself.”

“Maybe I wanted you to know where I was going,” Adrian said, a spark of challenge flashing in his eyes underneath the hood. 

Poppy raised an eyebrow. “A back alleyway? Very creative, Your Highness. There’s only about a hundred of these in Xegalla.”

“I thought you’d be more comfortable talking to me in a space you’re familiar with. Y’know, sketchy streets where bodies normally turn up?” His tense shoulders exposed his unease and Poppy took the opportunity to give a smile that dripped with dishonorable intent. 

“You’re right. I feel like I’m home,” Poppy said, allowing sarcasm to seep into her voice. “You said you wanted to talk to me?”

“I wanted to enlighten you to the fact that it isn’t polite to stalk people.”

“Well, consider me enlightened. I suppose our business here is done--”

“And I wanted to ask if you wanted to join me on my walk,” Adrian continued swiftly. He said it in the same bored tone that he’d used for the rest of the conversation but the words were … surprisingly sincere.

Poppy struggled to come up with a snarky response. She really didn’t want to walk with Adrian but it seemed to be too late to decline. “Is it just because I happened to be here, or did you know I would follow you?”

Adrian shrugged. “The circumstance presented itself. Besides, I figure you’d be happy to join me in yelling at Koda.”

“About the Elimination?”

Adrian nodded. “I know it’s not going to change anything and I know it’s not fair to him since he’s under my father’s orders, but still…” He tried for a nonchalant shrug but Poppy noted his trembling form. She couldn’t tell if it was the result of the stressful day or if maybe the sleeping draught hadn’t completely worn off yet, but Adrian definitely shouldn’t have been up and walking around.

“Do you know where Koda lives?” she asked, deciding that she could play babysitter for a single night.

Adrian grinned. “This isn’t the first time I’ve showed up at his doorstep to complain.”

Koda didn’t seem surprised when Adrian and Poppy knocked on his door. If anything, he acted as though he’d expected them sooner. 

It didn’t help that Adrian punched him in the face the second the door opened to reveal Koda’s chocolate curls.

“That,” he said, “was for obeying my father’s wishes.”

He then wrapped Koda in a tight hug. “And that was for all of your help.”

To Poppy’s surprise, Koda laughed and rubbed at the bruise blooming on his cheekbone. “I suppose I deserved that.” Adrian gave a smug smile. “Why don’t you two come in? Something tells me we have a lot to catch up on.

They followed him inside and Koda led them to some sort of lab in the back of the house. Shelves with bottles full of mysterious liquids lined one wall while a row of grimy windows sat adjacent to it. In one corner of the room stood a wooden desk hidden under papers covered in scribbles. On the opposite side of the room was a tiny cot and a stool. 

“Are you a healer?” Poppy asked, fingers trailing over the labels of the vials. 

“No touching,” Koda said, quickly fixing whatever miniscule mistakes Poppy had just created. “And yes, I’ve been an apprentice healer for a long while now. Though I’d prefer to open an apothecary.”

“And yet you got yourself involved with the Tournament,” Poppy noticed, glancing at Adrian, who’d taken a seat on the stool 

Koda shot a glare at Adrian. “Someone needed to protect this idiot from getting himself killed.”

“So you knew each other before the Tournament?”

“What is this, an interrogation?” Adrian grumbled at the same time as Koda answered, “Of course. I might have even considered him a friend.”

Poppy nodded, understanding washing over her. Koda must’ve agreed to be a sponsor in hopes of concealing Adrian’s identity. Sponsors didn’t need to know their competitors’ identities but it certainly helped with the morale. She also didn’t miss that Koda was the one divvying out punishments, so he’d probably convinced the king to let him sponsor in exchange for his service. 

“We don’t have all night,” Adrian said, sounding more tired than angry at this point. “It’s a good thing Poppy decided to join us, because I have a question that actually involves her.”

Poppy’s cheeks flamed. “You didn’t think you could ask me the question?”

Adrian’s eyes flashed with something like frustration. “It’s about what that assassin did to you in the Tournament.”

Koda raised a brow. 

“Someone struck Poppy with a ring during the Trial,” Adrian explained, his eyes never leaving Poppy’s. “She lost her Grace temporarily and I was wondering how someone may have gotten access to a poison that removes Graces.”

Koda frowned, his eyes narrowing. He took a seat at his desk and leaned back in his chair, gazing at the papers before him as though they might contain the answers he needed. 

“I have no idea,” he admitted at last. “You’ve given me so little information.”

“The man was an assassin,” Poppy said. “His name is Hunter.” She saw Adrian flinch. “He punched me in the face and the ring left a cut. I don’t know much about the poison---or even if it was supposed to be temporary because Adrian brought my Grace back.”

Koda froze. “Did he now?”

Adrian and Poppy nodded and Koda bit his lip. 

“However intriguing this new revelation is, we have more pressing matters,” Koda said. He wrung his fingers. “Poppy, may I see the cut the ring left?”

Poppy nodded and Koda gestured for her to take a seat on the cot. Adrian vacated the stool so Koda could take it. Koda reached for Poppy’s face and she flinched away from his touch, earning a snicker from Adrian. 

“I’m not going to hurt you,” Koda assured her. 

Poppy bit back a complaint and forced herself to remain still as his fingers brushed over her skin. His touch was light. It filled her stomach with butterflies. 

Or maybe that was Adrian, lurking behind Koda with his gaze resting firmly on Poppy’s face. She flushed again and it seemed like a miracle when Koda finally drew away, running a hand through his hair. 

“The scratch is shallow,” he mumbled to himself. Poppy only caught the words blood and surface and powerful as he stood abruptly and began pacing back and forth. 

Adrian took the stool and sat at Poppy’s side. 

“Is he always like this?” she asked, keeping her voice a low whisper. 

Adrian shrugged. “Sometimes he’s a little less crazy. The stress is really starting to shake him. That and the fact that he literally stole twenty-five Graces today.”

“Are you feeling okay?” Poppy found herself asking, surprised that she was actually worried about Adrian. 

“I mean, are any of us?” Which wasn’t an answer, but Poppy didn’t push. 

Koda muttered a few more things under his breath before turning to face Adrian and Poppy again. “I have a few theories, but I’ll need to experiment before I can know for sure. My guess is whatever poison this Hunter used was only meant to bury your Grace, not remove it. If you don’t mind, I’d like a sample of your blood, Poppy.”

She nodded her compliance, wishing she could muster up the courage to not be so shaky. 

Koda washed his hands and appeared at Poppy’s side with two bottles and a knife.

“No sedatives,” Poppy said as she noticed the bubbly liquid inside one of the bottles. “I don’t want to be knocked out.”

“It’s not a sedative,” Koda said. “It’ll numb the pain because this is going to hurt.” At her apprehensive expression, he shook his head. “Trust me on this one, Poppy. I’m going to use my Grace to get the blood, so it’s going to hurt a whole heck of a lot. But I figured you didn’t want to be strapped to the bed all night so I could get enough blood.”

Poppy sighed and took the bottle from Koda. “You promise this won’t knock me out.”

“It might make you a bit…woozy,” Koda admitted. “But Adrian can walk you back to the apartment and I doubt you’ll remember most of it.”

“I feel like I’m going to regret this,” she grumbled to herself as she popped the lid off the bottle and downed it in one swig. Tingles immediately burst in her gut and her vision swam for a moment. “Oh, Fates, this is horrible, Koda.”

“Feel free to punch me once I’m done here,” he said, his voice strained with concentration. “Can you feel this?” He laid a hand across her wrist and Poppy shook her head. “It’s probably better if you don’t watch the next part. Why don’t you focus on Adrian’s ugly face?”
“It’s not ugly,” Poppy said and immediately cursed under her breath. Woozy was the wrong word for what she felt. Numb? Distant? Uncontrollable? 

Adrian stifled a laugh and Poppy tried to glare at him but the world tipped sideways and instead she ended up almost falling into his lap. Loopy. She was completely and utterly loopy. Far away, she could hear Adrian and Koda discussing something about the size of the medicine and carrying her back to the apartment, but it didn’t register in her mind.  

The rest of the night turned into a delirious fog. Poppy barely recalled throwing her arms around Adrian’s neck and begging to be carried like a damsel back to the apartment. Had she vomited on him? She vaguely recalled being unceremoniously dumped in bed with the blankets pulled up to her chin. And, oh, Fates, had she actually pleaded to be kissed? 

Only one clear memory remained, and Poppy wasn’t sure whether or not she’d hallucinated it. 

After all, there was no way Adrian would’ve obliged to her feverish request for a kiss. Right?

Poppy’s head hummed with dizziness when she finally peeled her eyes open the next morning. So when she woke to a girl with frizzy, dark hair and fierce eyes, Poppy thought she was still hallucinating. 

Until the girl spoke, her voice shattering the numbness that had settled into Poppy’s bones. “I was right. You really are my brother’s type.”

Poppy flew into a sitting position, reaching for a knife and realizing she didn’t have one. Fear struck her like an arrow and she scrambled away from the unfamiliar girl. Her head spun and her wrist throbbed, but she hoped she was still well enough to hold her own in a fight. 

“Relax,” the girl said. “You’re safe. My brother brought you back to the castle last night. He claims that you threw up all over him and that he was worried that you might have other side effects from some medicine or something? I kinda stopped listening after he showed up with a half-conscious girl by the servants’ entrance.”

That explained why she felt like she’d been to the afterlife and back. “I have Koda to thank for that,” she rasped. 

To Poppy’s surprise, the girl laughed. “That sounds about right. If I’ve learned anything about Koda, it’s to never trust his ‘remedies’. Bet you won’t be making that mistake again.” 

She sounded like she knew Koda from experience, but that was ridiculous because the only person Koda seemed to talk to was…

“You’re Princess Aida,” Poppy realized, wondering how she could have been so blind. 

Fates, she was in the princess’s room. In the princess’s bed. And Adrian had carried her here. He’d been worried about her. 

Poppy scrambled away from Aida, her gut churning when she was wearing a nightgown that didn’t belong to her. Not to mention her hair was damp---unless it had rained on their walk back---meaning someone had bathed her. 

The princess gave a small smile. “Don’t worry, I promised my brother I would take care of you--”

“I don’t need anyone to take care of me,” Poppy protested, wishing her throat didn’t feel like sandpaper. Or that she wasn’t so pale. 

“Any other time, I probably wouldn’t argue with you but considering you just spent the past several hours throwing up and hallucinating, I feel obligated to disagree,” Aida said. “You should be glad I’m not insisting that you stay here and rest for the day. Once Adrian gets here, you’re free to go.”

A dozen questions sat on the tip of Poppy’s tongue, but the only one she actually managed to ask was, “Why are you helping me?”

Aida hesitated, a shadow of something dark flickering across her expression. “I guess you wouldn’t believe me if I said it was just an act of kindness.”

Poppy nodded, glad that at least she and the princess could be honest with each other. 

Aida sighed. “For one, my brother’s Grace lies partially in your hands. You’re his teammate and---let’s face it---he’s going to need all the help he can get if you guys are going to win the Tournament.” Poppy could believe this to be Aida’s true motive…until she tacked on her other argument. “And secondly, it’s clear Adrian cares for you. I haven’t seen him so concerned for another person’s wellbeing since, well, since Asher. I couldn’t exactly turn up my nose at you and refuse to help.”

“Oh.” The response felt inadequate and Poppy knew she should be thanking Aida but she couldn’t find it in her fluttering heart to do so. 

Aida smiled, although it didn’t quite seem genuine, like she held reservations about Poppy. “That’s beside the point, though. I assume you don’t want to still be dressed like that when Adrian shows up?” She made a vague gesture at the nightgown and Poppy’s cheeks flamed. “Let me see if I can find anything that will fit you.”

Poppy was much shorter than Aida, and living with the assassins had left her slim. The dress Aida let her borrow (like Poppy was going to return it---they both knew that wasn’t the case) hung off her frame and the sleeves dangled past her fingers. 

“Yellow looks nice on you,” Aida said, her voice strained with the compliment. 

Poppy rolled her eyes and then immediately remembered she was speaking to the princess. Why did Aida feel so much more royal than Adrian did? She began to apologize, but a knock at the door cut her off. 

Adrian entered the room a moment later, dressed in royal finery that put Poppy’s borrowed dress to shame. Her Grace immediately perked up in his presence, tracing his heartbeat at once. His gaze fell only on Aida, which hurt Poppy more than she cared to admit. Last night he’d carried her to safety but now he couldn’t spare her a second glance. 

“Has anyone seen her here?” Adrian asked, his voice loud and angry, like a storm. 

Aida shook her head. “I left a note outside for my maids saying that I was going to visit Asher and that I wouldn’t be back until noon today. Although now that you’ve come in here, they might think otherwise. Why?”

“Poppy and I need to get to the apartment,” Adrian said. “There’s been some…issues regarding the Elimination and all of the competitors are to be interrogated this afternoon.”

“What does that have to do with anyone seeing me here?” Poppy asked. 

Adrian finally looked in her direction, and his eyes were wide with alarm. “Last night, eight of the Eliminated competitors went missing. And unfortunately---unless we can find an alibi---we’ll be prime suspects.”