Chapter 170

“That was Antonia. She had to get me up against the wall, and whatever Matthew used to knock me out—”

“Chloroform.”

“Was that what it was?” I sighed. “I was weak as a baby, and I wouldn’t have been able to do it on my own.”

“Dragul meu.”

“What does that mean?”

His smile was crooked. “My love.”

“Oh!”

He stroked my hair, then opened the vein in his wrist. “Drink.”

I could only get a few sips, but they were enough. The burning sensations were gone.

“Now let’s get you into the shower.”

* * * *

Three days later, I stood with Dad, Luke, and my sisters at my oldest brother’s gravesite. On Dad’s other side, Mrs. Wilder held his hand. The day watchers were a short distance away—before we’d left for the cemetery, Ekaterina had introduced her brother, William, and Henry and Thomas—and beyond them were my friends.

Mina sat at my heel. All signs of trauma to her leg were gone.