Steal the Sun (Thieves #4)(24)

“I don’t think it is.” Sarah looked Daniel over. Sarah had taken charge of the room, immediately ordering Zack about and generally keeping everyone calm because she seemed so competent.

We were waiting on the Fae healer who lived in the village. Padric had sent a royal guard to fetch the man. In the meantime, Sarah had ordered everyone to keep the noise down and to make Daniel comfortable.

“What do you think it is?” I asked Sarah.

Daniel didn’t get sick. It wasn’t part of the vampire experience to get weak and faint. No matter how Felix wanted to play it, I agreed with Dev. Danny fainted. One minute he’d been standing up and talking and the next he hit the floor. If that wasn’t a faint, then I didn’t know what was. Zack had been shadowing his master and said Daniel had grown even paler than usual right before he passed out. Luckily Zack had caught him before he hit the floor.

Sarah gave me a long look. “I have my suspicions but you won’t like it.”

“Just tell me.” The last thing I needed was to play guessing games. If something was wrong with Danny, I needed to know right away.

“Why don’t we talk about it alone?” she said quietly in a way that made my heart pound with terror.

What could be so bad that we needed privacy to discuss it? We weren’t the most private of people. Our crew tended to witness everything in our lives. When we fought we usually had an audience. Even when we did…other things, we sometimes learned someone had been watching. If Sarah thought we needed privacy, it must be bad.

I was about to insist she just spit it out when Declan walked in the room with a tall, thin man carrying what looked to be an old-fashioned medical case. The healer was a faery with long brown hair who looked around the room, his eyes finally fastening on Daniel.

“This is the vampire?” he asked, looking Daniel over.

“Yes,” Declan said with a sigh. “This is the weak vampire. My mother and brother insist that you save him. However, if you allow him to expire, I will make sure there is something in it for you.”

“Declan!” I wasn’t sure he was joking.

He shrugged and moved away, letting the healer sit down with his patient.

“What are your symptoms?” No one had taught this particular healer bedside manner. He frowned and his words came out in a flat, couldn’t-care-less tone of voice. I supposed it fit, since he more than likely didn’t get to practice his profession often. Faeries tended to not get sick. This healer would mostly be used to dealing with injuries.

Daniel was silent so I spoke up. “He was tired earlier today and then after dinner he passed out.”

“I will ask the obvious,” the healer began, sounding completely uninterested. “When was the last time you ate?”

Dev took that one. “About thirty minutes before we went in to the banquet. Zoey was busy so I fed him. He took the normal time. Daniel doesn’t gorge himself but he gets a decent meal. I haven’t eaten anything strange, if you’re wondering. I had two ales at Ross’s but it’s nothing he couldn’t handle.”

“I couldn’t even taste the alcohol,” Danny complained.

Dev rolled his eyes. “Sorry. Someone tried to kill our wife and then I forgot about our drinking binge. I’ll try harder next time.”

“Do you have any other symptoms?” The healer began what appeared to be a routine checkup. He examined Daniel’s eyes and ears and even made sure his fangs were functioning properly.

“No. No other symptoms. I’m just tired. It’s not a big deal.” Daniel suffered through the exam, but he didn’t like doctors. He hadn’t liked them when he’d been alive. He had to be near death before I could get him to make an appointment.

“Danny, you have to tell him everything,” I insisted.

Dev started to look concerned now. He knew when Danny was lying, too. He sat up and paid attention. “Yes, Dan, you do have to own up. You shouldn’t be sick. If it’s something serious then we need to deal with it now. Maybe there’s something here you could be allergic to.”

“Could he have been poisoned?” The terrifying idea hit me as I contemplated the events of the day. I held Danny even closer as I thought about someone trying to kill him. They tried to take me out. Maybe they would go after Danny next.

The healer shook his head. “Prince Devinshea is the only one you fed from today?”

Daniel nodded. I was sure he’d been planning to make a meal of me later on tonight, but we hadn’t gotten there yet.

“And you are feeling fine, Your Grace?” The healer turned his attention to Dev.

Dev shifted up in the bed. He moved next to me so he could place his arm around my shoulders. I felt better having both of them close. “I’m perfectly well. I admit there was some nausea when my mother was hitting on my wife and then my partner. It welled back up when she discussed her sex life with Marcus, who I hate, but I doubt that has anything to do with poison. The only antidote is years of therapy.”

That got Danny’s attention. “Your mom did Marcus?”

“Lay back down, invalid.” Dev ignored him. “Everything I ate before dinner was prepared by my butler’s own hand. There is no risk of contamination. I didn’t feed him after dinner.”

The healer listened intently. He seemed much more interested now that he thought he was dealing with something more than an anorexic bloodsucker. He took Daniel’s wrist in his hand. A vampire’s heart pumps when their blood is up, though slower than a normal human’s. He counted for a moment. “His pulse is fine for a vampire. I know of no poison that would not kill the prince before it could contaminate the vampire’s system. How do you feel now?”