I was out in the courtyard, hanging freshly picked herbs to dry, when a wave of dizziness hit me like a freight train. I grabbed the edge of the stone table, my throat burning with a sickly sweet taste. Before I could catch my breath, a gush of dark red blood splattered across the herbs, staining them crimson.
"Cough… cough…" I fumbled with my sleeve, trying to wipe my mouth, but the blood kept coming, dripping through my fingers and blooming like grim roses on the slate below.
"Lillian!" Lucien's voice cut through the haze, and then his warm hands were there, steadying me as I swayed. I tried to force a smile, to tell him I was fine, but the world went black, and I crumpled into his arms.
When I came to, twilight was creeping through the window. I was tucked into bed, swaddled in heavy
